Letter from Sigmund Freud to Martha Freud, April 29, 1908

Vienna IX, Berggasse 19
April 29, 1908

My beloved Old Dear

I am very pleased that you found Mama so much better than you expected; this gives your journey quite a different character.

The Congress1 was a great success and I think it has left a good impression on all those who took part in it. For me it has meant a great deal of work, but also some relaxation. The whole enterprise will probably not be without results. While we were having dinner on Monday I happened to glance behind me into the hall and saw a back that struck me as familiar, unlikely though the meeting seemed. I rushed to inspect the back from the front and sure enough it was Emanuel,2 who was revenging himself in this way for the surprise in Wiesbaden. We met again, the following morning when everyone had left, and in the evening he took me to the station. The hours between we spent talking and drinking beer-mostly he-went up to the Fortress,3 to Hellbrunn,4 and so on. For seventy-five he is amazingly vigorous, but for the first time he showed definite signs of having aged; the last bout of influenza has taken it out of him. He was on his way to Berlin, was very interested to hear about Mama, and was as aghast about Rosa5 as we all are.

There were more patients today at consultation than I could deal with. Tomorrow an Englishman and an American6 are coming to dinner.

Fond greetings
Your
Sigmund