Stuk 140 - Letter from Alphonse Grandmont to R. C. Trevelyan

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Taormina. - Unsure how he should address Robert; to continue to use his last name seems 'very long and ceremonious', given the good fortune that will unite them, but to treat him as a cousin would be a sort of 'anticipatory anachronism' not allowed by custom, 'though Canon Law proclaims engagements the equal of marriage'; 'Bob' however seems reserved for old friends and family, so he has settled on his 'name of baptism' - Robert. All of this ran through his head when he decided to write to Robert after the landslides at Amalfi. Bramine was very worried about Robert, and he had to show her that Ravello was at a distance, and in the opposite direction, from the place where the accident took place. Robert has made them 'taste the wine from those hills on which [his] poetic inspirations also grow' [a reference to his book, "Mallow and Asphodel"?] Is late acknowledging Robert's present as the sender sent it to Messina, and Grandmont had to 'complete formalities' to get it; also, he wanted to taste 'Bacchic liquor' before expressing the thanks it deserved. Drank a glass to the 'joyous entrée of Bessie into her new family', and they had a very happy evening; hopes this is a good omen for Robert and Bessie's happy future.

• Frans