[St Paul Seminary, St Paul, Minnesota.]—Is sorry he was unable to see Smith in New York, and apologises for appearing pessimistic about England. Today was the first registration for conscription, but he will not be able to declare himself as a conscientious objector till later, if at all. Is reading Stratmann’s 'The Church and War' and is trying to get hold of Gerald Vann’s book ['Morality and War']. Will send him the 'Catholic Worker'. Is expecting things to go well at the seminary, but a homecoming of old priests and a visit by the editor of the 'Irish Literary Review', ‘the worst sort of Bloomsbury man’, provoked personal crises. Recommends Berdyaev’s 'The Bourgeois Mind'. Is cheered by the contempt with which the other seminarians treat the compulsory course in education. Leavis’s article in September’s 'Scrutiny' shows that he is becoming increasingly discontent with his position of ‘standardless “strenuous centrality”’. Is praying for Leavis and for [F. W.] Bradbrook. Admits the justice of Queenie [Leavis]’s remarks on the ‘Catholic covert apologist’, as treated by Orwell, and refers to the cliquishness of the ‘Martindale–Ronald Knox group’. Asks for prayers in support of his desire to become a priest, and encourages Smith to consider the same step. Wilfrid is married and Dennis is consoling himself with gardening. Bewley now finds 'Scrutiny' even more justified than he did at Downing, but he would not want the ‘longingness’ with which he looks back to be fulfilled. Smith’s advice has helped him in his struggles with his attitude towards the Church. Is considering going into a third order with the Dominicans. Reiterates the archbishop’s plans for him [see 1/8]. Asks how long Smith will be in Venezuela, and suggests he consider joining the priesthood in America.
Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Is touched by Smith’s frankness and by his sufferings. Suggests he would be strengthened by a visit to Downside. Dom Christopher Butler has been elected abbot. Hopes that Smith will put a paper together on Chaucer for the Literary Society. Is attracted by C. S. Lewis’s popular theology, but mistrusts him when he goes outside natural theology. Many of the writers he used to reject as worthless when he was a ‘rigid Leavisian’ he has since found helpful. Discusses the appeal of remarks by Lewis on The Merchant of Venice. Is disgusted by the ‘Eliot review’ [a review of Preston’s 'Four Quartets’ Rehearsed] in Scrutiny. Thanks him for his comments on the offprints. Sheed and Ward have agreed to publish an anthology of recusant prose, if he produces one. Asks for advice on the scheme of the book. Is sorry to hear that Parker is ill. Has not yet read Parker’s book. Thanks him for offering to call on Birrell.
Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Sends Christmas greetings. Asks whether the pupils came, and invites him to come and stay. Has sent Leavis a copy of the French Catholic journal La Vie intellectuelle, containing a discussion of Scrutiny. Hopes to return to his work on the recusants when term ends. Encourages Smith to write something on Chaucer, and praises J. C. Maxwell’s survey of the criticism of Measure for Measure in the Downside Review.
Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Hopes that Smith gets the Fribourg chair. Has had a bad cold, which has affected his sinuses and jaw. Is delighted that [Godfrey] Lienhardt is under instruction. Asks whether the other young man, who has written some impressive letters to Dom Sebastian, is called Ernst. ‘Downing must fairly swarm with Papists now. I wish that meant that Leavis was nearer the Church.’ Refers to Leavis’s reception of the article in La Vie intellectuelle and to Smith’s own evaluation of it. Has arranged for Smith to receive the [Downing] Review. Discusses J. C. Maxwell’s career and character. Dom Illtyd is thinking of sending Maxwell’s article to Leavis. ‘I hope the result won’t be a violent outburst from Queenie on the ineptitude of “Christian Discriminators”!’. Suggests Smith should contribute something on the ‘misdirection of research in medieval things’ he mentioned in his letter. Has found a number of Latin tags used by Skelton in Dom Aelred [Watkin]’s 1537 Sarum Prymer. Appreciates his remarks on the recusants. Invites him to stay.
Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Has recovered from his sinus trouble. Asks Smith’s opinion of the [Downing] Review and discusses some of the contents. Reiterates his approval of Maxwell’s article, with its ‘daring strictures’ on Leavis’s style. Urges Smith to contribute something. Leavis has written thanking him for La Vie intellectuelle and criticising the eclecticism of the Criterion. Agrees that Leavis is no nearer the Church. Is sorry Smith was disappointed by the ‘Gilbey lectures’ [probably lectures by Thomas Gilby], but maintains that there are some genuinely learned English Dominicans, including his friend Kenelm Foster. As the personnel of St Michael’s have changed, except for Gerard Meath, he supposes the lectures will not continue. Agrees that the ‘aridly polemical tone’ of English sixteenth-century controversial literature compares poorly with the breadth of devotional and theological life of the Cloud of Unknowing. Asks whether he should start compiling a prose anthology of the recusants or continue working towards a book by writing occasional articles.
110 Banbury Road, Oxford.—Discusses the section of his translation of the «Hypnerotomachia» which he sent to Smith. Wishes he had told him of the job at the British Institute in Florence which Bottrall got. Is glad that Leavis is being helpful; ‘there is much to be said for the Cambridge throw’. Asks whether Smith has thought of writing for the Daily Worker or Reynold’s News. He now has to turn his mind to religious poetry [in preparation for next term’s lectures], in order to have time to go to Parma and Florence to research Enea Vico.
110 Banbury Road, Oxford.—Is glad that things are going well, if slowly, at Cambridge. Will come over after the end of term. When he was there last year Vincent [not identified] showed him the new [university] library and he briefly met Leavis. Discusses paintings he saw in Italy, by Correggio and others. Criticises The Times’s interpretation of recent by-election results.
110 Banbury Road, Oxford.—Sends the text of his first two lectures. Has come to the view that Petrarch’s Latin works are his most important, and that he should prepare a short study of the subject. Is glad that Leavis is being helpful and hopes that Smith has been able to get some students from Wilson. Refers to his own tutorials. Thanks him for the confidential news of Bottrall. ‘I imagined that Goad was strongly entrenched in a policy of dolce far niente, but they did hope that Bottrall would push him out, instead of vice versa.’ His discovery of the Dürer has improved his position at the university. Agrees with the point about ‘opportunity’: ‘there was no enthusiasm in Italy to fight for Hitler, and the fear of the Brenner frontier and the Balkan drive may well send Italy into the Allied camp again’.
[Excelsior Springs, Missouri.]—Qualifies the criticisms of the Church expressed in his last letter. Is returning to the seminary tomorrow in a state of distress arising from apparent trivialities, such as the ‘stupidity’ of the studies and the objectionable characters of the priests. Is praying that during the last half of the [academic] year an alternative will present itself that will take him out of America. Has read some of Hugh MacDiarmid’s poetry, but found it sickening. Birch Moody has moved to the medical corps, Wilfrid and Dennis are living quietly, and Bayliss, who was sent down for a drunken episode, is doing forestry work. The few of Leavis’s undergraduates who remain in Cambridge are miserable.
Notes by J. Bennett on "F. R. Leavis: A Biography" by Ronald Hayman in the new review, Oct. 1975, accompanied by photocopies of cuttings by and about F. R. Leavis published in the TLS, Books and writers, and Encounter; and a copy of a typescript by Lord Annan in support of an article written by John Harvey.
