Showing 36 results

8, Grosvenor Crescent, S.W. Lord's exeat. - Harrow were 'licked yesterday' [in the cricket match against Eton]. Spirits kept up by a 'very good lunch' with the Yates Thompsons; 'impossible to be depressed in the company of Dolly'. Went to the Royal Academy after the match, then went to see 'the Bastille taken' at Earl's Court; there were plenty of very pretty women, but he did not 'see any Turks'; he then took a 'water-toboggan' ride and went home. Wants to sends his pictures to Cambridge at the end of the term; asks what address at Trinity he should use; asks if Bob could put him up in Cambridge at the beginning of August to 'arrange business'; will go on 4 August to see Aunt Annie at Tunbridge Wells, and then to Wallington on Monday.

Harnham, Monument Green, Weybridge; forwarded on to Trevelyan c/o Mr H. Thompson, 19 Portman Sq[uare], London. - Bierstock is in the L.L. [London Library]. "War and Peace" 'runs into six [volumes?]'. Is coming to W[est] H[ackhurst] and would like to see Trevelyan. Is reading Jalal al din Rumi and likes him; asks if there is any one similar; Firdausi [Abu ʾl-Qasim Ferdowsi Tusi] is 'impossible'.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland; addressed to Bob at 29 Beaufort Street, Chelsea, and forwarded to the National Liberal Club. - Is glad the show [an art exhibition organised by Roger Fry] is coming to Cambridge; has only even seen prints and engravings; has written to [Arthur] Shipley. Bob won the battle [of toy soldiers]. Had 'two splendid days' stalking and driving grouse with Howey and Shade.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Glad Elizabeth has someone to nurse her, and hopes she will now improve and be able to get to the sea. Dreadful weather, with fog and mist; thinks there are floods. Mary is taking her first ride; finds her 'very nice and companionable'; [Humphry] is 'sweet, & still rather pathetic'. Thinks they go home on Saturday as G[eorge] and J[anet] are away for just a fortnight. The 'Kenyons of the BM, the H[enry] Y[ates] T[hompson]s and Nora [Trevelyan]' are coming for next Sunday. Would like to hear Julian say doctor; 'he will have to say 'baby' before long'.

3, Hare Court, Inner Temple. - His flowers could not be sent on Sunday; fears they will be all withered. Has written to her uncle. His father thinks Bob will be able to sign the papers on Wednesday afternoon and travel in the evening. Will try and see the Dutch consul tomorrow about the birth certificate, though will not be able to show him the copy till his father returns from Welcombe. Will leave things such as the books he has brought for their honeymoon in London; asks again whether he should bring his poems over. Sorry that he 'dare[s] not trust a Dutch hatter' and will buy one in London; ' does 'not consider any "foreigner" has a proper idea of a top hat, except one or two Parisians'. She should settle about the wedding luncheon with her uncle if she feels strongly [about not having it in the hotel]; it would certainly not be 'so homely and nice'; expects Bessie's aunt would be on her side. His mother's cousin Harry [Henry Yates] Thompson has sent them a seventeenth century book on Cambridge 'with prints of all the colleges', a marble paperweight and a silver apostle fork. Has Booa [Mary Prestwich]'s parcel; will bring [Ambro Hubrecht's] spectacles with him. Is going to spend his 'last real Bachelor evening' tomorrow with Tommy Phelps; they are going to see "Tannhäuser"; not a perfect production, but [Milka] Ternina, 'the finest opera actress [Bob] has yet seen', is singing.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - She and Sir George have had some good walks, despite the cold wind; are returning to London today where they will see Robert; hopes the business can all be settled so that he can be with Elizabeth on Thursday morning. Looking forward to staying at the Hague and meeting Elizabeth's family; expects soon to be able to let her know when C[harles] and G[eorge] will be there. The H[enry] Y[ates] Thompsons have sent a wedding present for each of them; note from Mrs Thompson 'to explain the butter dish' originally enclosed. Supposes Robert will open the parcel when he comes.

