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Harnham, Monument Green, Weybridge. - He and Masood have been at W[est] H[ackhurst]; heard that the Trevelyans were away in the Post Office when about to send a telegram to them.

Bankipore. - Received his mother's last letter at Benares, with one written by Bessie from the train to Wallington. They are stopping here for three nights on the way to Calcutta, staying with [Syed Ross] Masood, a 'young Mohammedan Barrister' whom he has met before several times in England, a friend of [E.M.] Forster's, and who is 'clever and artistic'. There is not much to see here; Patna, of which Bankipore is a suburb, is 'the most sordid, horrible and slummy place' they have seen yet in India, with little remaining to be seen of Pataliputra. They will go to Gaya for the day tomorrow, to see Buddha's Bo tree; tells his mother how to pronounce 'Buddha'. They will stay two or three weeks at Calcutta, perhaps visit Darjeeling for a few nights, then go south to Madras. Is very well, as is [Goldsworthy Lowes] Dickinson now; they parted company with Forster at Chhatarpur. Benares is a 'wonderful place', where they made friends with a mystic, 'a charming man, with a charming, but fantastic, philosophy'. Thanks his mother for all the news about Julian, who seems to be doing very well; it was good that he could stay so long at Wallington. Bessie seems to have had a very good time in the Netherlands; is glad that she is getting on so well with the Bottomleys and that the Shiffolds seems to be suiting them. Still quite cold here at nights; rather like Rome or Florence in December, except with no rain. They just missed seeing [Ekai] Kawaguchi, the Japanese traveller in Tibet, who lives in Benares learning Sanskrit but has gone away for a few days; Robert is 'very much disappointed'. Montagu [Edwin Montagu, British Secretary of State for India] arrived at Benares the day they left; they were invited to a party to meet him but could not stay. Politics seem to be going better now; hopes the [First Balkan] war can be settled soon. Always reads the "Manchester Guardian" and "Nation", which arrive weekly; the news is 'stale' but better than the 'very poor telegrams' in the Indian newspapers. Sends love to his father; supposes his parents will be at Welcombe by now.

21, Theatre Road, Calcutta (on University of Calcutta printed notepaper). - If Trevelyan thinks the "Acacia Tree" is below standard, he should not print it: Suhrawardy has sent it because of [A.E.] Coppard's letter and because Aldous Huxley had liked it and included it in his 'first literary venture' [the "Palatine Review", see 6/124]. Was worried in case the book would seem 'amateurishly slight'. Is upset because he has had a letter today from [Marie] Germanova saying they [she and her husband Kalitinsky] are going to move to a small three-roomed flat and let 14 Nungesser et Coli, saving less than fifteen pounds a year; he wants them to live as comfortably as they can since they are 'all three' [including the dog, Rex] old. For their last days there, they will have Bev and [their son] Andrée there, as well as his own nephew who has finished his school at Hastings and Germanova's nephew from Russia. Is so glad Julian and Ursula went to see them. Asks if there is still time to get three hundred copies of the poems instead of two hundred: it may be possible to sell some; only wants two hundred to be bound. Calcutta 'humming with political excitement' about the Andaman convicts on hunger strike; students are out in the streets protesting against the government, in which his brother (whom Trevelyan once met) is the Labour Minister. Asks how Bessie's eyes are, and whether Trevelyan had heard of Ross Masood's sudden death; he was [E.M.] Forster's friend.

West Hackhurst, Abinger Hammer, Dorking. - Asks if Masood's cousin could stay at the Trevelyans to recuperate after influenza, as Forster's 'domestic coils' make it impossible for him to do so. He is a nice youth 'but will not talk'.

Cutting from the "New Statesman and Nation", 22 Oct 1938, containing a poem, "To G. Lowes Dickinson" by R. C. Trevelyan; cutting from "The Times", 4 Aug 1932, with an obituary of Dickinson; two cuttings of an obituary letter by E. M. Forster ["The Times", 6 Aug 1932]; cutting of an obituary letter by Syed Ross Masood ["The Times, 9 Aug 1932]; cutting from unknown paper memorialising Dickinson under the headings "A Cambridge Humanist" and "The Cambridge Spirit".

P.O. - Moradpore, Bankipore. - Thanks Dickinson for his letter. Afraid he cannot meet Dickinson in Benares as he is working on a case and 'as a Junior cannot afford to put it off'. Leaves Bankipore on the 23rd, and goes to Aligarh for 7 days over the Christmas holidays; tells Dickinson to come and stay with him 'for at least a couple of days', as he looks forward 'so much to having you both [Dickinson and Trevelyan] here'. Afraid they will 'have to put up with a little discomfort', but is sure they 'won't mind that'. He can promise them a 'real glimpse of India including a singing party'. Any day after the 14th will suit him, but Dickinson should wire him.

