The Bri[tish] Mus[eum] Lib[rary]. - Is staying at Hare Court till Wednesday, when [Charles] Sanger starts for Greece; he is no better yet. Wrote to Aunt M[eg Price] about the piano suggesting 'delicately' that they might make an exchange [of an upright for a grand] one day; thinks it will be all right. Went on his bicycle to Dorking to see the Frys, and saw Laurence Binyon and another friend, with whom he went up Leith Hill. Has got on quite well with his play recently. Would like to see Bessie in her 'new spectacles, like a professor'; Curry & Paxton say Ambro [Hubrecht]'s spectacles are ready, asks whether he is to send them or bring them over. Thinks "Wuthering Heights" 'altogether more wonderful' than anything Charlotte [Bronte] wrote, though he does not 'depreciate Villette etc'. Forgot to take the measurements of the table but will as soon as he returns. Teases Bessie about her old fondness for 'the Sweedish [sic] Inst. doctor' [see 9/37]
The Mill House, Westcot, Dorking. - Sorry to hear about Bessie's cold; hopes it has now gone. Has discovered some 'wonderful woodland places in the valley... the woods here are quite endless'. Impatiently waiting for spring; is usually in Italy in February and March. She should read Flaubert's letters; he expresses several things Bob feels but is 'too lazy' or lacks the power to explain. Is having difficulty getting into the right frame of mind to work, but thinks he has made his play better by his alterations. Has been reading some Heine and [Goethe's] "Faust" in German, but cannot really spare enough time for it. Much interested in the 'domestic politics' Bessie mentions, and would like to meet some more of her half-sisters; expects he will when he comes to the Netherlands soon. Asks her to thank her uncle for his kind letter; would like to leave the question of the post-marriage celebrations to her and her father; is always 'rather afraid of formal speeches and ceremonies' but would not object if they wanted it. Wonders how she likes "Wuthering Heights"; for him 'crude as it is in some ways... it beats almost all English novels'. Is pleased that [Alfred] Enticknap has got a permanent place at a nearby house, though he will still be able to do some work for him and even the Frys, who say he is a 'firstclass gardener'.
10 Prinsegracht, the Hague; addressed to Bob at the Mill House, Westcott, Dorking, Surrey. - Is drying her hair by the fire. Has been to the oculist to discuss her spectacles. Received Bob's letter enclosing the note from his aunt [Margaret Price]; will ask her sister Mien for advice on a piano when she comes tonight for [her husband] Rontgen's concert; it is a very kind present; agrees that they ought to get an upright. Has finished "Villette" and enjoyed it very much, more than "Jane Eyre" and "Shirley"; discusses it briefly; has now got "Wuthering Heights" from the library. Had a very nice letter from Booa [Mary Prestwich], saying it was a pleasure to see Bob 'really in love'. Asks for the measurements of Bob's dining table and the door of her 'little room'. Returns to the letter next morning after practising the violin. This afternoon Mr Kattendijke is coming to play a Mozart sonata with her and try the Brahms songs. The concert last night was 'delightful'; wishes Bob could have heard Messhaert sing; Röntgen was also very good. Sat with her sister and discussed Bob's aunt's offer of a piano; Mien said she knows Broadwood's are excellent pianos, and that Bob's aunts 'professional friend' could be trusted to choose an instrument; it is not like choosing a violin, where each instrument is an individual; Mien suggested they ask for an upright to be replaced by a grand when they have space, as one was offered, but does not know if they can ask Mrs Price for this. Glad Bob feels hopeful about the play. Saw the 'tall doctor of the Swedish Institute' last night at the concert; hadn't seen him since 'the time when his appearance always gave [her] a little thrill' but it did not make any impression on her at all.
Written 'in train Amsterdam - Hague'; addressed to Bob at The Mill House, Westcott, Dorking, Surrey. - Has had a nice day at Amsterdam and good first lesson with [Bram] Eldering, who is a 'charming man and excellent teacher'; will go again soon as next Saturday there is a Brahms concert to which she will go and stay with her sister. Her aunt has been much better recently. Is just passing 'the famous bulb fields', although there are no colours yet except some yellow and purple crocuses. Has been talking with the Röntgens about the wedding day. Tells Bob off because she finds no letter from him when she arrives home. Tomorrow is going to see her sister [Maria] at Rotterdam, the district nurse, who came once to dinner when Bob was here; will also go and see 'old aunt of theirs... whom [she] hasn't seen for ages' and will show her and her sister their photographs. Has begun "Wuthering Heights", which is 'curiously fierce and bloody' but has not yet got far. Has just found a letter from Tuttie [Maria Hubrecht], asking her when she ought to come home; she will certainly return before mid-May when Bob may come. Tuttie says [Salvatore] Cacciola has 'made himself tremendously unpopular' with lawsuits against someone he accuses of lie; feels sorry for his wife [Florence Trevelyan]; Cacciola will probably come out of it badly but 'one can never tell with these Sicilians and bribery'.
the Hague'; addressed to Bob at The Mill House, Westcott, Dorking, Surrey. - Has a bad cold and has lost her voice. Went to Rotterdam on Sunday to see her [half] sister [Marie]; they went to lunch with Marie's old aunt whom Bessie had not seen for years; she was so kind that Bessie feels 'sinful' for not visiting more often. The aunt tends to take Bessie's step [half] siblings view that the Hubrechts kept her and her sister Mien away from them, which is 'nonsense' but she understands it; has often been difficult for her and her sister to hear reproaches from both sides; Tuttie [Maria Hubrecht] is seen as the 'black sheep', but Bessie's uncle and Bramine have also been reproached; still, they all appreciate what her uncle and aunt have done, and everything is 'on a very peaceful footing now'. Marie is the 'neutral diplomatic one'. Ambro [Hubrecht] thinks that her uncle should not give a speech after the civil service; asks what Bob thinks. The evening before the wedding, when the Röntgens will probably be there, they will have 'music & fun - in Germany it is called; Polterabend'. Lula [Julius Röntgen] will not be able to attend as he is in Berlin for work. Is going to spend a quiet afternoon reading "Wuthering Heights".
10 Prinsegracht, the Hague'; addressed to Bob at The Mill House, Westcott, Dorking, Surrey. - Sorry that Bob has a cold; he should 'choose a better way of showing [his] sympathy' with her. Discussion of comforting and sharing things with each other. Bob will have received her uncle's letter; thinks he is right to advise waiting to write to Sir Henry Howard [British ambassador to the Netherlands] until they hear from 'the Paris oracle' [Mr Barclay; see 9/40]. Hopes Bob has a good Easter with his friends; he must decide whether to go to Salisbury Plain rather than Borrowdale [for their honeymoon] as she does not know either place, and just wants the place to be 'retired from tourists... real country'. Describes Bob's enthusiasm for Flaubert and a performance by him from "La vision de St. Antoine" while they were sitting by the edge of a wood. Charming of [Bob's brothers] Charles and George to think of giving them a box to hold music. Spent a long time yesterday working on her will; it will be almost the same as her sister's. Will go to Amsterdam on Saturday if her cold is better to hear a Brahms chamber concert and have another lesson [with Bram Eldering]. Has read a great deal of "Wuthering Heights"; it is 'tremendously fierce & powerful'. Asks whether Bob has copies of certain books, if so she will leave them behind or give them to someone. The Boers have suffered a great loss with the death of Joubert; asks what the feeling is about it in England. Has had to order more photographs of Bob as she has given so many away. Scolds him for not spelling the name of the place where he lives correctly.