September 23rd 1931

Dearest Nathalie,

Please excuse my dictating this letter instead of writing it. I was delighted to see your writing the other day and to know that you had got home safely, and presumably without too much fatigue, since you were able to write at once.

As to news of your new idea with regard to a biography of Walter, I was, and still am, somewhat disturbed, and felt that it was best to cable once to ask you to do nothing more without hearing from me.

I confess that I was surprised to hear that, before leaving Paris, you had made an arrangement with Gaston Riou, whom I have known for many years, to write Walter's Life. When I saw you just before you sailed I understood that you wished me to consult Morton Fullerton as to the possibility of his doing the book, and that you also approved of my having a further consultation with Berenson when I see him next month. Berenson was one of Walter's dearest and most intimate friends, and no one is more qualified to advise you on the subject; but meanwhile, at your wish, as I supposed, I had sent at once for Morton Fullerton, and had told him that you hoped he would do the book if he found it comparable with his other engagements.

As I wrote you immediately after my talk with him, he was very much interested, but before deciding he wished me to ask you to write to him, stating your wishes and ideas. I had been afraid, as you know, that he might not feel able to undertake the book in addition to his regular journalistic work, and I had made up my mind, if you could get his consent, to collaborate with him, so that he would not have the whole task on his shoulders.

When I received your cable I was extremely embarrassed, as I had begged him, out of friendship for me, to consider your proposal favourably, and it would be very awkward now to have to tell him that you have changed your mind, and asked some one else to do the life without even waiting for his answer to your request. I should be most happy to help Fullerton if he could undertake the work, but I could not undertake to do so if you chose Gaston Riou as a biographer, nor should I be willing to give him any of my letters from Walter.

I am sorry you thought I was irritated by your addressing

December 29th, 1931

Dearest Blair,

I was so glad to hear from you again the other day, and I was just going to write to thank you, and ask for more details about the Concerto, when I took up the Daily Mail this morning and read of Mrs. Courtauld's death. I know what a terrible blow this will be to you, to Sam and to Beveridge, and although I only met her twice (when I was in London last summer) I share your sorrow, not only because it is yours but because she impressed me as so remarkable and interesting a woman. Strangely enough I said to myself only yesterday: "I must send a New Year card to Mrs. Courtauld to tell her how grateful I am for the delightful hour spent among her pictures last summer", and at that moment she was lying dead! It is to you that I owe that opportunity, and I am so glad I was able to take advantage of it. Her death will cast a gloom over the opening of the French exhibition in London as well as over the world of music.

I must thank you also for the Debussy-Toulet letters, which I read with the greatest interest, wondering who had thought of sending them. Toulet was a strange fanciful creature, and some of the letters are delightfully turned; but how constantly they were both preoccupied with their health. It seems to be a frequent weakness in artists — I don't mean to be ill, but to talk about it.

I wish you had told me more about yourself, dearest Blair, and also about the Concerto. I have seen only one notice the one in the Herald, which paid a glowing tribute to Sam's execution, but gave me the impression (perhaps erroneous) that the composition as a whole was rather too heavily orchestrated for the violin solo to have the necessary triumph. I hope before long to come across a more important notice.

I hope you are having a restful holiday, and I wish there were any chance of seeing you in this part of the world later. I have Robert Norton, Berenson and Gailliard, here for Christmas, and as you may imagine we are a quiet party this year. But the weather is divine and that keeps us in good spirits.

Please excuse this typed letter, as I am working hard and am rather tired. Best love to you and Sam and Beveridge.

Hotel du Parc

Hyères, 25 January 1919

Frederick,

I have delayed for some time to answer your two last letters as I have been away from Paris taking a rest in the South since Christmas.

I am sorry to have made such a stupid mistake about the reason you give for being detained in England. Both Miss Gross and I must have read your last letters too hurriedly for we both got the impression that you were still waiting to be discharged. I am sorry that I misinformed Mr. Butler, at our Embassy, but I will write and tell him the mistake was mine.

I am very glad you have found a place that suits you and enables you to work without fatigue. If you think it better suited to you than the work you had with me I cannot of course reasonably ask you to come back. I should have been very glad to see you again and should have done what I could to make the work light for you, but I feel you are a better judge in the circumstances than I can be.

I suppose Miss Gross has told you that Nicette died at the end of December. She did not suffer, but faded away from old age. Miss Gross felt very sad to be left without her old friend especially at a time when I was going away for several weeks. Poor Armand is still suffering from the effect of his gas poisoning, and I am distressed that it should have lasted so long.