19 Portman Square, W. - Many congratulations on Robert's 'international match'; only got Robert's address from Mrs Dugdale yesterday so could not write sooner. Has asked 'every Dutch authority' he knows about Robert's fiancée - Lord Reay and Mrs Lecky - and thinks the 'world will say [Bob] is a wise poet'. Sends his and his wife's best wishes; asks Robert if he could send them a photograph, and whether the wedding will take place in the summer as his mother suggests. Envies him his visits to the Hague; there are 'some splendid illuminated MSS there!'. Postscript saying he is 'deadly pro-Boer', and wonders how Robert manages on that topic; hears Mrs Lecky 'leads her husband a life on that subject'.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Wonders if Elizabeth got to Tunbridge yesterday. The H[enry] Y[ates] Thompsons, Hilda and Audrey Trevelyan have been to stay; they had 'a "tea picnic" on Wednesday at the Gibbet'. Miss Martin came last night and is to stay for a long visit as she is 'quite "one of the family"; hopes Elizabeth will see her. As 6 Aug is Bank Holiday, would be best if Elizabeth and Robert keep to their first plan and come the week before; Friday would be best as the trains 'are terribly late on Saturday'. She should bring lots of music, as Heathcote Long is coming early in August and is a good musician. Audrey Trevelyan played 'very nicely' when she was here. Glad Elizabeth liked Dolmetsch, who is 'a genius in his way'. Asks how the Frys are, and whether they are coming north this year. Hopes the furniture is arrived, that things are getting settled, and that Robert can 'work comfortably'.

The Shiffolds. - Her 'delightful present' came this morning with her letter: the letters [of Robert Louis Stevenson?] are 'indeed a charming book in every way, both inside and out', and he has 'long wished to have a good edition', since he has only read them 'in a desultory way'. Of course 'this edition with the new letters must be far the best': he and Bessie are looking forward to reading it this summer, and Robert is 'very grateful... for so delightful a present'.

Is glad she has had a good time abroad; supposes the weather has 'changed for the worse now', and it is still 'very unsettled' here. Julian has taken to the new nurse 'without much difficulty'. He can now walk very well, and his cold seems almost to have gone.

Robert has been to two funerals recently: on Saturday he went to Haslemere for the funeral of 'old Mr [Henry Graham] Dakyns', who 'died suddenly', and on Monday to Eastbourne for Jonathan Sturges' funeral. Will 'miss Sturges a good deal' though cannot regret his death, since 'he had a very lonely life, and was usually more or less ill'. His death will be sad for Henry James, 'who was perhaps more intimate with him than with anyone else'. Mr Dakyns will also be 'much missed' by Robert and Bessie, and many of their friends.

Saw Charles briefly in London yesterday, who 'seemed very well, and cheerful'. His mother must go to the Grafton Gallery exhibition ['A Century of Art, 1810-1910'] when she returns: the 'Preraphaelites are especially well represented'.

Tovey now seems to be getting on well with 'Ariadne' [The Bride of Dionysus]; they hope he will be able to come to the Shiffolds near the end of July and stay for August. Röntgen has been setting several of Robert's poems for a chorus of women's voices; he has not sent them yet, but. 'they are sure to be interesting, as everything he does is'. Robert hopes to assemble a book of short poems and translations this autumn; thinks he has enough, especially if he includes the first act of his and Bessie's translation of Vondel's Lucifer.

Is very glad his parents have had 'such a restful time at Mürren'; lucky that the H[enry] Y[ates] T[hompson]s happened to be there as well. Sends love to his father.

A group of 63 letters received by J. R. M. Butler after publication, many from friends of H. M. Butler and J. R. M. Butler as well as members of his extended family. Some of the letters include personal recollections of H. M. Butler. Correspondents include Frances Anne Conybeare, W. J. Conybeare, D. H. S. Cranage, J. A. Cruikshank, Randall Davidson, Albinia Donaldson, T. Field, Edward Graham, Alan Gray, Charles Haddock, John Charles Hill, Sir Arthur Hort, David Macdonald, H. H. Montgomery, G. C. Moore Smith, Edith Wendell Osborne, R. St. John Parry, Godfrey Phillips, Ernest M. Pollock (Lord Hanworth), John Ross, Ronnie Ross, A. E. Shipley, Henry Yates Thompson, George Trevelyan, and P. N. Waggett.

Family correspondents include Sir Cyril K. Butler, Diana Butler, Dorothy Butler, E. M. B. Butler, Sir Geoffrey Butler, George Grey Butler, John Butler, Sir Montagu S. D. Butler, Ralph L. G. Butler, Marie Gray, Antonia Greenwood, Hugh Howson, David Morley-Fletcher, A. Francis Norman-Butler, C. L. Ramsay, G. M. N. Ramsay, Susan E. Ramsay, and Audrey Tower.

8 Grosvenor Crescent, S.W. - They are again having bad weather, but are all well, though Julian has a 'slight cold'. They are dining with the H[enry] Y[ates] Thompsons tonight, and may perhaps go on to Charles's At Home, where they will 'see plenty of politicians, and hear how things are going. The Estimates look very bad', with the 'only comfort' being that 'the stand made by the Treasury seems to have reduced them considerably'.

