Metelliano. - Has wanted to write for a long time: it comes easier here, where he has more time for remembrance of Trevelyan. His life has changed, since he has lived in Rome since the beginning of the war and still has editorial work for a weekly publication. Has been staying at the Braccis' house, empty for a long time but now they have returned. His journeys to Cortona are 'adventurous and accidental' since the railways are not yet functioning properly and 'lifts' are rarer since the departure of the Allies; it feels almost as remote and unconnected as it would have done in the 18th century. All is well: the house is 'soiled and worn by the occupation' but returning to normal, his books undamaged, his people well though older. Sees the Sprigges often in Rome and has long talks with Sylvia which always bring in Trevelyan; enjoyed "Windfalls" and Sylvia is to give him Trevelyan's [edition of] Chinese poems. Has been asked to contribute to a book of essays on Virginia Woolf, in Italian but with some English contributors, and is re-reading her critical work.. Has not yet seen Lina [Waterfield], nor B.B. [Berenson] since January, when he was very well. Hopes that Trevelyan will soon return to Italy.
Contains: "On Translating Montaigne" by R. C. Trevelyan; poem, "Dante's Beatrice", by S.S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; poem, "Nocturne", by M. D. Hastings; "Composer in the Nursery" by Robert Muller-Hartmann; poem, "Reflection", by John Griffin; "Some Thoughts on the Teaching of Art" by A. B. S. Sprigge; poem, "Nostalgia", by H. B. [Herbert Brereton?] Aldrich.
Contains: poem, "England", by Peggy Whitehouse; "The Symphony" and poem, "After Shearing" by Clare Cameron; poem, "To my Sister", by R. D. Bosanquet [an error for R. G. Bosanquet?]; poem, "The Wood", by Elisabeth [sic] Sprigge; "Turning To" by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; poem, "Tread Slowly, Softly", by G. C. Bosanquet; poem, "Dancing Star", by John Griffin; poem, "On Seeing Many Foreigners At The National Gallery Concerts", by Theodora Roscoe.
Contains: poem, "Love Matched With Time", by Kenneth Hopkins; "The Purple Jar", by Mildred E. Bosanquet; poem, "Invitation to Write" by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; piece in Italian, "Esuli d'Italia" by Z.Z., with a translation of an included poem by [Sylvia Sprigge]; "Dreams" by R. C. Trevelyan; "A Dog Lover" by Hsiao Ch'ien; poem, "The Rose", by Oliver Lodge
Contains: poem, "Moonlight", by E. D. Idle; "Notes from a War Diary" by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; poem, "Lord Death", by Ethel Ginsberg; poem, "The First Hand (for John Donne)" by Nicholas Moore; poem, "Lines for Music", by G. Rostrevor Hamilton; poem, "Apologia Punica" by "J. H."; "By the Abinger Well", by the Editor [Sylvia Sprigge].
Index for Volume 2 of the "Chronicle"; note from the Editor saying that it will only be possible to publish eight numbers next year, but that the subscription will remain at six shillings, also encouraging people to fill in the following form to renew their subscription.
I Tatti, Settignano, Florence. - Is very grateful for the pains taken by Trevelyan [regarding Morra's translation of G.M. Trevelyan's "British History in the Nineteenth Century, 1782-1901"]. Arrived at I Tatti yesterday to find all well; Mary in bed with a cold but cheerful; all as usual except for Trevelyan's absence, which Morra feels deeply. Asks one further question about George's book. Moravia is not related to 'De B.' so Mrs [Sylvia] Sprigge is right. Is very sorry to hear about D[onald] Tovey [his illness].
Contains: poems, "Autumn, 1941" and "Gossamer", by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; "Simple Pleasures (continued)" by R. C. Trevelyan; "Children of the House" by Olive Heseltine (on her childhood in the House of Commons when her father, Sir Courtenay Ilbert, was Clerk of the House); "Poem" by Nicholas Moore; poem in German, "Milton", by Ludwig Marx; poem, "The Prophet Answered, 'Courage Is Patience", by Marjorie Scott Johnston; poem, "Home-coming", by Carla Lanyon Lanyon.
Contains: poem, "The Pilot", by 'Aircraftman E. M. Skipper'; "The C Minor of that Life" by E. M. Forster; "The Fight for Woodhouse Hill", by Reginald A. Bray; poem, "Where I Wander", by Denton Welch; "When It Wilts" by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge].
