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YourEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother)terminal leukaemia;k7 letter of November 3 arrived this morning, togetherSheffield, Alfred Dwight ('Shef' or 'Sheff')shares prognosis on Henry;c3 withEliot, Dr Martha May (TSE's cousin)shares prognosis on Henry's leukaemia;a8 one from Sheff and one from Martha. Martha has been in Cambridge and had very thoughtfully rung up Dr. Hoyt. Sheff had also spoken to Dr. Hoyt, and the two reports tallied; but I was particularly glad to have Martha’s, as I felt more sure that Hoyt would speak frankly to a fellow doctor and a rather eminent one in her own way. TheEliot, Theresa Garrett (TSE's sister-in-law)ignorant of Henry's true condition;d7 prognosisEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister)ignorant of Henry's true condition;e8 is much more unfavourable than he has yet revealed to Theresa and Marion, so I beg you to keep what I say entirely to yourself. The point is that while Henry is making a satisfactory recovery from the pneumonia, both the general weaking [sic] from this illness, and the fact that it has necessitated the suspension of all treatment for the leuchaemia, constitute a very grave handicap, and it is now unlikely that he will be able to re-establish his position sufficiently to give prospect of long survival.
Intravels, trips and plansTSE's 1947 summer in America;g1Henry's condition brings further forward;a3 these circumstances, it is possible that I may have to make an effort to get over in December or January. The difficulties may prove insuperable: the first is to get a passage at short notice (preferably of course by air), for a purpose for which Governments recognise no ‘priority’. The second is my support while there, with the exiguous £75 of my own money which I shall be allowed to spend. And I shall have to find a place to sleep in and a place to eat: I can’t impose myself on Theresa (unless she should wish me to be there) although Henry will be in a hospital. Some of the tentative engagements already made can, no doubt, be advanced and arranged at short notice. ButHavens, Paulwhich Henry's health jeopardises;a8 I shall now have to write to President Havens to say that I find that I may have to visit America much sooner than I expected, on account of my brother’s state of health, and that therefore it would not be right for me to accept an engagement for a fixed occasion in June, for which they must be certain of a speaker.
And one of the difficulties is that I shall, in that event, not have had time to prepare any lectures.
Iappearance (TSE's)hernia;b9deferred operation for;a2 had just arranged to go into University College Hospital, Gower Street W.1 – in a private room – on January 2nd for the hernia operation. As I have said, this means a fortnight or so in the hospital, but I should not be fully fit, or able to travel (lifting hand luggage etc.) for six weeks. This, of course, can be postponed; and I am wondering whether I should not do so at once: for the summons might come in January, or before I was strong enough to respond to it.
IEliot, Henry Ware, Jr. (TSE's brother)prospect of his death versus Ada's;k8 thought it was as well to try to explain the practical difficulties which will confront me, at once. AsSheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister)TSE's absence at death;k5 to why I feel an obligation to come, if I can, which I did not feel in Ada’s case, (apart from the fact that the latter was in the middle of the war, when I should almost certainly not have got the permission) that involves a whole long history of relationships. But the fact that I had a much closer understanding with Ada, made it less important to be with her; and though I am less intimate with Henry (to the extent that it is a strain to be with him), he is much more dependent upon me. And there is also the help that it might be to Theresa.
Everything comes at once. ThisCurtis, Revd Geoffreyseeks TSE's counsel;a5 afternoon I expect Geoffrey Curtis (a young monk who has been a friend for some years) to tea, as he says there are things he needs to talk about; andBrowne, Elliott Martinpossible revue for Mercury Theatre;e4 Martin Browne is coming in after dinner to discuss aMercury Theatre, LondonMartin Browne's proposal to stage revue at;c9 project for a revue for the Mercury Theatre, to which apparently he wishes all his poets to contribute. AndMrs Webster (Ada Janes's sister)TSE overseeing burial arrangements for;a8 I am in the midst of arranging for Mrs. Webster’s insurance policy, and making sure that the London County Council will bury her in the family grave where she wants to be (she is over 90 and blind now); andIovetz-Tereshchenko, N. M.paralysed;a8 discussingO'Brien, Fr William Braithwaite, SSJE;a2 with Father O’Brien the ways and means of supporting the paralysed Tereshchenko for the two years he is likely to live; andValéry, PaulTSE's broadcast honouring;a7 seeing whether I can find time to take part in a broadcast in honour of Paul Valery; andNotes Towards the Definition of Culturelast chapter to be rewritten;a7 wanting to re-write the last chapter of my Notes Towards the Definition of Culture so as to get one real piece of work finished at least, andMilton, JohnBritish Academy lecture on;a6 then'Milton II'TSE reading for;a3 reviewing the necessary reading for the lecture on Milton; andSt. Stephen's Church, Gloucester Roadfundraising for;b6 the question of how we are to raise £300 to pay for the repair of a house for which St. Stephen’s is responsible.
SoHale, Emilyreligious beliefs and practices;x1the issue of communion;a8 I cannot expect to reply adequately to your letter of the 3d. I must be content, for the moment, that you agree to my request that you should always consult the rector or vicar, though it seems that you do not accept my arguments – as you do not (once more) refer to them. We must, for the present, just recognise that our religious points of view are opposed: even that some things that seem to you absolute values, seem to me a great menace to civilisation. RememberChristianityorthodoxy;c4iniquities of liberal theology;a6 that the stand that I have taken over this particular matter, is exactly what anyone should expect, who had followed my prose writings at least, for some years past. I can’t undertake now to try to explain why I think that ‘liberalism’ in church matters leads to materialism in philosophy and totalitarianism in government! orWallace, Henry'danger to freedom';a1 that a great danger to freedom comes from such sources as the well-meaning ‘liberal’ Mr. Henry Wallace!1 But I wish you had kept copies of your letters, to compare with mine (I have taken no copy of this one, however, only of the preceding two on this subject) and ask yourself whether your affirmation that ‘your whole nature cries out against limiting attendance at the communion table’ really meets my particular point.
1.HenryWallace, Henry Wallace (1888–1965) was U.S. Vice President in F. D. Roosevelt’s third term in office, but was replaced on the ticket for the 1944 election by Harry Truman.
4.E. MartinBrowne, Elliott Martin Browne (1900–80), English director and producer, was to direct the first production of Murder in the Cathedral: see Biographical Register.
4.RevdCurtis, Revd Geoffrey Geoffrey Curtis (1902–81), Anglican priest, scholar and teacher: see Biographical Register.
1.DrEliot, Dr Martha May (TSE's cousin) Martha May Eliot (1891–1978), pediatrician: see Biographical Register.
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.
2.N. M. Iovetz-TereshchenkoIovetz-Tereshchenko, N. M. (1895–1954), B.Litt. (Oxon), PhD (London): Russian exile; Orthodox Catholic Christian; university lecturer in psychology: see Biographical Register.
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.
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).