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Thanks them for the lychees, apologies for not giving them a present. Has not yet opened the tin, but has opened his book of Wang I [Yi] and read his poem about the lychee tree, which he copies on another page, so knows what to expect. Asks Ursula to thank her father for his 'charming letter'. Hopes Julian was able to come for Christmas and was all right. Tet Htoot was meant to come yesterday, but went to Oakley, near Maidenhead, instead of Ockley; hopes he will arrive in time for the turkey.

Intended to send a small book of his "Translations from Leopardi", but then decided to wait until Julian and Ursula next come here, as they 'might easily lose it moving about'. Pity they cannot come now, when the flowers in the woods are at their best. All quite well here; the [Sturge] Moores will return in a month. Originally enclosing, on Bessie's request, a photograph of 'the street in Forest Green that [Julian] used to admire'. The Bluths and Tet Htoot were here at Easter, but otherwise they 'seem to see nobody'. Hopes that Tet Htoot will bring two Chinese friends to visit. A 'bad London raid last night'; hopes he and the Bluths are all right; Irene [Cooper Willis?] has fortunately been away. Has very few friends in London now besides these, Logan [Pearsall Smith] and Alys [Russell]. Virginia [Woolf]'s death 'a great blow'; she 'felt she was going out of her mind again and could not face it'. Is re-reading "To the Lighthouse", his favourite of her books; is writing something on her for the "Abinger Chronicle", but it is 'impossible to say anything adequate in the way of criticism'. Forgets whether Julian knew her. Is continuing to translate Montaigne and getting 'a little bored with it'; 'much more fun writing poetry, even if it is not worth much'. Hopes Julian has managed to see Ursula at Taunton, and that she is well again. Has heard from G.M.T. [his brother George] that Charles is giving Wallington to the National Trust now instead of leaving it in his will; he will continue to live there, and one of the family (probably his son George Lowthian) will stay there after his death; this will save on death-duties so there will be much more money for the children. Supposes this should not be discussed until it is announced. Hopes Bessie will go with Miss Simpkins for a few days to George and Janet next month; otherwise she never 'goes away from here, which is not good for her'.

Glad Julian and Ursula can come on 14 June. Mozzot [sic: Julian and Ursula's cat Maszat] did not 'go on long with her outdoor erotic appeals' and seems 'absorbed in her kittens again'. Wants her to stay, though she occasionally irritates him; he does like her 'when she is not too querulous', but more importantly Bessie is 'very fond of her, and of the kittens'; asks Julian not to tell Bessie he said this. Tet Htoot visited last week with a 'very interesting Chinese friend', and seemed 'much happier and less depressed' than before. John Luce came over for the day yesterday.

Glad to get Julian's telegraph [from Egypt] yesterday. One word could not be made out: in the description of his pastimes as 'painting, goffinping, and dancing', should the second word be golfing, 'driving your ball over the back of the Sphinx, or getting it bunkered between its paws?'. Expects the weather is hotter than here: today is the first day of spring weather, but 'everything is backward', with no sign of bluebells and cuckoos and 'the very primroses smaller than usual'. Has just had his new book published, and sent it to Ursula; Julian knows almost all of the contents; has become 'un vrai prosateur', as 'Flaubert used to call himself', writing 'nothing but Essays': has just finished one 'on (or rather against) books'. His Simple Pleasures was recently broadcast on the [BBC] Forces Programme; it was 'really rather awful, as they tried to poetize [sic] it, though [he] had meant it to be flatter-than-pancake prose', but he got his five guineas. Tom and Marie [Sturge Moore] are here - Marie unwell in bed but recovering - Tet Htoot is also here for a few days, as 'he too was unwell and wanted cheering up'. Bessie seems quite well, though will go to London on Tuesday to see [Dr Karl] Bluth. Supposes he should write Julian a 'Horatian verse Epistle', but cannot compose it in time for this post; if he does write one will have to send it to Julian on his return; it will 'of course be largely about Egypt, Cleopatra, Amenophis [Amenhotep] and Ramesis, but not Tutenkamen [Tutankhamun]' whom he does not approve of, though 'his predecessor Aknaton [Akhenaten] was an interesting failure'. Hopes Julian will ensure that the 'Memnon statue is camouflaged very carefully'. Seems a pity that now the Nile has only two mouths, lists the names of the seven which 'every school-boy once knew'. Is reading [Lytton] Strachey's Queen Victoria aloud, which is 'really very amusing'; amazing how much easier it is to read a well-written book aloud than a badly-written one. Tet Htoot is reading the first volume of Gibbon, while he himself reads the second; is just coming to the chapter on the Christians, where he knows 'one will have some fun, especially in the notes'. Went with John Luce, with 'a party of Waleys, Joan and Polly [Allen] etc' to quite a good production of the Magic Flute at Sadler's Wells, for which they 'tried, not very successfully, to make the scenery Egyptian'. John is being sent abroad next week, but does not know where; they hope his father [Gordon] is coming home. Mossot [sic: Julian's cat Maszat] has had just one kitten, 'a sad falling off'; is told all cats in Egypt are mummified as divine.

