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Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Hopes Elizabeth's search for a nurse goes well; recommends the "Morning Post" for advertisements. They have had a good time with George, Janet, and the children, who have been 'very much better' behaved. Asks if Elizabeth would like an Otterburn Tweed for a coat and skirt; originally enclosing samples of patterns for her to choose from. Gussie [Enticknap] 'looks very cheerful' and will go to Mrs Davidson's [lodgings for the gardeners] soon; Keith says 'he wands a good deal of looking after & "knows nothing of work"'.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Very sad news about the nurse [Mrs Catt]; hopes Elizabeth will be able to find another as nice; asks if Mrs Catt has a home to go to for a chance of recovery. Good that Julian is so well. George came yesterday with 'a nice young Huxley', with whom he had walked 'over mountains from the Lakes 94 miles in 3 days'. The A[ndrew?] Langs are here, and Mrs Lang asks about Elizabeth; Mrs Pease and the Hunsfields are coming to lunch, and the Booths for the night; Janet and the children come tomorrow. Sending a brace of grouse; asks whether the last ones arrived. Lucky that Nurse Shephard can come; it will give Elizabeth time to find another nurse. Booa is very sorry [about Nurse Catt?]

On headed notepaper for Kings College Cambridge, with note 'Coventry actually, where I am spending Christmas and New Year with the Buckinghams. - Thanks Bessie for her card and letter; is glad she is 'as comfortable as these uncomfortable times allow. The Suez imbecility has robbed us of both comfort and honour, and I do resent being deprived of both'.

Is well in himself, and still has 'enough money to stem the rising tide of prices', but is unsure how long that will continue; the 'transport problem is an immediate vexation'. Is very glad to have 'got to Greece in the spring', and Leiden for a week more recently.

Unfortunately Florence [Barger] 'lacks her old strength, and has to live more quietly'; Harriet 'looks after her splendidly', and Evert has 'a good and totally new job in London' so will settle there. Has 'satisfactory news of G. M. T. from [George Trevelyan's son] Humphry.

Had a 'charming and unexpected invitation' to eat Christmas dinner with George Moore and his wife; could not accept as he was going to Coventry. 'Various other professorial or semi-professorial lame or semi-lame dogs' would also have been there, 'an unusual and probably most agreeable occasion'. Kings 'seems to have started off well under its new Provost, Noel Annan. Provost [J. T.] Sheppard is in Texas!'

Encloses a Hungarian Relief card, which he 'only got by writing direct to the Lord Mayor [of London, Sir Cullum Welch, who launched the fund]. The Trash [perhaps the Times?] has boycotted it - really disgusting'.

Sends much love, and hopes to see her 'when things get easier - and may they!'.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Was judging at the Exhibition on Saturday; 'Sunday we went to Church!'; Sir George read his chapter to her for two hours on Monday. Elinor Middleton, Kenneth Swan and 'M. Burnett' have been staying with them; tomorrow it is the tenants' party. Sir George was very pleased to have Julian's photograph; intends to come to see him in the autumn. Theo and Humphry have had measles and are recovering; Mary shows no sign of it; the children's visit may be delayed a little but George comes on the 31st. The [Henry Yates] Thompsons visit soon. Pleased to have good news of Julian; would like to see a photograph of him in the donkey cart. Hopes they are enjoying Mr [Donald] Tovey's visit and that he is better.

Continues the letter after having been interrupted by Mary and her guests Mr and Mrs Runciman, then 'the children with the poney [sic]'; Pauline is 'beginning to ride nicely'. Has read Rosalind Murray's The Leading Note, which is 'nice and simple, but a girl of that age does not know enough to write a novel'. Hopes Robert is enjoying having 'Ariadne clothed and adorned [by Tovey's composition of the score of The Bride of Dionysus].

8, Grosvenor Crescent, S.W. - Glad to hear Julian has gained so much weight, and that Elizabeth has recovered her strength so quickly. Interesting that Elizabeth's sister and [Julius Engelbert] Röntgen are coming. She and Sir George are leaving this morning 'in truly patriarchal fashion' since the 'Chelsea nursery' [George and Janet's children: Mary, Theodore and Humphry] join them at the station. Is thinking of Paul today: believes they will 'see him in Julian', who will therefore be 'doubly precious'.

