British Museum, W.C.1. - Sorry he missed Trevelyan, who must stay with them next time he comes to London. Has done some 'miscellaneous T'ang poems', mainly by contemporaries of Po Chu-I, and encloses one [no longer present]. Is going to Tidmarsh [home of Lytton Strachey] on Sunday and is most excited: wants to see 'the education of those patient females' with his own eyes. Is attending a meeting of the Philological Society to hear a paper on 'the Ergonics [sic] of the Japanese Language'; does not know 'in the least what that means'. Asks if Trevelyan heard James Strachey's 'address to the 1917 Club on the Sex Question" on Tuesday evening. Can see 'the unmistakeable figure of [Harry] Norton] from the window, perhaps going from Gordon Square to 'tea with his sister Betty in Grays Inn'. Asks if Trevelyan has read the "Poet's Pilgrimage" by W. H. Davies, which he almost liked better than 'the tramp book' ["The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp"]
British Museum, W.C. - Lucky that he did not come [to visit Bob, see 17/4], as he developed flu; is alright now, and asks if the weekend of 17 May would work instead. Hopes the Shoves came; has not seen them; sure Francis [Birrell?] arrived. Has been 'deluged' with proofs for "Jap[anese] Poetry", "The Story of Ts'ui Ying-ying ", and "More Translations from Chinese", though the last is not due to be published until September so he need not rush. Asks if Bob would be kind enough to look it over after Miss [Beryl] de Zoete, who is 'fairly good at spotting howlers'. The sum he mentioned as a possible fee from the Art Theatre '[for Bob translating Aeschylus' "Prometheus", see 17/2?] was too large; believes it would be about twenty-five pounds, but this is unofficial. Enjoyed James [Strachey]'s piece about Claudel's "L'Otage" in the "Athenaeum", as well as Lytton [Strachey]'s essay on Lady Hester Stanhope [in the issues of 4 and 11 April]; it 'ought to be rather an entertaining periodical under its new management'.
Received a cheque for a hundred and forty five pounds from Constable; this seemed very little, but it turned out to be for his cousin Adolf Waley for "The Re-making of China". He himself had sold about 1300 copies [of "A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems"] by 31 December. Asks Bob whether he agreed terms with Constable for his [translation of Sophocles'] "Ajax"; heard that he could not do so with Unwin. Yoshio Markino visited him yesterday and 'got very excited trying to write down his favourite Chinese poems'; however, he could not remember the characters and 'sat holding his head in his hands & groaning'; he learned them in Japan as a child, nearly fifty years ago. Heard from [Goldsworthy Lowes] Dickinson 'discovering a "Chinese passage" in Shakespeare'; has 'not quite succeeded in deciphering his letter'. Dickinson also told him that Thomas Hardy prefers Cranmer-Byng to him which is 'hardly surprising'; he was 'astonished' to hear Hardy liked his own versions at all. Ezra Pound is going to settle at Toulouse, where he will 'wake up the sleepy Meridionals'. Wonders if [John] Rodker's [Ovid] Press has begun to print yet; feels he should order some books from it, but knows he would 'hate them so when they came'. Has got a gramophone and 'catalogues of all the exotic music of the Globe' but does not know how to choose. Has lots of 'India, Chinese, Lithuanian, Russian, Arabian, Serbian, Hungarian and Spanish records [to choose from?]'; has only got Mozart and rag-time at present.
Cercle Mohammed Aly. - Asks Trevelyan always to write beforehand saying which books he is going to send, as the anticipation gives much pleasure: he and [George] Antonius have discussed the matter extensively. Unfortunately he is prejudiced against 'the poetry, prose, personality and papa of Edward Thomas', and his aunt has already sent him "Years of Childhood" which he will return for the Trevelyans. Praises 'Askanov' [sic: Sergei Aksakov]: the Stracheys 'never grow up' [cf letter from Trevelyan to Forster, 22 Dec 1917, King's College Cambridge]. Is reading James' "Piddle Years" ["The Middle Years"; discusses James's flatness. Is Glad Trevelyan liked his poem [satire on the Duchess of Connaught]. Is doing some journalism, and reading Racine and Claudel. When he goes for a weekend with Furness at Cairo, is sure Furness will read Edward Thomas to him 'for everyone except me likes him'. Asks for a copy of Trevelyan's Lucretius ["Lucretius on Death"]. In a post-script dated 11 Feb, Forster thanks Trevelyan for the Lucretius and suggests "The Principles of Social Reconstruction" [Bertrand Russell] as another book he would like.
