[No surviving envelope]

T. S.Eliot
EmilyHale
TS
Faber & Faber Ltd
Letter 55.
14 November 1943
My dearest Emily

ThankSheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister)EH describes her funeral;j8 you for your sweet letter about Ada’s funeral, whichSheffield, Alfred Dwight ('Shef' or 'Sheff')writes following Ada's death;b7 has reached me at about the same time as lettersEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother)describes Ada's funeral;h8 from Sheff and Henry, andMorley, Christina (née Innes)sends Ada's New York Times obituary;c6 oneNew York TimesAda's obituary in;a1 from Christina Morley enclosing the cutting from the New York Times.1 Henry enclosed the cutting from the Boston Herald.2 As usual, you give details which I wished to have and which no one else has provided. Two lovely letters from Sheff, one just before her death and one just after; Henry told me about the funeral but not in such a way as to give me a picture as you do. I don’t suppose he could hear a word of the service, anyway. IPerkins, Edith (EH's aunt)attends Ada's funeral;f6 am very grateful to you (and to Mrs. Perkins) for going; and I am glad that so many people, and members of the family did go. I should like very much to know where she is buried, or if she had a cremation: that is the one point which no one has yet told me. Sheff’s devotion and humility are very great.

Henry’sEliot, Margaret Dawes (TSE's sister)Henry describes moving house for;c9 letter was a long one andEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister)experiences crisis;e1 gave me details of Marian’s preparation and of Margaret’s removal. What he told me of the latter has filled me with apprehension both for him and for Marian. He attributes Marian’s crisis partly to the strain of carrying a load of tin cans which Margaret insisted on her taking away. His description of the moving was quite awful: I dare say it relieved his feelings to tell me about it. MyEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother)beleaguered by Margaret;h9 greatest terror is that Margaret may again be requested to leave and find other accommodation, and that Henry and Theresa will take her in and never get rid of her. TheresaEliot, Theresa Garrett (TSE's sister-in-law)unsuited to resist Margaret;c4, I fear, has not the strength of mind to prevent this happening. AnyoneEliot, Margaret Dawes (TSE's sister)her condition;d1 so self-absorbed as Margaret, in that way, and so oblivious of the outside world, is free from that nervous strain that wears out normal people; she has naturally a stouter constitution than Henry or Marian – these two poor weak creatures, disciplined in an exaggerated unselfishness, have no one to protect them from her: and she is quite likely, in my opinion, to outlive them both. Eventually, she will have to go to live in some institution; and it would be much better if she would go voluntarily to some sanatorium (not a mental home) now, rather than wait until she is quite alone. There is nothing at all that I can do about it, and it will remain very much on my mind. Margaret is never ill, apparently, so I dare say there is no doctor upon whom she relies. If she has a doctor, I have suggested to Henry that he ought to be persuaded to lend his influence to get her to go somewhere where she could live decently. Henry says that her appearance is such that she can hardly go out in public, and that that is the real reason why she did not go to the funeral, or so he believes.

Well, now you are on Main Street, Concord; and I wait eagerly for your next letter to tell me about the work and the life there. I should like to know how you live: I fear that you may be so straitened that you may be skimping on food and clothing. Again, something that I can at present do nothing about.

A slight recurrence of my cold, which I think I have overcome: but I did not go out to early church this morning (Sunday) as the day was cold and the church as yet unheated; it is a chilly hour to be out before breakfast. ButSt. Anne's Church House, Soho'Culture Class';a4 last week I found St. Anne’s House, Soho, still without any central heating: an hour and a half talking there, then dinner at a restaurant, and back to Russell Square at 10. OnMostyn Red Cross ClubTSE's second visit to;a4 Wednesday I went to talk again to Chumbley’s jumblies – the American soldiers at the Red Cross Hostel – this time a bigger crowd, but it went off, I thought, very successfully. LadySassoon, Lady Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley;a2 George C. and the Major Cruse (?) in charge seem to pick the men for the purpose (there were several American girls in uniform, too, this time) very well. They are mostly college graduates, of one degree or another – men with a fairly high degree of mediocre education. Mostly quite young, a few more mature. ThisEducational Reform bill (1944 Education Act);a1 week I have to take the chair at a large meeting in Westminster on Educational Reform – on the religious provisions in the forthcoming education bill – at which the Bishop of Oxford and others are to speak. I'Twenty-Five Years in Gloucester Road'sent to EH;a3 encloseChurch Times'Twenty-Five Years at Gloucester Road';b4 a cutting of the report of the presentation to Cheetham – I wrote this myself, but the Church Times abbreviated it; IBooks Across the Sea;a6 also enclose my letter to The Times about ‘Books Across the Sea’.3 I shall enquire presently whether this has brought in any applications.