The Master's Lodge, Trinity College, Cambridge. - Thanks Bob for his 'beautiful' translations [in this year's "From the Shiffolds"]: the "Moretum" 'takes one into the classical peasant's life with an amused intimacy', but the Homeric "Hymn to Pan" is best in terms of poetry. Has read it several times, and will take it to Hallington; they are going there on Wednesday for Christmas, with 'all the grandchildren'. Humphry will see it there. Wishes Bob and his family a happy Christmas and New Year.

Gazeley. Trumpington, Cambridge. - Sorry to have taken so long to answer Bessie's letters, but is 'snowed under with scholarship examining'. No reviews [of R. C. Trevelyan's "Selected Poems" yet as far as he knows. Encloses two letters he has had from Ralph Wedgwood and the Provost [of King's College Cambridge, Sir John Sheppard] which he would like back eventually. Hopes to hear from [James] MacGibbon this week how the book has been selling.

Has not written for a few days, but has not had much news; all 'pretty well in spite of the cold'; hopes Bessie has been able to continue her 'short walks'. Went to Leith Hill Place yesterday and had a 'delightful talk' with [Leslie] Hotson, the 'scholar who has so many documents about Shakespeare and Marlow and their contemporaries'; used to know him in the Quakers Mission in France during the First World War, and he was also an old friend of Lascelles and Catherine [Abercrombie]. The Times Lit[erary] Supplement is sending him a book of translations from Greek poetry by F. L. Lucas for review ["Greek Poetry for Everyman"]; 'sure to be interesting', and much of it probably good; will keep him occupied for 'some time'. Thinks he has told Bessie about the dinner the [Apostles'] Society are giving in honour of him, George and Desmond [MacCarthy]; they have promised not to make Bob give a speech, so he can enjoy his dinner. May be his last visit to [George and Janet] at the Lodge [since George's time as Master of Trinity is nearly over]. Will see Humphry and G.E. M[oore]. Hopes to visit Bessie again soon when it is 'not quite so cold'. Wrote to Bertie [Russell] recently. Asks to be remembered to K.T. B[luth] and Theo.

Gazeley. Trumpington, Cambridge. - Would have been good to have the publishers listed with the titles [of R. C. Trevelyan's books in the forthcoming "Selected Poems", but is afraid he did not think of it.; sure Bessie need not worry about having her two copies charged to the royalties account; next time, as she says, she can get them through a bookseller. His family are all well, as is his mother.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Julian has just left; hopes he will get comfortably through the long journey. He had a 'great game' here last night with the others [his cousins]; will miss him very much. The H.Y.Ts [Henry Yates Thompsons] and Lord Bryce are coming today; will be good for Sir George to have company. The 'terrible news is so exciting and tiring'; Elizabeth must be anxious about the Netherlands. Janet and her children come on Friday. Feels 'very idle in all this turmoil' but actually is as busy as she can manage. Sends love to Robert; sure he will be as glad as Elizabeth to have Julian back.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Relieved to hear that it [an operation to remove Julian's tonsils] is 'well over'; she, and even Sir George, have been a little anxious. The pain will not last long; sure Julian will be 'philosophical' about it. The children have an extra weeks holiday in September; G[eorge] and J[anet] go to Robin Ghyll today and Monday, and come to Wallington on 6 September, so Elizabeth will have a week with them. Wonders how the three boys [Julian, Georgie and Humphry] will get on. Glad Elizabeth likes the home and the nurses.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Had not written, expecting to hear something definite about R[obert]; he is 'not going just yet' [to France to work for the Friends War Victims Relief Committee ]. Sorry Julian has not been well. If Robert goes this month, Elizabeth could bring Julian up to Wallington before he starts school. George arrived this morning; he is going to London on Monday and then hopes for some time in the lakes with his family. Very distressing news about Mrs Tovey [going into an asylum]; [Donald] Tovey will 'be "at a loose end" again in domestic matters'. Glad that Elizabeth has found a 'good home' for Miss B[arthorp, Julian's governess]. Miss Clarke has left so C[harles] and M[ary] 'have the children to themselves'; it will be hard work, but they seem happy. Janet and the children go to Robin Ghyll on Tuesday; the H[enry] Y[ates] T[hompson]s come a few days later. Sir George is not well, but it is not serious; he gets worried by change and visitors though 'in reality he likes it'. Asks Elizabeth to tell Julian that Humphry has caught a fish 'at last', and Georgie has shot a hare as well as rabbits

