[Grace Toll Hall, Scripps College, Claremont]
I have had a vexing time trying to get my telephone connected; afterLowes, John Livingstonhelps TSE to settle at Harvard;a1 running from pillar to post yesterday morning I came across Livingston Lowes1 who was most obliging, and went with me to the Bursar’s to insist that it was the University’s business to see that I was provided immediately. They then assured me that it would be done within twenty-four hours, but so far nothing has happened. If the machine is not in order by tomorrow night I shall be obliged to wire you to warn you that I may not be able to get through to you on Saturday night: in that case, it will probably be Monday or Tuesday; and I am more than annoyed.
I do not seem to have written for some days. As I think I told you, the novelty of adjustment has been very tiring; and also I have found myself with many little errands, and at any moment I have to run out for a bottle of ink or something trivial overlooked. IEliot HouseTSE takes up residence in;a7 came here to sleep on Tuesday night, and found it very quiet – at least after eleven or so it is quiet. OnLittles, the Leontheir kind of society;a2 Tuesday I went over to Chestnut Hill to dine with Leon Little and his wife, and found a rather formal dinner party – at least more formal than I often attend – with four or five other people in evening dress – the only one I knew was Rosamund Elliot, who was of my time; she has a rather common but pleasant little Scotch husband. They all seemed to be local inhabitants. CocktailsAmericaBoston, Massachusetts;d1its society;b3 before dinner, grape juice with a rather elaborate meal, and whisky & soda later. I found it tiring. TryingEnglandthe English;c1TSE's vision of wealthy provincials;a6 to think what it was at all like, I decided that it resembled somewhat prosperous suburban society, or that of wealthy provincial people in England – not ‘county’ people, but important industrial people in Manchester perhaps. Something distinctly provincial, without much social or intellectual distinction, but very nice people. AndHarvard Universityits society;a6 not like the best Harvard university society either; where the intellectual interests, even when rather specialised, confer a dignity. But these people are not only amiable, but better educated and more interested, and possibly in some ways less prejudiced, than the English industrial society with which I have compared them. ButWoods, Professor James Haughtonhosts TSE to tea;a1 on Wednesday I felt a more congenial atmosphere; both at Professor Woods’s,2 whereEliot, Revd Christopher Rhodes (TSE's uncle)dinner with;a2 I went to tea, and at Uncle Christopher’s, where I dined, andEliot, Abigail Adams (TSE's cousin);a2 where were Abigail Eliot3 and a friend who is librarian of Radcliffe.4 Uncle Chris has definitely a second rate mind, but he has breeding; Abby has, I think, within limits of a practical kind, first rate abilities; and there is a tradition of serious public service in that family which gives them considerable dignity. InHinkleys, the;c3 an odd way, I find them better bred than the Hinkleys.
To-day I lunch with Professor Lowes, who is acting chairman of the Norton Committee, to discuss the subject and dates of my lectures; andCharles Eliot Norton Lectures (afterwards The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism)TSE yet to begin;b2 by the end of the week, afterEliot Houseits library;a8 I have found out how to use the Widener and the small Eliot House libraries, I hope to settle down to writing. The food here is rather strange to me, but I think good of its kind. TheEliot Houseconspicuous lack of teapots;a9 worst defect is that at breakfast they serve you a CUP of tea – made by putting a tiny bag of tea into a cup of hot water; and when I asked whether I couldn’t have a POT of tea (with a jug of hot water to fill it up) was told that they have not got a teapot in the place. EveryoneAmericaits horrors;c2lack of tea;a3 else drinks coffee. There seem to be quite a decent lot of Fellows: someSedgwick, Professor William Ellerymeets TSE;a1 individuals of social standing, like young Ellery Sedgwick5 and a young Forbes who is very likeable; an Irishman named O’Brien (but he talks English, not brogue); a loquacious Englishman from Cambridge who I fear may become rather a bore; a Canadian from Toronto; and a sprinkling of clever Jews and others. UsuallyEliot HouseTSE suffers company over breakfast;b1 three or four at once at breakfast; it is hard for me, who habitually have my breakfast alone, to overcome my morning moroseness and talk at breakfast. When I work all morning, or all day, in my room, I shall lunch in hall; when I work at Widener I shall probably lunch at the Faculty Club, which is another luxurious new building beside the Yard. OnSpencers, theweekend excursion with;a1 Sunday afternoon IPickman, Edward Motley;a1 haveAmericaBedford, Massachusetts;c9;a1 promised to motor out to Bedford with the Spencers to call on some friends of theirs named Pickman;6 thisHinkley, Eleanor Holmes (TSE's first cousin);a8 will give me an excuse for not attending Eleanor’s Sunday evening. EleanorLe Gallienne, Eva;a1 isHinkley, Eleanor Holmes (TSE's first cousin)gives party for Eva Le Gallienne;a9 very excited about the approaching visit of Eva Le Gallienne with her troupe; has engaged me to go to the play and have supper with them and Miss Le Gallienne afterwards.7
ISheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister)TSE begins to confide in;a9 told my sister Ada that my motive for going to the far west was to see you – I made no further explanations, though I see no reason why [I] should not when the occasion offers – she took it as a perfectly natural thing; and as I have told her that much, I shall be able to discuss the arrangements of my tour with her and Sheff8 as I could not with anyone else. IHinkleys, theoutside Ada's confidence;c4 am convinced that she is not only discreet but very understanding, and understands that I do not discuss my private affairs with the Hinkleys. In fact, she remarked herself that Aunt Susie was not in her own confidence nowadays. They used to be close friends, many years ago when Barbara and Eleanor were quite small; but they have little in common, beyond affection, now.
