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Pension Palumbo, Ravello, Golfo di Salerno. - Apologises if his letter writing has fallen off; has been more absorbed in his work recently. Has received her New Year's letter; a delight to know she loves him so much; discusses separation and distance. The Straughn Davidsons came today, 'two brothers and the wife of one' [James Leigh Strachan-Davidson and either of George or William, his brothers?]; they are nice people, though they do break up his 'pleasant solitude'. Has not got on well with his writing recently; thinks he is stale and should take the day off tomorrow to read novels. Is going to bed now to read Stephenson's letters, which Davidson has lent him.

Returns to the letter next morning with a description of last night's dreams, one about eating a breakfast of 'the staple diet of trout in a pond', and another about kissing an unknown young lady. Some of Stevenson's letters are well worth reading; thinks he was 'a pleasant fellow with a real streak of genius', though does not join in the 'prevalent R.L.S. worship'. Asks if she knows "Treasure Island", "[The Master of] Ballantrae" and his short stories. If the forecast is correct and they are due 'some dirty weather', the Strachan-Davidsons will be an 'acquisition'. Has skipped on to the second act of his play, and is 'plugging away at the faithful wife'; the difficulty is the villain, who is 'a plausible gentlemanly kind'. Encloses a dried beetle which he found 'in that state' on his cliff; sends it in response to her almond, and has placed 'not a few kisses on his back'. Very sorry her aunt is so unwell. Glad Willy v[an] R[iemsdijk] is not going [to the Second Boer War]; does not know what is going to happen. Sorry that she is to have so little time with [Bram] Eldering; hopes she will be able to go on her return from England. Returns to the letter after 'midday tea'; has not yet heard from [Bernard] Berenson but thinks he will pay him a visit of a couple of days if he wishes. Has finished [Shorthouse's] "John Inglesant", which he now does not think is a real success; looks forward to being able to discuss such things with her in their own house. Quotes a music hall song of Eugene Stratton about love. Is not a natural letter-writer; she is much better than he is.

Hotel & Pension Palumbo, Ravello, Golfo di Salerno. - Apologises for not writing more often. Is very sorry that her aunt has been so unwell; hopes the anxious time has now passed; can quite understand how her uncle might 'develop infinite degrees of fussiness' under the strain and thus be 'the direct opposite of [Alphonse] Grandmont' as he is in many other ways. Hopes Tuttie [Maria Hubrecht] also recovers quickly. His aunt Annie [Anna Maria Philips] is a 'dear creature', but always complains he does not write to or visit her enough; he also likes her 'invalid friend [Sophie Wicksteed]... to whom she has devoted herself'. His letter [about the landslide which damaged the Hotel Cappuccini at Amalfi] appeared in the "[Manchester] Guardian" on 2 January; it has pleased the locals as it says the coast is quite safe; thinks he will 'take to journalism', which is much easier than writing verse plays'. However, he has got on well this afternoon; is 'making no end of the wife, who is no end of a heroine'; teases Bessie by saying she will not get the chance to be such a faithful wife, as he will keep a closer eye on her. Copies out 'an old fellow who wrote about you in the 17th century' [Richard Crashaw, "Wishes to his (Supposed) Mistress"].

Continues the letter next morning; has breakfasted and 'pumped [his] ideas on Latin poetry into bucket Straughn Davidson [James Leigh Strachan-Davidson?] for half an hour'. Finishes copying out the Crashaw poem; thinks it influenced Browning. Glad Bessie has heard some music. Is 'very fond of Rameau', and has 'often heard Dolmetsch play him'. They must find out where Gluck is being played and go there; he 'can't wait much longer without hearing the Iphigenia and the other great ones'; though she might think him a Wagnerian. Hopes she will hear Lamond again. Finishes the letter in early afternoon. It is cold and stormy, and he will go to 'a nook under the cliff' to work. Discusses the rumours that there are letters incriminating [Joseph] Chamberlain [in the Jameson Raid?]; the 'Parnell letters and the Henry forgeries [in the Dreyfus case]' are warnings to be careful about such things, though if genuine they should be published; if this leads to a 'basis for peace so much the better'. Hopes Bessie's housekeeping is not tiring her; he will not be 'exacting' when they are married, 'especially with Mrs Enticknap to do everything' for her