With best wishes for the New Year,

Yours faithfully

12 October 1924

Dear Christopher,

Your story came yesterday and I must dictate a hurried
line as I am just leaving for the south of France.

I read the story carefully last night and have made many
pencil notes, some of which I fear you will find difficult to decipher.
I can only hope that you will be able to guess what I meant from the
context. The phrases I have enclosed in parenthesis are meant to
be suppressed altogether; the words I have underlined are repeated
too often in the same sentence or page.

As I told you last winter you have got hold of a fine
subject and the story is certainly improved in construction since I
last read it. But from the point of view of the novelist art I do
not think that you have done more than scratch the surface.

To explain fully what I mean I should have to have a long
talk with you, taking the tale apart bit by bit. You have not yet
learnt the counterpoint of the art and it would be a miracle if you
had, for it is not to be learnt in a day. When you have gieen to
fiction as much time and labour as you have to those beautiful pencil
drawings you will understand what I mean.

As regards the mere writing I think it is still very care-
less and lacking of flavour and colour. As for grammar, syntax and
punctuation, I cannot give you many good marks as yet; it is useless
to disguise this as my numerous pencil suggestions would belie me.
I attach great importance to this, just as much as you probably do
in your other profession to the art of knowing when to use cobalt rather
than Prussian blue, or cerulean. Every comma, every pronoun and
every article counts in the picture, and grammar is only the working
formulation of what the genius of the language have evolved.

I should be delighted to send the story to Scribner's when
you bring it back with whatever changes you see fit to make; and
I shall strongly recommend their taking it. It is a very fine subject.

I know you will forgive my frankness, for that is what you
want.

Let me know when you get to Paris. I hope I shall be here
then, for I want to see you and the drawings too.

Yours affectionately

May 5th, 1930.

Dear Simon,

I blush to send a typed letter to the one perfect penman of my acquaintance; but you must forgive me, for your letter did not come until this morning, and this is the date on which you wish to find my answer at Milan, so I am dictating it in haste, in the hope that it may at least overtake you at Aosta.

Few things are hid from me, as you aptly remark; but unluckily, I am not in the secret of sulphur baths in France. I have never been subjected to them myself, and have no idea if there are good ones in the Vosges or not. If, as I gather from your letter, you are going to Paris with Robert, I suggest your seeing my doctor, to whom I enclose a card of introduction. He is very human and intelligent, speaks English very well, and is accustomed to English and American patients. He will tell you at once where you had better go; but in case you prefer not to consult another doctor, I am writing to him to ask which are the best sulphur baths for rheumatism in France. Of course he will say that it depends on the patient; but I will try and get the best answer I can from him, and will send it to you if you will drop me a line from Aosta giving your address in Paris.

Alas, I fear I shall not be there when you and Robert arrive. I am heading for Florence, and do not expect to leave here until about the 17th.

Your musical experiences fill me with envy; but so, I hope, will my architectural ones, when you hear the details of the Spanish trip. The exquisite drawing of St Martin de Londres arrived two days ago, looking more beautiful than ever, and making me feel even more grateful than I had already. You must come back next winter to deal with the plane-tree; I foresee that on your present trip you will pick up so many impressions that the Hyeres terrace will fade for a while.

I hope the journey is being made in weather as glorious as that which we are having here.

Dr. Kresser's hours are, Monday, Tuesday and Friday, from 4 to 7, but you can make an appointment by telephone.

June 9th 1931

Dearest Josephine,

Your letter has just come, and I hope you will excuse
this dictated answer. When I am working hard, as I am at present,
I always try to save my wrist as much as possible.

I hope you received the letter I sent careof Morgan &
Co when I heard from Frank of your arrival. I wrote at once to tell
you how deeply I sympathised with all the suffering you have under-
gone in this last cruel year, and I had hoped that the new cure
would help. As you say it is a question of patience for you at
present, but I marvel that you should have any left, and that you
should still be able to enjoy the spring beauty of Evian, and remember
to cut out newspapers articles likely to flatter the vanity of an
old friend. If I were in your place I am sure I should never take
so much trouble for anybody.

I do hope that the rest at Evian will give the mud-
cure a chance to produce its best results, and that your next letter
will tell me of them. I wish I felt more confident about Castellani,
but I have yet to hear of his making a real success except in cases
of Oriental germs, and there I believe he is really good. However I
hope you may not need him.

I had to give up my trip to Italy to meet the Berensons
as my old Gross was not well, and by the time she had begun to
recover I was tired and did not feel like taking the long journey;
so I simply went to Versailles while this house was being open,
and I am sure it was wise to do so for I feel much better in conse-
quence. Unluckily the weather is cold and dreary, so that one has
not been able to enjoy the garden as yet.

