[35A School St., Andover, Mass.]
Itravels, trips and plansTSE's second 1951 British Council mission to Paris;h6recounted;a1 haveBritish Counciltrip to Paris;b9 been very tardy in getting off Christmas letters, and I do not yet seem to have caught up on my arrears since my second visit to Paris, which left me more exhausted than the first, so that I took to bed for the better part of three days on returning – with a sore throat and aches and sweats, but they proved to be no more than symptoms of fatigue. CertainlyUniversity of Pariseventually awarded;a2 the honour of a Doctorate of the University of Paris is very agreeable in itself, though I felt I had rather remained at home and foregone it; and certainly the ceremony was dignified. But there had of course to be a large formal banquet afterwards, and they were all university people whom I didn’t know; and a luncheon of the Dean of the Faculty the next day; and one doesn’t sleep very well in Paris, because of the noise of traffic. But the British Council put a car at my disposal, which they needn’t have done, as I was not their guest this time, but that of the University, and that helped. AndBrowning, RobertTSE honours grave of;a1 this week IArmstrong, Profressor A. J.;a1 have had to lay a wreath on Browning’s grave (on behalf of Baylor University, Texas) with a few words,1 and respond to the toast of ‘the guests’ at a dinner of a very uninteresting affair called the Society of Bookmen, toFabers, the;i5 which I went in order to please the Fabers.2 I can just understand the weariness of Royalty in being compulsory figure-heads for public events: only they at least are brought up to expect nothing better out of life, and I am perpetually aware that there are other things which I should not only prefer to do, but which I know I can do better!
And'World Tribute to Bernard Shaw'written in protest;a1 IShaw, George BernardTSE against memorial tribute to;a9 felt impelled to take some time over writing a long letter to Time & Tide protesting against the absurdity of the £250,000 Bernard Shaw Memorial.3 I will get another copy to send to you. I was actually surprised that Lady Rhonnda [sic] was willing to print it.
MartinBrowne, Elliott Martin;f7 Browne is back from Australia looking none the worse, althoughBrowne, Henzie (née Raeburn);b8 it must have been an appalling experience with Henzie’s illness, and having to move house to a smaller establishment in St. John’s Wood immediately on arrival. IConfidential Clerk, Thebeing written;a4 have explained to him that I cannot promise to have my play fit to release in time for the Edinburgh Festival – may be in the autumn. Buttravels, trips and plansTSE's 1952 visit to America;h8;a3 with the prospect of three or four weeks out for a visit to the U.S.A. in May, it would have been foolhardy to commit myself.
IHale, Emilyas director ('producer');v9Twelfth Night;c4 hope I may hear from you as soon as the play, and other school events of the season, are over, and you have had a few days rest. And that you will let me know your plans for the brief holidays. I shall send a Christmas cable to Commonwealth Avenue.
I shall as usual stay quietly at home over Christmas, taking a few meals out to make it easier for the housekeeper. WeSykeses, theChristmas dinner with;a1 dine (lunch) with some friends not far away, the Sykes’s,4 on Christmas Day. TonightRoberts, Janet;b5 I have to go to supper with Janet Roberts, as I have not seen her and the children for a long time.
I know nothing of your activities since your birthday party.5
I hope that this reaches you before you leave Andover. Perhaps you will only go into Boston for the day, but I do hope you are getting away for a short visit somewhere after Christmas.
1.TSEArmstrong, Profressor A. J. had been approached out of the blue on 17 Oct. by Professor A. J. Armstrong, of the Dept of English Language and Literature at Baylor University (a Baptist foundation) of Waco, Texas, with the request that he undertake to place a wreath on the tomb of Robert Browning in Westminster Abbey at 12.30 on 12 Dec. 1951, the anniversary of the poet’s death. Armstrong (1873–1954) had taught at Baylor since 1908, serving for forty years (1912–52) as Head of the Department of English Language and Literature. Having become friendly with Browning’s son, Robert Barrett (Pen) Browning in Italy in 1909, he aspired to gather together a world-beating collection of the poet’s works, manuscripts, letters and related materials: and he fulfilled this obsessive self-imposed task with such indefatigable passion that by the 1940s he had assembled the best Browning collection in the world. The President of Baylor University nominated $1.75 million towards a building to house the collection on campus, on the understanding that Armstrong would raise the huge balance required for the completion of the project. The Armstrong Browning Library was ultimately opened in 1951. See further Scott Lewis, Boundless Life: A Biography of Andrew Joseph Armstrong (2014).
