Showing 372 results

Chelsea. - Dated 'Sunday'. Apologises for not sending the books earlier; was very busy with the lectures and with arranging for his parents visiting to see Helen [Coombe]; Goldie [Lowes Dickinson] and 'a sister' have also been staying. Has filled the box up with clothes which Mrs Smith [their landlady] thought Bob 'ought to want'. Says 'I told you so' about Bob being in Italy: it is better than 'going Jonkopping in Sweden [visiting Jönköping?]' and he might get some work done; suggests going to Fiesole or Prato, though that might be too hot. Asks if Bob intends to stay till winter; if so they will arrange to meet. Everything now settled: he and Helen hope to marry early in November and come out to Italy. Has had 'rather an awful time with his parents': very sorry for his father and his disappointment in him and so 'made a huge effort to get through the misunderstanding' but only gave him and his mother pain. This has made him 'awfully depressed'; found it hard to 'pull himself together for the lectures' but thinks they were the best he has done; pleased that both Goldie and [Thomas Sturge?] Moore liked them. Has been bicycling with Goldie, who is 'getting more reconciled about Helen'; thinks he 'begins to see that it can't make any real difference between [them]'. They went to Woodbridge and tried but failed to find [Edward] Fitzgerald's grave, then to Dedham 'which is the only [piece of French country in England and explains Constable'. Helen's harpsichord [which she is decorating for Arnold Dolmetsch] is 'going to be a great success'; she is 'quite decided' that Bob must either come back for the wedding or meet them in Italy.

Ivy Holt, Dorking. - Bob's idea is 'exhilarating in the extreme'; says he will 'tame a wild rabbit... paint every hair on a stag'. Bob's letter is the best kind of 'patron's letter' as it 'gives the mood of the picture perfectly. It seems already painted'. Helen was as delighted with the letter and the idea as he was. Gives his thoughts on the painting; the figures 'must not be jesuitical' - Bob is right that that is a habit of his, partly as he intends figures 'to be furniture of a landscape and not serious people'. Will come over tomorrow to see [Thomas Sturge?] Moore, or Bob could bring him to the Frys' house, or they could come on Sunday morning. Mrs Crompton will be here tomorrow, and he would like Bob and Moore to see her; invites them to tea.

22 Willow Road, Hampstead. - Finds it hard to write what he feels about the suggestion put to him by [John?] Withers: Bob's 'constant and affectionate interest' is 'one of the most precious things' in his life; if it were necessary he would accept [the offer of help], which he cannot imagine doing from someone like Bob; expresses his gratitude and 'the sense of perfect reliance and affection'. His father has given him some help, and B.B. [Bernard Berenson] has managed to sell the Venetians; Fry has also nearly finished three restorations. When he has done so, and written some reviews, he intends to get to work on Bob's 'rabbits' picture [see 13/17]. Helen is not quite recovered, but nearly; the nurse has gone and she is taking an interest in household things; Edith [her sister] is making sure everything runs smoothly.

The Old Masters [exhibition at the Royal Academy] are 'the chief interest in now' London; disagrees with the attribution of a picture in it to Dürer, but [Charles] Holmes 'committed the Athenaeum' to it while Fry was away. Bob might like to join the new Arundel Club, fpr the reproduction of works of art in private collections. The "Burlington [Magazine]" is doing well and Holmes is showing 'infinite energy & business capacity' [as editor]. Relates a scandal created when [William Bell] Paterson asked Fry for his opinion on a painting, which Fry judged to be largely modern paint over the possible outline of a Giovanni Bellini; the painting turned out to have been sold by K[err] Lawson to Coates [unidentified] for a large sum; 'always feared that K.L. was not over scrupulous about his ascription of pictures' and thinks this may damage him 'considerably'; Kerr Lawson has 'sent his "Titian" as a Bonifazio [Veronese] to the Old Masters [exhibition] and ought to sell that.

Would be 'jolly' if Bob could write [Fry's sister] Margery's masque [for the opening of the new library at Somerville College, Oxford, see 4/55 and 4/104]; hope he has forgiven the suggestion he could 'polish it off quickly', as Fry likes to 'think of a poet as a perennial fount, bubbling up and overflowing with limpid words', and praises his skill with mythology. Has written 'an extravanganza on Blake for the Burlington' ["Three pictures in tempera by William Blake', Burl. Mag, Mar 1904 4 p 204]. Julian is very amusing, and has begun to sing a little; Edith has a cello here and Fry is accompanying her 'in very simple things' - tells Bob not to let his wife know - which Helen enjoys.

Durbins, Guildford. - Fate, 'though not in an unkind way', seems against him getting his expedition; has just had a commission for a ceiling painting for Sir A[ndrew] Noble's place in Scotland [Ardkinglas] and needed to visit; the project will keep him busy for the latter part of June, so he expects only to get away to Munich at the end of May for 'the Mahommedan Exhibition' ["Meisterwerke muhammedanischer Kunst", reviewed by Fry in the "Burlington Magazine" Aug, Sept 1910]. The death of the King [Edward VII] also 'interferes' since [Lionel] Cust is taken up with court duties and the "Burlington [Magazine]" rests almost wholly on Fry. Does not think he can undertake a bicycle tour; will probably return from Munich via Bale [Basel], Troyes, Provins and Paris, spending about six days. Would love it if Bob joined him, say at Bale 'to see the Holbeins', but does not think it wourth his while. Hope [Bob's son] Julian is prospering; might come over on Sunday.