IHale, Emilybrought to tears by music;b9 have worried over your statement that you could not listen to music without wanting to cry. I hope first of all that my dear Emily will attend conscientiously to her physical health; and second that she will not take her academic duties and responsibilities too hard. I think, if one can be so methodical as that, that twenty minutes or so (not too long) of devotional reading is a good thing at night. Do you sleep properly? how does the climate suit you? and what outdoor life do you get? What is the food like?
1.JohnLowes, John Livingston Livingston Lowes (1867–1945), American scholar of English literature – author of the seminal study of Coleridge’s sources, The Road to Xanadu: A Study in the Ways of the Imagination (1927) – taught for some years, 1909–18, at Washington University, St. Louis, where he was known to TSE’s family. He later taught at Harvard, 1918–39.
2.JamesWoods, Professor James Haughton Haughton Woods (1864–1935), Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University, 1913–34. He gave courses in Indian philosophy, and his Yoga System of Patanjali (1914) was the first American scholarly study of Indian philosophy. TSE studied Greek Philosophy with Woods in 1911–12, and ‘Philosophical Sanskrit’ in 1912–13. After TSE submitted his thesis, Woods told him he wanted to create a ‘berth’ for him in the Philosophy Department at Harvard. TSE was later to record that ‘a year in the mazes of Patanjali’s metaphysics under the guidance of James Woods left me in a state of enlightened mystification’ (After Strange Gods, 40).
3.AbigailSmith, Abigail Eliot (TSE's cousin) Eliot Smith (1900–84), daughter of Holmes and Rose Eliot Smith, graduated from Wellesley College in 1922, and took her MD at Washington University School of Medicine, 1927. She was Assistant Resident in Medicine, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, 1930–2; Instructor in Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 1932–4; Physician to out-patients, Washington University Dispensary, 1936–42; Cardiologist, Out-Patient Department, St. Louis County Hospital, 1942; and Assistant Physician, Wellesley College, from 1942.
4.Katharine M. Day, a friend of TSE’s cousin.
5.Ellery Sedgwick Jr. (1908–91), nephew of William Ellery Sedgwick (1872–1960), editor of the Atlantic Monthly, 1908–38.
6.EdwardPickman, Edward Motley Motley Pickman (1886–1959) and his wife Hester: see letter of 18 Oct. 1932, below.
7.EvaLe Gallienne, Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991), British-born American actor, director, producer; director of the Civic Repertory Company, New York. In 1932 Le Gallienne staged Eleanor Holmes Hinkley’s Dear Jane, with an intimate friend, Josephine Hutchinson, playing Jane Austen.
8.AlfredSheffield, Alfred Dwight ('Shef' or 'Sheff') Dwight Sheffield (1871–1961) – ‘Shef’ or ‘Sheff’ – husband of TSE’s eldest sister, taught English at University School, Cleveland, Ohio, and was an English instructor, later Professor, of Group Work at Wellesley College. His publications include Lectures on the Harvard Classics: Confucianism (1909) and Grammar and Thinking: a study of the working conceptions in syntax (1912).
2.RevdEliot, Revd Christopher Rhodes (TSE's uncle) Christopher Rhodes Eliot (1856–1945) andEliot, Abigail Adams (TSE's cousin) his daughter Abigail Adams Eliot (b. 1892). ‘After taking his A.B. at Washington University in 1856, [Christopher] taught for a year in the Academic Department. He later continued his studies at Washington University and at Harvard, and received two degrees in 1881, an A.M. from Washington University and an S.T.B. from the Harvard Divinity School. He was ordained in 1882, but thereafter associated himself with eastern pastorates, chiefly with the Bulfinch Place Church in Boston. His distinctions as churchman and teacher were officially recognized by Washington University in [its] granting him an honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1925’ (‘The Eliot Family and St Louis’: appendix prepared by the Department of English to TSE’s ‘American Literature and the American Language’ [Washington University Press, 1953].)