TSE wrote to Armstrong, 23 Oct. 1951, consenting to lay the wreath as requested: ‘I should like rather more information, and must apologise if you have already communicated it to me in the past, about what has actually been done at Baylor in connection with Robert Browning. When you speak of a two million dollar shrine, do I take it to mean that the University itself is, in a sense, dedicated to the memory of Robert Browning, and was the sum in question collected by such general subscriptions that it could really be said that the monument has been built by the American people? Please excuse this reply, but I really am somewhat in the dark as to the building which you are dedicating on December 3rd.’
2.Address not found.
3.‘World Tribute to Bernard Shaw’, Time & Tide 32 (15 Dec. 1951), 1231–2: CProse 7, 651–3. ‘I do not know of any precedent for such a tribute to the memory of any man of letters. At the present time, when good causes are as numerous as ever, and when the resources of most of those in the habit of supporting good causes are more limited than ever, we are obliged to scrutinise carefully the aims of every appeal, before yielding to its persuasion. And there is one fact which makes this appeal still more unusual. Mr Shaw bequeathed a substantial fortune to quite a different cause from that which we are now asked to support: namely, to the movement for the simplification of the spelling of the English language.’
4.ChristopherSykes, Christopher Sykes (1907–86), author and journalist; friend of Robert Byron (author of The Road to Oxiana; he and Sykes were travelling companions) and Evelyn Waugh. Having passed an active war in the Special Operations Executive and Special Air Service, he worked in BBC Radio and lived with his wife, Camilla Georgiana and family in Chelsea, not far from TSE and Hayward. Works include Four Studies in Loyalty (1946); Nancy: The Life of Lady Astor (1972); Evelyn Waugh: A Biography (1975).
5.EH’sHale, Emilywritings;x4'Summer Sunshine: A Memory of Miss Minna Hall';b6 activities included the publication of an article, ‘Summer Sunshine: A Memory of Miss Minna Hall’, Bulletin of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (Dec. 1951), 379–80: see Appendix.
1.TSEArmstrong, Profressor A. J. had been approached out of the blue on 17 Oct. by Professor A. J. Armstrong, of the Dept of English Language and Literature at Baylor University (a Baptist foundation) of Waco, Texas, with the request that he undertake to place a wreath on the tomb of Robert Browning in Westminster Abbey at 12.30 on 12 Dec. 1951, the anniversary of the poet’s death. Armstrong (1873–1954) had taught at Baylor since 1908, serving for forty years (1912–52) as Head of the Department of English Language and Literature. Having become friendly with Browning’s son, Robert Barrett (Pen) Browning in Italy in 1909, he aspired to gather together a world-beating collection of the poet’s works, manuscripts, letters and related materials: and he fulfilled this obsessive self-imposed task with such indefatigable passion that by the 1940s he had assembled the best Browning collection in the world. The President of Baylor University nominated $1.75 million towards a building to house the collection on campus, on the understanding that Armstrong would raise the huge balance required for the completion of the project. The Armstrong Browning Library was ultimately opened in 1951. See further Scott Lewis, Boundless Life: A Biography of Andrew Joseph Armstrong (2014).
4.E. MartinBrowne, Elliott Martin Browne (1900–80), English director and producer, was to direct the first production of Murder in the Cathedral: see Biographical Register.
4.ChristopherSykes, Christopher Sykes (1907–86), author and journalist; friend of Robert Byron (author of The Road to Oxiana; he and Sykes were travelling companions) and Evelyn Waugh. Having passed an active war in the Special Operations Executive and Special Air Service, he worked in BBC Radio and lived with his wife, Camilla Georgiana and family in Chelsea, not far from TSE and Hayward. Works include Four Studies in Loyalty (1946); Nancy: The Life of Lady Astor (1972); Evelyn Waugh: A Biography (1975).