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Excelsior Springs, Missouri.—Discusses D. H. Lawrence’s views on G. F. Watts and Cézanne. Has heard that Smith has renewed his subscription to 'Scrutiny', has lost weight, and is being sent funds to establish a library. Traversi has been chosen for a post in Madrid, which Bewley supposes is the one Smith was considering. Encourages him to write to Preston, who is in the early stages of consumption. Responds to his comments on Van Wyck Brooks and refers to Matthiessen’s 'American Renaissance'. Eliot’s latest poem, 'The Dry Salvages', is inferior to 'East Coker'. Is unsure what to read and finds his scholastic studies arid, but painting is helping to sustain him. The Catholic church in Cambridge has suffered bomb damage.

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.