I hope you`ll have received my letters of 27 January and 3 Feb., as well as the one I sent you from Mantua. <sup>11</sup> Letters 157 (dated 26 January) , 159 and 155[Close] I confidently predict that we`ll remain here till the end of the carnival. His Excellency Count Firmian is now feeling better, and we had the honour of joining him for lunch for the first time on Wednesday the 7th. After the meal His Excellency presented Wolfg. with all 9 volumes of Metastasio`s works . <sup>22</sup> Turin: Nella Stamperia Reale, 1757. In Vienna, Mozart owned an edition published at Venice: Antonio Zatta, 1782-4; see Deutsch, Mozart. A Documentary Biography, 602[Close] It`s one of the finest editions, namely, the Turin edition, and very beautifully bound. As you can easily imagine, this present is as welcome to me as it is to Wolfg. His Excellency is extremely impressed by Wolfg.`s abilities and has honoured us with his special grace and favour; it would take too long to give you a detailed account of all the examples of his knowledge that Wolfg. provided in the presence of Maestro Sammartino and a whole host of the most able people and how he amazed them all. In any case, you already know how it is on these occasions, for you`ve seen it often enough. We are well, praise be to God, only it annoys me not to know if we`ll be going to Turin. If we want to be in Rome by Holy Week, our trip to Turin will have to be postponed as we shall be stopping in Parma, Bologna and Florence on our way to Rome, and I don`t imagine that we`ll get away from here before the first week of Lent. The good news is that we have secure, comfortable and pleasant lodgings here. We`d had the best possible weather for a long time, but then, on the 6th, there was a violent wind that grew even stronger on the night of the 7th, bringing so much snow with it that by the morning of the 8th everything was covered in a thick layer. But no snow can settle here, and so the streets are disgustingly muddy and barely passable. Meanwhile we`ve had a chance to hear various examples of church music, including - yesterday - the High Mass or Requiem for old Marchese Litta, who much to the annoyance of his large family died during the carnival, although they would have preferred it if he`d survived until Lent. The Dies irae from this Requiem lasted about 3 quarters of an hour, but by 2 in the afternoon it was all over, so we had lunch at half past 2.
You mustn`t imagine that I`m going to give you a description of the church services here, as I`m far too annoyed to do so: all they consist of is music and church decorations, all the rest is the most appalling licentiousness. I`ve just this moment arrived back from a Vespers that lasted more than 2 hours, so that I`ve had time to do no more than bring this letter home with me and finish writing it in the steward`s quarters at Count Firmian`s, I also wanted to see if there was a letter from you here, but I found nothing. You`re very lazy; we`ve been here for some time, and this is the third letter that I`ve written to you from Milan, but I`ve still not had a reply. I know of no better solution than not to write to you for several weeks. With each passing post-day Wolfg. has been looking forward to a letter from you, and yet nothing has arrived. Addio. I am your old
Mzt
Best wishes from me and, indeed, from both of us to all our good friends according to their social dues.

POSTSCRIPT FROM MOZART

Talk of the devil and he`ll appear. I`m keeping well, praise and thanks be to God, and can scarcely wait for an answer from you, I kiss Mama`s hand, and to my sister I send a sloppy kiss and remain the same old … what? … the same old buffoon, <sup>33</sup> The original text says `Hanswurst`, a stock comic character of German-language literature and theatre. See Sheil, `Hanswurst` and letter 217[Close] Wolfgang in Germany, Amadeo in Italy
De Mozartini.

POSTSCRIPT FROM LEOPOLD

I kiss you and Nannerl, but only once, as you haven`t written.
Monsieur Troger sends you his best wishes: give Mlle Troger my best wishes and tell her that I am very much obliged to her brother for having found us such good accommodation, where we are well provided for and have our own brother to wait on us.