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Letter sharing information about G. M. Trevelyan's last words and her reaction to Veronica Wedgwood's story of falling into a stream while on a walk with Trevelyan. A covering note by Dr Robson describes Sister Thomas' position in the Trevelyan household.

Three letters, dated 7 Oct. 1940, 2 Feb. 1943, 2 Feb. 1946. The first letter thanks Kitson Clark for his letter on his appointment as Master; notes that "it seems a poor affair writing history books during the war so that I am sure that there is something that people want me to do, when everybody ought to be doing something. In the second letter he congratulates Kitson Clark for his election to something unspecified; in the third letter he thanks Kitson Clark for his kind letter for an honour bestowed upon him by the fellowship.

A letter from C. D. Broad to Hollond dated 22 May 1964 correcting Hollond's account of the interview for the television programme on Bertrand Russell, and expressing his desire to let Russell know that he had been interviewed but cut from the programme, accompanied by a copy letter from Hollond to Russell dated 26 May 1964 incorporating this information and enclosing a copy of a letter of protest at Broad's treatment to the B.B.C. television executives. Hollond's letter to Russell shares memories of Russell's visit to give the Lowell Lectures at Harvard University in the spring of 1914, mentioning the visit of Rupert Brooke, a dinner with Roscoe Pound, his reaction to a recital by Alfred Noyes, a visit with Mrs Fiske Warren, and a dinner party with Amy Lowell and Elizabeth Perkins; he also mentions speaking with Victor Purcell on the telephone after a visit with Russell, and remembering a conversation between T. C. Nicholas, and George Trevelyan about giving Russell a Title B Fellowship. With added notes at the bottom in Hollond's hand identifying people mentioned in the letter.

2 copies

Memorial address, privately printed.

On headed notepaper for Kings College Cambridge, with note 'Coventry actually, where I am spending Christmas and New Year with the Buckinghams. - Thanks Bessie for her card and letter; is glad she is 'as comfortable as these uncomfortable times allow. The Suez imbecility has robbed us of both comfort and honour, and I do resent being deprived of both'.

Is well in himself, and still has 'enough money to stem the rising tide of prices', but is unsure how long that will continue; the 'transport problem is an immediate vexation'. Is very glad to have 'got to Greece in the spring', and Leiden for a week more recently.

Unfortunately Florence [Barger] 'lacks her old strength, and has to live more quietly'; Harriet 'looks after her splendidly', and Evert has 'a good and totally new job in London' so will settle there. Has 'satisfactory news of G. M. T. from [George Trevelyan's son] Humphry.

Had a 'charming and unexpected invitation' to eat Christmas dinner with George Moore and his wife; could not accept as he was going to Coventry. 'Various other professorial or semi-professorial lame or semi-lame dogs' would also have been there, 'an unusual and probably most agreeable occasion'. Kings 'seems to have started off well under its new Provost, Noel Annan. Provost [J. T.] Sheppard is in Texas!'

Encloses a Hungarian Relief card, which he 'only got by writing direct to the Lord Mayor [of London, Sir Cullum Welch, who launched the fund]. The Trash [perhaps the Times?] has boycotted it - really disgusting'.

Sends much love, and hopes to see her 'when things get easier - and may they!'.

Trevelyan with a spade, with J. R. M. Butler standing behind him in a group of men.

'George Trevelian', 'Tommy Gold', 'Lord Adrian 1955', 'Hermann Bondi' (photocopy).

23 West Road, Cambridge. - Glad to hear about Bessie's 'two companions', both of whom she will need; he can manage to care for Janet with the help of one nurse, as she 'can still read but not walk'. Very glad about the 'Bickbeck RCT library. Nothing could be better'. His book ["A Layman's Love of Letters"] is out next week; will send her a copy. Ralph V[aughan] Williams will be coming to Cambridge frequently in February because of the rehearsals of his "Pilgrim's Progress", which is to be put on at the Guildhall.

23 West Road, Cambridge. - Desmond [MacCarthy]'s death is a 'terrible loss to his friends', and to the 'reading public whom he advised so well'; it is much to be regretted that he cannot now 'write that Introduction to the selection of Bob's work'; fears only he could have written it 'to perfection'. Took George Moore and his wife to Desmond's private funeral here; Ralph and Iris [Wedgwood] also came as well as his relations. Only person he is not sorry for is 'Desmond himself'; 'not much privilege' for the old to 'drag on in the present age' and he suffered so much from the asthma 'he endured so bravely'. Janet is much the same, but cannot get about; he leaves her as little as possible. Thanks Bessie for the offer of a book from Bob's library; he does not have a particular one he would like so she should choose one for him.

