I have almost finished reading Mach's book with tremendous
interest, and will this evening
137.
TO
MILEVA
MARIC
[Bern]
Monday
[17? February 1902]
My
little sweetheart!
In defiance of all
my
pedagogical principles,
I
am
writing
you
again today,
because
I
got
such
a
nice little letter from
you. You
needn't be
jealous
of Habicht and Frosch, because what
are
they
to
me
compared
with you! I
long
after
you every
day,
but I do
not
act that
way
because it's not
"manly"
and I
always
think:
Joggele,
you
go
first,
you
are
the
man
after all.
But
it's true nevertheless that it
is
very
nice here. But I would rather be with
you
in
some
backwater
than without
you
in Bern, that's for
sure.
And
no
pleasure
I
am
having
here
compares
with that of getting
a
little letter from the
little sweetheart. Without
you
even
studying
gives
me
only
half the
pleasure. Recently
a man
who used
to
be
at
the
Polytechnikum
in
Zurich and is
now
employed
at the patent office started
a
conversation
with
me.
He finds that it's
very
boring there
--
certain people find
everything boring
--
I
am sure
that I will find it nice and that
I
will
be
grateful
to Haller
as
long
as
I live. He also told
me
that
the advertisement in the Federal
Gazette
under the announcements of
vacant
positions
does not otherwise mention
"physics",
but
only
polytechnical-mechanical
education. Haller inserted this for
my
sake.
Further, the election of
employees happens
in such
a
way
that Haller
makes the
proposal
and the Federal Council appoints; hence, there is
hardly
any
doubt.
Besides,
he added,
a
little
contemptuously,
the
position is of the lowest rank and it is unlikely that
anyone
will
compete with
me
for it. I
was
very
glad
to hear that.
We
two
don't
give
a
damn about
"height"!
138. PAULINE EINSTEIN
TO
PAULINE WINTELER
[Milan] Thursday,
20
February
1902
Dear Frau Professor!
[•••]
Maja hasn't written
a
word about the event,
knowing
well that in
this
case
she wouldn't have found
a
sympathetic listener in
me
either.
She knows that
we
strongly
oppose
the liaison of Albert and Miss
Maric,
that
we
don't
want
ever
to
have
anything
to do with her
&
that
there is constant friction with Albert because of it. For this
reason
alone,
she should not talk anywhere about
an
engagement of her
brother, least of all in Aarau, where also the relationship
with
your
house has
to
be considered.
We
had
a
violent argument with
our
daughter here in Mettmenstetten about this,
so
that
we
bade
a
very
frosty goodbye
to each other.
This Miss Maric is
causing
me
the bitterest hours of
my
life, if
it
were
in
my power, I
would make
every
possible effort to banish her
from
our
horizon,
I really dislike her. But I have lost
every
193