15 November 1887

Leitmeritz

15 November 1887

Dearest Friend,

I have before me your letter of 26 September which I had awaited with so much anxiety. Unfortunately the joy of knowing that you are well and enjoying good health has been deeply darkened by the sad news of the death of your good sister. May she rest in peace! The most sublime idea that religion can give us when some beloved person dies is that a day will come when we shall meet again in those celestial regions where God and the saints dwell. When the day comes when I shall be called by the kind Creator from this world to the other happy world, I hope that there . . . that I did not have the pleasure to know . . . I would like to know them all, your beloved parents, brothers, and sisters, nephews, and nieces (but not there above but here below on earth). They must resemble you very much and be as good, intelligent and winsome as you are, because a German proverb says: “An apple does not fall far from the tree.” Tomorrow I’m going to the bookstore to look for a pretty book with pictures and send it to the children of your late sister in order to comfort them. Accept then our condolence and convey it to your parents for whom this loss is more painful than to the others.

The Germans of Austria form the diminutive of names with -erl or -erle instead of the correct -echen.

Austrian diminutive. German diminutive (north). For example: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I thank you most sincerely for the other things you sent me. I saluted the beautiful flowers that bloomed in the country of my dreams and were gathered by my unforgettable friend Rizal. A thousand thanks for this proof of tenderness. The sulpakan arouses my interest very much. Tomorrow I’m going to show it to the physics professors as argumentum vivum [living evidence] of the great talent of the Indios. The said present not only enriches my Philippine treasures but also increases my Philippine vocabulary with new terms that were unknown to me.

Of highest importance to me is the gold piece. I shall make wax impressions and send them later to different scholars. It seems to be a gold coin, but I don’t wish to . . . until after I have studied well the thing . . . . 1st, if the clay jar contained other things besides the gold piece; 2nd, if complete skeletons or bones of men or animal or ashes have been found with the clay jar; 3rd, if the jar is one of the urns so esteemed in the Archipelago of which Jagor speaks. Please send an article on the matter to some scientific review. This can be a most important contribution to the history of Tagalog culture.

I have already tried the cigarettes; I smoked one and found it excellent. The odor is extremely aromatic; my wife also says so. I received your gift upon returning from class at 12:00. My wife and children came out to meet me shouting: “Rizal has written!” After reading the letter and opening the package, and although the soup was already on the table, I went hurriedly to Dr. Czepelack’s house, because no one takes such heart-felt interest in your fate than the good doctor and in these days we have talked constantly about you and we feared for you. (I was determined to write the curate of your town of Calamba if I did not receive any letter from you before the 19th of this month.) I usually visit Dr. Czepelack between 5 and 7 in the evening, so that upon seeing me come at 12:15, he knew that something extraordinary had happened. He was painting at the moment. He laid down the brush and asked me: “Do you bring me news of Rizal? True? How is our friend?” When I have told him everything, he said to me: “Thank God, Rizal is alive and well!” and he clapped his hands. When I told him that your sister had died, he became sad. He and his good mother send you a thousand regards and their condolence. Tomorrow I shall meet . . . to whom I shall convey your regards.

It is very probably that Kern, the famous Dutch scholar of Malayology, may write you. You will also receive an invitation from Holland to write for an ethnographic review.

Together with your letter I received one from Viola from Aden. He is well, though there are on board some models of “holy men” who seem to be incarnations of some personages in your novel.

Luna sent me a photo of his little son;[1] he is a very winsome little doll and we like him very much. May God protect him and may he become a star of the Philippines like his father! Luna is painting a Philippine landscape for me so that my mortal eyes will see the magnificent colors of your country which until now I have only seen in my dreams.

Farewell; receive regards and embraces from all of us, above all from

Yours devotedly,

F. Blumentritt

02-276 [Blumentritt V.1]