Durbins. - Has not sent [Bob's translation of Aristophanes's] "Lysistrata" yet as he wanted Goldie [Lowes Dickinson's] criticisms; Goldie came on Sunday and Fry will read it to Madame Donnay [sic: Vera Donnet] tomorrow. Will try two days in town. Has read Bob's "Lucretius [On Death]" 'with very great delight; would like to bring out a second book, called "Lucretius On Origins" or similar. They should 'stir up Desmond [MacCarthy] to the point of writing' and perhaps advertise 'in educational places - girls' colleges & such like'; Margery [his sister] tells him about 'yearning intellectual appetites among the lower middle classes of Birmingham' though he is unsure 'whether they'd rise to' Lucretius. Is much better for his 'long rest', though managed to 'paint a good lot'; expects to be in town a little now, if he keeps well, but will be back at Durbins after 23 Mar when Pamela returns, so Bob could come over again then.

Hotel de la Poste, Bruxelles - Does not know how to thank her for her 'extraordinarily kind letter' which arrived yesterday. She will have seen his last letter to his father, acknowledging that he did wrong in not consulting them before proposing [to Elizabeth]; thinks though that everything will be for the best. Is here for two days, as he and Elizabeth's uncle agreed it would be good for him to go away for a little while after 'this last somewhat eventful and in some ways anxious week'; will return to the Hague on Thursday, and there is plenty to see. Thinks Elizabeth's uncle sanctions the engagement; unlikely the wedding could take place before the summer, as Elizabeth wants to spend more time with the Hubrechts; she also wants the Grandmonts to be there, and they do not generally return from Sicily till May or June. Expects he will soon go on to Italy. Will send a photo of Elizabeth when he returns to the Hague; his mother 'must not expect a beauty', though he finds her looks 'anything but disagreeable'. Thinks she will be able to 'look after [him] properly' as she is 'prudent and orderly, and in many ways thoroughly Dutch'; glad that her intellect is 'neither particularly poetical, nor romantic' and she has 'quite enough imagination and insight to understand anything' he might want; she has good taste for art, literature, and other things 'for a woman', and tends to be 'reflective and critical, rather than positive or creative'; she is of course 'a Protestant, at least not a Catholic'. Thinks he wrote that she knows the Nicholsons, 'by which I meant the Donaldsons of St Andrews' [James Donaldson and family?]. Has told no-one apart from the Frys [Roger and Helen] about his engagement, and will not do so until everything is settled between his father and Mr Hubrecht.

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.

Begins mid-sentence stating that [his brother George's book "The Age of Wycliffe"] is 'a good piece of history', which shows up John of Gaunt as 'a sort of 14th century Taman[n]y ring boss'. Also recommends Rostand's "Les Romanesques", which he read recently and things is even better than "Cyrano". Cannot think of any more modern books for the moment; fears his list is 'chiefly composed of friends' and relations' books'; [Roger] Fry is also bringing out his book on Bellini soon, which is well worth getting. Asks Elizabeth to tell Mrs Grandmont that the Frys would like her to visit when she is in England; gives their address. He himself is getting a house near Dorking at Westcott, and will move in September, when he will be within a mile of the Frys; the house he is giving up at Haslemere is, though, very beautiful.

Supposes she has been back from Taormina a while; asks her to send some photographs, especially the ones of 'Mrs. Cacc. [Florence Cacciola Trevelyan] and the dogs' and himself in the loggia. The last few days of scirocco were 'a great bore', but he almost forgives it for preventing the trip up Monte Xerito as it 'made [them] those splendid waves among the rocks'; it also 'put [Elizabeth's] fiddle out of sorts' though, so he could not hear any more Bach suites. Heard Isaye [sic: Ysaÿe] play one yesterday, as well as the Mendelsohn concerto; he was in good form, and he will hear him again playing the Beethoven. Is having a musical week, as he has already seen Paderewski, for the first time, and will hear [Wagner's] "Tristram" tomorrow. 'Paddy was great fun, at all events to look at'; thinks he played a Chopin concerto better than the Beethoven. Spends most of his time at the British Museum library when he is in London; has found a translation of [Joost van den] Vondel there by a Dutch American; it is 'very conscientious and scholarly' but he does not think much of the blank verse; still, he can now go on where Elizabeth left off. Would like to know when Mrs G[randmont] is coming to England, and if Elizabeth is likely to be in London so he can 'make a display of [his] extensive and profound knowledge of Italian painting in the National Gallery'. Not sure whether he is going to Bayreuth yet; discusses times he could come to Holland.

Suggests older books she should read: Keats's letters, most of which are available in Sidney Colvin's edition though he advises getting Buxton Forman's four volume edition with the poetry; Butcher and Lang's translation of the "Odyssey"; Meinhold's "Sidonia the Sorceress" and "Amber Witch", translated by Lady Wilde and Lady Duff Gordon. Could lend her all of these books, as well as [Henry James's] "In a Cage" and his brother and father's books . Asks her to write with news and to say when would be best for him to come to Holland; he will write soon to the Grandmonts when he sends them [Thomas Sturge?] Moore's book. Thinks he remembers Elizabeth said she had never read Jane Austen; she should read them all, especially "Mansfield Park", "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma". Breaks off mid -sentence: 'by advising to...': 9/71 forms the rest of the letter.