86 Chesterton Road, Cambridge. - Is sorry that he did not see Desmond [MacCarthy] at all when he came to receive his honorary degree: George Trevy [Trevelyan], with whom Desmond was staying, let him know that he needed to rest after the ceremony and then he was too ill to visit Moore. He and Dorothy went to Desmond's funeral in Cambridge, in George Trevy's car. Is hoping he will be well enough to come to Leith Hill Place this summer, and to see Bessie then. Was glad to hear from Mary Fletcher that Bessie has a satisfactory couple as gardener and cook.

23 West Road, Cambridge. - Sorry to hear that Bessie has been ill again; Janet 'keeps much the same from day to day'. Interested and pleased by the letter Bessie quoted from her German friend; has instructed Longmans to send a copy of his "Autobiography and other essays" to Bessie for her. Glad Humphry and Molly are going to see her.

23 West Road, Cambridge.—Returns a copy of [Harriet Charlotte Beaujolais Campbell’s] Journey to Florence in 1817 [published in 1951]. ‘She was a remarkable little person and I admire her greatly.’ He was struck by the poor travelling conditions of the time, but these improved greatly in the next decade as more English tourists visited the Continent.

86 Chesterton Road, Cambridge. - Is glad she liked the Gainsborough card, which he thinks is charming and worth keeping; Dorothy disposes of most of their cards, perhaps to hospitals, but he always keeps a few; reminisces about the scrap-books he and his siblings used to make while his father read aloud to them; he still has his books. His health was good enough for him to go to Buckingham Palace three weeks ago to get his 'badge and ribbon from the King' [the Order of Merit]; he also took Tim to the Christmas Feast at Trinity and saw George [Trevelyan] for the first time since he had retired as Master. Is hoping he will be able to come to Leith Hill Place next summer: was very disappointed not to be able to come. Also thinks well of Britten: very much enjoyed his "Let's Make an Opera", and Tim thought well of "Peter Grimes" and other things by him; not sure about "Billy Budd" when he heard it on the radio, however, thinking it 'scrappy' and full of what Vaughan Williams calls 'wrong notes'. Thought [Roy] Harrod's life of [Maynard] Keynes was not well judged, but he had not noticed exaggeration of the influence of Bloomsbury. Had forgotten that Norton stayed with the Trevelyans when he was ill; was very fond of him. Bessie seems to imply Bloomsbury harmed him; asks if this is what she thinks. Agrees that it is a good thing that [his niece] Riette has gone to live at Well Walk; Tim went to see them there and had a nice time; thinks Riette very charming. Is sorry Bessie has been laid up by neuralgia, but is glad Dr Bluth's treatment seems to have improved it.

23, West Road, Cambridge. - Thanks Bessie for her letter; they will indeed 'all miss our beloved Will [Arnold-Forster], who was 'so much to us in our younger days'. His portrait of her hangs in the dining room here with an artificial light over it; they 'could not make much of it' in the [Trinity Master's] Lodge as the lighting was difficult, but now it is back in its proper place. She and George are 'happily back in this house'; hopes they will stay here 'forever' now; the Lodge was 'impossible' once she became 'so feeble in walking'. The Adrians have not yet moved in, since there are 'such huge repairs to be done' on the electric wiring and structural deficiencies; is 'thankful to be out of it'.

Hallington Hall, Newcastle- on-Tyne; 23 West Road, Cambridge from 15 October. - Is very glad about "the Macaulay Classics"; sure nowhere better could be found as a 'permanent home' as 'in a library of the size and peculiarity of Trinity they will be less lost and more known of than in a very large library'. Glad that Bessie is staying on at the Shiffolds for now.

Hallington Hall, Newcastle- on-Tyne. - The photograph [of Bob, see 13/141] is 'lovely - most characteristic in every way'; is very glad to have it; also interested in what she says about the woods. Very sorry to hear that her arthritis is 'making progress' and that she may leave the Shiffolds. Notes in a postscript that Janet sends her love.

Hallington Hall, Newcastle- on-Tyne. - Thanks Bessie for her letter; has written to [Herbert Mayow] Adams, the Trinity Librarian, asking him to communicate with her, though he may be on holiday and thus not able to write at once. Very glad Humphry is going to act as [Bob's] unofficial literary executor; is sure he will do it well. Sorry that Bessie's arthritis has been causing her pain; Janet has no pain but is 'dreadfully incapacitated'. Would much like 'the "homely" photo of Bob'. They do not come south until 16 October.