I am very much surprised at Mr. Chesterton's admiration
for my work, and still more at that of Mr.Priestley. I thought I
had become a back number, and I feel as cocky as if I had had a
piqure of strychnine.

I should like to see Catherine Cornell in the Browning
play; I am told by people who have seen it in London that it is
really remarkably good, and she must be lovely in it. I hope she
will have a great success. In London, as you probably know, it has
been running for months.

What bad luck for poor Frank to have caught an influenza
germ as soon as he landed. They must have been very fierce in London
this spring, for Walter Gay, who went over to see the Persian exhibi-
tion, caught one as soon as he reached London, and was laid up for

April 30th.- As I expected, your letter of April 14th came yesterday.

I am not at all surprised at Langdon's Mitchell's refusal to dramatize The Age. He is quite right in saying that there is no play in the book, and I should much rather withdraw from the affair altogether than to inferior playwrights. Nothing good can ever be made out of it for the stage, and what is the use of having another failure like "The House of Mirth"?

I am very sorry that the news of Mrs. Adams continues to be so bad. Poor thing, the worst of it, as you say, is that people in that condition seem to live eternally.

Yes, Bessy Lodge and her children are all coming abroad for the summer, and I expect Bessy to spend a few weeks with me, but I have told her plainly that St Brice can provide no amusements whatever for Helena, and have advised her to send the girl to a French family where there are young people, or to get some one to travel with her. At any rate, Bessy's

Both of them splendid young

- 2 -

presence will not in any way interfere with your visit, to
which I still look forward hopefully, for she has no idea of
bringing Helena to St Brice for more than a few days. The
boys are to work in the devastated regions, and I think she
intends to spend part of the summer at Compiègne.

Many thanks for Miss Marbury's letter, and also for
Mr. Jewett's statement about The Age. I was very much interested in seeing the Viviany programme, thank you also for sending it. How could the boxes be so cheap? Surely you mean that your share in our box was $25. I wish you would re-imburse yourself for the box out of the cheque I sent you the other day, or let me send you another for the purpose.

It is perfectly beautiful here now, And I ad Berenson with
me for a delightful fortnight, and Mary joined him for a few
days before they left for Italy. Everything is blooming and all
the nightingales in the world seem to be congregated here. I
cannot bear to think at leaving next week, but St Brice is waiting,
and I must go.

Best love to you all, as ever.

July 17th 1929

Dear Marie,

I was so glad to get your letter, and I hope you will excuse my having to dictate my answer. Although I am much better, I still find writing a fatigue.

My illness was a long affair. At the beginning of March I had an infectious grippe which produced heart-failure, and I was in bed for over two months, and had a very slow convalescence. But I am very much better now and am going off to England this week for a change of air and scene. Otherwise I should have enjoyed very much paying you a visit during your solitude at Le Perthuis.

I hope your Royal cure did you a great deal of good, and I know how you will enjoy seeing Louis again. I was just on the point of writing to him to ask if he would give a line of recommendation to Gabrielle Landormy. I don't know whether you know that she has gone to America for three years as head of the "rayon de lingerie" of a big establishment (Hickson's) which has houses in New York, Washington, Boston and Buffalo. Her headquarters are in Boston, and I should be so glad if Louis would write a line to the French Consul General in Boston, saying that she is a great friend of mine in whom I take the greatest interest. If he would add that she is a niece of Professor Paul Landormy, of Paris, the musical critic, and a cousin of the Panhard family, perhaps he would take more interest! The point is that she wishes to make sure that, under the labour law in America, she will not be obliged to leave America after six months. As I understand it, she is to come abroad once or twice a year to buy new models, etc, and I think she fears that some difficulty might be raised about her re-entering the United States.

I am sure a line from Louis saying that she is well known to you and me, and much esteemed by us, would make a great difference; and, in any case, as she is alone, I should like her to be in touch with the French Consul General in case of illness or any other difficulty.

Daisy Chanler's daughter, Mrs. Edward Pickman, who leaves in Boston, and who knows Gabrielle, has kindly offered to introduce her to families of the French Professors at Harvard, but from the business point of view I should like her to be known to your Consul.

- 2 -

If you would be kind enough to show this letter to Louis, and ask him to send me the letter for Gabrielle here, I should be most grateful, as writing is still an effort to me, and I shall thus avoid writing to him separately.

Please give him my best remembrances, and say how much I hope to see him in September on my return from England.