Thisde la Mares, thegive TSE wartime refuge;a6 weekend I have to go to the De la Mares’. I shall come back from town to Shamley on Thursday; and if I can do so without offense, shall not go to the De la Mares until Saturday, as I rather dread it. They are very nice people, but if there were no business connexion, I don’t think I should be quite so chummy with them as this; and their house is cold, large and therefore in these times unstaffed. But it is a beautiful house, in a charming village. If I can take Friday here (andChristian News-Letter (CNL)'Responsibility and Power';c4 IOldham, Joseph;e4 think my excuse will be having to re-write a contribution to Oldham’s Christian News-Letter)4 I shall try to make time to write again; if not, I may be able to write at the office when I am there alone on Monday night.

Yours lovingly
Tom

1.‘MRSSheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister)New York Times obituary;j9n. ADANew York TimesAda's obituary in;a1 E. SHEFFIELD, SOCIAL WORKER, DEAD: Leader in Massachusetts Field – Author, Sister of T. S. Eliot’, New York Times, 3 Oct. 1943, 48:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 2 – Mrs. Ada Eliot Sheffield, widely known social worker and author and sister of T. S. Eliot of London, the poet, died here today at her home.

Mrs Sheffield was born in St. Louis and was educated at the Mary Institute there and Radcliffe College. She was a member of the State Board of Charities, advisory board of the Massachusetts Public Welfare Commission, and a director of the Research Bureau on Social Case Work.

Surviving are her husband, Alfred D. Sheffield; another brother, Henry W. Eliot Jr., and two sisters, Margaret E. and Marian C., all of Cambridge.

Mrs. Sheffield, a member of the board of directors of the Children’s Mission of Boston, was the daughter of Henry Ware Eliot and Charlotte Stearns Eliot. She was with the Boston Association of Charities from 1897 to 1900, and the New York City Charity Organization Society from 1900 to 1902. Mrs. Sheffield was a probation officer of the Court of General Sessions from 1902 to 1904.

She was a former president of the Massachusetts State Conference on Social Work and the Radcliffe Union.

In 1905 she was married to Alfred Dwight Sheffield, Wellesley College professor.

2.Boston Herald, 3 Oct. 1943, 29:

MrsSheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister)Boston Herald obituary;k1n Sheffield Rites Monday: Noted Social Worker Dead in Cambridge: Mrs Ada Eliot Sheffield, widely-known social worker and author of numerous books and magazine articles on social work, and sister of the poet, T. S. Eliot, died yesterday at her home, 31 Madison Street, Cambridge.

Born in St Louis, Mrs Sheffield was educated at the Mary Institute and at Radcliffe College. She was a member of the Massachusetts State Board of Charities, the advisory board of the Massachusetts Public Welfare Commission, a director of the Research Bureau on Social Case Work and in 1927 was president of the Massachusetts Conference on Social Work.

Her books, dealing with case work theory and practice, were highlighted by a volume on “Social Insight in Case Situations,” which gained wide use as a textbook and reference work.

She leaves her husband, Albert [sic] D. Sheffield of Cambridge: two brothers, T. S. Eliot of London, Eng., and Henry W. Eliot. Jr., of Cambridge, and two sisters, Misses Margaret E. and Marian C. Eliot, also of Cambridge.

Funeral prayers will be held in Crothers Chapel of the First Parish Church in Cambridge, tomorrow noon. Interment will be private.

3.TSE, ‘Books Across the Sea’ (letter), The Times, 9 Nov. 1943, 5: CProse 6, 480–1.

4.‘Responsibility and Power’, Christian News-Letter 196 (1 Dec. 1943), Supplement: CProse 6, 484–9.