Contains: "Virginia Woolf" and "Seriousness" by R. C. Trevelyan; poem, "Briefly My Morning", by G. Rostrevor Hamilton; "Interview", by Ida Procter; an essay on "Nursery Rhymes" by M. E. Bosanquet; poem, "The Pause", by John Griffin; poem, "Segesta, Sicily", by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge].
Request at the end of the "Chronicle" from the New York Public Library for the first two numbers to complete its set.
Contains: "Poem (for Priscilla)" by Nicholas Moore; "Bibliophiles" by Olive Heseltine; poem, "Kingfisher in the Snow", by Eiluned Lewis; poems, "Landscape" and "We Have Cast Out Our Souls", by John Griffin; "P. R." and "Letters" by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; poem, "Orchard Company", by D. Eardley Wilmot.
Contains: "From An Abinger Diary", C.J.S.S. [Cecil Jackson Squire Sprigge]; poem, "Strength", G. Rostrevor Hamilton; "The Destructive Duck", Helen Page; poem, "Solomon Made Wisdom", by D. Eardley Wilmot; poem, "Ivory Tower", by S.S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; poems, "Song for Christmas" and "Fragments to be Found in Ruins (For Priscilla), by Nicholas Moore; letter from Max Beerbohm to 'S.S' about her "The Refugee and the Home Office", in the previous issue [see 24/87], with a letter in response from S.S.; and a note about renewing subscriptions from the Editor [Sylvia Sprigge].
Contains: poem, "End of Snowfall", by G. Rostrevor Hamilton; "A Short But True Story" by Max Beerbohm; poem, "A Prayer of Dives to Mammon", by R. C. Trevelyan; poem, "Requiem", by Dorothy Gibson; poem, "The Thunder Storm (After the French of Béranger)", by Eiluned Lewis; "The Refugee and the Home Office (An Untrue Story)" by S.S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; poem, "That Thoughts Are A Continual Surprise", by Ursula Woods [sic: Wood]; reminder to renew subscriptions by the Editor [Sylvia Sprigge].
Contains: "In London Now (1)" by 'K.W'; "In London Now (2)" by 'S.S' [Sylvia Sprigge]; poem, "Telegraph Wires", by Douglas Gibson; poem, "Harvest Moon", by Sylvia Sprigge; poem, "Song", by Geoffrey Eley; "Spirit, Substance and Will: A Taoist Fable" by R. C. Trevelyan.
I Tatti, Settignano, Florence. - Has corresponded with the Braccis about the Lloyd girl, and Trevelyan will receive a second message from Lulli [Lucangelo Bracci] through Nicky [Mariano] soon. Sprigge [Cecil or Sylvia] has not approached them. The Braccis would like to send their eldest son, who has graduated and preparing to enter the diplomatic service, to England; therefore Miss Lloyd could stay at Montepulciano for a month as an unpaying guest as long as Braccio may likewise go and stay with the Lloyds [Margaret and Ted?] for a month and improve his spoken English. If this is impossible, asks if Trevelyan could suggest another family for Braccio to stay with. Would like to read Virginia's book [Woolf's "Three Guineas"] though expects not to like it much, like "A Room of One's Own]; would be grateful if Trevelyan could send a copy. The Lippmanns' visit has not brought B.B. [Berenson] the pleasure he hoped for: 'something dry... and pedantically moralising' about Lippman; his new wife 'an improvement on the previous one' but hysterical. Returning home today, then will go to Sorrento, then to 'the new Consuma' at Vallombrosa. Trevelyan's friend is welcome if he comes when Morra is at home. Knows nothing about [Leone?] Vivante's book and asks why he ought to read it.
Contains: "Einstein's Advent", by Oliver Lodge, remembering his father and the impact of the new developments in physics; portrait sketch of Max Beerbohm by William Rothenstein; portrait sketch of William Rothenstein by Max Beerbohm; poem, "To Gordon Bottomley", by R. C. Trevelyan; poem, "War Sky 1940", by Sylvia Sprigge"; "4. Sunday", by Sarah Shorey Gill, with introductory note to her granddaughter Polly; poem, "To Seville: Siesta", by Carla Lanyon Lanyon.
