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Vienna, April 16, 1900
IX., Berggasse 19
Dear Wilhelm,
Herewith the greeting as ordered from the land of sunshine. For, once again, I did not get there. The journey, planned to take us to
Trent and Lake Garda, had to be shortened to begin with because my companion was afraid of the twenty-two-hour return trip, and I had to admit he was right. Then we heard that the area where we wanted to go had had a lot of snow, almost as much as we had at home. Then Friday turned into a miserably wet day. Then Martin suddenly became ill, and I decided to stay. Finally, on Saturday the weather was tolerable, but all five children — following Mathilde — were in bed with chicken pox. It is nothing serious, of course, but nevertheless such an accumulation of unpleasantness that I am quite glad I am still at home.
You are completely right, my wishes are not very flexible; so after a partial renunciation, I soon stop enjoying the “entire funeral.” That is what happened here as well.
In the meantime you all have been in Dresden; domestic troubles of a minor sort — fortunately forgotten more quickly. Strange, how things are parceled out. We do have every conceivable kind of thing happening to us, but nothing quite like that. The household is running smoothly and people are devoted and stay on. Each social stratum thus has its particular complaints.
E. at last concluded his career as a patient by coming to dinner at my house. His riddle is almost completely solved; he is in excellent shape, his personality entirely changed. At present a remnant of the symptoms is left. I am beginning to understand that the apparent endlessness of the treatment is something that occurs regularly and is connected with the transference. I hope that this remnant will not detract from the practical success. I could have continued the treatment, but I had the feeling that such prolongation is a compromise between illness and health that patients themselves desire, and the physician must therefore not accede to it.