1490260 Cadet Luce JM, N troop D Battery, 124 OCTU, Llandrindod Wells. - Thanks Trevelyan for the long letter and news of his parents; hopes his father will go to America. Is in his second month of training and still learning 'infantry stuff': will not begin real anti-aircraft training till next month. Got leave last weekend with two of his friends, met Joan [Allen?] and climbed Snowden; then showed her the camp at Llandrindod before she left for Cardiff. Has received a letter from Dick Bosanquet, who is very sad about the death of his cousin Wendy. Glad to hear of Julian's success; hopes he will enjoy Army life [with the Royal Engineers]. Asks if there is any news of Tet Htoot.

216 L.A.A. Bty. R.A., The Old Hall, Aylsham, Norfolk. - Thanks Trevelyan for the Christmas present which Tet Htoot has sent on for him. Dick Bosanquet wants him to come to Surrey towards the end of the month, but he does not think he will be able to: they are due to move camp again in a fortnight, and do not know their destination; they have already moved twice since Christmas. Asks after Joan [Allen] and what Polly [Allen] has decided about the WAAFS [Women's Auxiliary Air Force]. Has received a cable from his parents who are well and still in Rangoon; does not imagine his mother will leave. Sends love to Bessie and Miss Simpkins. Is getting 'desperately fed up' with army life.

West Watch, Ferry Drive, Wraysbury, Staines. - The "Poems and Plays" arrived yesterday, they will be a "κτῆμα ἐς ἀεί" [Thucydides: 'a possession for all time']. Will not make a decision about the Lakes until he hears about the Allens [Joan and Polly]: hopes they will be able to come. He and [Stephen] Waley would probably have to go on the 30th March. Has written to Mrs Honey. Has sent off "The Ivory Tower" which he very much enjoyed. Tet Htoot says he has learnt a lot from Trevelyan about English prosody and would like to know more: Luce has encouraged him to write.

The Rectory, Gt. Rissington, nr. Bourton on the Water. - Has been ill since his return from Italy and is only just responding to correspondence. Discusses what is owed to Trevelyan for the railway tickets to Salzburg: is unwilling to let him pay the difference between second and third class as John has learned a new enthusiasm for the Classics from him, and Ethel has written to say how much she enjoyed his company. Is sorry to hear Trevelyan found his Italian visit fatiguing. They stopped on their own return for three more days at Venice, where they visited Murano and Torcello, then brief stops at Padua and Ferrara; had two days at Ravenna, where the mosaics made a deep impression, and finally a day at Milan. 'Hunting for Hellas' has been rather a failure for him, but discovering Byzantine art a revelation: it links on to Buddhist and oriental art. Is very sorry to hear about Bessie's eye: knows she can show 'great heroism' in not inflicting her troubles on others. Hopes she will be able to find someone with a nice voice to read to her. Recommends that Trevelyan takes the tour which the Hellenic Club are thinking of arranging for Byzantinists next year. Is preparing two more portfolios of Old Burmese inscriptions. Must go to London 'to the rescue' of a young Burmese friend of his, Tet Tut [Tet Htoot?].

100 Weston Rd, Gloucester. - They have heard the news of Trevelyan's accident from Tet Htoot, but not how long ago happened; asks whether he was struck by the taxi during the blackout, whether it is true that there is no internal injury, and how long he is likely to take to recover.

Draft of poem on first page, which may be incomplete as it begins with only part of a question: "When the last notes were dying? Since alone...'. Nature notes on the lesser dodder (Cuscuta epithymum), which is 'now in flower on our Surrey heaths'; perhaps for "Abinger Chronicle, pp. 2-4; mentions 'a characteristically pompous reference' to the plant 'in the (egregious) Erasmus Darwin's "Loves of the Plants". Bottom of page 4 has a list in pencil of the different categories to appear in "Simple Pleasures", with initials besides most categories, for example, 'A. Animals - birds - insects' or 'D. P. - Dangerous & Painful pl[easures]'; the essay itself begins on p. 4 in ink with a general introduction, followed by a list of pleasures. Trevelyan has then added the category initials besides each one in pencil. Additions and corrections in pencil; some red pencil. Pleasures belonging to the different categories - sight, sound, touch, etc are then brought together. Two loose sheets with further notes on pleasures, one mainly continuous prose one with prose on one side (this sheet also has Tet Htoot's name written on it), list on the other,

Book also written in from back pages in, for a dialogue between 'Muse' and Poet' (on recto with additions and corrections on facing pages); notes on a new fall of snow.

