Showing 48 results

Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Responds to his inquiries about the academic dress he (Steuert) needs for graduation. Hopes that Smith’s interview with the [British] Council goes well and that he will be able to get congenial work in England. Moreno is now a lecturer at King’s College, London. Has much to discuss with him. ‘I’m afraid in many ways I’m no longer a thorough-going Leavisite.’

Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Is glad Smith is safely back in Cambridge. Hopes he will enjoy a long holiday and that the British Council will at last treat him generously. Asks to stay with him when he comes [to Cambridge] to take his MA degree. Father Mark hopes to see Smith during his stay with Father Bonnar. The Colosseum and Arena are defunct, but the «Dublin [Review] is still appearing. Dawson is to lecture on Religion and Culture'. Refers to Dawson’s Judgment of the Nations, the work of Maritain, and Gerald Vann’s St Thomas. Blackfriars still appears; he believes Leavis exchanges it for Scrutiny. Father Reeves has been succeeded [as superior of the Cambridge Dominicans] by Father Delany.

Downside Abbey, near Bath.—Is glad things have improved at Caracas and is impressed by the news that Smith has founded an institute. Despite getting a first in Part II [of the English Tripos] and the Stoll studentship [at Christ’s College] he is dissatisfied with his work, though he has appreciated Leavis’s supervision. Will miss his visits to Smith’s family. Father Grant has promised to call on Smith’s aunt. Has decided not to return to Cambridge but to research his chosen subject, the devotional prose of the Catholic recusants, at Downside; the subject of his Stoll paper, the medieval tradition in Shakespeare, deserves to be pursued by Smith himself. The boy he coached for a scholarship is not doing well at Cambridge but Dom Gerard [Hayes] has got a first; Brother Sebastian [Moore?] is also going to read English at Cambridge. Kenelm Foster, a Dante scholar, has come [to the Dominican friary] to take the place of Father Elrington, who has died. Relates an anecdote about Father Reeves, relating to a bust of Edward Bullough. Now that Edward Wilson is engaged elsewhere Moreno must find someone else to translate his thesis. Gives an account of the Corpus Christi procession.

Benet House, Mount Pleasant, Cambridge.—Asks him to suggest books for Part II of the English Tripos, and contrasts the approaches of Downs and Leavis. Asks whether he has heard any of the broadcasts to South America from Downside. Suggests that Bewley might be interested in St Anselm’s Priory, [Washington] DC. Gives accounts of visits to the Carmelites and to the Observatory.

Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Has heard news of him from his (Smith’s) aunt, whom he saw in Cambridge. Sympathises with Smith’s difficulties at Caracas and reflects on the role of suffering in the Catholic life. Hopes that his aunt will become interested in the Catholic faith. Discusses his relations with Edward Wilson (who has left Cambridge to begin war work), the Morenos, and the Leavises. Agrees that the dissatisfaction sometimes felt by Smith’s readers is largely due to defective critical training. Will draw Dom Illtyd’s attention to Smith’s Marlowe paper. Commends Smith’s point about Blake’s ‘equivocal’ Christianity. Hopes his asthma is yielding to treatment. Discusses his own prospects in the Tripos.

[St Paul Seminary, St Paul, Minnesota.]—Is writing briefly, in order to reach him before he leaves New York for South America. Is glad Smith has left England, as there is little to look forward to there, and in South America there will be more freedom from distractions. His own difficulties are ‘only those that a Cambridge undergraduate who read English under Leavis would tend to feel in a Middle Western seminary’, and some of the other seminarians exhibit ‘intelligence and perspicacity, even in a "Scrutiny" sense’. Encourages him to look up the 'Catholic Worker' in New York, as it is the most vital movement in the Church in America.

Benet House, Mount Pleasant, Cambridge.—Sends Christmas greetings and encloses a prayer. Asks whether it is justifiable to refer to Blake as a ‘Christian’ poet. Describes a visit with Wilson to the Carmelites at Waterbeach. No overt approaches have been made to Wilson’s religious position, but he seemed impressed by Father Bonnar. Smith’s aunt seems happy. Is enjoying this term’s work, particularly Leavis’s supervisions. Is often surprised by Leavis’s sympathy for Catholicism; once he even appeared to accept that the coarsening of Wordsworth’s sensibility would have been avoided if he had appreciated the Catholic doctrine of the mysti-cal body. Cambridge and Downside have both escaped serious air-raid damage. Hopes that Smith will have time to write articles. He now has no difficulty with his style, but is puzzled by his remarks on St Thomas’s method in his article on metaphysical poetry. Sends greetings to Bewley, and regrets that he was unable to profit from literary discussions with him when he knew him.

Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Is surprised to learn that Smith is still in England, and hopes that his difficulties will soon disappear. Quotes from his own compilation of prayers ‘for use when oppressed in mind & body’. Discusses types of breviary. Will be happy to help [E. M.] Wilson, as will Father Mark [Pontifex], and would like to meet Moreno [Báez]. He finds Smith’s style easier now and was convinced by his Webster article, but Dom Illtyd feels that elsewhere his arguments, though consistent, are not sufficiently founded in the texts. Has sent Leavis an article by Dom Illtyd expressing the reactions of a scholastic to the philosophical implications of Leavis’s literary position.

Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.—Campbell says the «Dublin Review» will be glad to receive Smith’s paper on Shakespearian criticism when he has revised it. Thanks him for putting his case before Leavis, and agrees to see Downs first. They return [to Cambridge] on Friday. Urges him not to worry.

[St Paul Seminary, St Paul, Minnesota.]—Has come, at short notice, to study at the St Paul Seminary. The first week was miserable, but he has been persuaded to stay. The rector [Lawrence O. Wolf] has been sympathetic, while the archbishop [John Gregory Murray], who has plans for him to teach English at St Thomas College, intends to send him back to Cambridge to take a doctor’s degree when he finishes at St Paul’s and has arranged for him to read English alongside his other studies. Has found some of the other seminarians agreeable, or at least pleasant. Describes with approval the grounds and the chapel, but deplores the prevailing crudeness among the seminarians. Is glad to be isolated from news of the war. Is fairly certain he will remain where he is for five years and that his studies will prepare him for an important function, though he wants to preserve the possibility of literary studies. Acknowledges that without Smith’s support he would probably have lost his vocation, and asks him to inform Leavis of his present step. His books have only recently arrived. Gordon [Cox] has sent him accounts of ‘marches and drilling and meeting with the son of the Bishop of Birmingham [William P. W. Barnes]’. Asks to be remembered to various Cambridge Catholics.

Benet House, Mount Pleasant, Cambridge.—Is sorry Smith could not come to tea, but hopes he is recovering. The arrangement must be postponed till next term, as they go down [to Downside] on Friday. Asks him to let him know the result of his talk with Leavis if they do not meet tomorrow.

[Excelsior Springs, Missouri?]—Is depressed by the moral tone of America and more than ever convinced of the necessity of political activity. Expresses his low opinion of Roosevelt and Willkie, and encloses a photograph and a cutting to illustrate his feelings. Leavis and Cuttle sent him letters of recommendation, but most of the vacancies had been filled by the time he applied. Has ‘half a promise’ of a job at Vassar next year. Louisiana University, one of the places he applied to, is said to have become ‘nothing but a foot ball factory’. Has resumed his plan to study for the priesthood and has been encouraged by some good elements in the American Church, such as the «Catholic Worker» group in New York. Is considering three alternatives: the Paulists, the Benedictines at St Anselm’s Priory in Washington DC, and the secular priesthood in Minnesota. Intends to prepare himself for a period in ten or fifteen years’ time when he expects that intelligent literary activity will have ceased to perform any function in America and the only useful function will be of a political nature. In an American college he would only ‘succumb’, but he might be of some use as a priest. Is grieved at Smith’s ‘emotional and spiritual crisis’ and is glad he is no longer seeking Father John [Reeves]’s advice. Asks him to tell the Franciscans of his plans. Expects his books to arrive next week. Advises him not to be upset by Christopher Dawson [see 1/85]. Will have the «Catholic Worker» sent to him.

Excelsior Springs, Missouri.—Is sorry that Smith’s ‘old distress’ has returned, and criticises Father Reeves’s response. Has felt lethargic since returning to America, but Mac [McLuhan] is ‘even worse off’ and Corinne [McLuhan] has suffered a nervous collapse after a series of parties. Deplores the current patriotic mood in America and the attitude of the Church, as exemplified by Jim Farley and Father Coughlin. Is anxious for the arrival of his books. Would appreciate some guidance from Leavis about his career. Sends greetings to the Singletons, Father Gilbey, and the Leavises. Has received «Scrutiny» and is reading «Gil Blas». Dennis [Enright] is ‘going to Evesham to pick plums with students from Birmingham’ and Remi Preston is thinking of moving to Leamington. Asks how Godfrey [Lienhardt] and ‘the young man who was psychoanalyzed’ fared in their exams; Birch Moody did well, but Illingworth is in a panicky state. Looks forward to the publication of Smith’s book on Shakespeare. Will return to England when he can. ‘Christopher Dawson’s last piece in Scrutiny was really quite true, & Leavis’s constant talk about standards & intelligent living seems more important to me the more hopeless it becomes.’

