[22 Paradise Rd., Northampton, Mass.]
I was surprised to receive your Thanksgiving Day letter to-day, just eight days later, and before I had mentioned my own celebration in writing to you. You have had a very early fall of snow, anddogs'Boerre' (Norwegian Elkhound);b7TSE receives photo of;a9 I should like to have seen you and Boerre in your furs taking your walk. ButHale, Emilyappearance and characteristics;v7her leopard-fur coat;d5 you have worn the coat last winter, have you not? I should like a photograph of you in it, with your dog: I was glad to have the snapshot you sent of him, but, it does not show his figure, and to show his size there should be someone – preferably yourself – standing by him.
RalphHodgson, Ralphbears Cats away to Wisconsin;b6 HodgsonOld Possum’s Book of Practical CatsHodgson promises to illustrate;c2 sailsAmericaMadison, Wisconsin;f5Ralph Hodgson sails for;a2 tomorrow for Madison Wis, to join his wife, taking with him a copy of Cats, and leaving behind the promise to submit some sketches as illustrations for the book as soon as possible.1
AMorleys, thetheir Thanksgiving parties;b2 quiet weekend at the Morleys; they had colds, and Frank spent Sunday in bed. I was fortunate not to catch it. AHamilton, General Sir Ian;a2 small party for Thanksgiving Dinner – only the Ian Hamiltons – a very nice Scotch architect who lives near them, a nephew of General Hamilton.2
MeanwhileFamily Reunion, Theprogress towards staging stalled;f3 there is no news of the Reunion. I was to have seen Martin last night, but he sent word that he was not well. I shall probably see him next week, and finish off the proof so as to send one set to New York to the publishers there. StSaint-Denis, Michelhis Twelfth Night;a9. DenisPhoenix Theatre, LondonSaint-Denis's Twelfth Night;a2 ought to have Twelfth Night off his mind by now – it seems to have been fairly well received3 – IHutchinson, Mary;c5 expect to see it next week with Mary Hutchinson, whom I have not seen since last winter. And if that is a success, he will be in a better position to take on a new play to follow it in February. IBoutwood Lectures (afterwards The Idea of a Christian Society)being prepared;a2 plod along with my Cambridge lectures, andJanes, W. L.dying in hospital;b6 Janes in his hospital keeps his hold on life, with no improvement but surprising tenacity. Next week I must begin to amass Christmas cards.
Does your work take you more time, or less, than last year? You say little of your health, but it was good to learn that you felt less fatigued than a year ago at the same time.
ThisRichmonds, theTSE's Netherhampton weekends with;a7 weekend I have to go to the Richmonds – a visit which should have taken place in September. I shall probably enjoy it, as I like them so much, but I wish I could stay at home restfully.
I shall write earlier next week, even if there is no boat. On Friday night, after clearing up a number of odds and ends of private correspondence, and with the prospect of taking a train for Salisbury in the morning, I seem to have very little animation in me.
WhatHinkley, Susan Heywood (TSE's aunt, née Stearns);c4 a sprightly letter from Aunt Susie!
1.GeoffreyFaber, Geoffreyon meeting Ralph Hodgson;g6n Faber’sOld Possum’s Book of Practical CatsHodgson as 'the Man in White Spats';c3n diary, Fri. 7 Oct.: ‘Met Ralph Hodgson for 1st time in Tom’s room – & liked him greatly. Introduced to me, cryptically, by T. as the Man in White Spats & illustrator of Pollicle Dogs – which didn’t help me to guess who he was. But I tumbled to it.’
2.General Sir Ian S. M. Hamilton (1853–1947), distinguished veteran of the British imperial army; commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during WW1; author.
3.Michel Saint-Denis directed Twelfth Night at the Phoenix Theatre, with Peggy Ashcroft as Viola, George Devine as Sir Toby Belch, and Michael Redgrave as Sir Andrew Aguecheek.
11.GeoffreyFaber, Geoffrey Faber (1889–1961), publisher and poet: see Biographical Register.
9.GeneralHamilton, General Sir Ian Sir Ian Hamilton (1853–1947), distinguished army officer; sometimes unfairly blamed for the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign during WW1. F&F were to publish his memoir When I Was a Boy (1939).
4.RalphHodgson, Ralph Hodgson (1871–1962), Yorkshire-born poet; fond friend of TSE: see Biographical Register.
3.MaryHutchinson, Mary Hutchinson (1889–1977), literary hostess and author: see Biographical Register.
4.W. L. JanesJanes, W. L. (1854–1939), ex-policeman who worked as handyman for the Eliots. Having been superannuated from the police force early in the century, he worked for a period (until about 1921) as a plain-clothes detective in the General Post Office. TSE reminisced to Mary Trevelyan on 2 Apr. 1951: ‘If I ever write my reminiscences, which I shan’t, Janes would have a great part in them’ (‘The Pope of Russell Square’). TSE to Adam Roberts (b. 1940; godson of TSE), 12 Dec. 1955: ‘I … knew a retired police officer, who at one period had to snoop in plain clothes in the General Post Office in Newgate Street – he caught several culprits, he said’ (Adam Roberts). HisJanes, Ada wife was Ada Janes (d. 1935).
2.CompagnieSaint-Denis, Michel des Quinze: theatre production company organised by Michel Saint-Denis (nephew of Jacques Copeau), together with the playwright André Obey, at the Théatre du Vieux-Colombier, Paris, 1929–34.