Macmillan & Co. Ltd., St. Martin's Street, London, W.C.2. Dated 3rd November 1911 - Gives consent to Frazer's 'Polish friend' to translate without fee his 'Lectures on the Early History of the Kingship'; proposes to print another thousand copies of Pausanias; are printing two thousand copies of 'Selections from Cowper' and will take moulds from which plates could be made if necessary; have sold nearly 900 copies of 'The Dying God' which is 'quite satisfactory'; is sorry Frazer will not be attending the School at Athens dinner and sends him a copy of his History of the School.
Headed notepaper, 'The University, Glasgow'. - re proposal to have English students admitted to the French School [at Athens], or other foreign school. Jebb thinks this would 'be scarcely a worthy manner for England's first appearance at Athens, & would bring into strong relief the comparative deadness of archaeological interests in this country'. Money raised towards education of English students at foreign schools would come from the same sources 'to which we must look in the event of our attempting to establish an English school. Men who had given a small contribution towards the provisional scheme would be less likely to give a large one afterwards'.
Unsure how well 'this scheme of archaeological μέτοικοι in a foreign school' would work. Assuming it would run smoothly, suggests most important thing is to decide now whether an attempt to establish an English school is to be made. If so, the scheme involving foreign schools should be dropped. If the English school 'must be put off indefinitely', or at least for several years, the other plan can be followed as a 'pis-aller'. He himself believes that 'by a really vigorous effort we could get an English school started in (say) two or three years'.
Obviously most desirable that 'the two plans should not come before the Council as rivals, dividing the support of those whose influence would be most valuable'; if the relation between the two plans is set out as Jebb has indicated, he does not think this will be the case. Will be greatly interested in the result of the discussion, and asks Macmillan to 'send him a line'.
c/o Thos. Cook & Son, Athens, Greece. - Has now been at Athens for a week; will stay another week, then go on, probably to Nauplia [Nafplio]. Tomorrow morning will catch the 6.30 train at the Peloponnesus station (gives the Greek for railway station) and go with two friends to Megara to begin a walking tour taking in Pagae, Aigosthena (where they will sleep), and Eleusis, from where they will take a train back to Athens. His friends are Heurtley, librarian and sub-director of the 'British School of Archaelogy [British School at Athens], where Robert takes his meal every day, and Cox, a 'Balliol man who is a student for a year or so'; they will be 'very good companions'. Went up Pentelikon with them last week. Also went by train to Eleusis with 'Greenwood an 'Emmanuel Classical don (an apostle) and his friend the Bursar of Emmanuel'; they walked back the thirteen or so miles to Athens along the 'ιερος όδος' [rightly ιερά όδος: Sacred Way], the 'dustiest road' Robert had 'ever seen'. The scenery however is 'very lovely', and they 'bathed in the bay of Salamis just where the road leaves the sea', turning through the pass of Daphni; this is 'a 12th century monastery, with fine mosaics somewhat like those at Monreale'. Eleusis itself is a 'wonderful site', though there is little left of the House of the Mysteries.
Has been twice on the Acropolis and will go again, and once up as far as the theatre [of Dionysus, or the Odeon of Herodes Atticus?]: 'one gets tired in this hot dusty town if one tries to do too much in the day'. Thinks he likes the countryside best really; the Peloponnesus from the sea, both the shapes of the hills and the colours, is 'very beautiful'. The view from Pentelikon is a fine one: you 'see the whole of Attica... and feel that Theseus, or whoever it was united (συνωκισεν) Attica, must have been a great man, and his job a very difficult one'. Notes the lack of trees near Acharnae, whose people used to be 'great charcoal-burners, even on that side of Parnes [Mount Parnitha].
Hopes his father got his postcard: the head is an old bronze. If the card was crumpled, it was because Robert took it in his pocket up Pentelikon. Likes some of the 'pre-Persian statues almost as much as the Periclean. A great deal was found buried in the Acropolis, as foundations for the later temples... Several of them have still their old paint on them'.
Must now go and call on some Greek friends, the Kalapathakes, to whom he has an introduction; they 'live just opposite the beautiful arch of Hadrian' near Hadrian's Temple of Zeus; may go to the theatre after tea but it shuts at sunset.
Bessie wrote to him more than a week ago from Welcombe, the time post usually takes to travel from Greece to England. Is sorry to hear his father has not been well; hopes his parents are now both in good health. Expects Julian will be home by now, and that he and Bessie will soon go to the Netherlands. Robert hopes to be back in early May.