256
DOC. 353 FEBRUARY 1912
353.
From
Alfred
Stern,
with
Postscript
by
Clara Stern
Frankfurt
a/Main,
Guiellettstrasse
1,
c/o
Dr.
Richard
Stern,
M.D.
3
February
1912
Dear Professor
Einstein,
I
just opened
the
evening
edition of
today's
Frankfurter Zeitung,
when
my eyes
fell
upon
a
note
taken
from
the
Leipziger
Neuesten
Nachrichten,
according
to which
you
have
been offered the
position
of
Ordinary
Professor
at
our
Zurich
Polytechnic.[1]
With
shouts
of
joy,
I
immediately
gave
the
tidings
to
my
wife in
the
next
room.
So
we
shall win back
you
&
your
wife!
The
"little
bear"
&
his little
brother[2]
will
grow
up
in Zurich! This
is
marvelous.
Because
we can
safely
assume
that
you,
who know
&
love
Zurich,
will
accept
the
offer.
Thus,
sincere
congratulations to
you
& to us!
Now
you
will
ask,
why
are
these
congratulations
being
sent to
you
from
Frankfurt
in the middle
of the semester? The
story goes
as
follows: I
took
a
leave
of
absence for
the
whole
winter[3]
with
the
thought
of
spending
this
winter
with
my
wife in Rome. All kinds
of
obstacles
forced
us
to
postpone
our
departure
from
Zurich
to
mid-December.
Only
on
14
December,
after
having
dismissed
the
maids,
found
lodgings
for
dog
&
cat,
etc.
etc.,
were we
able
finally
to close
up
our
house.[4]
After that
we
had
5
wonderful
weeks
(almost
always
under clear
skies)
in
Rome.
But
11/2
weeks
ago
the
news
about
the
poor
health of
my
mother-in-law
summoned
us
here
to
Frankfurt
(on
the
way
here
we
visited Mrs.
Ansbacher
&
before
that
also
Luigi).[5]
We found the situation here better than
expected.
Even
so,
my
wife
cannot
make
up
her
mind
to
go
back
again
to
Rome.
She will
stay
here
and, at
the
most,
take
a
short
trip to
Kiel to
my daughter
Emma,[6]
who
is
married there. But
I will return
to
Rome
tomorrow, which I will do in
the
company
of
our
oldest
daughter,
the
chemist,[7]
who
is
on a
4-week
vacation
and
is
coming
here
to
pick
me
up.
I do
not
know
yet
how
long
I will
remain
in
Italy.
In
any
case,
the house
in
Zurich
will be
reopened
&
occupied
by
us by
the end of
March,
I
think.-In
the
meantime,
please drop
us a
few lines
as
soon
as possible.
Send them
either
to
me
to
"Roma Via Sistina
79
Pension
Castellani,"
or
to
my
wife
at
the
Frankfurt address
given
above
&
let
us
know
exactly
when
we
may expect
to welcome
you again
in
Zurich.-
With
most
affectionate
greetings
to
you, your
wife
&
the
"little bear,"
your
devoted
Alfred Stern
Many, many
greetings
to all
four of
you
from
me as
well,
and
expressions
of
my
enormous
joy!
If it's
only
true!
Your
Clara Stern