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thank you especially for thinking of my birthday. (I actually ought to thank you,
dear Elsa, you must have prodded
him.)[2]
It delighted me hugely to hear from you
directly again.
We need the well wishes particularly now, because we are embarking on a quite
uncertain future. Pauli has lately become so irritated in his life in the civil service
that his nerves are worn very thin and he urgently needs to recuperate for a longer
time.[3]
Because health is ultimately more important than a large income, we decid-
ed, after mature reflection, on
retiring.[4]
This step alone already calmed Pauli
down a bit. We rented out our apartment for a year and are now going (around Dec.
20th) for 4–6 weeks into the Vorarlberg so that Pauli can fortify his nerves in the
mountain air. We are then thinking of going to Paris, where Pauli wants to work as
a legal consultant for Swiss firms and as a journalist. I have prospects through
friends of working in the art trade. These are vague plans, but the solid basis is the
pension, with which we can get by with a very modest lifestyle. With this the
annual sum now due from our share of the S[wiss] A[uer] S[tock Company], we
are completely liberated from our debts, thank heavens and praise be! I’m not at all
attached to Lucerne; I’m looking forward to getting
away.[5]
Dear Else, your long letter pleased me particularly, because it reported about so
many relatives about whom I otherwise no longer hear a thing. I always felt sorry
for poor Marie but what can be done for
her?[6]
She was never very clever but nei-
ther did she seem downright foolish. The worries and the misery are surely going
to affect her very much. Now it’ll soon be a year since we brought poor Mama to
Berlin.[7]
You can imagine that I also constantly have to think about that. How
much the poor dear had to suffer! But in Berlin she did have a couple of moments
of real joy from Albert and the love of so many family members.
What are Aunt and Uncle
doing?[8]
I often think of the two of them as well. I
have quite a few pieces of the gray material of which Aunt Fanny would like to have
her share, but I don’t know how I should send them.
Dear Ilse, I thank you for your good
wishes.[9]
Are you going out a lot again this
year? Be sure to have a good time. Is Margot completely well
again?[10]
How’s the
music doing? Has she composed anything else? I always like to use the notebook
she made for me and always think of her warmly whenever I use it.
Now all of you certainly have a long letter. Please don’t let me wait so long again
without news. It is so depressing not to know anything about one’s closest and dearest.
Heartfelt greetings and kisses from your
Maja.