The Hague. - Agrees with Bob that he should not come over till mid-May, and does not think her uncle seriously wishes him to come earlier; does not understand why he is having friends to stay and going visiting again if he wants to get some more work done, but is glad he is going to see them. Thinks there will be plenty of time for business or visiting; they might go to Utrecht, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and would love to go with him to Heerde in Gelderland where her sister [Henriette] lives; will have to go there to see the children and her husband the doctor before she leaves, though her sister is probably coming to the wedding. Does not know where Bob left the bed catalogue; thinks she remembers seeing it last in Charles's room at Grosvenor Crescent; asks if they can order a softer mattress. Will measure her Dutch pillowcases tomorrow and send him the measurements; further discussion of fittings and furniture, and arrangements for packing and unpacking her things. Bob should ask his mother about what tie he should wear with his frock coat; Dutch husbands always wear white tie with their evening dress; thinks blue or green suit him if he is to choose a coloured tie. If the patent boots he wore to Roger [Fry]'s wedding are still good he can wear them again. Hopes he will soon hear from Mrs Pepper; 'what a name for a honeymoon lady!!'. Spent two nights at Almelo which were enjoyable but so hot she had difficulty sleeping; Jeanne [Salamonson Asser] very kindly tried to 'read her to sleep out of "Pilgrim's Progress"'. Then went to Amsterdam, where she helped Mien [Röntgen] arrange the flowers and table, before they went to the [Joachim] concert which was 'delightful beyond words'; they did a Haydn, Brahms and a Beethoven quartet. Then they returned for the supper party, at which '[Bob's] friend young Harold Joachim, the Oxford fellow' was present; he sat next to her at supper and seems a 'very nice fellow'; they had met once before at St Andrews when she thought him 'a strange odd person & was in great awe of him'. Thinks Harold wants her and Bob to come and see them at Haslemere when 'Uncle Jo' is staying with them; Bessie was at school with his sister. Tomorrow the quartet are in the Hague, and Harold is crossing by night so she has invited him to lunch. When healths were being drunk at the end of the meal and she went up to Joachim to touch glasses, he at once proposed 'Ihr Bräutigam' ['Your bridegroom']; he remembered that Bob's father had once taken him home in his carriage. On Tuesday she went to see her 'socialist sister [Theodora] and her husband [Herman Heijenbrock]' on their farm and enjoyed her day with them more than she had expected to; they are very happy together and she admires their convictions though they do not convince her.

