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Trinity College, Cambridge. - Found letter and detective magazine on his return from a weekend in Hastings; Smythies has got unconditional exemption [from conscription?]; feeling run down.

Encloses letter from J. H. Clapham to Wittgenstein, 28 Feb. 1940, discussing Yorick Smythies' appearance before the Conscientious Objectors' Tribunal. Clapham writes of Smythies: 'He seemed to us singularly remote from the external world - the conventional philosopher', to which Wittgenstein has added the comment 'I say!'.

Trinity College Cambridge. - Has nineteen students; most of them will drop off; description of some students; Smythies overworked.

Trinity College, Cambridge. - Congratulates Malcolm on his PhD; hopes he will be able to resign his post if he is unable to provide what his students need; Skinner has glandular fever; Moore is feeling better; has found it difficult to work for many weeks; Smythies has gone down.

Trinity College, Cambridge. - Would be glad to receive detective magazines; has been feeling 'rotten' most of the summer; Malcolm will be able to do decent work in teaching philosophy 'only by a miracle'; has not heard from Smythies; sees Skinner regularly but Wisdom not at all.

CLOSED UNTIL 1 JAN 2033

Trinity College, Cambridge. - Glad von Wright liked Smythies; feels run down; has two more copies of the typescript but von Wright's copy has the most corrections.

Six Christmas cards and two Easter cards; most only bearing brief good wishes, though a few have longer messages. Two cards are addressed to 'Malcolm', and so probably date from earlier than May 1945, when Wittgenstein wrote to Malcolm saying he would like them to use first names in future [see Add. MS a/747/10]; another two cards are addressed only to 'Norman' and perhaps are next in date, the rest all include Leonida and Ray Malcolm as addressees. The final card is addressed to 'Norman & Lee & Ray & the baby', and so must date from Christmas 1950.

Add. MS a/747/58/2 has a particularly long message, which mentions a visit by Smythies from Oxford to read a paper at the Moral Sciences Club; this paper was given on 15 Nov. 1945. Wittgenstein comments 'It was an attack on me & at not at all bad. It would have been still very much better had he had more time to prepare it. But I'm afraid he is very overworked & he arrived here exceedingly tired'.

Add. MS a/747/58/4, which has an image of an open book, candle, inkpot and quill pen, has been annotated 'L. Wittgenstein pinx[it]'.

Trinity College Cambridge. - Heated discussion about national character; does not like clashing with people but would rather clash than be superficial; Smythies to read a paper to the Moral Sciences Club.