Contains: "Blind Oak Gate" by E. M. Forster; poem, " The Hill", by Oliver Lodge; poems, "Why Should We Die, Being Young?" and "From Plato's 'Τήν ψυχήν...' [the soul]", by R. G. Bosanquet; "3. 'Uptown' and 'Downtown'" by Sarah Shorey Gill, with a note at the head addressed to her grand-daughter Polly; "Prayer", by J. L. Mortimer; "The Stone Rut" by Sylvia Sprigge.
Contains a poem, "King's, Cambridge", by R. G. Bosanquet; "Garrick and the Histrionic Temperament" by Desmond MacCarthy; poems, "Lines written after re-reading Housman's "The name and nature of Poetry" and "Cry of the Gentle", by Geoffrey Eley; "2. Ancestor Worship" by Sarah Shorey Gill, with a note at the head to her grand-daughter Polly"; poem, '"Mosses' Wood, Leith Hill", by V. S. Wainwright; poem, "Escape", by Clifford Dyment; poem, "A Reaper - To The Winds" (a translation from Joachim du Bellay); poem, "On the Rejection of Some Lines on Liberty", by Jacob Hornstein.
Contains "Wilfred Scawen Blunt's Garden", by Alfred Lambart; "Old Surrey Saws" by Max Beerbohm; "Childhood Memoirs (1)" by Sarah Shorey Gill, with an introductory note to her grand-daughter Polly; "Exile" by M. Poyntz-Wright; "Between Trains" by S.S. [Sylvia Sprigge]; and a poem, "Bad Weather", by Sylvia Lynd.
Contains "Steinitz Please, Not Stodge" by Geoffrey Eley; "Jane Austin" [sic], a poem by Carla Lanyon Lanyon; "The Foreigner in the English Landscape" by Elizabeth Trevelyan; a poem, "It Would be Joyous" by 'S.S' [Sylvia Sprigge]; "The Broad and Narrow Path", by Marjory Allen; a poem, "April", by G. M. Hudson.
Contains "The Ancients in Abinger" by Olive Heseltine; "Children's Party" by Eiluned Lewis; "The Death of Ben Jonson" by Oliver Lodge; "Robert Browning" by R. C. Trevelyan; a sketch of Oliver Lodge by Max Beerbohm; a poem, "Memory of Spring", by S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge], and "At the Abinger Well", perhaps also by Sylvia Sprigge.
Contains a poem, "To Bernhard Berenson", by R. C. Trevelyan; "Luncheon at Pretoria" by E. M. Forster; 'Stories' ["The Universal Substance" and "The Burglar"] by Oliver Lodge, and a poem, "The Old" by 'S.S.' [Sylvia Sprigge]. 'R.C.T.' written at the top of the cover in pencil.
Loose flyer with subscription form for the "Abinger Chronicle".
Contains "Local Musicians", by Ralph Vaughan Williams; "A Plea for Thomas" by Max Beerbohm, "Mr Gosse & Professor Collins" by Oliver Lodge, and two poems, "Friends" and "Littlehampton, January 1939" by 'S.S.' [Sylvia Sprigge]. 'Elizabeth Trevelyan' written at the top of the cover in pencil.
W[est] H[ackhurst]. - Does not know Binjori's [Abdul Rahman Bijnori?] works as he ought to, and does not feel able to take the chair; wishes Trevelyan would do it himself. Suggests asking someone from the East such as Narayana Menon, though perhaps he is too little known. Discusses [Elizabeth] Daryush's poems. George Thomson should have organised the [Apostles'] Dinner, but is going into hospital. Took tea with Chi'en [Xiao Qian]. Agrees that Silvia S. [Sylvia Sprigge?] is now far away.
W[est] H[ackhurst]. - Sylvia [Sprigge] was not accurate when she told Trevelyan that Forster had offered a broadcast script for the "Abinger Chronicle": none are suitable, but he has made some Surrey extracts from his Common Place book and offers these. Cannot send them to Tanner [the printer] as does not know the length required. No doubt this technique is how Sylvia gets material for the Chronicle, but 'she is not a good transmitter of facts' and her pieces on Italy in the "M[anchester] G[uardian]" are therefore questionable.
33 Marine Parade, Dover. - Arrangements, involving Mrs Sprigge, to pay the Recorder [Wilfrid Grantham, in the pageant "England's Pleasant Land"]. Is glad Trevelyan enjoyed his performance; would not have been able to afford him without Trevelyan's generosity.