Books Across the Sea, TSE unwillingly president of, AGM, letter to The Times for, exhibition, reception for Beatrice Warde, The Times reports on, TSE trumpets in TES, 'Bridgebuilders', TLS reports on, and South Audley Street library, absorbed into English Speaking Union, final meeting of,
Christian News-Letter (CNL), TSE's way of writing for, described, first number, TSE's commitment to as war work, TSE on Papal Encyclical, TSE's colleagues not quite friends, becoming too politic for TSE, features TSE on Wells's New World Order, 'Education in a Mass Society', TSE's guest-editorship of, TSE gives talk for, relocates to Oxford, 'Responsibility and Power', TSE, Hambleden and Mrs Bliss discuss,
Church Times, TSE on Fascism in, carries Murder review, receives violent letter from TSE, to which it responds and is corrected, demurral from TSE, leads on 'A Liberal Manifesto', Iddings Bell contretemps in, reviews Christian Society, 'Twenty-Five Years at Gloucester Road',
de la Mares, the, TSE forgoes EH's invitation for, TSE's dread of visiting, give dinner for the Morleys, give TSE wartime refuge, the children, teach TSE vingt-et-un,
Educational Reform bill (1944 Education Act), TSE fears being asked about, TSE defends position on,
Eliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother), hears TSE's Dryden broadcast, as potential confidant, sibling most attuned to TSE's needs, witness to the Eliots in 1926, surprises TSE in Boston, his aura of futility, disputes New Yorker profile of TSE, at Eliot family Thanksgiving, attends second Norton lecture, his business in Chicago, hosts TSE in New York, TSE reads his second detective story, his immaturity, accuses TSE of wrath, writes TSE long critical letter, the favourite of TSE's parents, sends New York Murder clippings, writes again about religion, insensitive to European affairs, Peabody Museum employ as research associate, gives TSE pyjamas for Christmas, sends TSE luggage for Christmas, hosts Murder's Boston cast, sends present to Morley children, cables TSE on 50th birthday, given draft of Family Reunion, gives TSE portfolio, champions Kauffer's photograph of TSE, explains operation on ears, sends list of securities, takes pleasure in shouldering Margaret, undergoes serious operation, recovering at home, as curator of Eliotana, as curator of Eliotana, war imperils final reunion with, and TSE's rumoured Vatican audience, corresponds with TSE monthly, offers Tom Faber wartime refuge, nervous about TSE during Blitz, as described by Frank Morley, recalls The Dry Salvages, has appendix out, cautioned as to health, frail, condition worries TSE, as correspondent, friend to J. J. Sweeney, tries TSE's patience, reports on Ada, describes Ada's funeral, beleaguered by Margaret, sent Picture Post F&F photos, likened to Grandfather Stearns, goitre operated on, his archaeological endeavours, back in hospital, imagined in exclusively female company, ill again, as brother, has pneumonia, terminal leukaemia, prospect of his death versus Ada's, anxieties induced by deafness, writes to TSE despite illness, death, memorial service for, on EH's presumption, Michael Roberts's symptoms reminiscent of, his Chicago acquaintance, friends with Robert Lowell's father, invoked against EH, on TSE's love for EH, buried in Garrett family lot, The Rumble Murders,

3.HenryEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother) Ware Eliot (1879–1947), TSE’s older brother: see Biographical Register.

Eliot, Margaret Dawes (TSE's sister), not a suitable confidant, scandalised by Henry's detective story, threatens to visit England, compared to VHE, wishes to arrange TSE's birthday party, remote from TSE, TSE and Henry visit, TSE dreads visiting Uncle Rob with, drains TSE, takes TSE to hear spirituals, her history, amazes TSE by attending Norton lecture, celebrates 61st birthday at Marion's, remembered in St. Louis, unwanted presence on holiday, reason for avoiding Boston, supported Landon over FDR, in response to 1930s controversies, compared to Irene Hale, imposes on Henry, tends to monologue, her reclusive hotel existence, Henry describes moving house for, her condition, TSE leaves money with, Thanksgiving with, efforts to support financially, death, funeral, TSE's final visit to,

6.MargaretEliot, Margaret Dawes (TSE's sister) Dawes Eliot (1871–1956), TSE's second-oldest sister sister, resident in Cambridge, Mass. In an undated letter (1952) to his Harvard friend Leon M. Little, TSE wrote: ‘Margaret is 83, deaf, eccentric, recluse (I don’t think she has bought any new clothes since 1900).’

Eliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister), described, her reading habits, not a suitable confidant, TSE reflects on reunion with, Symphony concerts with TSE, to the cinema with TSE, delighted with first Norton lecture, recommends TSE hairdresser for baldness, attends second Norton lecture, hosts birthday party for Margaret, remembered in St. Louis, worried by Dodo's manner, TSE's pride in, vigilant on TSE's health, on Randolph family holiday, congratulates TSE on separation, 1934 summer in England with Dodo, July arrival anticipated, arrangements for, visit to Chipping Campden, off to Salisbury, walks to Kelmscott, returns from Winchester, forces Regent's Park on TSE, excessively humble, next to Ada in TSE's affections, protects TSE from overbearing Hinkleys, supported Landon over FDR, co-hosts Murder party, 1939 summer in England with Dodo, trip in doubt, Southwold week planned, due 19 June, taken to Dulwich, ballet and dinner with, Southwold holiday with, given to post-lunch naps, sends Christmas supplies to Shamley, as correspondent, easiest Eliot in Ada's absence, experiences crisis, importance as sister, Henry's fondness for, devoutly Unitarian, ignorant of Henry's true condition, undernourished, abortive 1948 summer in England, cancelled, which comes as relief, hosts family dinner-party, letter about Nobel Prize to, TSE leaves money with, 1949 visit to England with Dodo, June arrival anticipated, plans for, EH bids 'bon voyage', visit to Cambridge, return from Southwold, Borders tour, Basil Street Hotel stay, Thanksgiving with, reports on Dr Perkins's funeral, efforts to support financially, tethered to Margaret, joins TSE in St. Louis, 1954 trip to England with Dodo, visit to Ely and Cambridge, in light of Margaret's death, invoked against EH, TSE to Theresa on,

1.Marian/MarionEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister) Cushing Eliot (1877–1964), fourth child of Henry Ware Eliot and Charlotte Eliot: see Biographical Register.

Eliot, Theresa Garrett (TSE's sister-in-law), witness to the Eliots in 1926, draws TSE, co-hosts Murder party, remembers TSE's intention to marry EH, her immaturity, expresses solicitude for EH, careless of Henry's health, inflator of rumours, apparently ill, a 'lovely person', as correspondent, more agreeable than an Eliot, TSE on, unsuited to resist Margaret, and Henry's mania for Eliotana, wishes to take Henry on holiday following illness, made fretful by Henry, relationship with Henry, ignorant of Henry's true condition, on EH and TSE, after Henry's death, sends TSE Henry's old greatcoat, EH reports on, visits lawyer with TSE, avid for Eliotana, star-struck, undergoes operation on ear, for which TSE bears cost, hosts TSE in 1952, hosts TSE in 1955, custodian of Henry's collection, hosts TSE in 1956, visits England, on whether to return EH's letters, on TSE not marrying EH,
see also Eliots, the Henry
Morley, Christina (née Innes), and country life, at Joyce dinner in Paris, taken to theatre in Morley's absence, again to Love for Love, knits TSE socks, her Celtic temperament, therefore special affinity with Donald, sleeping at Donald's school, as tennis-player, falls asleep at wheel, entertained at The Berkeley, accompanies TSE to Three Sisters, taken to meet JDH, accompanies TSE to Bulgakov's White Guard, brings Morley boys along to Shakespeare, faced with departure for America, America's effect on, sends Ada's New York Times obituary, TSE writes letter of condolence to, for which she thanks him, in Cambridge,
see also Morleys, the
Mostyn Red Cross Club, TSE meets American soldiers at, some of whom visit him, some of whom visit him, TSE's second visit to,
New York Times, Ada's obituary in, interviews TSE,
Oldham, Joseph, lunches with TSE, convenes discussion of contemporary Christianity, at the Unemployment Conference, éminence grise in Council for Life and Work, hearing improved, spearheading anti-Nazi Church movement, puts TSE up to BBC talk, sent TSE's Revelation contribution, which he prizes, organises Lambeth Council, initiates 'Moot', and the Moot, first Moot meeting, bewails mankind, anointed reader of Boutwood Lectures, founds new wartime committee, which meets, sent drafts for CNL, as editor of CNL, views diverge from those of TSE, pleased with TSE's education supplement, needs holiday, convenes education group meeting, propagates yet another religious body, his style, to meet Michael Roberts, Church, Community and State,
see also Oldhams, the

8.JosephOldham, Joseph (‘Joe’) Houldsworth Oldham (1874–1969), missionary, adviser, organiser: see Biographical Register.