Returns to the letter next day, before going to meet [Alice and Herbert] Jones. Is sure Bob would be 'amused' to meet the socialist couple, but he [Heijenbrock] does not know English so it would be no good. Then went to stay with the aunt who lives nearby; she is not a 'favourite' in their house and they do not see her often, but several of her sisters see her often; the aunt was very friendly but it is never pleasant to be there. Fortunately her daughter, Bessie's cousin, was also there. Found her uncle and aunt fairly well when she returned, but the house is in 'a horrible state' due to the repainting, and they both have a slight cold. Went to the station to meet the Jones and they did not appear; English visitors 'always change their plans at the last minute or miss trains... or don't wire in time' as is the case for the Joneses, who are now coming tomorrow. [Harold] Joachim also cannot come to lunch and is calling in the afternoon. [Joseph] Joachim is staying tonight with Mr [Nicolaas] Pierson, the Finance Minister, and his wife, who has invited Bessie to a select party this evening. Is going to the concert tomorrow night with Alice Jones; the Röntgens may also come. The cellist [Robert] Hausmann is 'a charming person, so refined and artistic'; talked to him the other night and he admired Bob's ring. Bob will get this letter when he comes up to London to see his father. She thinks he should bring any work she has not seen on their honeymoon, as they might not have much quiet time before the wedding. Understands that his 'literary ambition is not connected with [his] love' and thinks this is right. Last half page with pillowcase measurements.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Thanks Elizabeth for her letter; Bob's arrived on Sir George's birthday. Summer 'has come just in time for the haymaking'. Glad Elizabeth will be coming north in September; thinks it would be best for Bob to pay a short visit then come back for Elizabeth. Sir George 'now gets fussed at having visitors, especially men', but does like children in the house so they will enjoy seeing Julian. Does not know yet what they are doing after the end of October, but will like having Julian until then. Has seen so little of Elizabeth this year. Hopes Miss Barthorp [a new governess] will be nice; seems a good plan to have Lily for now. Difficult to think of Elizabeth's cousin [Jan Bastiaan Hubrecht] as a diplomat; supposes he will have a distant posting to begin with; hopes they have a safe crossing. Janet and the children left today for the Park. Agrees that it is interesting watching the girls grow up; Mary and Pauline are both very nice, though different. Thinks that girls are 'more intellectual than boys at that age'; regrets that it often 'turns the other way 10 years later'.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Very sorry to tell Elizabeth that 'the poor little twin [Hugh] cannot live'; his illness is meningitis; Dr Still [?] came from London but could do nothing. The one comfort is that he 'sleeps & has no pain'. Mary has little time to write; she and Charles will be deeply grieved as 'they are so wrapped up in the children'. Glad Julian is well; sure he will be 'more free & active' [after his operation] which will 'keep his liver in order; nice that he gardens. Hopes the 'Scotch governess' is suitable; thinks they are 'generally more ready for country life'. She and Sir George are both very busy; Dr [Cyril?] Burt has called on Sir George and thinks him 'wonderfully strong'. The 'Hawtry's' [sic: Ralph Hawtrey and his wife?] must be 'an amusing pair'; glad they are happy. Janet and the children are visiting next week; does not know if she has let her house.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Liked to think of Robert having seen 'dear Meta [Abel Smith]' at the home 'she so values'; thanks him for the news that Humphry is going to the Lake Hunt, and that Bessie's visit to the dentist will eventually benefit her. Sulla [eventual subject of a play by Robert] is 'indeed a great personage in the greatest of histories'. Has just finished the "Hellenica", after reading the "Anabasis"; considers it one of the 'great blessings' of his life that he kept Xenophon to read until he was a mature scholar. Has had a sharp and painful attack of illness, and is 'exceedingly weak'; hopes for Caroline's sake that he will manage to go to Washington, but 'age is really telling' on him at last. Notes in a postscript that he looked up Sulla in [Lemprière's ?] "Classical Dictionary", with 'sad interest' about his [lost] 'υπομνήματα' [memoirs].

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Thinks Elizabeth has come to 'the best & easiest & least expensive' decision about Julian; if she decides to 'take the chance of a Zeppelin raid' she must not think of it, and get his operation over as soon as possible. Tells her to let them know what the surgeon's fee and so on is, since Sir George is keen to help. Glad that Elizabeth has recovered. Julian's letters are 'very original'; Booa [Mary Prestwich] has just got one. Is sure he will like going to London, and he will not mind lying still as much as some children would. Janet's children seem to be well; they will spend the winter at Stocks Cottage and Janet will go up [to London] 'for her business'; she does a great deal and 'seems no worse for it'.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Hopes to hear that Elizabeth has arranged to take Julian to the sea, where if he is outside all day he 'may revive quickly'. Mary's nurse is back; hopes that Miss Clarke [the governess] will also return soon. The children are very good but 'a little wild, & want to get to work again'. Wallington seems very still with no children. Mary and Humphry will have their adenoids operated on next week, then go to spend the winter at Stocks Cottage, with Janet going 'up & down [to London]'. George writes very interestingly: 'it is a wonderful work, & he seems to have blossomed out into a most wonderful organizer'; sometimes he has to work eighteen or twenty hour stretches.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Comments below the date that it is the 55th anniversary of his and Caroline's wedding. "[The Fall of] Prince Florestan [of Monaco]" was undoubtedly written by [Sir Charles Wentworth] Dilke; it is a 'delicious little piece'; has a presentation copy signed from their 'friend, Florestan'. Very interested by what Robert says about his [translation of] "Theocritus", and about [Sophocles's] "Antigone"; this was always a 'known play' and he saw a translation on stage in London as a little boy, though he remembers nothing about it 'except the beautiful white dresses. Has been re-reading Velleius Paterculus, which would 'almost bear publishing' with his notes and 'still more with Macaulay's". Sorry about Julian; hopes it will 'turn out as favourably' as Robert expects; Mary Caroline's attack of mumps is more serious, and involves 'isolation of the family, and upsetting of plans'; Sir George fears it will spoil 'dear Humphry's prize-getting' which everyone had been looking forward to. Asks Robert in a footnote whether he has read Proust's "Recherché...", and tells him to see last week's ["Times] Literary Supplement".

