[240 CrescentHale, Emilyas teacher;w1is installed at Smith;c3 StAmericaNorthampton, Massachusetts;g3EH settles in;a4., Northampton, Mass.]
YourMatthiessen, Francis Otto ('F. O.')interrupts EH and TSE's parting;a6 deartravels, trips and plansTSE's 1936 American trip;c4the moment of parting from EH;b4 letter of the 28th was a very welcome one, especially because of the unfortunate interruption at goodbye time. That was Prof. F. O. Matthiessen of Harvard who so unconsciously broke the last moment. I had to talk to him for part of the way down, when I wished to be alone with my own thoughts and images. But afterwards I wondered whether you were not late for supper, staying so late as you did, waiting for the train: I thought of you sitting alone later at Mr. Hinckley’s, with the Amherst heroes roaring in the next room.
I shan’t be able to write satisfactorily, or express myself well, until I get back to my own room. Here I have a typewriter, it is true, but I am under pressure of time: I have had notes and invitations to answer at the last moment, andMerriman, Dorothea (née Foote);a4 in a few minutes must go to call on Mrs. Merriman, andEliots, the HenryTSE enjoys birthday dinner chez;a7Eliot, Henry Ware, Jnr (TSE's brother)
WellHale, Emilybirthdays, presents and love-tokens;w2EH with TSE on his birthday;c9, thattravels, trips and plansTSE's 1936 American trip;c4TSE's birthday during;b5 was a perfect birthday. I have never felt so close to you as I have during and since that weekend. Each knotting of experience together brings greater happiness and greater pain, but at the moment the sense of a spiritual intimacy deeper than I should have believed possible, is the most acute. I know that I am still pretty anaesthetic, owing to the rush of the last few days, and the prospect of the journey and the re-accommodation to the life of London without you; but I have a conviction of our having [embarked] on a new stage of development together, and I feel a deep thankfulness for it and for all you give me (a great deal more than you can realise – but as I suggested, you can guess at it by remembering that it is equal to what I seem to give you). MyAmericaNorthampton, Massachusetts;g3TSE's 1936 visit to;a5 dear dear girl, who seems now to be always with me as I seem to myself to be still in Northampton, I hope my invessant [sc. incessant] thoughts and constant prayers may help to hold you up.
It seems to me that I am more deeply and strong in love with you than ever.
7.F. O. MatthiessenMatthiessen, Francis Otto ('F. O.') (1902–50) taught for 21 years in the English Department at Harvard, where he specialised in American literature and Shakespeare, becoming Professor of History and Literature in 1942. The first Senior Tutor at Eliot House, he was a Resident Tutor, 1933–9. Works include The Achievement of T. S. Eliot (1935) and American Renaissance (1941).