Showing 54 results

Harnham, Monument Green, Weybridge. - 'Armenia is, as ever, premature': is not visiting his aunt until 19 Feb. Will however stay a fortnight, and is much looking forward to visiting Elizabeth and seeing the Sturge Moores. Was in Paris for a day, and wishes he had known where Bob was; he 'seemed to have bought all the books' in any shops Forster looked in. Did not see him at Notre Dame, nor even the Institut de France; was then 'frightened of some little girls who were throwing snowballs' and 'sought him no more'.

Originally enclosing three publicity notices for the "Abinger Chronicle" for Julian and Ursula to distribute to possible subscribers, such as Imogen [Gore-Browne?]; they should avoid people likely to be on Oliver [Lodge], Bob, [E.M.] Forster or Sylvia [Sprigge]'s lists. Max [Beerbohm] and Forster are both contributing to the Christmas number; does not think he himself will have anything ready. Bessie has a persistent cold, but he hopes she will soon get away to Hove for a few days. Hopes that Diana [Brinton-Lee?]'s 'expedition' was successful. Is trying to write an 'epistle in Alexandrines' to B.B. [Bernard Berenson], but it is 'rather uphill work'; quotes Pope ["Essay on Criticism"]. Tom S[turge] M[oore] is 'fairly all right', though Marie is still in Paris.

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'.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Hopes the 'invalid' [Thomas Sturge Moore?] is better and can return home soon, though sure he is comfortable at the Mill House; Mrs Moore seemed 'such a nice creature, with her pretty French manners & sweet face'; sure Elizabeth likes helping her. Keen to hear whether Elizabeth got to Tunbridge [for the Conference, see 11/107]; admire her for having canvassed. She herself has had 'urgent telegrams' about a women's meeting in Horsham today; would be wonderful if Erskine won. Sir George is very pleased at [Theodore] Roosevelt's victory. Sir Charles Dalrymple and his daughter have been staying for a couple of nights. Mary's cousin Blanche Stanley has been staying with her, who has a 'lovely soprano voice' and has been well taught. Mary has also got Charles to sing better; they are away now. Sends love to Robert, asks if he would like his "1001 Gems [of Poetry]" to be sent. Looking forward to the play. Asks if Elizabeth would like to have a box of chrysanthemums sent next week, and whether Mrs [Helen] Fry would like some, or Mrs Moore when they get back.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Glad the invalid [Thomas Sturge Moore] has recovered, and that Mrs Moore is such a good friend; hopes he is not 'delicate'. Sir George has sent a hare and duck which he shot himself. Caroline sends part of a letter from Miss Jones and some newspaper reports; asks Elizabeth to destroy Miss Jones's note and return the reports to her at 37 Broadwater Down, Tunbridge Wells. Glad Elizabeth enjoyed the Conference [of the Women's Liberal Associations?]; Mrs [Eva?] McClaren is 'bold' and 'uncompromising', but also 'warmhearted... cultivated' and charming. Knows Mrs [Frances] H[eron] Maxwell from the Westminster Women's Liberal Association; her 'appearance is really terrible' but she is a 'very good woman', most energetic, and 'sympathetic with working women'. Mary wrote a paper on land value and read it at the [Women's Liberal Associations] Conference at Sunderland; Caroline is very pleased they are both interested in the work she likes so much. Sure Maria [Springett] will enjoy making Elizabeth comfortable; Aunt Annie will be at Gr[osvenor] Cr[escent] on Friday afternoon. Sir George has been asking how the [building of the new] house is going; perhaps Robert can write about it. Asks when they are going abroad, and whether Elizabeth has found anyone to go with her. Will send flowers on Monday. Hopes Robert's proofs are going well[ for "The Birth of Parsival?]. George's book ["England Under the Stuarts]" is just coming out.

Originally enclosing a letter to Ursula, marked 'urgent'; was going to forward it to the Darwins but changed his mind; Bessie is not coming home till the evening, and he thought he should send it at once. Has been home for a few days after going to Wallington, the [Gordon] Bottomleys and Aunt Annie [Philips]. Tom [Sturge Moore] is back here, but Marie is in London for the time being. Glad Julian will be able to come during his leave. Went to the Sickert show at the National Gallery; there were 'crowds of pictures, some very good' but in general the show at Agnews a few years ago was 'more select' and gave a better idea of him.

