Item 3 - Letter from John Jay Chapman to R. C. Trevelyan

Sylvania, Barrytown-on Hudson. - Thanks Trevelyan for his letter; has not yet received the "Bride of Dionysus", which he supposes is a play; will read it and let Trevelyan know his opinion, though he is not a good critic; knows this as 'everybody tells [him] so' but he himself 'feel[s] like a good critic'. Discusses the 'peculiar talent' needed to read a play through and 'luck' to understand it and know how it will work on the stage; he has sometimes missed the point of a play completely as he 'missed the mood'. Thinks the age needs 'ambitious, romantic poetic plays', though nobody at the moment can either act them or wants to go to see them; the 'plays must come first - then will come the actors & then the public'. So Trevelyan's [actually a libretto for an opera] is welcome.