A portion of what seems to be a poem by Robert Trevelyan based on the "Mahabharata", with some explanatory notes, is found with this letter but not referred to in it

Department of Prints and Drawings, British Museum, London: W.C. - Trevelyan can certainly let them publish the Su Tung Po poem in the UDC [Union of Democratic Control?]; asks only that his name not be used; does not think he has anything else similar; is sorry 'Wieger spoils the story of Wu-ti. He would'. Thinks the plan with Roger Fry [to publish a book] will come off; Fry does not want illustrations, and Waley hopes he will allow the cover to be plain; does not 'mind as long as it doesn't savour too definitely of Bloomsbury, 1917'; Fry was 'awfully nice'.

38, Brunswick Square, W.C. - Found many books on his table when he returned which he thinks are a present from Trevy: they are 'extraordinarily nice'. Supposes Trevy is now in the East. his sister [Bella?] leaves Ceylon on 20 November, so that introduction will be no use if he arrives after that. They had a 'splendid time abroad in France, Spain & Italy' [on their honeymoon]. Spain seemed 'the finest & most incompetent country in the world'. Has a temporary job as secretary to the Grafton Galleries for the Post Impressionists [exhibition organised by Roger Fry], where he 'daily explain[s] Picasso to the unending stream of the population of London' and is 'astonished by the honesty of mind of the English public', but wants to get something permanent or writing work. Trevy said he would give Leonard an introduction to Bruce Richmond on their last meeting; asks for this as he thinks it would be a 'great thing' to get work for the times. The are leaving Brunswick Square, and will probably take rooms in Clifford's Inn.

Monk's House, Rodmell, near Lewes, Sussex. - Was 'delightful' of Bessie to write about Virginia's life of Roger [Fry]; in her comparison of it to a 'piece of music', she appreciated 'exactly what [Virginia] was trying to do'. Virginia is 'not regularly musical', but 'always think[s] of [her] books as music before [she] writes them'; this was particularly true in the autobiography, where there was 'such a mass of detail' that the only way she could manage was by 'abstracting it into themes' which she attempted to 'unite' in the first chapter, then introduce 'developments & variations' before bringing everything together at the end, just as Bessie saw. Thinks she is the only person to have felt what she was trying to do. Was often 'crushed under the myriad details'; found the necessity to mute or only hint at some things difficult; there was also 'always a certain constraint, which one doesn't feel in fiction, a sense of other people looking over one's shoulder'. Very glad that Bessie and Bob, who both knew Roger well, think it is a 'true portrait of him'; Bob 'went all through his life', even though as often happens they did not see each other as often towards the end. Understands Bessie being shy of Roger, she was not 'exactly shy' herself, but 'sometimes felt overpowered, & so, uneasy'. However none of her friends 'made such a difference to [her] life as he did', which she needed to 'keep under' when writing about him.

Hopes they will meet up; they [she and Leonard] will be often in London this winter, but 'everything's difficult now'. Very sorry about Bessie's eyes; asks if it affects her music.

Congratulates Trevy [on his engagement] and wishes him 'all happiness'; on hearing about it beforehand from [Charles] Holmes and [Laurence] Binyon, who had heard through [Sydney] Cockerell and Trevy's cousins the Fletchers, he had 'refused to believe it' due to what Trevy had told him about 'Mrs Costello[e] having tried to put about such stories'. However, when his sister heard the same from Miss [Bonté?] Amos, who said she had got the news from Trevy's mother, he 'had to allow it might be true'. Thinks Trevy will 'make a good husband', but that he will 'spoil all [his] children with indulgence' and thinks he should start being 'very stern' with himself so that he is able to look 'cross' enough at them; knows he is talking 'as if the little Homers and Aeschylluses [sic] and a Sappho or two were bound to turn up' and hopes they will. Keen to meet Trevy's fiancé; hopes she is not 'too like George' and suggests that the only indication which Trevy has given as to what she is like ''is very misleading and puts one deeper into darkness than total ignorance'. Asks how long Trevy has know her, and if she is 'connected with the admirers of the Dutch Milton [Vondel?]' whom he met at Taormina. Is to get a hundred pounds for editing Shakespeare [for the Vale Press] and fears it will take up a lot of time, so cannot promise to write an epithalamium. [Roger] Fry is 'of course quite wrong about Bellini', whom Moore admires as much as Fry does, but denies that he is 'characterised by passion by pathos or by Virgillian [sic] melancholy'; Bellini is a 'far greater master than Altdorfer' though Fry seemed to think he was comparing them. Sorry that Trevy is troubling to copy out Moore's "Danaë"; he could easily have got two copies made; hopes he will 'suggest how the hard sentences can be made easy, & the crooked straight, at the same time as pointing out their deficiency'. Hopes Trevy's fiancée 'will prove a Muse... though she is not going to enter the lists as a rival'.

