My dearest sister, please do not be anxious about your guests from England. You know dear Irene – her family must resemble her. She says they will be happy to walk round your estate at Salitz, and ride, and see the country. They asked what they should bring for the evening, I said a smoking would be fine.
They don’t know Germany very well. I am sure they imagine we eat sausages and drink beer all day when we are not parading in uniform. Or perhaps they think we’re always listening to Wagner and discussing Hegel.
Why do I want them to enjoy their visit? Because I am proud of our country, and I hate the way some people speak about us in England. Did you hear about this new book, In a German Pension? It’s about a house full of awful fat Germans, greedy and gross and obsessed with rank. It is a great success in England, apparently. I want to show the Bensons that we are decent people, like them. I think they will be surprised, I was certainly surprised at the wedding to see how we resemble one another. We are all good Protestants, after all. I hope I can show them that our values are shared, underneath all the nonsense from the Berliner Schloß.
My dear sister, what more can we do than fight our own small battles against the prejudice and cruelty that beset the world, through acts of kindness? Though each on his own can do only a little, if many do their best, perhaps the grains of kindness one day will make a mountain. We must continue to believe that as individuals, each of us can contribute to the whole. . .