86 Chesterton Road, Cambridge. - The doctor came yesterday and was pleased with George: it is not a coronary thrombosis, as feared, but just a 'tired heart-muscle' and he will soon recover. George has been up since breakfast and won't go to bed until after dinner; he is not to go to Trinity on Thursday for the presentation of a silver inkstand and Sheffield tray with silver tea service to the Master and Mrs Trevelyan [on G. M. Trevelyan's retirement as Master of Trinity], but will sign the address which the Vice-Master will bring round tomorrow. Has been very busy herself: her father was here for a month and needed much attention, so it is probable she did not keep an eye on George. There has also been the excitement of the O.M. [Order of Merit] which thrilled her father, although the boys have taken it casually; there have been lots of letters of congratulation, and people coming round for tea. George is looking forward to seeing Bessie when he goes to Leith Hill Place next month.

The Master's Lodge, Trinity College, Cambridge. - Desmond's article about Bob in today's "Sunday Times" is beautiful. Had a 'very good week of seeing him in the nursing room here' after Desmond left, when he still talked 'so clearly and well about books' even though he could not be clear about anything else. Bob's death is a 'merciful release': George does not 'pity old people who die - particularly nowadays'; George had 'many hours good reading' in his life. Thinks the poetry of his middle and later life was better than that of his youth, when he was 'obsessed by theories of what poetry ought to be and so missed expressing himself [emphasised]'; was both a strength and weakness that he was a 'learned poet'; needed to be to produce his translations, which 'all scholars praise'. Wonders if Desmond knows the work of two other poets of their generation who have been overlooked: Geoffrey [Winthrop] Young (who has found fame as a mountaineer) and Margaret Cropper (whose Westmorland poems he thinks 'much greater than the Dorset and other dialect poems the world has acclaimed').

The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, S.W.1. - Good of Bessie to tell him 'so fully about Bob'; glad he now has the nurses to look after him. Thought when he saw Bob at Cambridge that 'at his best it was remarkable how clear and good his mind was on literature, even when vague on other things'. Is glad to have had that time with him.

The Master's Lodge, Trinity College, Cambridge. - Janet has shown him Bessie's letter; was sorry not to see her. Bob was 'much worse' after her visit, but is now better; George reads to him a little every afternoon, and he has 'every needful attention'. Hopes that Bessie is getting better.

Has not written for a few days, but has not had much news; all 'pretty well in spite of the cold'; hopes Bessie has been able to continue her 'short walks'. Went to Leith Hill Place yesterday and had a 'delightful talk' with [Leslie] Hotson, the 'scholar who has so many documents about Shakespeare and Marlow and their contemporaries'; used to know him in the Quakers Mission in France during the First World War, and he was also an old friend of Lascelles and Catherine [Abercrombie]. The Times Lit[erary] Supplement is sending him a book of translations from Greek poetry by F. L. Lucas for review ["Greek Poetry for Everyman"]; 'sure to be interesting', and much of it probably good; will keep him occupied for 'some time'. Thinks he has told Bessie about the dinner the [Apostles'] Society are giving in honour of him, George and Desmond [MacCarthy]; they have promised not to make Bob give a speech, so he can enjoy his dinner. May be his last visit to [George and Janet] at the Lodge [since George's time as Master of Trinity is nearly over]. Will see Humphry and G.E. M[oore]. Hopes to visit Bessie again soon when it is 'not quite so cold'. Wrote to Bertie [Russell] recently. Asks to be remembered to K.T. B[luth] and Theo.

Hopes that all is well, and that Mrs J. Fenwick's cold is better. Has been talking to Miss Goddard; they think Bob should go in the car to London next Thursday to bring back Catherine [Abercrombie]; he could read the Leopardi to Bessie. Would bring up Miss Goddard, who could look after Bessie if Miss Jones still had her cold. Does not know how this would fit in with Bessie's own arrangements for visits from friends or medical treatments, but hopes it would suit. He would take Miss Goddard to the nursing home, talk to Bessie, and leave Miss Goddard there while he perhaps visited Lady Daniel; would then come in the car with Catherine to pick up Miss Goddard. Is 'so much looking forward' to seeing Bessie again. All 'well and harmonious here'; encloses a letter from G[eorge] M[acaulay] T[revelyan] and some others; is keeping most cards and letters in a box. His 'Greek book' ["Translations from Greek Poetry"] is 'out at last'; will bring Bessie a copy.