45 Bernard St, W.C.1. - Bob should not have worried about Tet Htoot losing his beret: wishes Mary Ann had not told him and made him fret 'amid hilarious rejoicings on New Years Eve'. Tet Htoot found it the next afternoon at the Mandeville. Had bought it in Brittany, worn it in Paris and did not realise how much he cared for it until he found he had lost it: compares it to 'an old wife whose existence one had taken for granted'. Adds a postscript continuing their discussion from New Year's morning: Bob may have misunderstood him, as he was not suggesting 'coming down to the low level of the people' as a poet, but that 'the votaries of the muses' should follow Christ's example and 'move among the people for very dangerous weapons are in their hands'.

45 Bernard St, W.C.1. - Received a 'grand Xmas card' from Bob on Friday ["A Dream"?]: it cheered him up just when he was feeling miserable because of a cold. Read the poem aloud to a friend, who liked it very much. Hopes to hear Bob read it aloud when he comes to the Shiffolds, which he hopes to do by about Christmas. Re-read last year's card a few weeks ago and likes it, but this is even better. Adds a postscript saying that Jack Dodd and John [Luce] did not come on Saturday: if he does not hear from John, he will send [a Christmas present from Bob? see 4/119] to Gloucester [where John's relatives live] and ask them to forward it to him. Thinks John is upset that Tet Htoot has not been in touch; this is because Tet Htoot 'wasn't in a fit state to write to him, and the sort of letter [he] would write... in such moods would not cheer [John] up & would bore him to tears'. Bob's card now gives him an 'excuse' to John and 'make amends'.

45 Bernard St, W.C.1. Very kind of Bob to send his 'magnificent Xmas card' [this year's "From the Shiffolds"], and 'most loyal' to remember him every Christmas. Enjoyed all the poems, and has been reading them to all his friends. Very 'generous' of Bob to introduce him to his favourite classical poets. As he is not a poet, cannot send poems, so sends Turkish delight instead and hopes Bob likes it; best wishes for Christmas and the new year.

45 Bernard St, W.C.1. Very kind of Bob to remember him and send his 'such a grand card' [this year's "From the Shiffolds"], Has been reading the poems to many friends, who all enjoy them. Very 'generous' of Bob to introduce him to great classical writers: without his 'labour & kindness', Tet Htoot would never have known them; would have 'missed' the "Moretum", and 'nearly splitted [his] sides with laughing over the preparation of that dish'.

Havering, Bent Field End, Stansted, Essex. - Thanks Bessie for her letter and the two Bottomley letters. They had a pleasant time in Bath with Riette and her friends. Binyon came for the last weekend and lectured on Persian painting; he and Moore read from their poetry at a Mrs Knight's, a 'tall and elegant lady' with a 'tiny little husband... an artist not much out of the ordinary but intelligent' [Charles Neil Knight?]. Went for some 'delightful excursions' along the Avon. Is charmed by his two granddaughters in Stansted, the household is calm and he thinks there will be no reason to cut short their stay. Saw [their son] Dan in London, who 'looked tired and worn'; hopes he will come for a few days soon; is reading a Hemingway he lent him. Sends his love to the Bluths [Karl and Theo ] and Tet Htoot, and friendly greetings to Miss S [Simpkins].

Wallington. - Has no news, though Geoffrey and Len [Winthrop Young] are coming to lunch. Will write to Tet Htoot to thank him for the letter [see 17/171]. Thinks his eczema is much better, though there are 'some bad tickles left', Charles is reading "Middlemarch" in the evening, which he does very well, 'simply, not rhetorically'. Molly's laryngitis seems to be improving, though she is still writing out words to save her voice. He is doing some translation of Homer, not much. Catherine [Abercrombie] seems well, and 'enjoys being here'. Has been to see Edith Bulmer, who is well herself but 'as usual worried by the boy [Martin]'s having a bad cold'. Hopes Elizabeth is well, and that she enjoyed Van Stuwe's visit.

Wallington. - All is well here; the house is kept 'quite warm nowadays' and they 'shut the windows more'. Is breakfasting in his room, but getting up soon after that; has been for some short walks though not yet as far as the garden; is leading a 'lazy life, lying on the sofa a great deal', but has also done some Homer translation. The house is quiet as there are no children here yet; the Weavers are coming in a few days, as are Kitty and her family. The only other guests have been 'Dr Boon and his nice wife and children' who have now left. Charles and Molly 'seem quite harmonious, and in good health except for Molly's laryngitis'. The Geoffrey Youngs have been away, but are now returned and are coming to tea tomorrow; he has been 'very unwell lately'. Bob is staying in the 'tapestry room', which is comfortable though there are 'no clothes pegs, and of course no water'; however, the house seems 'tidier and cleaner than it has been for a long time'. His eczema seems better. Hope Bessie has had a pleasant visit from van Stuwe and feels well and happy. Catherine [Abercrombie] is well, and getting on with Charles and Molly. Very kind of Tet Htoot to send the letter by Bob's grandfather [Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan: see 17/171]; will keep it to show Joan [Allen], and write to thank Tet Htoot. Asks to be remembered to Miss Goddard and the rest of the household.