16 Newton Road, Cambridge.—King’s College, Cambridge, have paid £200 for an incomplete set of Scrutiny. Expresses indignation at the manner in which they approached Frank for permission to photograph what was missing. Smith’s best chance of selling his set is to an American university. Frank has not done anything about Smith’s manuscript, because he has been marking Tripos papers all day, as well as attending to college duties, writing reports and testimonials, and reading the ‘original contributions’ of Tripos candidates; and there are ‘endless’ examiners’ meetings to come. There are twice as many candidates to be marked in the same time as the old days, by the same number of examiners. Discusses the difficulties of finding a new house. They hope to see Smith this summer, but have not yet thought about going away for a holiday, as she is anxious to move before the autumn.

16 Newton Road, Cambridge.—When she wrote to Arthur Mizener to thank him for trying to help Kate [her daughter] get a post-graduate year at Cornell, she suggested that he might make an offer for Smith’s set of Scrutiny for the university. Cornell have now obtained one, at a high price, but Mizener suggests that other American universities will want a set. Suggests various means of advertising the set, without going through D[eighton] Bell, who would probably charge commission. Kingsford advises that the Syndics of the CUP have agreed to reprint Scrutiny complete. ‘I never thought we should live to see ourselves respectable, did you? but now it looks as though we shall all die in the odour of sanctity (from the Eng. Lit. Establishment point of view). Of course H. S. Bennett is retired from being a Syndic now; I daresay when the news percolates through the university there will be several deaths from violent emotion. Tillyard is said to be v. tottery & gaga anyway.’ Mizener found one other complete set of Scrutiny in the possession of the Treasurer of Lloyds Bank, but discovered that even an offer to buy it would be taken as an insult. Reminds Smith to send the essay he was going to let Frank [her husband] forward to Sewanee Review. Is busy house-hunting, as Frank retires in a year. ‘How handy the Nobel Prize money would come—I often think that the Nobel Prize for Literature has many times been awarded for far less services to literature than Frank’s.’ Refers to Frank’s letter [1/51], and urges Smith to collect and publish his essays.

Downing College, Cambridge.—Apologises for keeping his essay for so long without writing. It arrived as he was preparing for the Tripos. He did read the essay through and re-read the play (which made him ‘ashamed for Shakespeare’), but then ‘the avalanche of the Tripos descended’ and he had to mark a large quantity of papers and other work. ‘I got through on sun & the port King, the Fellows’ Butler, finds me.’ His view, and that of Q[ueenie, his wife], is that Shakespeare’s play ‘can’t be treated as decent & responsible & serious’, and so does not deserve the detailed treatment Smith gives it. Kingsford of the CUP is looking for a set of Scrutiny to reproduce, and Leavis has suggested he buy Smith’s.

Downing College, Cambridge.—Urges him to publish a collection of his essays. There is a large public for literary criticism, owing to the increase in the number of English schools. Would use his influence with the CUP, though he thinks Chatto’s would be better. If Smith wanted later to do a Shakespeare book, there would be nothing against including previously collected essays. ‘I rage when I think of the Kermodes[,] Darbys, Knightses & Holloways bringing out their stuff, when, for the most part, your essays can’t be got at. Willey replies that he agrees with me about Amis (so I’ve something to use), but he says nothing about Williams.’

[Excelsior Springs, Missouri.]—Has felt unsettled since he came to America, but has done some painting, including a portrait of Leavis. Criticises various priests he has met. Has tried reading 'The Grapes of Wrath', but found it boring. Is considering teaching for a year, and wants to go to Boston this winter. Is going to Kansas City to consult Father McCabe. Praises American Jesuits, wryly. The early stages of the presidential election have pushed the war into the background. The latest 'Scrutiny' has not come yet, nor his books. Has asked Leavis for a letter of introduction to the American universities, and has been told that he (Bewley) got a first. McLuhan arrived about a week ago and is now in St Louis.

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.

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.—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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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.

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

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.’

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.

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.

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.