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.

Thanks Bob for his "A Dream": is still often unsure how it should be scanned so expects he is missing the rhythm. Is afraid that 'broodings... politicial and philosophical' are increasingly unappealing to him as subjects of poetry, but he seems to have 'run dry entirely' himself and so has 'no right' to an opinion on the work of those 'more fortunate'. 'If Plato needed a wall to shelter under we certainly need dug outs, and perhaps graves would be more satisfactory'. Sends love to Bessie and Bob, and 'many many thanks' for all they do for the Moores. A postscript in Marie Sturge Moore's hand also expresses her gratitude.

Westridge Farm House, Streatley, Berkshire. - His and Cicely's thanks for Bob's book ["Aftermath"]; commiserations on the loss of the stock of Bob's "Collected Poems" [in a bombing raid]; his own "Painting in the Far East" 'suffered the same fate", but this does not matter much as he does not think it would continue to sell. Has been told that authors whose stock has been destroyed by enemy action will be able to claim the royalties they would have received at the end of the war; not sure whether this is true and it is not particularly consoling. Praises "Aftermath"; knew some of the poems already but many are new. Shares Bob's feelings and admires his 'fortitude', though does not think reason is as 'sufficient a stand-by' to him as it is to Bob. Thinks he likes "A Custom of Thrace" best, but is not sure; mentions others he likes. Glad Bob is continuing to write.

He and Cicely were very worried about their daughter Helen at Bath [which suffered Blitz bombing over 25-27 April; Helen was working there in the Admiralty's mapmaking department], but received a message from her by telephone that she is safe, as is Riette [Sturge Moore]. Expects the Moores will have already heard their daughter is safe; supposes they are still staying with the Trevelyans. Expects Oxford and Cambridge will be next to be bombed, since he sees the 'Germans announce they will attack every building that has a star in Baedeker'. They have four grandchildren living with their mother at Oxford. He is 'struggling with the a poem, "The Ruins"' but is currently 'stuck'; it is 'intended to be a cluster of poems each in a way independent but related & forming a single poem'; sends the first section [no longer present]. Thinks Trevelyan manages his 'new kind of blank verse very well' and it seems to suit him, though Binyon was 'glad of' the rhymed pieces as a change. Does not like 'these easterly gales', but is happy to have 'so much sunshine'; their garden is 'rather lovely just now'. Sends love to the Trevelyans and the Moores.

The four volumes [of Bob's "Collected Works"] will 'completely dwarf' his own when together on the shelf. Asks if Bob has seen Douglas Bush's "Mythology and the Romantic tradition in English Poetry" ("Harvard Studies in English" Vol. 18), which he recently read at the British Library; it discusses the mythological poetry [Robert] Bridges], Bob, [Lascelles] Abercrombie, [Laurence] Binyon and Sturge Moore himself, concentrating on Bridges and Sturge Moore but 'treating us all seriously'. Heard about it from Frederick Gwynn, a pupil of Bush, who intends to write a book about Sturge Moore's poetry as his thesis ["Sturge Moore and the Life of Art", Richards Press ; University of Kansas Press, 1952] and hopes to spend next year in England. Gwynn will be one of the 'most careful readers' of Bob's "Collected Works". 'Education and Universities' do good at least in providing 'readers even for the unpopular' and students who 'appreciate other than fashionable qualities'. He and Marie will be 'proud' to own Bob's book.

The Countess [Karen] Blixen's "Out of Africa" has 'charming chapters'; her 'little Kikuyu protegé' believed Blixen could write a book as 'big and as hard as the Odyssey', but not that she could 'make it blue', like her copy of Homer; Bob's book would fulfil all points. Blixen does not write perfect English, but 'her psychology and style are both poetical and most interesting in unexpected ways'. Heard about the book from Binyon; it is a 'real delight, though unequal in places'. Met Julian and Ursula at the London Theatre Studio on Friday night: Julian is 'very charming and seems to have an "Out of Africa" touch not like a Giraffe but like some human equivalent' which the Countess may have 'discovered and appreciated', since she had a 'flair for the really valuable & rare'.

