l x i i I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 6 revealed that he had considered becoming a pastor but ultimately deemed the vo- cation too anachronistic (Doc. 119). One month later, while visiting Geneva during the ICIC sessions, Einstein forgot books and documents in his hotel. The press disclosed the incident, possibly lead- ing to the first newspaper reports on Einstein’s alleged forgetfulness (Abs. 130, Doc. 60). In March 1928, when he left behind a new toothbrush and a tube of tooth- paste during his visit to Leipzig, Elsa expressed facetious relief that her husband’s head was “screwed on tight” as otherwise he would have left that behind, too (Abs. 453). Sometime before September 1927, Einstein engaged law student Edwin Sieradz as a new secretary (Abs. 112). But in mid-April 1928, soon after falling ill, Einstein replaced him with Helen Dukas, who would remain his secretary for the rest of his life. Dukas had been recommended by her sister Rosa who knew Elsa from the Jüdische Waisenhilfe in Berlin.[39] Dukas’s duties and devotion ultimately had a profound impact on the preservation of Einstein’s written legacy and literary estate. When prominent musicologist, former schoolmate, and namesake Alfred Einstein moved from Munich to Berlin in the second half of 1927, much amuse- ment ensued between the two households over the mis-delivery of mail. Each Einstein received at least one letter intended for the other, opened them by mistake, and forwarded them with an apology. Alfred Einstein referred to these mix-ups as a “postal calamity” (Abs. 122, 305 Docs. 100, 118). It was also in mid-1927, while the Einsteins were absent, that the Haberlandstrasse apartment was burglarized by their maid Martha von Sulminski with help from her fiancé. Cash, clothes, furs, jewelry, and curtains worth 6,000 M were stolen, all of which were subsequently recovered.[40] The postal service also figured in an exchange which constituted yet another in- dication of Einstein’s ongoing renown. In apologizing for a long delay in respond- ing to New Year’s greetings for 1927 only in May the following year, he informed the well-wishers that the postman had told him only one other client received more letters—the bailiff (Doc. 184). Little wonder then that by the time the next New Year rolled around, Einstein claimed publicly his wish for the coming year of 1929 was to “just […] be left alone” (Doc. 356). His upcoming milestone birthday proved this yearning to be quite illusory.