120 Maida Vale, W. - Asks whether Trevelyan thought he had 'forgotten all about the Centaurs and the Amazons', or had no mannners because he did not write with thanks for "[The Bride of] Dionysus". Was much 'preoccupied', but has now 'broken the back of [Samuel] Butler's notebooks' and is reading through the typescript of the book ["The Note-Books of Samuel Butler"]. Feels 'rather exhausted' as the editing has been so 'long and troublesome', and he does not know how much he will have to redo. Has however read Sturge Moore's two poems and returns them; they 'contain many fine things' but are not really in 'his line' and he finds them 'a little dull'. The piece Desmond [MacCarthy] showed him and sent to the "New Quarterly", about 'a man in the Bible who got into difficulties with his dramatic gods' was 'duller'. "Dionysus" is his next job, but he may be distracted by organisation for the fifth Erewhon Dinner: Edmund Gosse has fixed the date for 12 July, and cards are being printed. Hopes that Trevelyan will come. Turned sixty-one the other day and cannot do as much as he used to, so the quantity of correspondence associated with the dinner will be tiring. Looking forward to going to Sicily the day afterwards. Went to Paris at Easter; then to Scotland at Whitsun, where he went fishing for the first time and thinks he hooked a fish though 'he wriggled off before I could get him into the boat'. Thanks Trevelyan for sending the book; hopes [Donald Tovey's] music will please him, and that the opera will 'be a great success & cause a furore'. His sister has gone to Norway for a month's holiday. Asks whether Trevelyan has sent the names of people who want to 'become Erewhonians'.
Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Bob's visit was timely, as Sir George was not well and it did him good to talk; he has recovered now. Hopes Elizabeth will see Dr Cornish; the nettle rash shows she needs treatment. Does not think she should eat porridge: she herself gets a rash when she eats it. The children are stopping until Monday since the weather is cold. Though Marjorie was indeed 'very dull & stupid' when Robert was here, she has brightened up; she is backward in learning but 'quite intelligent... and rather good with her fingers'. Hopes Miss Clark will teach her. The little one [Florence] is a 'vigorous clean little imp'. Glad Julian is improving; thinks children gain self-control as they grow. Wonders whether Elizabeth will get to London soon; would be good for him to see other children's work. Is interested to hear about Jan Hubrecht [his diplomat posting to Tokyo] is 'a fearful long way to go', and she half wonders at him taking his wife and children. Booa is definitely recovering, but slowly; she has been ill for three months. Sir George liked 'the Butler book' [Henry Festing Jones's edition of Samuel Butler's notebooks?]. Caroline would like to read the Tagore. Read 'the Poetry Annual' ["An Annual of New Poetry", edited by Robert Trevelyan?] with interest; 'if not very striking [it] is thoroughly pleasant reading'; asks when she should order it.
Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Elizabeth and Julian 'arrived very punctually', and they were glad to see them. Robert knows how much he read Sam Butler; likes his favourite pieces 'more than ever' and had looked forward very much to the appearance of the "Life and Letters", writing to (he thinks) Festing [Jones] long ago about it. Was struck by Bernard Shaw's article in the "Manchester Guardian" [ "Samuel Butler: The New Life", "Manchester Guardian" 1 Nov 1919 p 7] as Shaw had 'always made a speciality of his feeling for Butler'; Shaw said the 'conventional ecstasies of the Reviewers' were a scandal to British reviewing'. Someone has send him the article originally enclosed with this letter; agrees with Maurice Hewlett that 'Miss Savage's letters vouch the very lowest moral point' he can remember. George and his family leave tomorrow.
8, Cheyne Gardens, S.W. - Has seen George [Trevelyan]. The difficulty with MacCarthy's Butler article [for the "Independent Review"?] is that Butler's friend Jones has let him see Butler's private diary and papers, and MacCarthy must show him what he has written before publishing. Is busy on Cobden, but is not sure whether he will get it into the "Westminster [Review]" before Saturday. Will try to see Trevelyan on Thursday but does not think he will be able to stay the night. Spent an hour with George and Janet yesterday evening; George read some of his "History" out, then MacCarthy 'discoursed about Japan'.
Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Very kind of Robert to send his [Samuel] Butler books; will be glad to look over the Festing Jones, about whom he has a special interest from Butler's account of him in "Alps and Sanctuaries". Started reading and 'laughed immoderately' about [John] Frost's "Eminent Christians" [in "Quis Desiderio...?], though regarding the turtles ["Ramblings in Cheapside"] he thought Butler's "Paradoxes" 'read better than in a half page of the Notes than in a complete Essay'; the last paragraph, however, is very funny. Expects to get enjoyment throughout the book. Sees that the first [Butler] dinner Robert attended was 'named' by Marcus Hartog; wonders whether he knew Butler. Old [George] Hallam wrote him a long letter from "Ortygia" [his house in Harrow] recently; since Hallam was an old Shrewsbury man Sir George wrote to him about 'the life of Butler πάππος [grandfather]'; would like to have a 'good talk with a Shrewsbury man about it', Hopes the weather will allow Julian to visit the pictures, and that his were 'well hung'.
The Shiffolds, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking. - He and his family are all going to London tomorrow for two nights; they will go to the circus at Olympia on Tuesday. Julian is very well, 'seems to have been happy at school, and to have got on well with his lessons'; he has 'of course... had his difficulties', but they seem to have been less than they feared. [Henry] Festing Jones is staying with them for three days, and is 'very pleasant company'.
Bessie is just now finishing reading [The Casting Away of] Mrs Lecks and Mrs Aleshine [by Frank Stockton] to Julian, who 'laughs at it a great deal; they have already read Rudder Grange [also by Stockton], as well as 'The Pickwick Papers. Next they are going to read David Copperfield. There is a thaw here presently, and all the snow has gone.
Robert is currently 'deep in Aeschylus, filling in the gaps in [his] translation', but he always has, and 'always shall delight in Euripides' [whom his father has been re-reading, see 12/326], especially Medea, Bacchae and Hippolytus and some others. Also has a 'weakness for the Alcestis', which was the first Greek play he ever read, and 'always seemed... perfect of its kind', with 'especially beautiful' choruses'.
He and Bessie are much looking forward to their visit to his parents; sends his love to his mother, and to Aunt Annie, from whom they had a 'delightful visit' last week.
Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Encloses a cutting from the American "Nation", with a letter about [Rabindranath] Tagore, and a poem by Lord Crewe which is 'about as good as his father would have written'. The poem reminds Sir George of the 'very pretty memoir' by Lord Ribblesdale about his son [Charles] Lister [who died of wounds sustained at Gallipolli] which has recently been published. Thinks the long article on Emerson in this week's "[Times] Literary Supplement" is by the same writer as the one on Keats; strange to see how the author in both cases 'admires and loves' quite different things to those he does himself. Most interested in Robert having known 'Jones Festing' [sic: Henry Festing Jones], and will want to talk to him. Now Robert knows 'all about it', can say that Mr [Arthur] Fifield told him the same about what seems to be now the only surviving sister of Samuel Butler.