Heald, Coniston, Lancashire. - Thanks Bob for sending his 'beautiful poem' ["A Dream"] at Christmas; has been re-reading it; there 'is hope yet while such things can be written'. Also thanks him for his 'cheering letter about poor Missee Lee', but adds 'Damn you for your horrid wish' that Ransome will have 'still more dreadful difficulties in constructing stories in the future'. Regrets that that wish is already true: is in the middle of the 'ghastly torment' of starting a new book, 'domestic and realist this time', with the Great Aunt from "Swallowdale" as a central figure and 'so far as I can see, no story at all'. The 'whole wretched thing' must be finished by the end of May, and Ransome's mind is 'like a wrung out bathing costume'. Glad to hear about Montaigne [Bob's translation] and to think of him working with 'file and chisel... in this world of spanner and oil-can and petrol and high explosive'; tells him however not to work on Montaigne too long, as no-one else currently writing 'can do anything like what you did in that Christmas poem'. Wishes there was a chance of seeing Bob. Sends best regards from him and his wife to Bob's wife and the Sturge Moores; wishes Sturge Moore would 'bring out a new unaltered edition of the Vinedresser', which meant a great deal to Ransome in his 'early youth'.

5 rue Denfert Rochereau, Boulougne S[ur]/S[eine]. - Very good of Bob to talk about her memoirs to Mr Rudker [sic: John Rodker]. Hopes to send the manuscript in a few days; she and her husband are currently re-copying it to make it 'decent and readable'. Is feeling 'very shy', as this is a new area of work for her; understands it may not suit English traste, being 'too Russian - personal, intimate and "mystical". It will be a disappointment, not a discouragement, if Mr Rodker does not publish it in English; in that case would like to know whether Rodker's opinion is also unfavourable towards the book itself; is 'very brave' and likes to struggle. Has seen Miss Chetwynd, who looks 'charming' but it is clear she is 'suffering'; liked her very much, and it turned out she had seen Maria act in London so they were 'not quite strangers'; an American girl had also seen Maria act, in New York. Asks him to thank Bessie for inviting her to see Mrs Moore; she enjoyed the evening very much. Mrs Moore is 'so artistic and human' and plays the piano, Maria's favourite instrument, beautifully. Will not judge Mr Ryker's [?] playing, but he was 'very nice and friendly'. Asks to be remembered to Ursula, and hopes she is well now.

The Shiffolds. - Is alone here until Wednesday, since Bessie is in Cambridge; she hopes to see Caroline in London during her return, and seems well, apart from a cold. The weather is 'beautiful again today, and the woods are full of bluebells'; this is the best time of the year here, before the trees are fully in leaf.

They are currently 'very anxious about H[enry] Fletcher's wife', whom they hear from Mary Fletcher to be dangerously ill: if she can 'get through this crisis' she may 'get fairly well again'. Sturge Moore, the poet, and his wife are coming to the Shiffolds for two days on Wednesday; then Moore's brother [George], the philosopher, comes till Monday. On Saturday night, Denman is bringing Tovey over in his motor-car, and Arthur Dakyns will also be here. So on Sunday they will be 'quite filled up', with four guests, but he thinks they can manage.

Expects to be in town one day next week. Will try to see Pelléas et Mélisande if they perform it a second time. Hopes his father is well. Wonders how she thinks Henry James was looking when he came to lunch: does 'not think he looked at all well at Eastbourne'.

Crom-a-boo, Heavitree, Exeter. - Congratulations on the 'safe arrival of Paul the first'; they only heard this morning as they left home on Thursday morning. Glad Bob's wife seemed to have 'suffered so comparatively little'. Paul weighed a little more than Dan did on his birth; they did not measure Dan. Has finished his comedy ["Two Ugly Men"?] and is very pleased with it. Dan is 'picking up nicely' since they got here. George is here and ;seems well & happy'. Has an article to write for the "[New] Quarterly" on all the new books on [William] Blake which he thinks he will do well; asks if Bob has seen [Frederick] Tatham's "Life" of Blake, edited with the Letters by A. G. B. Russell, which he likes more than anything else written about Blake. Would have put the story about Blake 'singing in bed just before his death' into his own ode "On Death" if he had known it before. Is also reading [John] Donne, but is 'rather disappointed with him'. Sends best Christmas and New Year's wishes.

20 St James's Square, Holland Park, [London] W. - He and his wife heard the news [of Paul Trevelyan's death] from the Sangers the day evening before Bob's letter arrived, so were 'already full of sorrow and sympathy' for the Trevelyans. Too 'overwhelmed' by the thought of what losing their own children would mean to himself and Marie to offer more than 'a timid assurance of fellow-feeling', as far as is possible without 'the brutal experience'. They had hoped very much that Paul was getting strong again, so it is a real shock. Hopes that they will be able to 'bear up'.