13, Hanover Terrance, Ladbroke Grove, W. - Apologises for not writing sooner; has heard 'a good deal' about Trevelyan from Francis [Birrell?], [Goldsworthy Lowes] Dickinson and [Harry] Norton. Is working on Li Po 'in deference to the wishes of the public', translating, amongst others 'about 15 that have been done before' by Giles, St-Denys, Pound and so on; when it is printed, it may 'amuse' Trevelyan to compare the versions. Has not changed his own opinion of Li Po at all, but is 'taking a lot of trouble with him', he thinks he may be 'making him seem better than he is'. Impossible to get across in translation that Li Po is 'so largely a patchwork': for instance, the reference in the "River Merchant's Wife" to Wei who appears in 'the "Robber Che [Chih]" (chapter 29 of "Chuang Tzu" [Zhuangzi])", or that in another poem to the sailor with whom seagulls played in "Lieh Tzu [Liezi]"; St-Denys had obviously never read Lieh Tzu. The Oxford [University] Press has accepted his "Japanese Poetry: the Uta", which will come out in the spring. Heard a story about Alix [Sargant Florence] in Cornwall: she wanted to try the cream, but was told it 'would only be sold in compliance with a doctor's certificate', so she wrote to James [Strachey] to get one from Noel [Olivier] who refused; supposes this was when she and Norton were in Cornwall. Now she is there with James, who has flu. Lytton is also ill, with shingles. Rather likes Fredegond [Shove]'s poems ["Dreams and Journeys"?] except for 'the sonnets & the mysticism; Norton 'complained they reminded him of country holidays'. Has talked to Adrian Stephen a few times at the [1917?] Club, and likes him 'better than Norton, or Clive [Bell], or James'. Asks if Trevelyan has seen W. H. Davies's new book; has not read it properly himself, but there are some 'good things in it'. Davies was recently annoyed that the newspapers had described his clothes at a poetry reading as 'homely', when his 'buttons alone cost more than anything Yeats had on'. Has had a 'very kind and generous letter from Cranmer-Byng, a quite unsollicited [sic] "peccavi"'.
British Museum, W. C. - Neither Mrs [Marie] Stopes nor [Ezra] Pound know Japanese, so he 'refuse[s] to be put in the same category'. Mrs Stopes 'talks a little colloquial' but there is 'abundant evidence' that the translations in her work were 'done by her Japanese collaborator [Jōji Sakurai]'. Has not met her, but 'you can tell exactly what she is like from reading her book'; Pound 'knows and dislikes her, which is on the whole in her favour'. Nothing happening about the publication of his poems: Squire has not yet 'moved' about putting some in the "New Statesman". Sent a copy of the '"reprint"' to Ka Cox suggesting it might give Constable [& Co, publishers] a 'less tedious impression than typescript', but has not heard from her. Sent a copy to [Bertrand?] Russell, who was 'very kind about it', as were 'Leonard [Woolf] and his wife, who want to print some, & shall - failing everything else'. Is keenest that people should be led to share his conviction that Po Chu-I is 'one of the great poets of the world', but 'perhaps one cannot prove it by 38 translations'. Believes that the 'Opposition consists... of the Stracheys & Alix [Sargant-Florence?], who will not read them till I do them in Popian couplets, with long 's's, bound in calf'. Does agree with them that 'Pope is the only readable translator of Homer'. Also sent his book to [Gordon] Bottomley.
The Shiffolds. - Is afraid he won't be able to stop at Wallington on his way up [to Scotland]: his friend [James?] Strachey is only staying about two weeks at Aviemore, so if he came to Wallington with Bessie on Wednesday it would 'curtail' his time with Strachey 'so much that it would as to be hardly worth' going at all. But Robert will come to Wallington on his way back in October; is 'much looking forward to seeing' them all at Wallington, as well as C[harles] and M[olly].