Bennett, Joan (1896-1986), née Frankau, literary scholar[St Paul Seminary, St Paul, Minnesota.]—Thanks him for his advice. Promises to do nothing rash, but finds it hard to be away from literature so much. Agrees with Smith’s criticisms of 'Scrutiny' and Leavis. ‘Leavis has addressed the world so long on the question “Brother, are you saved (literarily)?” that he’s crippled his own achievement, and filled all his undergraduates with an illusory sense of pre-election.’ Criticises Miss [M. C.] Bradbrook’s analysis of Marvell’s ‘To His Coy Mistress’, and discusses Eliot’s last poem ['East Coker'], a Picasso exhibition, and Maritain’s 'Degrees of Knowledge'. Has learnt from 'Scrutiny' that Smith is working on 'Macbeth', and encourages him to continue with his writing. Is thinking of trying to get a fellowship at Harvard, seeing that John Berryman, who writes ‘impossibly bad poetry’, has got one. [Mortimer] Adler lectured at the seminary yesterday on ‘the intellectual and moral virtues in their relation to a liberal education’. ‘He’s unmistakably the “Bleistien [sic] with a cigar” type of Jew who takes St Thomas apart and puts him together again like a mechanic.’ Defends his interest in St John of the Cross.
St Paul Seminary, 2200 Grand Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota.—Has come to believe that his difficulties at the seminary are due to his own ignorance rather than any major defects in the place. Discusses the work of D. H. Lawrence, with reference to St John of the Cross. Recommends Van Wyck Brooks’s observations on Henry James. Has written to Matthiessen at Harvard in hopes of getting a fellowship. Matthiessen’s remarks on Leavis in 'The Achievement of T. S. Eliot' seem ‘painfully deserved’. Discusses Lady Mary Wortley’s letters and the work of George Eliot and Browning. Apologises for writing at length, but the Church and Cambridge are fighting day and night in his mind and Smith is the only person who can bring even a temporary reconciliation. Leavis is finding it difficult to get material for Scrutiny. Sympathises with Smith’s difficulties in Venezuela.
[St Paul Seminary, St Paul, Minnesota.]—Responds to Smith’s comments on D. H. Lawrence. Has heard from Wilfrid, Dennis, Morley, and Preston about the latest number of 'Scrutiny', which seems to be characterised by bickering. Preston wishes Smith were at Cambridge ‘to keep Leavis’s – and "Scrutiny"’s – aberrations under control’. Leavis’s undergraduates, including [Eric] Baker and [Godfrey] Lienhardt, are turning away from him. The cause seems to be Leavis’s sudden turn against Eliot, whose critical writing he declared, during an address by Willey to the Doughty Society, to be ‘largely specious’. Traversi is back from Italy and Harding’s prestige is growing. Queenie is much better, but Leavis is depressed by the change at Cambridge caused by the call-up of the nineteen-year-olds. Dennis, who has almost given up English in favour of gardening, says that Stephen Spender is now ‘our top poet’ and that ‘no one loves Auden anymore’, while everyone is disclaiming their communism and Churchill is popular with nearly every plane of opinion. Reflects on his reading of Jonson, Plautus, and Terence. Is becoming reconciled to the seminary. Compares favourably the readings appointed for Holy Saturday with modernist poems.
Excelsior Springs, Missouri.—Is concerned by the infrequency of Smith’s letters. Has heard that Leavis has been praising Smith’s 'As You Like It' article. ‘"Scrutiny" threatens to die after the June issue. Leavis can’t get articles for it; but I think he’s publishing a book on practical criticism this summer.’ Is now home for the summer.
Excelsior Springs, Missouri.—Is relieved to hear from him. He intends to return to the seminary, but with reluctance. Now that Russia has entered the war it is difficult to anticipate the Church’s actions. ‘The Pope is quite capable, I think, of blessing a banner for Hitler to carry in front of his army in the new Holy War.’ Is sorry Smith was upset by the news of Leavis and his undergraduates. [Godfrey] Lienhardt is making a name for himself by his views on 'Lear'. In helping Henri [Dulac] with a essay on Leavis he was struck by how useful the narrow critical range of the early reviews in 'Scrutiny' is in giving young men [sic] ‘control over a critical equipment, not too difficult to master, without which they would probably be left inextricably tangled in bibliographies like Henn used to present his students’. Discusses the June number. Apologises for his manner of presenting his views on Lawrence and dissents from Leavis’s estimation of him as a literary critic. Asks Smith to recommend criticism of Shakespeare’s comedies and discusses Bradley’s 'Shakespearean Tragedy' and [Wilson Knight’s] 'The Wheel of Fire'. Asks his opinion of George Eliot, referring to Mrs Craik’s 'John Halifax, Gentleman'. Is finding it difficult to read and is depressed by a sense of deteriorating value in literature and the Church. Sends a photo of himself and Dulac.