Thanks Bob for sending her his new poems ["From the Shiffolds"]; 'how Tom would have enjoyed them!'. Finds a 'freshness, a kindness, a sincerity' about them; they bring 'some of the tonic air of the country'. Also much enjoyed Bob's reading, and thought it a success; even 'poor Desmond [MacCarthy] who could not find his words managed to say a few nice things'. Asks him to let her know whether the 'detached "Pensées"' which she left with him at the same time as the "Michael Angelo" were typed or handwritten.

The Shiffolds, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking. - Thanks his father for his 'kind letter of welcome home [12/305]'; found 'everything well' here. The [Sturge] Moores will stay a few days longer; they have been 'very good and easy companions for Bessie through the winter. Julian comes home [from school] on the 8th, and the Moores leave on the 10th. He and Bessie are going to London tomorrow: Bessie to Charles and Molly's, and Robert to the Birrells' house; they lunched there last week and found his friend [Francis Birrell]'s father 'apparently in good health, and a most kind and entertaining host'. Thanks his father for the fifty pounds; has just received notice from the bank [Drummonds] that it has been paid into his and Bessie's account.

Not surprised that his father finds Lucretius III.877-9 difficult; discusses a reading by Lachmann, Munro, and Duff which 'makes everything easy' and which he thinks is right, as 'lines in Lucretius are often transposed'; interesting however that his father 'managed to construe it as it stands'.

W[est] H[ackhurst]. - Has been meaning to write and send the enclosed from [F. W.?] Ogilvie, who ‘also came and talked to me after my Broadcast - or rather listened to me, for I waxed quite lyrical. He is a darling, but weak, and the more friendly jogs he can receive the better’. Will try to ‘get up the statistics about German music’ and write to Ogilvie or see him. Meanwhile, thinks it important that ‘those who can speak with authority about music’, such as Bessie, should ‘send in their views’.

Advises her not to ‘worry over dear old R. V. W. [Ralph Vaughan Williams, who is a ‘complete goose as regards judgements.’, as illustrated by his acceptance of the Shakespeare Prize [awarded to him in 1937 by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, at the University of Hamburg]. Now he ‘waddles to the other extreme and cackles anti-Beethoven’. Forster saw him recently at a Refugee Tea and had a ‘very strong sense of his loveableness and goodness’. Looks forward to visiting Bessie next week; can easily get there and back ‘by feet and bus’.

Doesn’t think he quite agrees with Bessie about the war, but is ‘a feeble disagreer, and not argumentative’. Does think that ‘Hitler is a nasty nuisance who would start again if we made peace’, and would not only aim to take away their ‘money and possessions, which don’t spiritually matter’, but also ‘our right to say what we think and feel, which does matter, anyhow to me’. Knows the British government also takes this away, ‘but not to the same extent that Hitler would. The refugees are living examples of his mentality’, which is always before Forster. Has given up his flat, partly as it is in a ‘very bombable area [Bloomsbury]’ but also he can no longer afford it. Has taken another for half the price at Chiswick [9 Arlington Park Mansions], and hopes to move in soon. They are going on ‘quietly’ at West Hackhurst; his cousins [Percy Whichelo and his wife Dutchie] are ‘helpful’ in the house, and Agnes is ‘not over-worked’. Comments on ‘what lovely paper’ Bessie writes on; ‘even when there is a picture of a prison on it it is such a pretty prison’. Asks to be remembered to the Sturge Moores, and sends love to Bessie and Bob.

Casa Boccaccio, Settignano, Florence, Italy. - Sorry to hear that Julian has had a bad cold; Elizabeth has sent his two first letters; glad he is getting on well [at Bedales], expects Elizabeth will visit soon. The 'common people speak Italian just like Arrius [in Catullus 84]' and put aspirates after their consonants. Glad they pronounce Latin 'properly' at Bedales; afraid he himself is 'shaky' about his 'v's'. Asks to be remembered to Mr [Reginald] Roper. Originally enclosing some photographs taken in this villa and the garden here; the library is modern but 'in the old Italian style', and he works or writes letters in it every morning, going up into the hills when the weather is fine. Large quarries and caves there, but he has met 'no tribe of Troglodites'; expects the Romans 'drove them all over the Alps'. Also originally enclosing some stamps (one Estonian) which the librarian has just received in the post. Sees there will be a by-election at Darlington, and hopes Julian will use his 'influence with the Mayor of Hurtenham [his imaginary town' in favour of any Labour candidate; though he expects Labour do not have much chance. Asks to be remembered to the [Thomas Sturge] Moores if Julian sees them, and to Igor [Anrep?].

