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110 Banbury Road, Oxford.—Hopes that Smith will be able to come to Oxford, though he himself finds it incongenial; there is little opportunity for walks and he and Joan find North Oxford society ‘sham’. Describes disparagingly a visit by Mrs Moore and [J. K.] Bostock’s conversation at a party given by Mrs Foligno. Has been reading Manzoni and Croce and intends to write something on the autobiographical element in Boccaccio’s Teseide.

110 Banbury Road, Oxford.—Thanks him for advising him of Parker’s views [on humanism]. Olgiati’s observations on the relationship between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance seem ingenuous, while, contrary to what Smith says, it is necessary to juxtapose St Thomas and Jacopone if one is to talk intelligibly about medieval Christianity. Is glad he liked the Correggio [print]; has continued to be impressed by his works. The vice-chancellor [G. S. Gordon] praised his note on the Dürer drawing in Old Master Drawings. They visited Blenheim yesterday.

110 Banbury Road, Oxford.—Their finances are tight, and as he has to go to Birmingham at Easter their short trip to Vézelay will probably be his only other excursion. Is sorry Smith can’t come, but they may possibly take a cottage in the summer. Is glad to hear that Smith may ‘insert’ himself in Oxford, though he doesn’t think that the men he names are of sufficient authority to get him work. ‘On the banks of the Cam you likened me to Mr. [H. G.] Wells, because neither of us placed a God in the heavens. On consideration I repudiate the likeness as a merely negative one; it is the filling of the void that is more important.’ Likewise he rejects Smith’s likening of Petrarch to Lawrence or Mussolini, and insists that there must be something wrong in an argument which allows him to couple such disparate names. Agrees with his dispraise of Erasmus.

23 Leckford Road, Oxford.—Refers to the interruption in their correspondence. He and his wife spent August working on their new house and garden, and at the same time he was trying to finish his work on Petrarch before war broke out. When war came, however, he had to prepare to take on most of Foligno’s work, as it was uncertain that Foligno would be able to return from Italy. In the event Foligno was a fortnight late and Whitfield had to spend the rest of the term catching up on his own work. Is increasingly hopeful that the war will end, but hopes that it has not upset Smith’s foothold at Cambridge. His wife has been teaching splint-making and painting W’s on wardens’ helmets, while he has translated the place-names of the British Empire into Italian and found the text of the leaflet D’Annunzio dropped on Vienna. Is trying to prevent Woolworths from destroying the Clarendon Hotel.

23 Leckford Road, Oxford.—Apologises for the interval in their correspondence. Smith’s entry into the [Catholic] Church made him feel awkward about writing, owing to the divergence in their views. Hopes Smith will not be in Venezuela for too long. Remains optimistic about the course of the war. Foligno’s departure has increased his duties, and they are working hard in the garden and digging trenches. They are expecting a daughter next month, so he cannot go away, and it will be too late for Smith to be able to visit them. Asks for his new address and assures him that, ‘incomprehension notwithstanding, my silence was not forgetfulness’.