3 Temple Gardens, E.C. - Is 'delighted to hear of [Trevelyan's] engagement'; sure it will be the 'best possible thing' for him, and his friends will 'all look forward to some great work as the result of the change'. [Herbert James] Craig also sends congratulations, and says he hopes Trevelyan has 'jettisoned the dum-dum bullet bearing the inscription 'avenge Majuba' [a reference to the Boer Wars]. They were 'amused' to learn his real reason for travelling to Florence by way of the Netherlands. Sure his fiancée must like him 'very much to abandon such a name as hers [des Amorie van der Hoeven] even for one so comparatively charming' as Trevelyan. Thanks Trevelyan for his 'very kind appreciation' of his own book ["My Great Discovery", published under the pseudonym Henry Francis]; knows it will not be a 'great success', but hopes it will find the approval of his friends; understands that Trevelyan regards it as 'an experiment and a promising one', and does not himself 'regard it too seriously'; has been 'cheered' however by a few good reviews. Is keeping his authorship secret 'locally' and amongst his relations, but would be pleased for any 'pushing' of the book Trevelyan can do; most 'flattering' that he will give it to Miss van der Hoeven. Will be 'delighted' to see him settled at Dorking in the summer; asks to be remembered to the Frys if he sees them again.

Thanks Trevelyan for his letter and what he has done to help her: it is a 'great moral path' for her, and she hopes that with the help of a heart 'as great and generous' as Trevelyan's, she will be able to 'remedy this misfortune'. She encloses her letter to [Maxim] Litwinof and also that to her little one [her daughter Olga]. Adds in a postscript that she is also enclosing her letter to 'the sister of Monsieur Fray' [Roger Fry's sister Ruth, general secretary of the Friends War Victims Relief Committee]: asks him to read it, and if he does not think it too foolish to give it to her; also to let her know the response as soon as possible. If there is no hope of sending a Quaker to search for her daughter, she will go herself immediately to Warsaw (she is applying for her passport) and perhaps there will be a way of getting to Kiev from there. Marchand despairs and does not want her to leave because she is so weak; she is made worse due to her 'torment' [of worry for her daughter]. She went to the Ukraninian mission [embassy?] again yesterday, and spoke there to a colonel who came from Kiev a month ago, who says that Kiev has become a 'totally dead city', and that everyone who can has left; the peasants no longer bring their produce as when they do the Bolsheviks requisition it and take it to Moscow; they take everything from 'unfortunate Ukraine', which is becoming increasingly poor. There are no trams or streetlights working; worse, there is no piped water, and those like her family who live a distance from the river are suffering terribly. People cannot get new clothes, or shoes; they go bare-footed with boards tied to their feet; lack of water means that there is much dirt and fever. The colonel said the 'atmosphere is so sad and overwhelming', and that he himself was maddened almost to suicide, but preferred to 'do even the lowest work here and eat only dry bread than to return there'. He travelled for a week in goods wagons, standing all the way, 'packed in like cattle' with ill, dirty, drunk and coarse people. She does not know if she can live knowing that her daughter is so much suffering there.

Marchand writes to Trevelyan on the back of Sonia Lewitska's letter: thanks him for everything he has done for Sonia: is very saddened by all that [Sonia has learned] . Had news this January from Mademoiselle [Angela] Lavelli. Asks how Trevelyan's family is. Has not seen [Francis] Birrell again.

On headed notepaper of the National Liberal Club, Victoria Street, S.W.1. - On returning to London, he talked to Ruth Fry, Roger's sister, who is the president of the 'Mission des Amis' [Friends War Victims Relief Committee]. She said that communication with Russia was very difficult at the moment, but that if Marchand wants to arrange to get his niece [actually Olga Lewitska, daughter of Sonia Lewitska -see 22/56] out of Ukraine, it would be best to write to [Maxim] Litvinoff at the Hotel Cosmopolite, Copenhagen, asking for his help and advice as the one responsible for admitting foreigners to Russia and getting them out. Ruth Fry doubted that Litvinoff would consent to helping with such a case, but it might perhaps still be worth trying, and strongly suspected that it would not be possible to get the girl out. Might be possible to send letters to Kiev through Litvinoff.

Trevelyan will write to [Francis] Birrell to go and see Marchand as soon as he arrives in Paris; Roger Fry will also give his advice when he arrives. If it is better to send a letter as soon as possible, advises him to write to Litvinoff and send that letter to Trevelyan, who will ask Ruth Fry to send it as she is in communication with Litvinoff; this may make him pay more attention to the matter. Necessary to decide before writing whether they want to try and get Marchand's niece out of the Ukraine, or simply to send letters. Wishes he could give more definitive advice, but will do his best to help if he sends a letter. Marchand knows how much Trevelyan is sorry for the pain Madame Marchand [Sonia Lewitska] is experiencing at the moment, and how much he would like to help if he could.

Brief account of how Fry inspired a love of art in Trevelyan (previously, like "most Cambridge men.. completely ignorant of art') when they shared a house in Chelsea, and of Fry's life and character. Describes Virginia Woolf's biography of Fry as giving 'a very fully account of him, which seems... not only imaginative and sympathetic, but just and true'.

