Chesneye, King’s Road, Lee-on-Solent.—Praises his Editorial Problem in Shakespeare and refers to her work for the Fleet Air Arm.
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Transcript
Chesneye, King’s Road, Lee-on-Solent.
27.12.42.
My dear Walter,
I have had it in mind this long time to write to you, first to thank you for your “Editorial Problem”, & second to tell you my whereabouts. But I am an incorrigibly bad correspondent, & then too, I wanted to finish reading your book, which I haven’t done yet! That is no reflection on it, which I find wholly admirable. And it was, in my opinion, very badly needed. Mr McKerrow’s “Prolegomena”, while fine in many ways, was capable of leading the young sadly astray.
And now I have to thank you equally sincerely but in a very different plane for the little book about Scotland. The pictures are enchanting, & it is good to be remembered by old friends. I know the adage about a gift-horse, so I will refrain from comment on the text!
I finally got back to work at the end of October, and after a peripatetic month, I settled down here to do drafting for the specialized locals at R.N. Air Stations all over the country. It is an interesting job, for the Fleet Air Arm is developing at a great rate, & so far a light one. My health is positively rude & I am living a very easy life.
Unfortunately Lee is very inaccessible. The ferry from Portsmouth to Gosport & then an infrequent & crowded bus is the best transport; otherwise you have to pay 7/6 for a taxi to Fareham, where you get only a slow train. Nevertheless, I hope to get to River when the days grow longer.
Please give Betty my love, & this brings all of you warmest good wishes for 1943, a year which really ought to bring us appreciably nearer peace.
As ever affectionately,
Eleanore