[Excelsior Springs, Missouri?]—Has received his letter, which was forwarded to him while he was at St Louis. Discusses their discomfort in their respective situations and their attachment to Cambridge. Is determined not to return to the seminary if possible, and is considering teaching in a preparatory school. Has finally met an American family that reassures him. He became acquainted with them through the eldest son, John Farrelly, who is at St Louis University. Gives an account of the family and their home in rural Missouri, referring to their odd combination of poverty and elegance, the curious personalities of the family members and their black servant, the song ‘Strange Fruit’ sung by the children, and to the number of ‘maniacs’ in the district. John Farrelly, who is, he thinks, the first American with whom he has felt in complete sympathy, may go to Cambridge in a few years. Refers to John Pick of Boston College as an example of an affected New England type. Thanks Smith for his comments on George Eliot. Is considering, in an extreme case, returning to England and joining the Quaker ambulance unit. A Jesuit friend [McCabe] has recommended that he stay away from the seminary. The latest Scrutiny seems ‘rather stock stuff’. Points out that those undergraduates who were most desirous to have Smith back were not setting him up in opposition to Leavis, but rather as the only person who could supply Leavis’s acknowledged deficiencies. Encourages him not to worry about his faith.
Monticello College, Alton, Illinois.—Has left the seminary and is now teaching ‘Criticism of the Novel’ at a girls’ college. Describes the setting of the college and the character of the girls and staff. Is reading to fill the time, but has read nothing for over a year which has made a substantial contribution to his life. Does not plan to stay at Monticello for more than a year. Discusses his mixed feelings towards the Church and the seminary. His friend at St Louis [McCabe] has suggested he might do better at St Anselm’s Priory in Washington, DC. McLuhan’s ‘performance’ seems increasingly inadequate, but on the other hand the Church seems ‘horrible’. Something of his feelings towards it are expressed by Orozco’s mural ‘Christ Destroys His Cross’. Is going to ask Leavis whether John Farrelly might get a scholarship at Downing. Has had news from Gordon and is delighted to hear about Father Hilary [see 1/91].
415 West 115th Street, Apartment 21, New York City.—Is anxious at not hearing from him. Having failed the physical examination for the conscientious objectors’ camp he has come to New York, mainly for the galleries. There he has made the acquaintance of an actor named Kostya Hubbard, and Father Gardiner, now literary editor of America, lives nearby. Gives an account of John Farrelly’s visit to the Leavises at Cambridge. Wilfrid and Dennis have quarrelled slightly, and Birch Moody is still in Africa. Is thinking of getting a job with a fashionable magazine. Is just about to meet the wife of the poet George Barker [Jessica Barker] and is meeting Djuna Barnes next week.
551 Hudson Street, New York City.—Is pleased that Smith has returned to Cambridge. It was perhaps fortunate that they did not meet in New York [see 1/10] as he was ‘all gibberish and nerves’ at the time, but he looks forward to meeting him again under the right circumstances. Has lost touch with St Bonaventure’s Friary [in Cambridge], but would be glad of news of his acquaintances there. Has heard that Smith is contemplating, or writing, a book on Shakespearian comedy. Praises his Scrutiny article on Much Ado about Nothing, and recommends The Love-Game Comedy by David Lloyd Stephenson. Sends greetings to Parker, Smith’s aunt [Hannah Smith], and the Leavises. Urges him to write.