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Begins mid-sentence with a reference to 'the easier plan of the two'. Glad Elizabeth feels well; asks if it is true that it is the cold weather she needs to be careful of. George 'has his destination and is setting up his hospital'; has had 'quite an enthusiastic reception from the Italians'. Mary and Humphry are still here; the weather is fine but 'autumnal'. Glad Miss Bouden [?] is feeling stronger; it is 'a very good thing'.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Sorry to hear that Julian is 'so unwell'; thinks Elizabeth ought to get him to the seaside at once. Mary and Humphry left this morning, better after their stay and sad to leave. Janet is staying with them at Stocks Cottage this winter, not in London. Asks if Dr Cornish thinks Julian's liver might be troubling him and causing 'the depression'; Booa [Mary Prestwich] thought he was 'a good colour' when he left. Mary has been without nurse and governess for a week; Pauline claims 'mother loves it', but Caroline thinks she is 'rather tired of it', despite her 'astounding energy'. Sir George sends his love and thanks Robert for his letter.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Good that Elizabeth got through the long journey well, and that Julian enjoyed himself here; his cousins [Mary and Humphry] are very sorry to have missed him; they have both grown and look well. The Cambo family [Charles and Mary] came back yesterday and all the children went to meet them: 'the road from the station was covered by a straggling line of Trevelyans!'. Janet 'makes the best of things but it is trying for her'. A separate sheet notes that they are amused to hear 'the Spencers two girls from Netherwitton' have gone to Miss Weisse's school; they are 'perfectly wild and have no manners'; also that they had a pleasant visit from Dr [Henry] Hadow last Sunday.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Is 'uneasy' about Elizabeth [who is pregnant]; sorry she was disappointed not to go to the meeting and agrees it is a nuisance to have to rest so much. Janet's children have had their tonsil operations; hopes they will soon be better. They are leaving London for the winter as it is not safe; hard on Janet since she has 'so much interesting & important work', but she 'will go up and down'. Hopes Julian is improving; the weather is bright and she wishes he were here. Is now 'acclimatized' to the cold. Miss Clarke [the governess] has returned and the children are working once more; Pauline is excited about her tenth birthday on Saturday.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Unsurprising that Robert's letter has taken eight days to come from Pisa to Stratford, 'two places that existed before steam or triple Alliances were invented'. Living 'from hand to mouth' [because of strikes] in a situation which will soon become very serious. George and family are here; they cycled to Kenilworth yesterday, and Caroline takes them to Charlecote this afternoon. He is 'confined to the house' by a severe cold and 'general indisposition', which he believes has been brought on by 'the public dangers of the last fortnight' [the Irish War of Independence, coal strike and rationing]; cannot put thought of these aside having once served in government. Caroline has heard regularly from Elizabeth.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Glad that Elizabeth has decided to take on Miss Boneleu and hopes Julian likes her; Janet's governess has turned out to be 'a great success'. Thinks an 'educated woman (however inexperienced)' will be easier to deal with. Asks when Elizabeth proposes to come to Wallington. Annie [Philips] comes on 12 August, and the Ilberts from 21-24 August. Charles and Mary are away for a few days from 25 August, and Kitty may stay at Wallington; Janet and the children come on 1 September. George and Janet visited on Sunday; George goes to Italy again this week to arrange about the ambulance; he says 'practical work & arrangements are not congenial' but she thinks he does it well, and he thinks it is the best he can do. A 'nice gentle little widow' is staying at Wallington, liked by both Caroline and Sir George. Sorry to hear Mrs Vaughan Williams still suffers from shingles: she should see a specialist; she herself still has some irritation from her outbreak.