The arrangements for the Annual [of New Poetry] are now 'practically made'; he hopes to sign the contract in a week or two, which would mean the book would be published before Christmas. Thinks it 'quite likely to have a reasonably good sale'; they will not lose anything in any case, as 'Constables bear the cost'.
Bessie and Julian are well.
The Shiffolds. - Thanks her for her letter; she will have heard about their plans from Bessie. Is probably going to Scotland for about a week to join [James?] Strachey, not to Wooler as they had 'first intended'; then Robert can return via Wallington and Cambo for a few days, probably then going on to Silverdale to see the Bottomleys.
Julian seems very well, and 'gets on with Miss Barthorpe [as governess], who is quite good with him'; she is 'perhaps a little wanting in mental energy, but he hardly wants stimulus just now'. Hopes soon to get the agreement with Constables about 'our new Poetry Annual [An Annual of New Poetry], which would then come out this winter'. The negotiations have been 'rather a bother', as he has had to negotiate on behalf of 'all the other contributors'. Bessie is very well.
Verse about Meleager. Draft of version of "Comatas and the Bees" - published in "Polyphemus and other poems", but numbered 'III' and with a reference to a lady with a fan omitted from the published version, suggested it was originally intended to form part of the the next draft "For a Fan", published in "Mallow and Asphodel". "Archilochus, serving as a hireling spearman, remembers Neoboule...". Draft of reply given by Trevelyan at a meeting [a dinner?] of the Cambridge Apostles on the subject of 'Exclusiveness': mentions Lytton [Strachey], who to 'the vulgar journalistic world' that does not understand him and his work has 'no doubt become a kind of type or symbol of fastidious exclusiveness', to [John] McTaggart and to James Strachey. Draft of part of "The Sumerian Deluge".
Notebook also used from other end in: draft verse by Trevelyan, first line 'Holding a myrtle branch and rosebud fair...'. Translation of Theocritus's "Idylls" 4, 10, 11, 14, 29; Sophocles's "Antigone" 988-992; Lucretius's "De Rerum Natura" 1.988 on.
Two book references in French on inside cover, along with addresses of shops where these books can be obtained [probably not in Trevelyan's hand, perhaps from his time in France in 1918-1919?]. Also list of topics [for verse?]: 'Septimius & Acme. (Meleager). Orpheus. Gilgamesh.' etc.
The Shiffolds, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking. - Thanks his father for his letter [12/94?]. Bessie 'seems to have enjoyed her stay in London' and had a good journey to Holland. Is very glad his mother has recovered; expects she will soon be 'entirely well' after a stay at Welcombe in this 'fine weather'.
Has found organising the 'Easter party' rather difficult, involving much 'writing and telegraphing', but thinks all will 'come right'. George Moore usually organises it but 'gave it up at the last moment' and left everything to him. Has got the 'two latest elected apostles' to come: [James] Strachey and [Harry] Norton; they are both in their first year, so 'the destinies of the Society will be in their hands for a long time probably'.
[Ralph] Hawtrey, a Treasury official, is staying with Robert for his holiday; he is a 'nephew of the actor', whom Robert supposes his father will have seen in The Man from Blankney's [actually Blankleys: by Thomas Anstey Guthrie]. Theodore [Llewelyn] Davies 'insisted' on Hawtrey's transferral from the Admiralty to the Treasury, as he 'thought he was the kind of man required' there; this was an 'exceptional step', and Robert believes 'much criticised at the time', but he supposes it 'quite wise'. Hawtrey is 'a man quite of Theodore's type of mind'; expects he has less of his 'power of influencing and directing others', but still 'with the fine common sense and intellectual power, and the same good political tradition', since like Theodore Hawtrey is a Home-ruler as well as a Liberal.
Will write to Welcombe from the Swan Inn, Fittleworth to say how the gathering goes; will go there tomorrow, but how long he stays depends on what the others do. The 'Vesuvius eruption seems very bad'. Lord Rosebery is at his villa now: Robert hopes he will not 'act the part and meet the fate of the elder Pliny'.