3 Salisbury Villas, Station Road, Cambridge.—Has heard that Smith’s Browne lecture went well. Though little changed outwardly, Cambridge seems to have lost much of its elegance and intellectual excitement. Is seeing a lot of the Leavises and has overcome his initial irritation at ‘Queenie’s hard distinctions between the “respectable poor” and the factory workers’, but is shocked by their high opinion of Mason [the new Assistant Director of Studies in English at Downing College]. Has received a letter from Cox, critical of Scrutiny. Downing ‘lacks a dimension’ without Smith there. His room is not as bad as it first seemed.
Downing College, [Cambridge].—Hopes that Smith had an agreeable journey back to Switzerland. Is frustrated that, renewing their acquaintance after a long interval, they had only begun to talk with ease again during their last walk together, particularly as he felt unable to accept Smith’s invitation to work with him in Fribourg. Has told Ian Doyle that Smith is looking for an assistant. Doyle himself is looking for a place and he also knows some Downing graduates (‘Catholics, I believe’) who might be interested. Doyle recently returned to Cambridge, but is leaving next year, as he has not got on with Leavis. Leavis will probably be blamed for Doyle’s departure, but Bewley thinks it only fair to point out that Doyle has been the centre of a ‘whispering campaign’ against Leavis and has made a secret alliance with Cuttle against Leavis’s plans to strengthen the links between Downing and America. Has had his first long conversation with Queenie, and found her charming. Refers to her complimentary remarks about Smith. Encourages Smith to send some of his essays to American quarterlies, particularly as there is a general absence of good Catholic writers. Has not yet been able to generate much enthusiasm for his thesis and is unsettled about where to live.
17 Barton Road, Cambridge.—Has recently returned from Paris and Chartres, and hopes to go to Italy in the spring. Father Gilbey has been ‘elevated to the purple’ [created a domestic prelate] and has taken to wearing a top hat. Doyle’s thesis has been rejected, though with permission to rewrite it. Leavis sees this as evidence that the Faculty Board is seeking to kill graduate study, at least in English, by subversive means, and Bewley thinks he is probably right. Peter Lienhardt has a good position in the ‘decoding department of the army’, Cuttle has retired as senior tutor, and construction of the Downing chapel has actually begun. He will probably have to return to America in the summer, but Marjorie Nicolson thinks that, despite the Korean crisis, he has a good chance of getting a junior fellowship at Harvard. Leavis has written to propose his candidacy and Crane Brinton has sent an encouraging reply. Requests a reference from Smith. Asks whether Smith will be going to Italy or to England at Easter. Is going to Salisbury Cathedral this weekend. As the time to leave England approaches, his affection for it increases. ‘I imagine the first six months in America will be a grim business, especially as most of the people I rather liked have more or less permanently moved to Europe in the interval.’ Mason will not be returning to Cambridge the year after next, as his Rockefeller grant has not been renewed. ‘I believ[e] Leavis is overjoyed. He blames Mason for having been indiscreet with Queenie!’ Has seen a lot of Ralph [Leavis], who comes to the Downing Music Society, and is disturbed by his behaviour. ‘The poor boy moves, to an extent no one had suspected as long as he was only momentarily in view on trips up from Dartington, in a paralysis of terror.’ Leavis’s new book, «The Common Pursuit», now in proof, will, he thinks, be good, though marred by ‘Queenie’s insistence that Leavis include all the reviews in which he has anciently insulted Tillyard’. Asks whether Smith is going to print his Graham Greene lecture. ‘Leavis doesn’t really know anything about that kind of novel, and is constitutionally in-capable of learning.’
Most sent on by Durrant's Press Cuttings, St Andrew's House, 32-34 Holborn Viaduct, E.C.1 and 3 St Andrew Street, Holborn Circus, E.C.1.
1) from the "Dublin Evening Mail", 28 Apr 1932.