Was pleased by the review of his book [The New Parsifal] in the Times, by Clutton-Brock; likes to think his praise was 'justified'. As for Clutton-Brock's 'regrets' that Robert writes 'only for a small and hyper-cultured audience, no one shares them more completely' than Robert himself. However, if the opera [The Bride of Dionysus] he has written with Tovey is performed, 'as it probably soon will be in Germany', it is possible that they might collaborate again 'on a comic opera, which would have to be more on the scale of a Gilbert and Sullivan, or an Offenbach'. Robert's latest play, and Sisyphus, are 'too long and too elaborate for opera'. For the present, though, he and Tovey are both busy with other things.

It was a 'great pleasure' to him that his father liked Parsifal so much. He and Bessie are very glad to hear that his father's book [George III and Charles Fox] is finished; Robert looks forward to 'reading it as a whole'. Bessie sends love.

Harnham, Monument Green, Weybridge. - Hopes to see Trevelyan while at his aunt's, between the 12th-26th. Notes that there were no Trevelyans at the [Apostles'] dinner this year, which he enjoyed, although except for Yates Thompson's the speeches were bad. Needs to return Trevelyan's copy of Heredia, which he liked, and would like to borrow more books: has promised to write a paper about 'Mat Arnold', which is likely to be more sympathetic than might be expected. Asks if there is a life or 'anything the least indiscreet' published about him. His mother has been to Harrogate for a month for her health, and he was with her half the time.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Envies Robert going to dine at 19 Portman Square [home of the Yates Thompsons]; they have 'delightful letters' from her. Agrees that the estimates [of expenditure for the forthcoming Budget] are 'shocking'. Was also pleased with the review of "Parsival" [Robert's "The New Parsifal"] in the "Times". Asks if [Arthur?] Clutton-Brock 'is the same as' Charles Brock, and calls this 'an Irish form of construction' which he 'picked up as Irish Secretary'. Has been reading all of Samuel Butler's notebooks since his illness. Glad Julian only has a slight cold, and that Elizabeth and Robert are enjoying London. Is correcting the early part of his book, and has cut out 'at least ten pages of type'.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Glad to hear the news of the 'Pinewood relations [the Knutsfords]; sure they are happy to have made it up with L[ionel?], though she does not understand quite 'how things stand about him'. Expects Dolmetsch is 'very interesting to talk to about music'; he has a 'touch of genius'; asks if his 'money difficulties' are settled. Sent some game on Thursday as it was the last grouse shooting on Wednesday and Sir George thought they should go; they should be eaten quite soon. Expecting the H[enry] Y[ates] Thompsons and R[obin] Mayor today; Charles leaves on Monday and G[eorge] on Tuesday. Glad Elizabeth has recovered; 'curious how hurtful fruit seems'. George read an extract from his history yesterday, which they 'all thought very good'. Hopes Robert is refreshed by his 'outing this week'.

Trinity:- Is glad that his father's 'Committee has not miscarried', and hopes it 'will not be unproductive and without issue'. Has not had time to 'follow political developments closely', but read Asquith's speech 'with great interest and approval'. Harry [Yates] Thompson and Dolly were at Trinity yesterday to stay with the Master. Thompson 'turned up' in Robert's room at 10 a.m. as he 'was dressing for a late Sunday breakfast', and found him 'covered by just that amount of clothing in which Nelson's sailors fought at the Nile and Trafalgar'.

Robert also saw Thompson at [Henry?] Jackson's after hall. There was discussion of the [Apostle's?] dinner, which will be on 20 June: they are 'for obvious reasons, very anxious to get a good attendance this time' and will try to get infrequent participants to come. Asks his father to 'use [his] powers of persuasion' if he meets anyone in the House of Commons or elsewhere 'who might perhaps come without it'. They are 'anxious to know [C. H.] Tawney's address'; asks his father to send it to him if he knows it, or 'tell [James] Parker Smith, the president'. Welldon has been asked, and Robert hopes he will 'turn up'. Asks whether Lord Carlisle every comes. The 'Chancellor [of the Exchequer] is for various reasons we fear impossible'.

Asks whether all is well at home. Chanced to see 'an energetic counter-attack of C[harles] upon [Edward?] Stanley', but has not 'seen the provocation'; supposes Charles will keep it so Robert will be able to see it in London. Is staying inside all today with 'a cold in the head of the kind that makes one very stupid', but is otherwise well. George is speaking tomorrow 'on Disestablishment'; he 'must speak at least once a term, as he is now on the committee'; he is well, and 'thoroughly engrossed in his work'. Robert sends his love to his mother, whom he proposes to call 'Matuschka' in future. Harry Thompson says the Master 'ate something that did not agree with him at the Saturday dinner, and has to keep to his bed all Sunday from indigestion'.