List of books on flyleaf, including [R.G.?] Collingwood's "An autobiography". Autobiographical fragment, including Trevelyan's childhood 'courting' of a girl at dancing class, friendships including two 'of an emotional, romantic kind' at Harrow, and thoughts on Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale". Translations: of first part of Sophocles' "Philoctetes"; the "Homeric Hymns to Pan, Dionysus, Aphrodite and Demeter; fragments of Greek New Comedy by Menander, Alexis and Philemon.

Book used from other end in: draft verse [translation?] on inside cover and flyleaf; list of possible topics under the heading "More Windfalls", including '[George?] Meredith', Reminiscences', '[Donald] Tovey'. Draft piece, "On losing one's bearings". Verse, 'Oh sea and shore, dearer to me than life...'. Ideas for "Less Simple Pleasures" under headings such as 'Literary', "Of Friendship', 'Of Walking'. Essay of pleasures of the senses. particularly touch. Piece about Horace and his friendships, perhaps as introduction for Trevelyan's two fictional dialogues about him, or part of the subsequent discussion of conversation. This mentions Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, Roger Fry and Donald Tovey (Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey are also mentioned but Trevelyan then crosses this out)'; Henry Sidgwick, his father's friend, is mentioned as a 'perfect artist in conversation'. Discussion of philosophical dialogues. Biographical sketch of Thomas Sturge Moore. Piece on aging and desire. Notes on playing chess with Dickinson. Notes on Montaigne. Bertrand Russell and Bernard Shaw. Essay on the self, Buddhism, and change.

Wallington, Cambo, Northumberland. - Bob's book ["Polyphemus and Other Poems"] came out just after everyone had left Cambridge, but George will do 'all [he] can for it next term'. Likes it 'so very much', and has ordered six copies to give as presents. Thinks Roger [Fry's] illustrations 'very romantic and beautiful', and that they 'illustrated and explained & enlarged the idea of the poems a great deal'. Discusses the poems; thinks "The [Lady's] Bat" 'much the best thing' Bob has done, and 'in the way the most serious'. Lord Rosebery's speech 'a funny business': he 'said things that any Pro Boer would have been lynched for saying' after criticising pro-Boers 'more strongly than anyone'; George hopes what he says will 'get into common parlance'. Says that he himself 'went mad for two months last autumn... and saw men as idiots walking'; he wrote 'an exceedingly mad article... in which a lot of truth was buried in a hopeless amount of bunkum'; hopes Bob will not judge him on it if he sees it.

The Old Hotel, Dungeon Ghyll, Langdale, Nr. Ambleside. - Bob and Roger [Fry] will be pleased that a 'memorial [memorandum] about Finland" which is soon to be sent to the Duma [Russian Parliament] has been much signed by British MPs. Has had a long talk with Cecil Spring Rice, the British minister at Stockholm - not [his relative] Tom - who knows about the affair as the 'Swedes are so deeply interested'. There is some hope that the 'change may be of a more limited character than is threatened'.

5 Barton St. - Bob's 'old woman' [housekeeper] told him when he returned [from Italy?] that a 'young man in a cab with a portmanteau' called when he was away; seems that Edward 'appeared at no 14 [home of Crompton and Theodore Llewelyn Davies] hunting for a lunch'; hopes he found 'a friend or restaurant in time' as he knows his friend needs 'constant supplies... to stave off dissolution', like moles which cannot go without worms for more than twelve hors. Went round to Bruton Street yesterday, but found that Edward had gone back on Sunday; this means he missed meeting 'a rose of Shiraz, the direct descendant of the one which intoxicated Hafiz... You would have had this rose, had you been here' but instead Bob 'took it round to [Roger] Fry, who fell violently in love with it, and fell to painting it' [this appears to refer to the first meeting between Fry and his future wife Helen Coombe]. Supposes Edward is caught up in 'the last act' of his academical careers [final exams]; he should not be 'despondent and doubtful'. Tells Edward to excuse his 'sermons', but not his spelling, as he swears 'never to look at or correct' a letter to him again, 'after the outrageous fables' Edward circulated about his 'beautiful and chaste letters from Italy'.

Hotel Scapolatielli, Corpo di Cava (written on printed notepaper for the Hôtel de Londres, Gênes - crossed out). - Marsh's letter gave Bob much pleasure, since the 'stupid people at Naples' have not yet sent his first on; his address 'hints fascinating suggestions of rustic English scenery, and milk drunk and mild-maids beflirted in dairies'. Asks if Marsh is alone, or whether this letter is '"solus ad solum", as Flaubert used to write to Maxime Ducamp'. Read [William?] Archer's review of the plays produced by the Independent Theatre [Society] in the "Pall Mall Budget", and supposes it was 'in some slight degree inspired by' Marsh's; hopes this 'wonderful pale-faced black-haired [man: Lugné-Poe, see 15/322]' will still be in London when he returns at the end of the month; asks if it was Titian's portrait of Ariosto Marsh was reminded of. Has read Maeterlinck's "Intruse"; did not feel anything strongly for the writer, but would not like to have written the play: did not think the 'poetical or romantic element to which realism was totally sacrificed... was not quite good enough', that Maeterlink was 'not the right man to do it well, but that he could imaging 'a real poet doing something very wonderful in that line'. Glad Oswald [Sickert] 'has seen the last of those Beautiful Englanders' ["Beautiful Britain", published by the Werner Company]; remembers Marsh talking about Sickert's second novel a while ago and thought he had said it was finished, so asks whether this is a third. Asks whether [Stanley] Makower's book is out yet.