3 Via Camerata, Florence. - Arrived safely yesterday, having had a 'delightful afternoon' at Pompeii on the way. Has found [Bernard] Berenson alone; Mrs C. [Mary Costelloe] will not return for a week or two; thinks that he and Berenson are 'making an effort not to squabble on matters of opinion, which is good discipline'. Hopes to hear from Bessie soon; will decide from what she says about her aunt's health how long to stay in Florence. Has not yet seen Miss D. G. [Lina Duff Gordon]; thinks things between them are all right now as 'her letters were quite friendly' and she liked his poem about her pet bat ["The Lady's Bat"]. Is in more difficulty with Mrs Costelloe; must keep on good terms with her if he wants to stay friends with Berenson; mistrusts her gossip and the effect it might have had on Lina. Has not yet shown Berenson his last year's poems and the work on his new play; hopes he will be encouraging. Dined with the Rasponis last night, who are very nice and live opposite in 'a magnificent palace'. Thinks Tuscany 'the finest country in the world'. Had a good time at Ravello, especially towards the end; the Straughns [sic: Strachan-Davidsons?] were 'very good company', though some 'annoying strangers' turned up. Mrs Reid was 'very kind'; wants him and Bessie to come in August or September; he has said that is not for him to decide. Will let Bessie know when he is due to arrive, and make sure he does so in the day so she will not have to get up in the dark to meet him at the station; wonders who will see the other first, as they are both 'as blind as bats'. Will show her the poem about the bat when she comes; it is not 'first class' but 'pretty'. Hopes her aunt continues to get well; would be a great shame if Bessie could not come to England in time to go to Welcombe.

Northlands, Englefield Green, Surrey. - News of his marriage to Margaret Cameron, daughter of Hugh Cameron R.S.A, not D.Y. [David Young?] Cameron. Arrangements still undecided, but would like to come to the Shiffolds soon to work on scoring Ariadne ["the Bride of Dionysus" before the wedding, which is fixed for an inconvenient day he must get changed. Is on his way to the funeral of the Master of Balliol [James Leigh Strachan-Davidson]. Miss Weisse is being 'most generous', but is still 'going through an awful struggle' and does not realise how she is 'poisoning her own generosity'. Tovey thinks though that all will be well; the main trouble is his inability to say 'even the most commonplace thing about a woman to her'. Sends love to Julian; Tovey's father in law is an 'Old Master of the Glasgow School' and Bob tells him Julian is 'the Founder of the Shiffold School'; Margaret is also an artist.

19 Prinsegracht, the Hague; addressed to Bob at Pension Palumbo, Ravello, presso Amalfi, Italia. - Very pleased with Bob's 'beetle letter', which arrived yesterday; unfortunately when she kissed the creature to 'snatch off' his kisses it broke up, but she has put the pieces together and will 'keep him as a beautiful unicorn'. She and her uncle feel that it would be difficult for her to go to England before the middle of February due to her aunt's illness; will write to Bob's mother soon to tell her; seems natural that he should stay longer at Ravello; whenever he comes, she will not be able to spend as much time with him as before. He will have to send her his 'first journalistic work' as the Salomonson's cannot send her old numbers [of the "Manchester Guardian"] and she does not know where to get them. Says the beetle brought her nice dreams in which Bob was kissing her. Must re-read the poem by [Richard] Crashaw which he copied out for her. Pities Straughn Davidson [James Leigh Strachan-Davidson] for having to act as Bob's 'bucket' [see 9/101] and hopes he appreciated his 'rich breakfast' [of poetry]. Very glad Bob thinks her a good letter writer. Wishes she could persuade her family to get a night nurse, as her uncle's night is disturbed and yet he is not as helpful to her aunt as a trained nurse would be. Had a note from George [Macauley Trevelyan] inviting her to come to Cambridge next month; very kind of him to write, and she hopes they will soon go, though expects she will 'feel terrified'. Likes Bob's father's book ["The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay"] very much, as well as Crashaw's poem; agrees there are some likenesses between the latter and Browning. Quotes from Dante's "Vita Nuova [xiv]'.