Wallington, Cambo, Morpeth. - Most interested to have Robert's definite arrangements [for his work in France with the Friends War Victims Relief Committee]. Very sorry about the Toveys' 'calamity' [Grettie Tovey going into an asylum]; would have been most surprised if they did not know from experience 'how definite a physical illness mental disturbance is' and that the 'most helpful and strong-minded people' can be subject to it; hopes for the best for them both. H[enry] Y[ates] T[hompson] and Dolly are visiting. Was very sorry to finish Aulus Gellius.

29 Beaufort St, Chelsea [on headed notepaper for the National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place S. W.]:- Thanks his parents for their 'joint letter'. The weather here has suddenly turned 'almost absolutely perfect, at least for December', and the 'nights are wonderfully lighted by this full moon'. Florence must be 'gorgeous by moonlight'; wonders if they ever go to 'the portico where the David used to be and think of the poor painter of Henry James' Madonna of the Future, who was found there by night', but expects they go to bed 'quite early'. Dined recently with the [Yates] Thompsons, and Harry 'pretended to be indignant' that the Trevelyans had not gone to a hotel he had recommended; he 'was in a familiar, you-be-damned sort of mood', since there was no-one there but the Wilberforces, Spring Rice and Robert. Dolly 'had to reprove him for swearing at table before his guests'; thinks 'the Canon was rather shocked by his way of going on'.

[Edward Ernest] Bowen has given a 'lecture to the school [Harrow] upon the American Secession & Civil War', speaking 'for nearly two hours without becoming embarrassed or stumbling over a single word'; they say that throughout 'the excitement was so intense that you could have heard a fly's buzz'. At the end 'they got up and cheered him till it was thought they would never stop. They had not realised before what he was'. [Roger] Fry has a commission to paint 'a certain Smith Barry, the brother of the notorious M.P'. He has almost finished his lectures; he set 'certain passages in Browning's Fra Lippo to be annotated', which contain 'several bad blunders as to dates etc': '[m]ost of the young ladies trip up prettily into these pitfalls, taking it for granted that Browning must be right.

Robert 'quite agree[s] about Dante's deliberate purpose of making a great literary success', though thinks this would be 'indignantly repudiated by most of his idolaters'. It is 'very dull' in England at the moment; as far as Robert can tell people talk of 'nothing but Armenians.[a reference to the massacres in the Ottoman Empire]... and the Vailima letters [written by Robert Louis Stevenson to Sidney Colvin between 1890 and 1894, and recently published]'.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Will instruct Drummond to pay fifty pounds into Robert's account as he did last year. Harry Thompson, his wife, and a niece are here, as well as George's friend [Robin] Mayor. Charles is going away on visits tomorrow; George and Mayor set off on food on Tuesday. Asks Robert to remind him of the 'very apt quotation' which was a parallel to 'Unde pares somnos' [Lucan "Pharsalia", 28]. Lord Ridley is coming to shoot, and he wants 'to prove to him that his brother [Sir Edward Ridley] was wrong'; there is a note by Grotius in Sir George's old 1669 edition which has it right. Life is generally quiet; he and Caroline are reading Carlyle's early letters; it is interesting to see 'all his great literary qualities in a vigorous but ordinary style'.

Explains that he put off writing to Young until it had been decided whether or not Everett should be elected to 'the [Apostles] Society'. Announces that he had been accepted, and refers to him as 'a very clever man.' Refers to his declaration as 'very extravagant and Americans' and reports that 'old Martin was astonished.' States that now Trevelyan, Thompson and Jebb are gone down, a new and rather striking element is needed. Reports on recent discussions, including Trevelyan's speech criticising young men who give up their early ambitions and become schoolmasters. The latter being 'all for the edification of Fisher'. Remarks that Heathcote is 'still rather below the average of an Apostle but still he is improving.' Reports that there has been nothing heretical so far. Declares that he wishes to relieve himself of the charge of having recommended Goldwin Smith as a heretical work. States that it always gives him indigestion to read the Quarterly Review. Refers to the controversy between G. Smith and Mansel, which 'is rather metaphysical than theological'. Agrees with Young that illness has the effect of clearing away doubts. Declares that '[t]he Union is falling again rather'. [Incomplete]