2) from "The Listener", 4 May 1932, "Overhauling Pegasus"; also includes discussion of collections by William Plomer and Alan Mulgan.
3) from the "Northern Echo", 4 May 1932, "New Verse"; also includes discussion of collections by Plomer, Sir Leo Chiozza Money, and Dorothy Wellesley
4) from the "Spectator", 14 May 1932, "Poetry-Lovers, Prosody and Poetry", by F. R. Leavis; also discusses collections by Ann Page, Mulgan, Anna de Bary, Wellesley, William Jeffrey, A[braham] Abrahams, Julian Huxley and Plomer
5) from "Country Life", 14 May 1932, by V. H. Friedlaender; also discusses collections by John Lehmann and Plomer, and the Hogarth Press's anthology "New Signatures"
6) from the "Aberdeen Press and Journal", 18 May 1932
7) from the "Bedfordshire Times", 24 May 1932, "A Book for the Poet-Technician"
8) from "Granta", 27 May 1932, "Tomes of Pomes"; also discusses collections by Plomer and Philip Henderson.
9) from the "London Mercury, June 1932, by Alan Pryce-Jones; also discusses collection by Henderson
10) from "Life and Letters", June 1932, by Austin Clarke; also discusses works by A.E. [George William Russell], Thomas Sturge Moore, "New Signatures", Huxley, Plomer, and Sherard Vines's anthology "Whips and Scorpions"
11) from the "Manchester Guardian", 1 Jun 1932, "Mr. Trevelyan's Verse".
12) from the "Scotsman". 1 Jun 1932;, "New Verse Forms" also discusses works by Plomer, Dorothy Matthews, Abrahams, Chiozza Money, and Horace Horsnell
13) from the "Oxford Magazine", 2 June 1932, "Poetry and Tradition".
14) from the "Scots Observer", 9 June 1932; also includes discussions of works by Mulgan, Rosamond Langbridge and Lorna de' Lucchi
15) from the "Buxton Advertiser", 2 July 1932
16) from the "Times Literary Supplement", 14 July 1932; also another copy, not sent by Durrnants
17) from the "Glasgow Herald", 20 July 1932 "On a Classical Model"
18) from the "New Statesman and Nation", 3 Sept 1932, "Some Poets"; also involves discussion of works by Laurence Whistler, George Villiers, Arthur Legge, Charles Davies, de' Lucchi, Geoffrey Johnson, Norah Nisbet and Mulgan.
19) from the "Sunday Times", 9 Oct 1932, by Dilys Powel, "Scholars and Poets"; also discusses works by Geoffrey Scott, Whistler, Davies, Geoffrey Lapage, Villiers, and Eden Phillpotts
20) "Rhythm and Rhyme. Mr R. C. Trevelyan's Notes on Metre"; perhaps from the "Birmingham Daily Mail" of 28 Apr 1932, as there is a spare Durrant's label which has become detached from its review
21) from the "Observer", 6 Nov 1932, "New Poetry", by Humbert Wolfe. Not sent by Durrants; also discussion of works by Clifford Bax. W. H. Davies, Gordon Bottomley, Edmund Blunden, Wilfrid Gibson, and Richard Church
22) from the "Japan Chronicle", 15 July 1932, "Poets of a Transitional Period"; also discusses works by Plomer, Easdale, Lehmann, C. Day Leis. and "New Signatures"
23) from "The Bookman", Sept 1932, "The ''Georgian Poets', or Twenty Years After", by Wilfrid Gibson. Not a review of "Rimeless Numbers", but a discussion of Edward Marsh's anthologies
Convent of Our Lady of Lourdes, Boarbank Hall, Grange-over-Sands.—Has been ordered to rest for two or three months, on account of ill health. His J[esuit] brother [Paul] has escaped from France. Sympathises with Smith’s difficulties in Venezuela, and thanks him for ‘hints, mainly philosophical, … on 18th century questions’, some of which he has used in teaching. Has seen the Leavises this summer, and the Franciscans, but not Smith’s aunt or Father Stewart [Hilary Steuert?]. Refers to the experience of a missionary nun in Africa, and to books by Archbishop Goodier and Cecily Hallack. Gives some details of a ‘simple tale’ about Switzerland he is about to write.
