Item 11 - Letter from Marius Bewley to James Smith

2 single sheets

St Paul Seminary, 2200 Grand Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota.—Smith’s disgust at the failings of the Church and his own wretchedness since leaving England might both, he suggests, be relieved ‘by drawing apart from the surface of things’ in the manner described by St John of the Cross. Recommends he avoid talking to priests, especially while he is among Catholics whose faith is mainly animism. Refers to the bombing of London, and quotes in consolation St Jerome’s reflections on the sack of Rome. His coming to the seminary has saved him from ‘gibbering imbecility’. Encourages Smith to distract himself with literature.