Marsh seems 'to have been going the round of our distinguished men pretty thoroughly'; makes Bob 'writhe with envy to read your account; would particularly like to see [Robert] Bridges, and means to make Roger [Fry], Bridges' nephew, take him one day. Has a book of Bridges' verse with him here, which is 'very readable and at times very beautiful'; Fry is 'enthusiastic' about him, and reads Bob passages aloud from "Prometheus [the Firegiver]"; Bob thinks 'a calmness and gentleness of tone and harmony about him... seems to make him a sort of painters poet'; hopes Marsh was 'not badly shown up' for his 'neglect' of Bridges' recent books. A man called [Henry Charles] Beeching lives with Bridges [he in the Rectory at Yattendon, Bridges in the manor house there; Beeching married Bridge's niece] and 'has just published a volume of milky poetry for which Roger has done a frontispiece' ["In a Garden and Other Poems"]; Roger says they quarrel with each other 'off and on in a mild chronic sort of way'. Asks whether Marsh saw Beeching.

Is living an 'ideal sort of life here'; describes his daily routine of exercise, study and meals; he eats omelettes, risotto, 'some wonderful things they call fritelli', for which he gives instructions and states his intention to continue making them in England. His work is 'just as mysterious' to himself as it is to Marsh; does not have the 'faintest idea what it is going to turn out' as; the plot is a 'puzzle' to him, the style is he knows 'vicious and unnatural as a rule' though he hopes it is good sometimes, and the important thing is to get it finished. Has the greatest difficulty finding names for his characters; his hero is called Benedict, 'an awfull name... which mercifully shortens into Bendy'. Badly wants a name for 'a sort of Jim Stephen who has not gone mad' but has achieved nothing due to 'an incorrigible laziness and want of enterprise'; he is in danger of losing his wife to the hero. Bob was just creating a character called Paul who was turning out 'without my intending it, uncommonly like you'; Marsh's letter has made him realise with 'horror' what he was doing and he may have to take Paul out. The character is engaged to a very charming girl who is like someone Bob knows. Hopes to be back in England in about three weeks; intends to 'plunge into an incredible carreer of gluttony [sic] and Pantegruelizing'.

Hotel Timeo, Taormina:- The Frys have been here a week now, and Robert will stay ‘a little longer’ than he had intended, though he hopes to start back ‘some time next week’. Most of the time the weather has been ‘very fine’; in fact, ‘rather too dry’. Today they are going, in the boat of ‘the Cacciolas’ fisherman’, to see ‘the grottoes under the cliffs, which are very wonderful, something like the Capri grottoes’. They will then spend the rest of the day on ‘the Cacciolas’ island [Isola Bella] which contains everything, from rabbits and a ruined chapel to corals and Leonardo “Madonna of the rocks” sort of places’. Roger Fry is painting ‘a picture of the theatre and Aetna’, but Robert does not think ‘the place inspires him much for painting, though they both enjoy staying here very much’. They ‘looked in at an Italian carnival dance yesterday evening’; the Frys ‘danced a polka’ and Robert watched.

There is ‘great indignation here about the bombardment of the Greeks [in the conflict with the Ottomans over Crete]’; expects there also is in London, as ‘Public feeling seems to be entirely with the Greeks in England, France, and here [Italy]’. Sees Colonel Hay is the new ambassador [of the US in London?]. Will try and get Il Capello del Prete [by Emilio De Marchi] for her on the way back. Is not yet certain about coming down [to Welcombe] for the ‘Shakespearean week’, so she should not get him tickets; would most like to see As You Like It. Does not think [Frank] Benson ‘would do the Tempest very well’: his Midsummer Night’s Dream was ‘not altogether good’. Is glad Fairweather is ‘strong again’. Supposes his mother will be in London when he returns. Will go to Haslemere and ‘get settled there as soon as [he] can’; thinks the Russells are there now. Hopes his father is ‘still well’.

Pension Palumbo, Ravello:- Has little to say, as life is ‘quite uneventful’. They [he and the Frys] usually have the place entirely to themselves. Visited Mrs Reid’s garden the other day: it is ‘not so fine and big as the Cacciolas’, but has some nice trees’, and he will go to sit there occasionally. Mrs Reid has said he can go whenever he likes, though she herself is too ill to be called on at the moment. Believes the ‘present Lacaita [Charles Carmichael Lacaita]’ is her nephew. There are ‘many other places’ he can go, ‘especially a garden at the top of the cliff’.

The Frys ‘usually spend their day in their studio’; Roger has just had ‘rather a bad cold’, but Robert thinks Helen ‘is all right’. They ‘read Don Quixote aloud in the evenings, having first read ‘the beginning half of [The Casting Away of] Mrs Lecks & Mrs Aleshine [F. R. Stockton]’ which they found here. Robert has done a lot of work since coming here; there has been good weather, except for ‘three wet days last week’.