Cherry Cottage, Abinger Common, Dorking, Surrey. - Thanks Robert for his 'fine gift' [the first volume of his "Collected Works"]; has been 'dipping into it' since it arrived on Friday, enjoying much but missing some things due to her ignorance of classical mythology. Liked Desmond [MacCarthy]'s review, and hopes Robert was 'satisfied'; if Desmond is right Robert must go on with his young man in China and his perigrinations[s] to the priests and wise men'. Thinks the book is 'beautifully' printed and worthy of a collection 'meant for posterity'. Is 'no fit company' for a walk at present; encourages Robert to come for tea. The beautiful sunny weather is not calming her spirit as it should; thinks her current low mood was started by a review in the "TLS" of 'Freud's dreadful new book' ["Moses and Monotheism"]; wishes for 'old age! and a nice indifference to such horrid things'. Passes on in a postscript Sprigge's anticipation of a 'day snatched from work' to read Robert's poems.
West Hackhurst. - Thanks Bessie for her kind letter. His 'contusions swelled to exaggerated proportions' at Cambridge; he 'fell on [his] nose at the Wings for Victory Garden Party' and also bruised both wrists, but 'carried on as usual afterwards, and no bleeding'. Had not heard Max [Beerbohm?] 'nearly tumbled'. Wishes he had seen his lecture: has just been sent the proofs from Cambridge and 'as reading, it is rather flimsy'.
Has just had a letter from Moya Davies; she asks him to tell Bessie that she is 'very anxious to know about Leo Hubrecht and her children, especially Julie'; thinks they 'were at Switzerland just before the war, the younger children at school in Holland'. Also has a 'dear friend in Burma, Carola Toennies' and another in Italy, and has not had a word from either since the beginning of the war; supposes 'it is the same with everyone'. Gives Moya's address as 'Killadreenan House, Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow, Eire' in case Bessie wants to write direct, or he could send a message for her if she prefers. Richard [Moya's son] has a new wife 'in the place of Ann Stephen, who has got someone else [Richard Synge]'.
Is very pleased with the new Abinger Chronicle; 'not entirely carrried away' by his own contribution, but Bob's is 'very good'. Asks whether she agrees that they are generally *much more comfortable and vigourous [sic] on our own'; found S. S. [Sylvia Sprigge] a 'most enervating editress'.
His mother is 'fairly well, though she hasn't been up to her former level since illness at the beginning of the year'; she is enjoying the garden, which is 'lovely'. Hopes that Bessie will be able to visit soon, though next week he will be away a great deal. Went to see Florence [Barger] yesterday, who 'seems very well and is on yet another committee - reforming London University'; gathers Edith Mathews is staying with her. Margaret is 'cheerful, but no better, whatever Florence says or thinks or pretends to think'; would be better if she went to an institution, and she will have to one day as it is 'too much for Florence and Harriet'.
Sends his and his mother's love.
Berenson, I Tatti, Settignano, Florence. - Has not heard from Bessie since his arrival in Italy and is beginning to feel anxious. They are having lovely weather. Julian is going to Siena soon. Will probably leave on Saturday 19 and be back in London on Monday 21 April, returning home next day. Has no quite recovered from the journey, and is having a good time. Saw George and Janet yesterday at Lina [Waterfield]'s, and they are coming to lunch today. Sylvia Sprigge came to lunch yesterday, but has now gone back to Rome. Julian is getting on 'very well with everyone'.
Casa al Dono. - Cannot remember whether he ever sent Trevy this snapshot, taken on top of Monte Secchieta last September. Read B. B. B. the extract from Trevy's 'Autobiography'; 'he liked it very much and was much amused by what you say about him and his "mytho-poeism". Will answer Trevy's letter properly as soon as she has 'got through a ghastly accumulation of letters' on her desk.
Clotilde [Marghieri] is staying with them, and also enjoyed Trevy's letter and autobiography. 'She has aged a lot too and her hair is quite white but is even more attractive mentally and as a companion than she was as a young woman'. Berenson and Nicky are happily settled at Casa al Dono; 'grieves' Nicky that Trevy has never seen it, as he would love it as she does.
Sylvia [Sprigge] is visiting next week; [she and her husband] like their home on the Via Aurelia very much. Thinks Trevy will see them in September. Alda [Anrep] is in Sorrento and Bertie [Anrep] at Forte dei Marmi.
Postscript notes that B. B. was 'delighted' to get Elizabeth's letter; thinks he has answered it.