Showing 16 results

Trinity [on headed notepaper for the Harrow Philathletic Club]:- Thanks his mother for her letter and the half sovereign. Is afraid the paper 'was not as good as it ought to have been, in fact it was very bad indeed'. It is 'bound to be a failure', as 'every sensible person' thought long before it came out. Sees Kipling has a new book of ballads out [Barrack-Room Ballads], which are 'said to be very good' and seem to be from what he has seen of them.

Will have to arrange a day soon to come and see Woodhouse [his dentist], who says after this visit Robert's teeth should be 'right for a very long time'. Does not think he will get Hurst's rooms, so will probably have to wait for Charlie's. Hopes his father is well, and 'will soon have the satisfaction of hearing that [the Liberals] have won North Hackney [in a by-election]'. Hopes G[eorgie] is well at Harrow.

Finds he knows so much about Waterloo that he thinks he will 'have to go to America to lecture on it'. Thinks that Aunt Alice is coming to the Myers' house next Sunday.

3 Hare Court, Inner Temple, London E.C. - It is very good of her to see the matter [his father's wish that Sir Henry Howard and his wife be invited to the wedding] the way she does; not possible for 'these sort of things' to be ideal; does not think the Howards will really spoil much, and hopes the Grandmonts will not be 'unreasonable' and come too. Had to tell his father of the Grandmonts' objections or he would been angry when he called on Sir Henry at the Hague and found he had not been invited. His father does not know Sir Henry well, but his aunt [Alice] Dugdale does, and in general his family 'are on very good terms with the Howards of Corby, though not very closely related'. His relations would very likely be offended if Sir Henry were not invited; does not particularly care about Aunt Alice, but his father does, and he does care for his Aunt Margaret and does not know how she would react. Sanger is engaged, and therefore quite recovered. True that she [Dora Pease] 'behaved so badly to him' and there is a doubt whether she is really in love with him, but Bob is optimistic; [Goldsworthy Lowes] Dickinson knows more and is reassuring; Bob has not yet seen Roger. Expects Sanger's wedding will be in July or August; wonders whether Bessie will like Dora, as people often do not and she has plenty of faults; yet she is not heartless. Splendid that Sanger is 'so miraculously cured'. Thinks he will go to Dorking on Thursday; MacCarthy and Sickert are coming to visit. Will write more later of what he did in Cambridge. Curious about Lily H[odgkin]; did know she was there [Dresden] and had just written to thank her for returning a book he lent her two years ago. Is glad to have her new photos, though does not think them very good.

28, Queen Anne's Gate, S. W. - Has just received Robert's letter [with the news of his engagement] and 'warmly welcome[s her] new niece'. Has 'always had a great liking' for the Netherlands, having stayed at the Hague with the Howards [Sir Henry Howard was British ambassador there], and thinks there is 'such a likeness' between the nations. Has been 'sorry for any possible strained relations' due to the [Second Boer] War, and hopes Robert and Elizabeth's engagement is a 'happy omen'. Asks Bob to tell Elizabeth that the Croppers at Ellergreen already make a link with her; has heard Miss [Eleanor?] Cropper on the subject. Wonders if Bob likes the Hague, and Delft, where her 'favourite hero of all, William the Silent, was done to death'. [Her son] Edgar is here and also sends 'warm wishes; [her other son] Frank is in the country.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Wishes Bessie and her uncle and aunt a very happy new year. Very pleased to receive Bessie's photographs; asks if she could send copies to her sister Miss [Anna Maria] Philips, who has always been very good to Robert and his brothers and takes great interest in them. This aunt lives at Tunbridge Wells in the winter with an invalid friend, Miss Wicksteed, who is also very fond of the boys and would like a photograph, and in the summer near Manchester. Caroline has another sister [Margaret Price], a widow living in Gloucestershire; Sir George has two sisters, Lady Knutsford and Mrs Dugdale. Not a large family of near relations; looks forward to introducing them to Bessie. Hopes to hear from Robert about the disaster at Amalfi [the landslip at the Cappuccini Hotel]. Will be in Welcombe from next week.

19 Portman Square, W. - Many congratulations on Robert's 'international match'; only got Robert's address from Mrs Dugdale yesterday so could not write sooner. Has asked 'every Dutch authority' he knows about Robert's fiancée - Lord Reay and Mrs Lecky - and thinks the 'world will say [Bob] is a wise poet'. Sends his and his wife's best wishes; asks Robert if he could send them a photograph, and whether the wedding will take place in the summer as his mother suggests. Envies him his visits to the Hague; there are 'some splendid illuminated MSS there!'. Postscript saying he is 'deadly pro-Boer', and wonders how Robert manages on that topic; hears Mrs Lecky 'leads her husband a life on that subject'.

8, Grosvenor Crescent, S.W. - Surprised it has been a week since their visit to the Mill House; she has been busy with arrangements for moving, and also 'rather agitated over a coachman and a footman'; thinks everything is settled now. Sir George left this morning; she is spending tomorrow with Aunt Annie [Philips] and going to Wallington on Thursday. Hopes Elizabeth and Robert have 'enjoyed the woods' and kept cool in the hot weather. Accounts of the 'Stratford riots are very shocking'; is afraid there will be 'much [electoral] intimidation'; feels she should be there but supposes she would not be much use; wishes she were younger and could 'show them what [she thinks] of them!!'. Hopes Elizabeth is feeling better and the medicine and quiet are suiting her. Aunt Alice [Dugdale] wonders if she and Robert will be in town again and whether they will visit her; Caroline said she did not know, being unsure whether they wanted to visit. Sends a present for Robert for his birthday. Has just received Elizabeth's note: glad to have 'a good account' of her; hopes Miss Martin will come.