27 Gledhow Gardens, London SW. - Will go to the premiere of [Trevelyan's] "Meleager" and [Sturge Moore's] "Medea" with [Austin?] Smyth and Maisie Marshall, a classical scholar, costume and set designer who 'clothes the Beecham Opera'. If Trevelyan, Bessie and Julian are free beforehand, he invites them to dine. Hopes Ronny Watkins won't send them home to commit suicide 'as he did the poor old woman' by reciting miserable poetry. He and Smyth saw the "Bacchae" [the Cambridge Greek Play] and enjoyed it very much; he congratulates Trevelyan for his nephew's part in it.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. -Winter has returned and the world is white again, but there has been a thaw today and he hopes it extends to Paris. Very interested in Robert's account of the 'local arrangements' of his organisation [the Friends War Victims Relief Committee]. Aunt Anna [Philips] much appreciated her visit to Shiffolds, and was glad to see the [Thomas Sturge] Moores. Julian seems to be doing his best to be a good schoolboy; very good that Robert and Elizabeth know so much about the school. Very good to have George back again, though he and Janet have 'the great worry and anxiety' of Humphry having scarlet fever; he is getting excellent care in an isolation hospital at Berkhamsted. Sir George is leading a quiet life and a happy, except for 'public, and above all general financial, and trade, anxieties'; is reading a good amount of the classics every day, and next month plans to read Lucretius in his uncle [Macaulay's] copy, which is 'very copiously annotated, and marked'. Has been reading so much about the Epicureans in [Cicero's] "De Natura Deorum" and "De Officiis" that his curiosity has been revived; like a man who has been reading [Pascal's] "Provincial Letters" and wants to know 'what the Jesuits have to say for themselves'.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Very interested in Julian's Latin: Sir George believes Latin and Greek 'are the best of all legacies'. Has just finished the twentieth book of the "Odyssey", the end of which is a 'marvellous masterpiece'. Agrees with Robert about translations of Aristophanes, and about Frere having 'gone nearest to the impossible'. Envies Elizabeth's stay at 14 Great College Street [Charles and Molly's house]. Greatly curious about Jan [?, i.e. Jan Bastiaan Hubrecht; possibly Jon or Joris], as 'the development of an interesting, and most remarkable, sire'. Caroline is taking better care of herself and is well; he himself must 'act [his] time of life'. George leaves tomorrow; the children will be able to see him off.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Very good to hear that Julian is 'so much at home in his school'; watching [his grandsons] George and Humphry and remembering his time at school in Hertfordshire makes him see 'a well ordered school is for good inn a way that nothing else supplies'. They expect George and family next week. Very interested in Robert's account of the 'Munitions fire'. The young men from the front must be shown 'very real consideration', such as that in the matter of leave shown towards the two Henderson [possibly Herdsman ?] brothers, one of whom used to work in the Wallington gardens but has now emigrated to Canada, who are serving on different sectors of the front. Is reading in the fourth book of Livy about the first military pay for the Romans. Thanks Robert for his translation from Lucretius, a 'noble looking "brochure"'; expects he has chosen the 'right verse' form. Must read the original again.

Plas Penrhyn, Penrhyndeudraeth, Merioneth. - Thanks Elizabeth for her letter and the enclosures, which he is glad to have [see 5/261]; does not criticize her at all for reading them. Very glad she has such nice things to say about his "Portraits from Memory". The Russells had been hoping that they would be able to visit the Shiffolds for the day when in London, but petrol rationing will make this harder; hopes this will not last forever.