'Mile End House, Englefield Green, Surrey' printed on the first sheet, but '93 High Street, Knaphill' written on the second. - Bessie has several times apologised for not addressing her by her 'Mus. Doc' title; she 'shrank from it at the time', and does not mind what she is called, but has to be 'careful to be "Doctored" because Donald [Tovey] cannot endure me to omit the "Dr". Dr Bluth is 'most kind... and very helpful' and his letter greatly distresses her; does not care about the violin concerto but cares 'everything in the world' about the recovery of Donald's hands 'so that some record may be left of his playing'. There is none, and Lady Tovey has 'lost' Sophie Weisse's entire collection of press notices; Lady Tovey intends to stay at Hedenham till the middle of January, a very damp spot and 'as Dr Thin indignantly says "you step down into the house from the grass"', while Lady Tovey 'may or may not be infectious'. Dr [Hugh Andrew?] Gordon Watson and his colleague in Bath told her they were anxious about Donald and believed that 'all his ill health' sprang from his association with Clara Tovey. Knows this is true, but in addition Hedenham is 'a fatal place'; wants Donald to 'come away altogether' and has offered them this house with she herself going to Edinburgh where she has 'arranged a complete bombproof shelter'. Also cares about the 'burden on Mollie Grierson', who has commented that it is 'like a miracle' seeing Donald 'straighten up the moment he has a conducting stick in his hand' but is struggling with all his work while her mother is ill after two operations. He will have to give up the Royal Terrace house; ought to live where Professor Niecks lived, near his classroom on the warm south side of Edinburgh; Lady Tovey bought 'the Royal Terrace house for a song: the owner having committed suicide'. John [Wellcome Tovey] writes that Lady Tovey is weak and therefore irritated, and there are rows [this in German] ; John may himself be rude; he also says Donald cannot play at all on the large piano, and they did so much for his hands at the Westminster Hospital.
93 Knaphill High Street, Woking. - Sends the Trevelyans all good wishes, and is 'thankful' they are alive, for Donald [Tovey]'s sake. Originally enclosing a volume which reached her on Christmas Day; she 'nearly cried with joy' as she has been 'so alone and "ausgestossen" [pushed out]'; she should have been in Edinburgh with Donald, and now Lady Tovey has even 'roped in' John [Wellcome Tovey] by giving him lots of money and allowing 'a very violent flirtation with the then chauffeuse', which even Dr Blut [sic: Bluth] noticed. Feels that Dr Bluth only saw the surface of things at Hedenham; asks why he did not question there being 'two cases of rheumatoid arthritis in the same house''; Donald only started to show the signs of rheumatism 'if it is rheumatism' shortly after his marriage and went to Bath, where on a visit to see him she was visited by [Andrew] Gordon Watson and another doctor saying they were anxious about him and that all his ill health was 'caused by his association with Mrs Tovey'; she was too emotional to discuss the matter further. Hedenham is also 'one of the dampest places in Britain'; on a visit there in November she once saw rainwater from a storm come in under the front door, flow along the passage and out of the back door. Was very disappointed in Dr Bluth for not seeing the truth of things and has not written to him, but is now tempted to ask if he can do anything else to help; liked him very much. She and Mary Grierson believe Lady Tovey wants Donald to give up his Professorship., when 'even giving up playing would cause him to drift into insanity'. John talks of him as 'not sane'. Lady Tovey, Miss Morrah and even John have told her that Donald does not practise only because he is 'lazy'; she has told John he 'cannot come here if he dares to speak like that' of Donald. She and Mary Grierson believe Donald must have work to recover: '[p]ut a conducting stick into his hand and after three rehearsals he will be himself', but 'Lady Tovey does not like Edinburgh'.
Is alarmed by the inscription in the book she sends; asks if Bessie and Dr Bluth can help. There is a good Swedish masseuse here who has been helping her with sciatica; longs to have Donald 'in this warm little house and see his hands correctly massaged'; he will go mad if he loses his hands. Has been ill herself but is slowly recovering; Dr Bluth could perhaps read the letter and look at the inscription in the book, which she asks Bessie to send back soon.
The final sheet seems to be a copy of the inscription in the book sent by Sophie Weisse, perhaps in Robert Trevelyan's hand, calling Volume VI [of Tovey's "Essays in Musical Analysis"?] 'a Christmas Card partially completing a record but completely exhausting any reasonable persons patience... This is written with paralysed finger tips but by a perfectly sane and very courteous writer'.