[c/o Perkins, 90 Commonwealth Ave., Boston]
Letter 37.
No letter from you this week: that is none since you wrote on April 17. IHale, Emilyfinances;w5;a9 miss it the more, as your last letter gave me things to be distressed about: your finances, and your solitude, andPerkinses, the;k8 the Perkins’s, and the absence of work. IMirrlees, Hope;c3 haveBehrens, Margaret Elizabeth (née Davidson);a7 had a quiet weekend, asMoncrieff, Constance ('Cocky')in London for bridge and Mass;a9 Hope and Cockie are both away, the former with Margaret in Hampshire, the latter in London. ThereShamley Wood, Surreydramatis personae;a4 has been another spinster sister of Mrs. M.’s here, on a visit from Edinburgh; but she has been in bed with bronchitis most of the time, and is quiet, serious and very Scotch. IMirrlees, Emily Lina ('Mappie', née Moncrieff)TSE prefers being alone with;d2 always enjoy being alone with the old lady, and she flourishes in the peaceful atmosphere – though I must say much of the excitement is due to the needs of her own dramatic temperament. Cockie is at her club in London, having an orgy of bridge and Masses at the Jesuits’ in Farm Street,1 her two great interests: IMoncrieff, Constance ('Cocky')taken to theatre by TSE;b1 have to take her to the theatre tomorrow afternoon, and she only likes exciting crime plays. Otherwise, I do not think I have a very full three days ahead of me; and I am glad, being rather tired, and wanting my holiday. ThatCulford School, Bury St. EdmundsTSE's Prize Day address at;a1 will be just a month hence, after speaking at the Methodist school in Suffolk.
I have no news from Cambridge. IHinkley, Eleanor Holmes (TSE's first cousin);c8 do think that Eleanor might have written to me for once, in connexion with Ada’s illness.
Perhaps, if all goes well, this war will last only one more year.
God bless you, my dearest.
1.The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, Mayfair, London – otherwise known as the Farm Street Church – is run by the Society of Jesus.
4.MargaretBehrens, Margaret Elizabeth (née Davidson) Elizabeth Behrens, née Davidson (1885–1968), author of novels including In Masquerade (1930); Puck in Petticoats (1931); Miss Mackay (1932); Half a Loaf (1933).
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.
3.HopeMirrlees, Emily Lina ('Mappie', née Moncrieff) Mirrlees’s mother was Emily Lina Mirrlees, née Moncrieff (1862–1948) – known as ‘Mappie’ or ‘Mappy’ – see Biographical Register.
2.HopeMirrlees, Hope Mirrlees (1887–1978), British poet, novelist, translator and biographer, was to become a close friend of TSE: see Biographical Register.