[No surviving envelope]
Your letter of May 8th, following that of May 3d, was, you may be sure, very exciting. (By the way, it had come ungummed – why have you given up sealing wax? It is practical as well as decorative and to be kissed). ISmith Collegeappoints EH assistant professor;a6 amHale, Emilyas teacher;w1appointed to position at Smith;c2 really delighted about your appointment at Smith, and I pray that there may be no catch in it, and that it has really gone through by now.1 You say it is for one year, but I presume that it is renewable after that – even if not, recommendations from Smith ought to be very valuable elsewhere – and the salary is not too bad, to begin with. PerhapsHale, Emilyappearance and characteristics;v7her voice;b7 you realise now that your voice is a very great asset, being unusually beautiful anywhere. I wish, of course, that there might be dramatic work attached to the job, but perhaps that is too much to expect. (IEliot, Samuel Atkins, Jr. (TSE's cousin)unknown to TSE;a1 really know nothing whatever about Sam Eliot,2 as I have never met him. So he is not very popular, is he?) AlsoSmith Collegein TSE's recollection;a7, it struck me as a pleasant place, with some quite agreeable people. IKoffkas, the;a1Koffka, Kurt
Nowtravels, trips and plansTSE's 1936 American trip;c4and possible Smith visit;a7 the first thing to know is: when does the autumn term begin, when do you have to start residence? I should like to see something of you before the term! and should also like to take a peep at you in Smith to see what your surroundings will be like.
ISenexet, WoodstockEH makes retreat to;a4 am glad, too, ofChristianityretreat and solitude;c9EH at Senexet;a2 your happy retreat. It would interest me to know how these retreats are conducted. I suppose there are regular of [sic] devotions, addresses, and meditations on set subjects, as well as a little reading. Do you also observe, as we do, complete silence during the whole time, except for participation in prayers, and except for an occasional talk with the director himself ? That is a most desirable and necessary rule, in my opinion. One should not be bothered by the personalities of one’s fellow-retreaters.
Now I imagine that after this winter – unusual for you as you say – you will be pretty tired and need a holiday. Just the uncertainty, the continued following of false scents of jobs, must have been a great strain itself; and you seem to have been kept pretty busy socially too – even though most of it has been not gay or exciting. ISheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister);g2 hope you will be able to see Ada soon – it was unfortunate you were ill – because I think she may be beginning to wonder whether you really want to see her. But what ARE you going to do for a real rest, and during the period of great heat? I hate to think of your spending the summer in Boston, whether at Riverway or elsewhere; and a series of short visits to friends has elements of fatigue as well as rest, though better than nothing. WillWare, Mary Lee;c1 Miss Ware ask you to her farm for any length of time?
Now I must stop, but will write again tomorrow night to try to catch the same fast boat. IKeyneses, theaccompany TSE to Cambridge Murder;a3 goMurder in the Cathedral1936 touring production;e6;a2 for the weekend to Cambridge to stay with Maynard Keynes (whomMurdocks, thetaken to Sweeney Agonistes;a3 you may remember seeing for a moment in the Westminster Theatre when we were with the Murdocks) and see a performance of ‘Murder’ in the theatre which he has built there.
With all my love, my Love, all that you ever could wish,
1.EH had been appointed Assistant Professor of Spoken English at Smith College, with a salary of $2,000 p.a.
2.SamuelEliot, Samuel Atkins, Jr. (TSE's cousin) Atkins Eliot, Jr. (1893–1984), author, translator of works by Frank Wedekind, Professor at Smith College, Northampton; son of the Unitarian clergyman Samuel Atkins Eliot (1862–1950) and grandson of Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard. Works include Little Theatre Classics (3 vols, 1918–21); Erdgeist, by Wedekind (trans., 1914); and Tragedies of Sex, by Wedekind (trans., 1923).
2.SamuelEliot, Samuel Atkins, Jr. (TSE's cousin) Atkins Eliot, Jr. (1893–1984), author, translator of works by Frank Wedekind, Professor at Smith College, Northampton; son of the Unitarian clergyman Samuel Atkins Eliot (1862–1950) and grandson of Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard. Works include Little Theatre Classics (3 vols, 1918–21); Erdgeist, by Wedekind (trans., 1914); and Tragedies of Sex, by Wedekind (trans., 1923).
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.
3.MaryWare, Mary Lee Lee Ware (1858–1937), independently wealthy Bostonian, friend and landlady of EH at 41 Brimmer Street: see Biographical Register.