Hotel Palumbo, Ravello, Presso d’Amalfi:- Hopes she received his postcard saying he had arrived safely. Did not get here till more than an hour after he had expected, as his ‘horse kept breaking down’. Ravello is ‘much higher up’ than he imagined, but when it is reached ‘nothing could be more delightful’; it is ‘really a more satisfactory place than either Taormina or La Cava, though it would be improved by a Mrs Cacciola and garden’. There is however a ‘Mrs Reid and garden’ whom Robert has ‘some vague notion is a friend or even connection of ours’; asks her mother to let him know if this is so, as he could call on her.

The Frys are well, and both ‘doing some interesting work’; it is ‘very pleasant’ that they are here. No-one else is here but Strachan Davidson, a Balliol don with whom Robert ‘can talk about the Classics as much as [he likes]’. The ‘inn is almost as good as any in Italy’, with everything ‘the best of its kind, food, service, tea, rooms, beds, etc. Signor Palumbo himself is a ‘famous vine grower’, and his ‘wines admittedly the best in Italy’. Until today the weather has been very fine, but ‘now there is a scirrocco [sic] and showers of rain’. Has been getting on well with his work, but expects he will not do as much today but ‘copying out’.

Has not received many letters, and thinks there might be ‘something wrong at the Post Restante at Rome’; asks if she could ‘ask Batsley (?) to go and enquire’. He could enquire if there are any letters ‘under Robert, for they often keep them under the letter beginning the first word spelt in full’. Hopes she is still having a good time, and is not returning [to London?] for some time. Supposes George will soon be at Naples: he should come here for a few days. Robert has little news, as their lives are ‘very uneventful’; there is no ‘sea bathing’, as at Taormina, but ‘on the whole there are more walks’.

Pension Palumbo, Ravello, Golfo di Salerno. - Strange and 'rather a bore' writing 1900. Has received Bessie's 'almond-bearing letter' [see 9/23]; remembers walking under other almond trees with her. Is going to put a bad dream into his play; is getting on slowly but quite well with it. Much relieved by a letter from [Lina] Duff Gordon; wrote to her saying he probably should have told her of his feelings for Bessie but explaining why that had been difficult, and that he was pained to think their friendship could not be the same again; she replied after a while with no mention of the misunderstanding, just writing 'the letter of one intimate friend to another'. He had promised to write a poem about the pet bat who visits her every winter, and she wrote down the bat's name as a reminder [cf. "The Lady's Bat"]. May have been unfair to Mrs C. [Mary Costelloe], but she certainly talked about him and Lina Duff Gordon 'in a way she had no right'; will try to avoid her, but it is difficult to see [Bernard] Berenson, whom he likes very much, separately. Berenson has written, and 'rather reproached' him for not visiting him at Florence on the way down; he is alone now as Mrs Costelloe has gone to London because her husband is dying. Bob may stop a couple of days on the way back, since Berenson is not coming to England this year; 'he rather feels neglect, and has been extraordinary kind' to Bob, though he 'is difficult at times'. Will not decide until he knows when he is coming to Holland. Continues the letter next day, Has not yet heard from his mother about whether he and Bessie should cross the Channel together. Thinks it would probably be best for her to stop at Grosvenor Crescent for a night on the way to Welcombe, but that can be determined later. Hopes she and Paul and Marie [Hubrecht] will persuade Willy van Riemsdijk not to go to Africa. Sorry that her aunt has such a bad cold; teases Bessie about learning cooking and 'fortifying [herself] against evil times in the barbaric isle, where neither foreign languages not [sic] the dressing of vegetables are understood'. Other people have also found his father's book difficult, and of course she knows little of British 'history or... parliamentary jargon'. Mr Straughn Davidson [James Leigh Strachan-Davidson?] , an Oxford don whom he rather likes, is coming at the end of the week