Garrick's Villa. - Enjoyed his luncheon with Bob very much; he seemed well, especially given his long journey; was sorry not to have a good report of Bessie and the sad news of Miss Simpkins. He and Bob were by far 'the best dressed men in the Athenaeum'. Would like to visit the Shiffolds before 'the magic wood' has stopped flowering. Is lending two books which may suit evening reading: some short stories by Trollope and Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time". She should tell Bob a new variation of chess, played on a board with an extra row down each side, has been invented. Molly is fairly well, 'both anxious and pleased' about Dermod's engagement. They are going to Ocford on 16th May, and on the 20th he turns seventy: says he '[doesn't] feel more than seventy-five'. Marie Moore has written him a letter; he feels she must be very lonely. She says she misses 'delightful conversations' at the Shiffolds, and would like Tom's friends to send her their memories of him. Will try, and hopes Bob will too.

Casa di Boccaccio, Settignano, Florence, Italy. - Originally enclosing 'a few more stamps' and some newspapers about the bicentenary of [Christopher] Wren's death; the original plan for St. Paul's is interesting. Has had a letter from Elizabeth about her visit to Bedales, which she seems to have enjoyed. Glad Julian is 'getting on so well'; must come for a weekend next term, perhaps to stay with the [Thomas Sturge] Moores; by then Julian will 'no doubt be swimming like a seal or a penguin' both literally and metaphorically. Will be returning home about 20 March, when Elizabeth will also be returning from the Netherlands. Reminds Julian to use a three penny stamp if he writes again.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. -Winter has returned and the world is white again, but there has been a thaw today and he hopes it extends to Paris. Very interested in Robert's account of the 'local arrangements' of his organisation [the Friends War Victims Relief Committee]. Aunt Anna [Philips] much appreciated her visit to Shiffolds, and was glad to see the [Thomas Sturge] Moores. Julian seems to be doing his best to be a good schoolboy; very good that Robert and Elizabeth know so much about the school. Very good to have George back again, though he and Janet have 'the great worry and anxiety' of Humphry having scarlet fever; he is getting excellent care in an isolation hospital at Berkhamsted. Sir George is leading a quiet life and a happy, except for 'public, and above all general financial, and trade, anxieties'; is reading a good amount of the classics every day, and next month plans to read Lucretius in his uncle [Macaulay's] copy, which is 'very copiously annotated, and marked'. Has been reading so much about the Epicureans in [Cicero's] "De Natura Deorum" and "De Officiis" that his curiosity has been revived; like a man who has been reading [Pascal's] "Provincial Letters" and wants to know 'what the Jesuits have to say for themselves'.

Originally enclosing some stamps; Julian is not likely to have the old Italian ones already. Visited 'the bower' yesterday, and thinks 'the troglodites must have ventured back' [see 15/27], since some 'green fir-shoots' have been put inside, perhaps as a mattress, and there is some orange peel lying around. Glad it is now warm enough for Julian to bathe; he will soon learn to swim. The limerick was by Mr [Gordon] Bottomley, not [Donald] Tovey; they thought he would recognise the handwriting. Is coming to stay with the Moores soon, with Elizabeth, who will have told Julian about the 'various birds nests'; thinks there must be some young owls in the trees at the back. Mr [Goldsworthy Lowes] Dickinson is visiting; he types in Julian's room; he will probably want to play chess after lunch.