'Note [in red pencil] Bankipore is your station and not Patna'. Gives his address for the wire as 'Masood, Barrister, Moradpore, Bankipore'. Is living in a 'very quaintly situated house', which would be a 'novelty' for them. Signs off 'Do do come', and adds 'Kindest regards to Trevelyan' in a postscript.

P.O. Moradpore, Bankipore. - Thanks Trevelyan for the letter and introductions, though he will not use them, since 'tapirs and Tagores tempt terribly, but samples of either can be met in England' and he wishes to stay in one place until going to the bathing festival at Allahabad. Is having trouble about his passage home and may have to sail from Karachi; Goodall (who was not at Calcutta to see Trevelyan) is dealing with it. Hopes Trevelyan is enjoying Southern India. Bankipore scenery 'quite tropical' because of the toddy palms and malaria-melons; Forster finds the place 'foul' but there is enough going on to amuse him. Likes [Charles] Russell, of Patna College, who has lent him Hiouen Tsang [Xuanzang], Johnstone (whom Trevelyan has dined with), and the Raja of Canika, who is here for the opening of the council. Masood thanks Trevelyan and Dickinson for their messages. Hopes the Karamazov family [Dostoevsky, "The Brothers Karamazov"] have arrived; he sent them to Madras,

Harnham, Monument Green, Weybridge. - Asks if Trevelyan could lend him some books as the L[ondon] L[ibrary] has failed him; would like some of: Jean Christophe [by Romain Rolland]; Butler's "Life or Habit" [sic: "Life and Habit", Samuel Butler], "Luck or Cunning" and "Evolution Old and New"; Dostoieffsky, "Les Possédés" [Dostoevsky, "Demons"] but not "L'Idiote" as he jokingly says he has 'déjà stucké dans le'. Asks if Trevelyan has read Gertrude Bone's "Women of the Country"; thinks Miss Mayor's book [F.M. Mayor, "The Third Miss Symons"?] is also good. Asks what Trevelyan thinks of Mrs Cornford's "Morality" [Frances Cornford, "Death and the Princess: A Morality"]: he found the middle dull but the end beautiful. Masood is marrying the niece of Sultan Ahmed Khan. Is going to visit Mrs [Hope] Wedgwood at Idlerocks in Staffordshire, then to Meredith in Ireland.

52 Elmwood Avenue. - Masood has left; he has written on Urdu poetry for the "Athenaeum"; Forster gives his address. Received Trevelyan's letter at Edinburgh; he and Mrs [Florence] Barger, when on a walk in the Pentlands, found an arrangement of stones forming the initials 'G.M.T' which they altered to 'R.C.T'. Hopes Trevelyan had a good time in Spain; will be at West Hackhurst at some point so may see him. Caught the Glasgow boat to Belfast to stay with [Hugh Owen] Meredith, though fears 'the birth of god will be disarranging the traffic' on his return.

City of Birmingham [ship: 'Port Said' written then crossed through]. - Will arrive in Bombay tomorrow morning, but have 'already seen a bit of India': some butterflies blown out to sea by the wind. They have had a good voyage since Messina, and have 'suffered very little from heat'. Is writing to Bessie at the Shiffolds, where she will be if the Bottomleys [Gordon and Emily] went there on the intended date, though she may be in the Netherlands by the time the letter arrives; heard from her at Port Said. He and his companions did not know then how serious 'the trouble in Turkey [the beginning of the First Balkan War] might be', only that Montenegro had declared war and Greece was likely to; will be interesting to see the newspapers in India. Hears the next mail to England will leave on Friday, so he will wait till they reach Bombay to finish this letter. Will be glad when the voyage ends, as he is 'heartily tired of most of [his] fellow-passengers', though some are interesting, like [Kenneth] Searight, a young officer they will see again at Peshawar.

Continues the letter on 24 October. They have been in Bombay two nights and leave tomorrow; the weather is 'good and not too hot'. [E.M.] Forster has gone to visit his Indian friend [Syed Ross] Masood in Alighur, and will meet them again at Lahore around 2 November. Is going to Ellora for a few days tomorrow, then to Ajanta, then on to Lahore; Robert will stay there with his Harrow friend Stow and [Goldsworthy Lowes] Dickinson with another friend. They will spend a week or more there and at Peshawar. Hard to say much about what he has seen of India so far, the 'people are always interesting, and the town usually so, though the show buildings are ugly'. Finds 'the scenery round the harbour' as 'fine as Naples', in a different way, and the light 'more beautiful than anything... in Europe, especially in the evening'. Only sees English people in 'Cook's [travel agency]... and the Army & Navy Stores', but 'plenty of Eurasians, and Parsees in odd-shaped black top-hats' who 'own most of Bombay' and are said to be 'generous and public-spirited'. They passed their 'burial-towers today' and saw the vultures in the trees nearby. Went to Elephanta Island this afternoon, which was well worth seeing.