Wallington. - The [Cambo] Exhibition went quite well, with only a couple of short rain-storms; watched the sheep-dog trials, and went through the tent which was full of exhibits. Today is wet, but not cold; he is well 'with less tickles [from eczema]'. Catherine [Abercrombie] also seems all right, and is sleeping well. Has not yet seen Edith Bulmer, but has arranged to visit her tomorrow. Geoffrey Young and Len had to go south to see a very ill friend, but they will probably return tomorrow. Geoffrey Trevelyan is here with his child and Gillian; likes 'him a lot, her rather less so'. Liked Clough W. Ellis very much; he 'drew out Charles to talk, and did something to cheer up George'. Sorry to miss Julian and Mary; hopes they will come again soon;; sad about Hogarth. Does not think his spectacles are ready, but Catherine has heard from Odell's about hers; they will pick them up on their way home through London.

Wallington. - Went to Hallington yesterday for tea; afraid Janet was 'no better, in fact noticeably less well' than when he saw her last, though she tried to be cheerful; she was 'very nervouse [sic] with her hands in a way that was new, and told me the same thing over again'. Clough Williams Ellis was 'very agreeable' and cheered George up a little, he also got Charles to talk; sorry he has gone this morning. The house is not noisy, considering there are 'three or four children in it at present'. Hopes all well at the Shiffolds; asks when the Bluths are coming and whether they are still at Cambridge. No reading aloud here at the moment, so he and Catherine [Abercrombie] sometimes read "Pride and Prejudice". Charles is 'much more affable than he used to be'. It is the Cambo Exhibition, which may involve 'a lot of tiring standing about'. Very glad Ada is at the Shiffolds. Hopes Bessie could make out [Gaetano] Salvemini's address; she should ring up Alys Russell, who will know it, if not; he knows it is 'Miss Massie', but not her initials so cannot look her up.

Wallington. - Bessie will have got his postcard saying they [he and Catherine Abercrombie] had a good journey; they are now 'having a pleasant time' despite bad weather. Going to Hallington this afternoon. Clough Williams Ellis and his wife came yesterday; they are both 'good company'; there are 'no other grown ups' except Gillian Trevelyan, with her baby. She is 'quite nice, and gets on with everybody'. The children are sometimes noisy, but there are not many of them. The Deed of Conveyance came this morning, which he will sign and send back to Down, Scott and Down today or tomorrow. Will be good to see [Gaetano] Salvemini again; thinks Thursday 31st will be a good day to do so. Glad Ada is with Bessie, and 'in better health'; sends his love to her. Will write tomorrow after seeing George and Janet [at Hallington]. Charles is 'cheerful'; they have played chess, and Bob won. Catherine has not suffered from the journey, but feels the cold; they have a fire all day in the library. Is quite well, 'in spite of tickles [from eczema]'.

Wallington. - All well here; Marjorie's family have gone to Cambo so they are 'left in quiet here'. His eczema is better. Will be coming home on 20 April. Catherine [Abercrombie] may go to Edinburgh for the night soon. G[eorge] Ma[caulay] T[revelyan] has been for lunch, 'rather gloomy'.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Glad to hear all well at the Shiffolds, and that Mr Withell is 'taking up the problem of the pipes'. They [he and Catherine Abercrombie] will leave on 20 April, arriving home that evening. Marjorie and her children have just come, but he has not yet seen them. His legs are generally much better. Asks Bessie to send some of the 'colourless lotion' in their bathroom. Can walk more now without getting so tired. Glad Bessie is having a 'quiet time'.

The Master's Lodge, Trinity College, Cambridge. - Glad to have Bessie's letter, despite the 'rather serious news': sure Bob must hate being ill, but the letter has a 'happy ending' and she hopes he 'is able to enjoy life' again. Also thanks Bessie for sympathy about 'dear little Aunt Gertrude', a 'very important member' of the family whom all the younger members used to consult about 'any knotty points' and was always very hospitable to her and Dorothy. Adds that every family should have that sort of aunt. Asks to be kept informed about Bob's progress: she and George are 'both so fond of him'. Notes in a postscript that she is 'now very disabled with [her] arterial disease': cannot walk, has bad eczema, and can hardly write; but she manages to 'keep pretty cheerful'.