Westridge Farm House, Streatley, Berks. - Sends 'rather belated' thanks for Bob's translations ["Translations from Horace, Juvenal and Montaigne, with Two Imaginary Conversations"] and for the "Epistle [to Joan Allen]" he sent to Binyon and [his wife] Cicely. Cicely has been suffering from erysipelas; it is a 'very debilitating disease', and he had to take her to stay with her brother [Valentine?]in Sussex; they returned last week. Congratulates Bob on the 'suppleness of the verse', just right for translating Horace; would have liked Bob to translate some of the "Odes", but expects he is right that it is 'quite impossible to repeat the miracles of placing [emphasised]' in an uninflected language like English. Much enjoyed the "Imaginary Conversations", and thinks them a 'pleasant way of writing literary criticism'; encourages Bob to do more, as he 'write[s] such excellent prose (like all good poets)'; asks if Bob feels he is 'trespassing on Landor'. Thinks he has succeeded in 'suffusing all the elements of the book... with a wholeness of atmosphere, wise and mellow'; enjoys this, though he cannot share in it completely, since he does not 'really feel at home in the Roman world', and has an 'obstinate streak of the mystic' which he is sure Bob would disapprove of. Had already given a copy of the book to his son-in-law [Humphrey HIggens], a teacher at St Paul's school, who has read some of the Horace with his pupils and 'much admired' Bob's translations. Only has one more canto of [Dante's] "Paradiso" to translate, but Macmillan has 'lost so heavily' on the first two volumes of the Divine Comedy that he is not keen to publish the last at the moment; however, he has agreed to publish a new book of Binyon's poetry "[The North Star"], which Binyon will send Bob when it come out, perhaps in spring. Knows Bob must mind not being able to take his usual trip to Italy; expect he has heard about their five months in Greece last year, which were 'very enjoyable and interesting', though Binyon would have found Athens a 'dull place' if he had not been so busy with his lectures and the weather was bad much of the time. They flew home all of the way. Supposes Bob hears nothing direct from B.B. [Bernard Berenson]; hears Mrs [Eugénie?] Strong has been 'turned out of her flat in Rome'. Asks how Bessie is; he and Cicely send their love to her, and to the [Sturge] Moores if they are still with the Trevelyans.

Thought Bessie might like to see the enclosures [no longer present]; does not want them back. R. V. W. [Ralph Vaughan Williams] tells him 'he has now heard from her [reference unknown]'. Is going to spend the weekend with the Bells; hopes he [emphasised] gets back. Was very nice seeing her and Bob recently, and the Sturge Moores. Must get the Goethe novel which he [Thomas Sturge Moore?] recommended; Forster had never heard of it. Always 'fall[s] off Wilhelm Meister.

His mother seems fairly well, and 'more worried about the tea & rations than the bombs'. Must go to meet Mr Todd [perhaps J. J. Todd of Dorking, like Forster involved with refugee commitees and The National Council for
Civil Liberties], who is coming to tea.

40, Well Walk, NW3. - He and Marie cannot thank the Trevelyans enough for their 'very great generosity'; asks if it could be considered a loan rather than a gift, which they would look forward to paying back in instalments in a year or so with 'additional gratitude for your still greater kindness in allowing us to do so'. It is very timely as they have to meet the interest on the bank loan as well as extra charges for [their son] Dan while their investments have suspended payment of dividends. Macmillans have arranged to pay him royalties half-yearly, which will also help. Sends Christmas greetings and New Year wishes to the Trevelyans, including Julian.

c/o A[ubrey] Waterfield, La Fortezza, Aulla, Massa Carrarra, Italy. - Originally enclosing some 'little bits of mineral' in some newspaper, and asks Julian to guess what it is. Describes the 'big sala' in which he is writing, with measurements and sketches, especially the roof. Tells a story about Hannibal's 'last but one elephant' escaping and laying his bones near where the castle of Olivola now is, by coincidence, near the spot where a fossilised mastodon is now being dug up. The restaurant keeper has 'three large bits of his tusk, and two molars'; a piece which had chipped off is what he now sends to Julian. Sketches the grain of the ivory, still visible and 'very beautiful'. They are waiting for an expert to come to unearth the rest. Hears that the St[urge] Moores are staying at the Shiffolds with Elizabeth. Must now go and try to finish his play "Cheiron". Will probably come home early in March; may go to the Netherlands with Julian and Elizabeth, but has not yet decided.

40, Well Walk, NW3. - He and Marie touched by the Trevelyans' kind invitation to stay with them at the Shiffolds if they are driven away from home by air raids. Hopes that the conference at Munich may prevent war, though fears that it will increase the power of Fascism. They would very much have liked to visit, but had already arranged to have Annie [his half-sister]. Originally enclosing an 'excuse from Helicon with two divisions of [his] Provocations in it'.