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# 82                                         Vienna, 17 March 1941

My dear children!

We had a happy Sunday yesterday. In the morning your letter #6 from February 12 came and Paul’s dispatch came in the afternoon. After that, Papa invited me out for a snack. Without being asked, he got the “Popolo di Roma” [perhaps the Il Popolo d’Italia] and the “Illustrazzioni” [presumably L'Illustrazione Italiana] and I got the past Reading Circle* handed to me. Was the waiter able to read my mind so well that he knew that I live in the past or was it just my whole demeanor that suggested to him that he should bring this particular reading material to me? Be that as it may, he did a good job. At first, I was a little annoyed at myself because I had forgotten my lorgnette that I use to read, but Papa knew what to do. He lent me his monocle which he uses for reading and work and like the Phorcides [sisters in Greek mythology] who together had only one eye and one tooth they had to trade them among themselves if they either wanted to eat or see, we when one of us wanted to read the other one had to look at pictures. I really had a delightful time. First, I read the main article of the Vienna newspaper from 18 August 1849, and then I handed Papa the monocle and the newspaper and I had fun looking at the pictures in the fashion magazine “Bazaar” from 1878. After Papa gave me the monocle back, I amused myself reading a number of the “Simplicissimus” from 1906. I had to laugh so hard that your dad threatened that I’d have to be thrown out of the restaurant. Since I didn’t want that to happen, I gave him the “Eye” back and the newspaper and I used my teeth which fortunately still only belong to me. Then something awful happened. Papa laughed so hard that I was embarrassed and I was afraid that I would be thrown out of the restaurant and never allowed to return again.

Everl wrote to me that she had a really good time at a dance and that I would not recognize the wallflower of Ellomere again. Do you remember that your former dance school was located in the former court stables and teachers and students would actually compete (successfully) to adapt to the surroundings? The noble dance knight taught his youngest stallions to stamp their hoofs, made sure that they were groomed properly - that was the most important thing for him.  

Harry’s humor is apparently suffering from his corns. Nimm Kukirol, Du fühlst Dich wohl. [advertising slogan: If you use Kukirol/moleskin bandages for your corns, you’ll feel good]. Papa recommends to Hilda “The Ten-point way to health” Surya Namaskar by Rajah of Aundh. Do you remember when you came back from Istanbul and you did that traction everyday? I laughed about it at the time because the illustrations on the title page looked like the people were looking through their knees to see what was making their ass itch.

May God make sure your humor stays with you because you need it. Even though some of the letters which you will be getting from me don’t sound as cheerful as usual, being in the doldrums is not a universal cure. Forget about it, there’s no point in it. At the same time, I ask you to forgive me that I have complained about you only reading my letters in a superficial way. But you must have gotten a lot of my letters which should have given you some insight into the situation. Maybe you are only receiving them now. In any case, quite a while ago I did give you some hints - if you had understood them, you might have been more prepared for things. You might have been surprised about my bombastic style. Maybe that’s also because you’re actually so used to speaking English now. An unclear form of expression is usually not my habit. It is most important to me that my letters arrive.

Live well and don’t be afraid to tell me everything. I am happy when I know that you are doing  good, better, or best.

With many kisses
Helen

There is so much to digest in this letter. Helene is very anxious about their situation in Vienna, but even when saying so, she does it in a cryptic way. Perhaps to avoid the censors? As we saw in the story about riding the streetcar with 3-year old Eva, Helene worries about what others might think. I do not know what Helene refers to when she talks about Eva no longer being a wallflower. I found the Earl of Ellesmere who was an early translator of Goethe’s Faust. Addendum: after reading this post, my friend Rose V found the Elmayer Dance School in Vienna, which has been in existence since 1919.

Helene’s and Vitali don’t have access to current news and find ways to amuse themselves reading old newspapers and magazines. Harry loved to do the same, often buying 100-year old illustrated magazines from used bookstores. A Lesezirkel or Reading Circle was a sort of magazine subscription “lending library” where one paid more to get the most recent edition before passing it on. Clearly, they had no money and amused themselves with 40-60 year old editions.

It is wonderful to have a window into their reading material. They were omnivorous and multi-lingual readers. I am not sure which Bazaar Helene refers to. Like Helene, you can virtually leaf through old issues of Harper’s Bazaar through the Cornell University Library. We see that Vitali knew about yoga (the book he recommends is available on Google Docs) and that Harry tried it as a teenager. There really isn’t anything new under the sun.