Boarbank Hall, Grange-over-Sands, Lancs.—Is glad that Smith plans to apply for the post at Fribourg, and gives advice. Sympathises with his troubles and those of his aunt, who he is sorry to hear is unwell. Is disappointed in Leavis, whom he had thought above anti-Catholic bias, but it seems that everywhere useful people—like Father Britt-Compton, who did much of the work in the Geography faculty during the war—are being dropped when ‘those of the more favoured colours’ come along. ‘Leavis … has spoken to me in the most glowing terms of you—that you were too good for the English faculty and that they wouldn’t let you in, in case you showed them up, etc. Of course, I know he thought you should have swallowed the British Minister(?) in Venezuela, or played up to him. Personally, I’m heartily glad that you are out of that hell-hole.’ Recommends a dentist in London. Asks about Smith’s writing, and hopes he will soon be free from examination papers.
‘As from’ Boarbank Hall, Grange-over-Sands.—Is glad that Leavis is supporting Smith’s candidature [for the chair at Fribourg]. ‘If you get a backing from T. S. Eliot, I should think you will be home.’ Thinks he has enough ecclesiastical backing. ‘It was news to me that Fr. J. B. Reeves received you [into the Church].’ Encloses information from Hanrahan about the Newman Society’s involvement with the appointment, and urges him to apply immediately. Has heard via D[ouglas] Woodruff that the salary is £500 a year.
6 Chesterton Hall Crescent, Cambridge.—Has known Smith for many years, having previously been aware of him as a brilliant student. The distinguished body of work Smith has published in «Scrutiny» has made him known in all the universities of the English-speaking world and he is especially fitted by his linguistic skills to interpret English literature and culture abroad. Testifies to his teaching abilities and pays tribute to his establishment of a British Institute at Caracas. Recommends him for the chair of English at Fribourg and commends his personality.
66 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa.—Was prompted to write by hearing that Preston had sent Smith a copy of his ‘Four Quartets’ Rehearsed. Leavis says that Smith is ‘very fit’. Asks what his plans are. Enright himself has got married and is waiting to be released from conscripted labour. Nominally this ought to happen in July, but he doubts whether the National Service Office will release him so soon. Is hoping to get a minor post in a minor university. Commends Preston’s commentary. His own commentary on Goethe’s Faust has been rejected by fourteen publishers. Morley has had a daughter, to add to his two stepsons. Bewley ‘appears to have fallen among charlatans—the artistic set in New York’, though he seems happier of late. Wilfrid [Mellers]—who is, he thinks, now free of farm work, though still in the country—has a book on ‘Music & Society’ in the press. Morley recently became senior English master at Warwick. Enright and his friends often used to reflect on what they owe to Smith’s supervisions. Hopes to meet him soon and introduce him to his wife, who is teaching at various local schools.
66 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa.—Requests a testimonial, to accompany one from Leavis, as several teaching posts are now being advertised. ‘I doubt whether a note from my present employers praising my efficient handling of P.O.W. [prisoners of war] would really be helpful—even though the two jobs may have certain similarities.’ Commends Smith’s article on Much Ado about Nothing in Scrutiny, and asks about his projected book.
66 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa.—Tells him not to bother about a testimonial, as even the most ‘influential’ of them seem to count for little against the preconceptions of the appointment boards. His friend Closs is writing to various people on his behalf, though his efforts to get him an English job at Bristol were prevented by the strong anti-Leavis feeling there. Thanks him for suggesting Cox. Dares not apply to Cuttle, who was surprisingly unfriendly towards him at their last meeting. Discusses the difficulties of his present situation.