2.RevdEliot, Revd Christopher Rhodes (TSE's uncle) Christopher Rhodes Eliot (1856–1945) andEliot, Abigail Adams (TSE's cousin) his daughter Abigail Adams Eliot (b. 1892). ‘After taking his A.B. at Washington University in 1856, [Christopher] taught for a year in the Academic Department. He later continued his studies at Washington University and at Harvard, and received two degrees in 1881, an A.M. from Washington University and an S.T.B. from the Harvard Divinity School. He was ordained in 1882, but thereafter associated himself with eastern pastorates, chiefly with the Bulfinch Place Church in Boston. His distinctions as churchman and teacher were officially recognized by Washington University in [its] granting him an honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1925’ (‘The Eliot Family and St Louis’: appendix prepared by the Department of English to TSE’s ‘American Literature and the American Language’ [Washington University Press, 1953].)
5.EleanorHinkley, Eleanor Holmes (TSE's first cousin) Holmes Hinkley (1891–1971), playwright; TSE’s first cousin; daughter of Susan Heywood Stearns – TSE’s maternal aunt – and Holmes Hinkley: see Biographical Register.
7.EvaLe Gallienne, Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991), British-born American actor, director, producer; director of the Civic Repertory Company, New York. In 1932 Le Gallienne staged Eleanor Holmes Hinkley’s Dear Jane, with an intimate friend, Josephine Hutchinson, playing Jane Austen.
1.JohnLowes, John Livingston Livingston Lowes (1867–1945), American scholar of English literature – author of the seminal study of Coleridge’s sources, The Road to Xanadu: A Study in the Ways of the Imagination (1927) – taught for some years, 1909–18, at Washington University, St. Louis, where he was known to TSE’s family. He later taught at Harvard, 1918–39.
2.EdwardPickman, Edward Motley Motley Pickman (1886–1959) and his wife, Hester Marion Pickman, née Chanler (1898–1989), were descended from an affluent and cultivated New England trading family: they had homes on Beacon Hill, Boston, and at Old Farm, Bedford, Mass. They had six children. See Hugh Whitney, ‘Edward Motley Pickman’, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 3rd series, 72 (Oct. 1957–Dec. 1960), 364–70.
3.ProfessorSedgwick, Professor William Ellery William Ellery Sedgwick (1899–1942) taught English at Harvard, 1926–38, before joining Bennington College, Vermont. His widow was the former Sarah F. Cabot of Boston; and his brother was O. Sedgwick, foreign correspondent of the New York Times.
2.AdaSheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister) Eliot Sheffield (1869–1943), eldest of the seven Eliot children; author of The Social Case History: Its Construction and Content (1920) and Social Insight in Case Situations (1937): see Biographical Register.
8.AlfredSheffield, Alfred Dwight ('Shef' or 'Sheff') Dwight Sheffield (1871–1961) – ‘Shef’ or ‘Sheff’ – husband of TSE’s eldest sister, taught English at University School, Cleveland, Ohio, and was an English instructor, later Professor, of Group Work at Wellesley College. His publications include Lectures on the Harvard Classics: Confucianism (1909) and Grammar and Thinking: a study of the working conceptions in syntax (1912).
3.AbigailSmith, Abigail Eliot (TSE's cousin) Eliot Smith (1900–84), daughter of Holmes and Rose Eliot Smith, graduated from Wellesley College in 1922, and took her MD at Washington University School of Medicine, 1927. She was Assistant Resident in Medicine, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, 1930–2; Instructor in Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 1932–4; Physician to out-patients, Washington University Dispensary, 1936–42; Cardiologist, Out-Patient Department, St. Louis County Hospital, 1942; and Assistant Physician, Wellesley College, from 1942.
2.JamesWoods, Professor James Haughton Haughton Woods (1864–1935), Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University, 1913–34. He gave courses in Indian philosophy, and his Yoga System of Patanjali (1914) was the first American scholarly study of Indian philosophy. TSE studied Greek Philosophy with Woods in 1911–12, and ‘Philosophical Sanskrit’ in 1912–13. After TSE submitted his thesis, Woods told him he wanted to create a ‘berth’ for him in the Philosophy Department at Harvard. TSE was later to record that ‘a year in the mazes of Patanjali’s metaphysics under the guidance of James Woods left me in a state of enlightened mystification’ (After Strange Gods, 40).