Has received her letter, and the bills: it was quite right of her to open those. His letters have now begun to ‘come direct’. Is glad his father is ‘keeping well’, but wishes ‘he would not go back [to London?] too soon’. Does not yet know when he will go to Florence, but does not think it will be for some time; expects he will not stay there long. He and the Frys may visit Naples soon; does not know how long George will be there, but expects he will have left by the time they go.

Seatoller, Borrowdale, Keswick. - Thanks his mother for her last letter. Is glad she met [Herbert James] Craig, who is an 'excellent person', who was in Scrutton's chambers when Robert was there. [Henry Francis] Previté is a 'great friend of his' and says he is 'really a first-rate candidate'. Robert would 'like to see him again very much'.

The weather has been 'excellent', with just one stormy day. Bessie seems to be getting on very well at Rottingdean with Mrs Salomonson, and is 'probably going to bathe'. Expects Dowden's [biography of Robert] Browning 'would be dull. Chesterton's is certainly lively' though it 'annoyed [Robert] very much': thought Chesterton 'said all the wrong things it was possible to say about Browning as a man of letters, and in fact entirely showed himself up as a critic'; he was 'more interesting about Browning as a man, but even there was exaggerated and paradoxical'. Admits this may not be fair, as he 'never can stand Chesterton'.

Has a 'few scanty notices of the Chantrey bequest committee' in his newspaper; the [Royal] Academy's defence 'has certainly been a fiasco, as it was bound to be'. Hopes 'the whole gang of them will get thoroughly discredited at last', as until that happens there is 'no hope of any adequate recognition of what is really good in modern art', or reform of the mismanagement of the National Gallery. Poynter 'has just succeeded in swindling Fry out of the Slade Professorship', as he thinks he has already told her; this is 'only one instance of the fatal power for evil that his gang possesses'.

Is getting on with his own work, 'rather slowly "eppur si muove"'; his father is also getting on with his, doubtless a little faster.

Seatoller, Borrowdale, Keswick. - Thanks his mother for her letter. The weather has not been so good recently, but any rain has been brief. Bessie seems 'very well at Rottingdean [where she is visiting her friend Jeanne Salomonson]' and is coming here on the 5th; wonders if it would suit for them to come to Wallington around the 13th or 14th, but expects Bessie will be writing about this. Does not think he will finish his play here, but will read it to her if she likes; will at least have done more than half of the final act.

The new Slade Professor is 'a certain Walstein [Charles Waldstein, later Walston]; he has held the position before and 'proved his incompetence'. He is 'the most notorious snob in Cambridge, far out-doing the O. B. [Oscar Browning], and a quite odious man as well''. Thinks his father met him recently there, and 'did not get a good impression'. Seems that it was settled that Fry should have the professorship, but 'at the last moment Poynter and Walstein, who is a great intimate with royalty, got it settled their way instead. Everyone is very angry': Sidney Colvin 'is said to be quite furious'.

That is a 'personal matter', and Robert only knows one side, but 'the bigger issue is really important'. Almost 'all the merit and intelligence among both artists and students has for a long time 'been outside and opposed to the [Royal] Academy', and yet the Academy has 'enormous power in many directions'. The 'Chantrey Bequest affair' is of 'secondary importance' in itself, but may 'serve as an occasion to break their power'. Certainly not the case of only a narrow clique '(the New Eng[lish Art Club, for instance) that is hostile to the Academy, but all who care strongly about art'; nor is the hostility 'a personal attack on Poynter, who is more intelligent than most of them', and Robert believes him to be 'a perfectly straight man according to his lights'.

Has a gun at Wallington, though may have 'Bowen's gun [which came to Robert after E E Bowen's death] sent there' from Westcott. Should have said that it is 'now really settled' about their house: the clearing of the site was to start last week, it is due to be finished by February 20 [1905], with the roof being on by 20th November [this year]. They are 'very glad all the bother is over'.

Seatoller. - Thanks his mother for her letters, and for the Times [Literary] Supplement. The article on Petrarch was interesting; he is a 'gentleman' Robert knows little about, and though the article was good it does not make him 'particularly anxious to be further acquainted with him, at least with his poetry'. The weather has generally been good, and he has got on 'fairly' with his work. Was 'very sorry about Searle [his death] though... expected it'.

Sent on his mother's letter to [Roger] Fry: 'unfortunate that it is a pastille', as they are 'rather difficult to deal with' and he doubts 'travelling improves them; if Fry thought he could do anything Robert could possibly take it with him when he goes South [see also 13/21]. Supposes George does not want him to read more proofs [of England under the Stuarts]; of course if he does, Robert would have time and willingness to go through more at Wallington. Hears Aunt Annie will be there, which will be nice.

Has little to say, as 'nothing happens here'; Bessie will arrive on Friday, and seems well. Hopes both his mother and father are well.

I Tatti, Settignano, Florence. - He and Bessie are just starting for Ravello, and will arrive tomorrow evening. The last few days' weather has been 'perfect', and they have had a 'very pleasant time with the Berensons'. They do not see much of Florence, since the house is some miles outside, but 'go in sometimes in the morning', and they see 'a good deal of amusing people, English, American, or Italian', who live in or near Florence. One day a 'future Henry James would find an excellent subject in a life of Berenson, after the memoirs of Story's life [a reference to James' William Wetmore Story and His Friends].

