[1418 East 63d St., Seattle]
ThisEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother);a1 morning I have had a mail, withEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister);a4 letters from my brother in New York and my sister Marion; and it always unsettles me a little to get such letters, and none from you; but I have no business to grumble, having had two letters from you last week! Still, I cannot help hoping for a letter by the end of the week.
You know quite well that I shall always be very happy to see anyone who is a friend of yours, or even any mere acquaintance to whom you will give an introduction; for it is a kind of shadowy contact with you. SoBennett, DilysTSE looks forward to meeting;a1 I shall look forward to meeting Miss Delys [sic] Bennett1 – whose name seems very modern, but I trust she is not so modern as that; andThorps, the;a3 I shall write to Thorp before the end of the month, if I have not heard from him meanwhile.2 I should love to help them to find rooms; but I had better see them first before making enquiries, so as to know exactly what they want. There may be some small flat in Bloomsbury to let furnished. VirginiaWoolf, Virginiaas estate agent;a7 sometimes knows of such opportunities.
TheHinkleys, theTSE reflects on their departure;b2 Hinkleys are coming to dinner tonight for a farewell. I have been happy to have them here, and regret their leaving; and everything has passed off perfectly. But of course I must feel a great sadness, as well as strain, in having to present an unreal exterior to people to whom I am so attached.
AndWare, Mary Leetravels to Italy;a6 how long will Miss Ware be away, and where?3 I am distressed to hear of this, because I cannot bear to think of you going out to messy little meals in messy little teashops and cafeterias, and probably skimping. Remember that I do not want you to get so thin again as in the beautiful photograph I have – but it isn’t beautiful because thin!
YetScripps College, Claremont;a1, forHale, Emilyas teacher;w1EH considers post at Scripps;a5 my own sake, I am glad that you will be in Boston for another winter; though Claremont California sounds sunny and gay;4 and the air mail is a blessing (I was alarmed to read in the paper that postage from the U.S.A. to Britain was to be raised to five cents – I hope that is not true). I wonder how you will like returning to teaching. Of course I may have exaggerated my own traffic with the young; I only see selected individuals, and nearly all of my own sex; and one cannot judge of a generation without seeing all degrees of intellect and refinement; and the few young men of whose inner life I know or guess anything at all are hardly representative. I wonder if the young are as modern as they are said to be – i.e. snatching at immediate enjoyment and experience, blunting their sensibilities and capacities for deep emotion early in life. I imagine not, somehow. ButChristianityChristendom;b2TSE ponders the decline of;a1 I wonder how many have any faith in the supernatural.
AsEuropeits importance for America;a3 for the relation of Britain to America, that is equally important, though not perhaps so much at the moment. IGermanyneeds to cooperate with Britain and France;a3 only meant that for the sake of European stability an understanding between Britain, France and Germany is the essential thing; andAmericadependence on Europe;a3 the persistence of European civilisation seems to me essential for America. On the other hand, understanding and cooperation between Britain and America is essential, because it is bound up with the survival of civilisation in the British colonies: and certainly Canada and Australia at least are as involved with America as with the parent nation.
And is your new hat one of those with small ‘bowler’ brim and an ostrich feather curling round the neck? I think that would be rather charming.
IChristianitysins, vices, faults;d5the sinner's condition;a3 think it takes time to get used to being a ‘sinner’ and adjusting one’s feelings so as not to be discouraged by it; not to be paralysed by shame, but just to work quietly towards improvement without worrying. I am very far myself from the equilibrium and acceptance that I hope for. There is a beautiful short story of Flaubert, of ‘St. Julien l’Hospitalier’ – ‘ainsi l’idée lui est venue de passer sa vie au service des autres’.5 AndHale, EmilyTSE's love for;x2a pain of sorts;b2 there are times when I desire you so much that neither religion, nor work, nor distraction, and certainly not dissipation, could relieve it – it is like a pain that no sedative will deaden, or an operation without anaesthetic – nothing to do but sit still and wait. At other times I feel glorified and transfigured through you; but more, which will please you better, a growing content with what I have, neither dreaming nor chafing.
‘Too late?’ you say! My dear, you are only at the beginning – you must learn humbly a proper perspective of your own shortcomings.6
1.DilysBennett, Dilys Bennett (1906–60), poet and author. Born in Wales, she married in 1936 Alexander Laing, a Dartmouth College academic, and became an American citizen. Works include Another England (New York, 1941) and The Collected Poems of Dilys Laing (Cleveland, 1967).
2.TSE wrote to Thorp on 25 Aug. 1931: see Letters 5, 646.
3.Mary Lee Ware was going to spend the winter season in Italy.
4.EmilyScripps College, ClaremontEH headhunted to teach at;a2n Hale had been scouted for a position teaching speech and drama at Scripps College, Claremont, California; she was eventually to take up a post at Scripps in Sept. 1932.
5.‘et l’idée lui vint d’employer son existence au service des autres’ – ‘and the idea occurred to him to use his existence in the service of others’ (Gustave Flaubert, La Légende de Saint Julien l’Hospitalier (Trois Contes, 1877).
6.‘ Postscript by hand.
1.DilysBennett, Dilys Bennett (1906–60), poet and author. Born in Wales, she married in 1936 Alexander Laing, a Dartmouth College academic, and became an American citizen. Works include Another England (New York, 1941) and The Collected Poems of Dilys Laing (Cleveland, 1967).
3.HenryEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother) Ware Eliot (1879–1947), TSE’s older brother: see Biographical Register.
1.Marian/MarionEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister) Cushing Eliot (1877–1964), fourth child of Henry Ware Eliot and Charlotte Eliot: 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.
1.VirginiaWoolf, Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), novelist, essayist and critic: see Biographical Register.