Pièce 81 - Letter from Sophie Weisse to Elizabeth Trevelyan

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Northlands, Englefield Green, Surrey. - Donald [Tovey] has returned, and she feels 'white faced and strained looking and estranged as he is' that he is glad to be home; however he is certainly an invalid, and must 'as Willy Strecker' urges be treated like one. Entreats Bessie not to let him refer to 'the horrible things of this last autumn' again; he will come to see 'he was blinded by arrogance and the feeling as he said himself... that he was teaching Casals that he, Donald, was the 'top dog'' so fell 'victim to Guilhermina's urgent need to wrench her husband's love back'. She will not refer to all this, or to Hugh Godley's conduct, again. Donald's reactions 'are not "passionate misunderstandings" - it is what is his heirloom'; only this 'explanation and excuse' makes it still possible for this to be his home; he will be 'ill like this again'. He is currently 'writing reams of letters', many she thinks to 'little [Adolf] Busch', which makes her nervous; but his interests in the opera ["The Bride of Dionysus"] have been roused again and she longs for it to be finished. Donald thinks his concerts will be his last in London, and she fears he may be right; he talks of going to Bessie around the 30th, but she herself 'longs' to see her and Julian before that.