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. - Very sweet of Bob to send the flowers, though they have not yet arrived, and the 'dear' letter about them. Hopes the high wind drops before his crossing; will sympathise if it does not and he puts off travelling, but he must wire to let her know. Her uncle received Bob and his father's letters this morning; thinks everything will come right with the papers. Wrong of Bob 'not to trust a Dutch hatter'; she finds out 'more and more what an insular mind' he has; jokes that there is still time for her to change her mind about marrying him. Thinks her uncle has decided to give the wedding luncheon at the hotel; this does seem more convenient, though 'one nasty side' remains. There has been 'an absurd though rather nasty misunderstanding about the plan again' which she will tell him about later if necessary; her aunt is on her uncle's side as ever on the matter. Mr [Henry Yates] Thompson's presents sound very nice, particularly the Cambridge book. Hopes Bob enjoys "Tannhauser"; it is her least favourite of the music by Wagner she has heard. Would like to see at least some of the poetry he has been working on, and certainly his play. Bob says he sent her "Mallow and Asphodel" last summer; in fact he gave her his book in November when he had come on their 'Vondling expedition'; remembers the 'sweet confusion & doubt' they felt then, which has now become love. Finishes off the letter later, after going with her aunt to try on the wedding dress, which is 'very gorgeous & splendid'.

Kings Coll Camb. - Thanks Trevelyan for sending the "Antigone": thinks the choral rhythms are good and could be an interesting influence for English poets. Thompson has been trying his own translation of the play, and Dickinson will send him Trevelyan's to compare. Wishes that Sheppard had more interest in reproducing the original rhythms in the Cambridge Greek Plays. Beryl de Zoete wants to train the next chorus, but also does not seem to be planning Greek rhythms. Death of [Edmund Dene] Morel is very sad. Is 'very gloomy' about Egypt, and about Lord Cecil; comments scathingly on English morals. Has got to 'the last month' in his work ["The International Anarchy, 1904-1918"] which is complicated but he thinks unimportant 'since the war was already there waiting for years before'.

Letters dated 10 Nov. 1864 and 4 and 9 June 1908.

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.

In the hand of his wife E. A. M. Thompson, but signed by H. Y. T.

19 Portman Square, W. - Congratulations on Robert's engagement; says it is natural that the 'impulsive Poet should go off before either the prudent Political Economist [Charles] or the pre-occupied historian [George]', and that 'a Dutch daughter in law is an excellent possession', he 'long[s]' to see her.

8 Grosvenor Crescent, S.W. - The wedding [between George and Janet Trevelyan] is over, and now the family is 'all married'; wishes Robert and Elizabeth had been there as it was a nice, well arranged occasion. She, Sir George, and Booa [Mary Prestwich] arrived by train in Oxford just in time for the Registry, which was 'in a shabby little first floor room', made nice with 'carpet & flowers' but much inferior to the Hague; description of the short ceremony there, with only the 'nearest relations' and some of George's friends. They then went to [Manchester] College to meet the friends who had just arrived by special train from London. The chapel is 'extremely pretty, with lovely Burne-Jones windows'. Order of service originally enclosed; describes the address, in which 'there was nothing the least doctrinal, but it was very high toned & 'ethical'". Many guests, including Meggy [Price], Annie [Philips], Harry Greg, 'a number of Wards & Arnolds & Croppers', the 'H.Y.T.s' [Harry Yates Thompson and his wife], 'the Bell connection, & the Stanleys in numbers'. Also Mrs [Alice] Green, Henry James, 'Ritchies, Freshfields, Sidgwicks, Mr [Hugh?] Clifford, the Holman Hunts, Russells, Muggins Runcimans', many Oxford people and 'an array of George's friends'.

They then went into the library, a 'fine room with beautiful woodwork, & painted windows, & a statue of Dr [James] Martineau' for tea, took the special train back and were in London by 6 pm. Sir George was unwell with a bad cold for two days before, but got through; it was a warm day and he does not seem worse this morning. George and Janet went to 'a quiet place in Surrey' for a few days then on to Cornwall; will then return to London to 'put their house in order & go abroad'. Describes Janet's wedding dress and travelling dress.

Received the box of things from Taormina yesterday [see 11/93]; 'very nice, & just suitable for a bazaar'; will write and thank Madame Grandmont [Bramine Hubrecht] for ordering them. Sir George sends love, and thanks for Robert's last letter; he is reading Lord Acton's letters 'with amusement and interest', having had to stop work for a while; she thinks 'working too long at the B.M. [British Museum] made him ill' and is 'sure it is full of germs'. Charles and Mary were 'much to the front' at the wedding, and Mary looked 'magnificent'; dined with them last week in North Street, where everything is arranged nicely. Supposes Robert and Elizabeth will return to lots of business about the new house and hopes it goes well: 'the old judge [Sir Roland Vaughan Williams] has had plenty more time to think it over'. Sir John Swinburne's engagement has been broken off. Hester Lyttelton and Victoria Buxton are both going to be married.