[No surviving envelope]
Letter 7.
I have to-day your letters of January 14 and 24. It is disappointing to learn that you have been asked too high a price for a set or [sc. on] rooms which are not even habitable all the year round: so that you could only stay at Concord next year by continuing to put up with a personality which, I gather increasingly, places you under a great strain, besides the lack of privacy. ButHale, Emilyfinances;w5;b1 what you tell me of your financial situation makes me very anxious about your prospects of living without a post: and I cannot believe that anyone of your temperament would be content to be without a definite occupation, unless you were in a place where there were frequent calls upon your abilities, for voluntary or philanthropic work. You express yourself positively about not stopping in Concord, but you leave the future very vague. I am the more concerned, because of the uncertainty of the times in which we live.
I am sorry that you have had to work in a cold gymnasium. I have not suffered from lack of heat anywhere – only during the very cold spell in London after Christmas, through the absence of glass windows in many places. ShamleyShamley Wood, Surreyoverheated;a7 Wood has to be kept warm, because of the two old ladies, but that creates rather a problem, as it looks as if there would not be enough coke to keep both the central heater and the hot water heater going (it is more economical to have both heat and hot water off of one boiler, but you can’t change over in war time); so that at present we have cut down to two hot baths a week. I suffer the least by this, as I can get hot baths (though not always so piping hot) on the mornings I am in London. If they find a hotel to go away to for a month, in March, that will simplify the problem; but it is not easy, nowadays[,] to find a hotel for an old lady who needs central heating, and breakfast and supper in bed, and is used to good cooking. IfBehrens, Margaret Elizabeth (née Davidson);c3 they do, as I may have said last week, I shall move for that time to a cottage at the foot of the hill, belonging to a woman who runs a chicken farm, which was fitted up for the Field Marshal, only she never stays in one place long. The owner would look after me and get my meals.
IMurder in the CathedralHoellering film;g1TSE adapting for screen;a3 rather like your suggestion of a scene for Becket: it is either that or a scene in which he does not appear, but in which some light is cast upon him indirectly through the talk of the people. But I shall wait for Hoellering to suggest something definite: which may be acceptable, or which may put into my head the scheme for something quite different. IFamily Reunion, TheEH discusses with pupils;h8 feel very pleased by theHale, Emilyas teacher;w1lectures on Family Reunion;d7 thought of your talking to your pupils about the Re-union [sic]: if it had been a more formal talk I should have begged for a glimpse of the text.1
I fear that the cost of living has gone up, in America, to a degree that makes it very difficult for people of moderate fixed means. It has, to a less degree, here; the higher cost of things is somewhat offset by the fact that there are so many things one can’t buy at all, and so many ways of spending money which are no longer open. But if the time should come when I can replenish my wardrobe, I think it will cost me three times the equivalent in 1939, and I fear that rents may be very high for a long time to come. IMirrlees, Emily Lina ('Mappie', née Moncrieff)as landlady;e9 have actually been living very economically; for of course Mrs. M. doesn’t want to make any profit on my keep, we23 Russell Square, London;a9 have the flat in town as part of the business property, and it is only my meals out which cost a good deal more than in former days.
IEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother);i8 have no news yet of Henry; but I did not expect them to cable. IPerkinses, the;l3 am so glad that the Perkins’s were pleased by my letter: but I still have to write to thank for the calendar. I cannot keep up with correspondence now.
I was much pleased by Miss George’s letter, which you fully deserve.2 I remember her as a very sweet, humble person. Is she still at Scripps?
IWhat is a Classic?sent to EH;a9 hope you have received ‘What is a Classic?’
1.Henry Eliot to William A. Jackson, Houghton Library, 16 Mar. 1945: ‘I am returning herewith the manuscript of The Family Reunion, by T. S. Eliot [MS Am 1691.14 (38)], which was loaned by Miss Emily Hale to Eliot House, and which she borrowed last January for use in giving a talk at Concord Academy, where she teaches’ (EVE copy).
2.Letter not found.
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).
3.HenryEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother) Ware Eliot (1879–1947), TSE’s older brother: 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.