Names of Alice Frances Trevelyan, Henry Denman Macaulay and Joseph Babington Macaulay, with their dates of birth; calculations next to each name.

Welcombe, Stratford on Avon. - Glad to hear that Robert and Elizabeth are having fine weather; it is awful here. Caroline had a 'sharp attack of influenza' but has been careful since. Aunt Margaret [Holland] spent a few days here which did her good after Aunt Alice [Dugdale]'s illness and death. Sir George Young also came for a Sunday, read some of his 'very powerful translations' of Victor Hugo, and told them much about Hugo himself; Sir George is a 'sad, very powerful personage... rather difficult with most people' but they are very old friends. Quite a large party today: Charles; Herbert Paul; Meta [Smith] and her daughter Margaret. They are charmed with [Stratford] and its associations, which form 'a contrast to the dirt and humbug' being printed about Shakespeare in the papers [that he was not the author of the plays]. Mrs Charles Flower said it should be 'seriously argued' as so many people thought 'there was something in it'; he replied that there could not be 'something', only 'everything or nothing'.

10 Prinsegracht, The Hague. - Has received her letter this morning, and sent a telegraph to say he has already written to all [the friends and relations] she names, as well as to a few others, such as Mrs [Mary] Booth, since she had invited him to Gracedieu for New Year's Day. Wrote to [Charles] Sanger first, as he lives with him, who got the letter at Cambridge and told George there; had however written to George, and Charles, next day. Has also written to his aunts and Booa [Mary Prestwich]. Has been busy: Mr Hubrecht sent him to visit Bessie's sister Mrs Röntgen in Amsterdam on Saturday, on Sunday he received callers with the family, and on Monday he went to Ede with her and her sister-in-law [strictly, Elizabeth had no sister-in-law: Bramine Hubrecht meant?] to see about the furniture moving. Thinks his mother will have seen his and Hubrecht's letters to his father; hopes that 'little difficulty' is now resolved. Elizabeth is about five foot ten, has 'brownish yellow hair, of rather a light tint', and eyes of he thinks 'greenish grey'. Has not yet written her any poems, but 'must try in Italy'. Will try to get her a ring in Milan; [Roger] Fry may be able to help; leaves tomorrow afternoon, and will spend a few days there as he has much to discuss with Fry. Not sure when he will return: depends how his work goes. Hopes a visit by Bessie to England in the spring can be arranged.

Returns the document 'duly executed'. His wife and daughter [Alice?] are well, and like Madras better than he would have expected.

Trinity, Cambridge [on Wallington headed notepaper, address crossed through]: - Had a 'very nice time at Oxford, and saw most that is to be seen there'. The play [Aristophanes' Frogs] was 'very good, and quite worth going to see'; the man who played the corpse and Euripides [Arthur Ponsonby] was 'far the best'.

Saw Frank [Dugdale], who was 'not at all well', and will not row in the races next week; Robert thinks it is nothing 'worse than bad neuralgia'; Aunt Alice was going to see him yesterday. They are going to have a game of Harrow football tomorrow, and 'have got footers from Harrow on purpose'. Tom [Macaulay Booth?] 'made a very good speech in the Union tonight against a literary tripos', the 'first he has ever made there'. Charlie is still well.

Asks when the family is going abroad, as he needs to 'settle' when he is going to Welcombe. Sees some of the newspapers 'have mistaken [Arthur?] Balfour's (the Babe's) sister for the sister of the "Heaven-borne"'. Hopes Georgie is well, and does well in the scholarship. There has been snow here this evening: will 'have a nice slush for tomorrow's game'. Hopes his father is well.

One copy endorsed 'draft Legacy discharge'; the other copy mistakenly endorsed 'Alice Frances Macaulay'. Noted that legatee is referred to as 'Alice Harriet' rather than 'Alice Frances' in Lord Macaulay's will.

28, Queen Anne's Gate, S.W. - Does not want to 'force [Caroline's] confidence', but has heard from Mary Cropper [letter originally enclosed] and received a letter from Robert this morning announcing his engagement. Hopes Caroline and George approve; Miss van der Hoeven sounds very nice. Hopes it will be 'a good omen of rapprochement between the Dutch and us'; specially liked the people from the Hague whom she saw. The [Second Boer] war is 'almost overpowering'; imagines the anxiety of her cook, Mrs Greenslade, thinking about her husband fighting for ten hours 'without food & water'; seems 'almost too good to be true' if he escapes a third battle; seeing her constantly does bring it home. Margaret [Holland] seems 'almost overdone' with work for the Surrey branch of the Soldiers and Sailors' Families Fund; Alice fears it is too much for her; often hears from her but has not seen her for some time. Notes in a postscript that she went to Charing Cross to see the Northamptons off for Egypt; she was the only one there; Lady Northampton is 'very helpless'.