Perkins, Edith (EH's aunt), her relationship to EH queried, to accompany EH to Scripps, asks TSE to dinner, at first Norton lecture, shares pew with TSE, accompanies TSE to Symphony Concert, in audience at Milton Academy, catches cold in Florence, in TSE's private opinion, TSE's occasional poem for, her relationship with EH analysed, dislikes Jeanette McPherrin, explains EH's breakdown to TSE, on the Harvard Murder, as Campden hostess, and TSE's wartime instructions to EH, gives lunch at American Women's Club, gives TSE balsam pillow, requests English edition of Cats, as horticulturalist, without Campden garden, compared to Irene Hale, gives TSE photograph of EH, attends Ada's funeral, reports on EH's Millbrook situation, pressed for ham and pineapple recipe, sight affected in one eye, gives lecture, sight failing, sight deteriorates in other eye, thanked for 1946 hospitality, gives to Books Across the Sea, according to EH, asks TSE to present slides to RHS, which TSE does, on EH and TSE's relationship, and Hidcote House, friendly with Marion, TSE pitches her book to publishers, depressed by the heat, somewhat recovered, approaching 80th, faced with husband's death, letter of condolence to, sent birthday poem, visited in Boston, has sciatica, reports on EH's dramatic activities, Miss Lavorgna on, in her old-age infirmity, suffers 'shock', sacks nurse, EH preserved from, sends funeral tribute to Cousin Will, and the Hale letters, nursing home sought for, moved into nursing home, where TSE writes to her, suffers stroke, deteriorating, relations with EH, her legacy to EH,
see also Perkinses, the
St. Anne's Church House, Soho, initial meeting at, TSE's connection with, TSE chairs talk at, 'Culture Class', final 'Culture Class', lunch-hour Lenten talk for,
Sassoon, Lady Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley,

2.SybilSassoon, Lady Sybil, Marchioness of Cholmondeley Sassoon (1894–1989) – scion of the Sassoon banking family – married (1913) George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley (1883–1968), of Houghton Hall, Norfolk.

Sheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister), TSE's most likely family confidant, to host TSE on Boston return, TSE pictures his birthday-party with, Madison Street preferable to Eliot House, after seventeen years' separation, TSE begins to confide in, TSE and Henry visit together, accompanies TSE to Wellesley, counsels separation from VHE, speaks frankly with TSE about his domestic affairs, hosts post-Radcliffe Club reception, hosts the Eliot family Thanksgiving, attends second Norton lecture, hosts Wellesley English faculty and TSE, remembered in St. Louis, and TSE to discuss Yale lecture and VHE, hosts TSE for last time, informs the Hinkleys of TSE's separation, replies to EH on TSE and divorce, distinguishes her faith from TSE's, takes to Frank Morley, on the Perkinses, TSE advises on wines, on Aunt Susie, EH urged to be familial with, her struggles for independence, as sounding-board for EH's career, TSE's favourite sibling, shielded TSE from over-bearing Hinkleys, incompletely aware of TSE and EH's relationship, within the Eliot family dynamic, seems 'reserved' to EH, at Hinkley dinner, invites EH to lunch, reports improvement in EH's spirits, hosts TSE on 1936 arrival, and Marion and Theresa's Murder party, reassures TSE about Henry's ears, subscribed to CNL, her intellectual orbit, on Hastings's bust of TSE, war jeopardises TSE seeing again, apparently ill, recovering from major operation, has cancer, has second operation, ailing, in reportedly critical condition, her death contemplated, TSE's intimacy with, TSE's deathbed correspondence with, remembers TSE as boy, pursuing intellectual interests from deathbed, her place in the Eliot family, dies, in Henry's final report, EH describes her funeral, New York Times obituary, Boston Herald obituary, Sheff's memorial tribute to, TSE on her final illness, TSE's absence at death, wished for on VHE's death, invoked against EH,
see also Sheffields, the

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.

Sheffield, Alfred Dwight ('Shef' or 'Sheff'), respected by TSE, helps with The Use of Poetry, seems sympathetic to EH, corresponds with TSE in Ada's stead, writes explaining Ada's condition, writes touchingly, faced with Ada's death, writes from Ada's deathbed, as correspondent, shares tributes to Ada, reads 'credo' at Ada's funeral, which instances his jargon, shares prognosis on Henry, advises on urgency of TSE's trip, reports on Henry's condition, offers TSE financial assistance, exasperation with Eleanor Hinkley,
see also Sheffields, the

8.AlfredSheffield, Alfred Dwight ('Shef' or 'Sheff') Dwight Sheffield (1871–1961) – ‘Shef’ or ‘Sheff’ – husband of TSE’s eldest sister, taught English at University School, Cleveland, Ohio, and was an English instructor, later Professor, of Group Work at Wellesley College. His publications include Lectures on the Harvard Classics: Confucianism (1909) and Grammar and Thinking: a study of the working conceptions in syntax (1912).

'Twenty-Five Years in Gloucester Road', sent to EH,