Has recently been reading Butler's Way of All Flesh, which might interest his father; perhaps it is 'rather depressing reading', but the 'satire on clergymen etc... is at times masterly. Butler was apt to be perverse and cranky', which comes out in the book, but it is 'very sincere' and has for Robert 'the fascination of a pyschologist's autobiography' as he imagines the book is 'autobiographical to a great extent', though expects 'the incidents... are mostly invented'.

Their [new] house seems to be getting on well; plans are now being made for the stables, which will be 'quite small'. Wonders whether his father's farmers 'will get a visit from the Tyneside wolf'; does not 'quite understand where his haunts are', but he supposes nearer Hexham than his father's lands. He and Bessie are both well, and looking forward to Ravello; mentions the sighting of a wolf by a friend walking in the mountains near there, which 'made off as fast as it could'. The few wolves left 'never seem to do any harm, at least they don't attack people'.

Asks his father to tell his mother that he took Fry's drawing of him to Hampstead, and that Fry 'will see what can be done for it. Mrs Fry seems very well again now'. The other day they went to see Mrs Ross, who 'sang some Tuscan songs on her guitar, with great vivacity and still with a good deal of voice left'. She always asks after his father. He and Bessie 'find her amusing, and rather like her, in spite of her being rather coarse and often very absurd'. They both send love, also to C[harles] and M[olly] if they are still at Wallington.

The Shiffolds. - Has been away, or would have answered her note with his father's questions earlier. Cannot find a reference to 'levying an indemnity' in Murray or elsewhere; '"requisitio"' is used as a substantive in that sense, but may be general a word', as is probably the case also for 'fine' and 'tribute'; both 'ne'er do weel' and 'ne'er do well' seem to be 'used as nouns by quite good writers, such as Dickens'.

Paul 'seems quite well again now', though last week he was not so well; Bessie also seems well: she went with Robert to the Speyers' last Sunday, where Hausmann, Frau Soldat, and and Leonard Borwick were staying 'so there was a lot of music' and several pieces were rehearsed for next Wednesday's London concert.

Is glad Phil [Morgan Philips Price] is now recovering; Bessie has had 'a nice letter from Aunt Meg'. Has not had much news about the Frys recently, as Roger has been in Italy for the last three weeks; expects he will soon return. Imagines Helen 'is much the same, perhaps rather better in some ways', though 'doubt[s] whether there is any real improvement'. Robert's play [Sisyphus: An Operatic Fable] should be out this week, though he has not yet heard anything about it.

Ma Retraite, Ede. - Addresses Trevelyan as 'my dear Bob'; is very glad to hear from him; was just last week that she left Amsterdam and he went with Paul [Hubrecht?] 'to visit Volendam and buy Dutch cheeses' but it seems a long time ago. Paul wrote a 'rather amusing & ironical account of that day'. He must have had a bad crossing as the weather has been 'most depressing ever since'; 'poor Grandmont is shivering & probably longing to get away', but the coming of Bob's friends the [Roger] Frys will keep them longer. Will miss them very much; Bramine has 'proven to be such a friend', she has told her everything and she is 'a great help'. All her family 'have a somewhat inquisitive if not suspicious turn of mind' and have begun to have suspicions about her and Bob; not in an unkind sense but they want to know 'exactly what happened or did not happen'. Her uncle, aunt, and [cousin] Marie stayed with her sister [Abrahamina Röntgen] in Amsterdam; is sure they compared notes. Bramine is a help to 'appease their minds'; would also help if Trevelyan wrote a 'collins' to her aunt which will make it 'all look more natural'. She and Bob must continue to be quite 'sincere and truthful' with each other, and 'everything will come right in the end'; scolds him a little for leaving the house without saying goodbye to her uncle or Grandmont, though her family found his absent-midnedness comical.

Is writing in the drawing room, hearing the 'continual tinkle tinkle of the piano' as Grandmont practises some Haydn trios. They spent at the evening recently at the house of the painter [Willem?] Witsen, where Bramine works at her etching every day; played some music and even persuaded Witsen to join them with his cello, though he is 'terribly shy and modest' he plays very well. Has been practising hard herself recently, as she wants to be in good shape if she goes to have lessons from the new teacher in Amsterdam who has replaced her old teacher [Joseph] Cramer. Asks how Bob's new house is getting on; asks its name and address, and when he will move in. He will miss the Frys at first; hopes they like the Dutch cheese, and that it will not be 'like the story of the cheese in [Jerome's] "Three Men in a Boat"'. Is reading Joachim's biography [by Andreas Moser], and has given up the Brownings' letters for a while. 'Correspondence is unsatisfactory in so many ways'; wishes she could see more of Bob, though she tells him not to 'interpret this for more than [she means] it'; tells him to write as often and fully as he can. Will try to puzzle over his 'metaphysical quotation', though doubts she will understand it entirely without further explanation; wonders about the value of such questions, though she does greatly admire 'the philosophical turn of mind' as long as it does not hamper any other enquiry. Bramine sends kind regards to Bob; she and Grandmont apparently always speak of him 'by that disrespectful name', so she supposes she may also. Notes in a postscript that he did not tell her how old he is; guesses twenty-seven.