The little dogs are prettier than ever, and I shall soon send you a new photo of them.

February 12th, 1929

My dear Marie,

Your letter of the 10th is a delightful surprise, for when I last heard of you both you and Truxtun had the grippe, and I only knew from Elisina that in spite of this final ordeal you were both on the mend.

Unfortunately your letter has taken two days to arrive here, and I have so little hope of reaching you at Trieste that I have only sent a line there thinking it safer to write to Cairo.

I am delighted to think that you are at last getting away from Paris after the weary ordeal that you and Truxtun have been through. Mr. Curtis lunched here the other day and told us of his flying plans, which sound very interesting; but I cannot help thinking that the season of the year is an *inclement one* in those regions, and I should think a dahabeah on the Nile would be better for a convalescent. However, as you and your doctor approve of the flight, I hope you will be able to carry it out.

My own plans have tumbled to pieces, for Daisy Chanler, two days after her arrival, took to her bed with a bad case of water-on-the-knee, brought on by her imprudence in Paris. She had to be put to bed with her leg in a gutter, and was shipped back to Paris yesterday, being transported to the train at Toulon in an ambulance. The doctor here says it would be madness for her to attempt the trip to Syria and Palestine, so there is little hope of our meeting in that part of the world, I fear. She is going to consult a specialist in Paris, and he will let us start early in April instead of on the 19th of March, we may go directly to Syria for about three weeks, giving up the rest of the trip; but I have very little hope of it.

However, if you see M. de Lorey, who is a great friend of mine, and who had planned our itinerary for us, he will let you know, as I will keep him informed of our plans.

I do hope you will have a good trip and forget all your *wet* years in the warm sunshine of Egypt, if there is any this year, even there. If Elisina had not been in Paris I should certainly have gone to see you both in spite of your orders to the contrary

Yours ever affectionately

February 12th 1929

My dear Marie,

Unfortunately your letter has taken two days to
arrive here, and I therefore send only a line to Trieste, where
there is little hope of my overtaking you, especially as you do
not give me your steamship Co. but only the name of your steamer.

Yours ever affectionately

February 13th 1929

Dear Johnny,

You must have wondered why I have delayed so long
to acknowledge your farewell letter. The truth is my plans have
been too uncertain for me to give you a date in Syria, and it is
only today that I am able to do so.

Mrs. Chanler arrived about two weeks ago, full of
enthusiasm for the trip, and we took our passages for March 19th
from Marseilles, intending to devote a fortnight to Cairo and
Jerusalem, and then to go on to Syria. Unfortunately she hurt
her knee before arriving and soon developed water-on-the-knee,
and the doctor here thought it would not be prudent for her to
attempt such a trip so soon. We therefore decided to give it up
and made all our plans for a tour in Spain later in the spring.

Two days ago Mrs. Chanler went back to Paris, with her leg in a gutter, and she has just telegraphed that her Paris doctor thinks she will be well enough to go to Syria after all. We therefore expect to get there about April 10th, and as soon as I have co-ordinated our plans with those of the Berensons, I will let you know where to write at Beyrout. I do hope you will be able to join us, but you had better let me know as quickly as possible for it is necessary to engage accommodations beforehand, and we have put ourselves in the hands of a dragoman to whom we have to give our dates in advance.

No words can tell you of the disasters that have happened here since you left. We had a month of nightly frost, not very heavy, so that the oranges and lemons did not suffer much; but last night we had 18 Fahrenheit, and today the gardener tells me that he thinks nearly everything is lost. You will have seen in the papers that the abnormal cold extends all over Europe, but it does seem hard luck that it should have reached our Riviera gardens. I only hope your has not suffered so much.

The Princesse de Poix is here, and tells me that the Princesse de Ligne wrote to tell her how much she and her husband had enjoyed your company on the way out. I do hope you will be able to go and stay with them, for she is a very exceptional person and well worth cultivating. I hope everything has gone well with you, and that you are enjoying all the wonders of the Antipodes without discomforts an drawbacks.

Yours affectionately

June 26th 1929

Dear Johnnie,

Please excuse my dictating this letter as it is to be a long one.

You may remember that I told you I was going to put up with Benoit, my very stupid old gardener at Sainte-Claire, in the hope that he would prove to be a good worker and able to reorganize the ruins caused by the frost. Every day for a fortnight before I left I had myself motored up to various points in the garden, and walked down with him, giving him minute instructions as to what was to be done. I also sent him to various nurseries to get plants or give orders, and in short I had so arranged matters that I felt everything would be ready for my return about the 1st of October, when I shall have to spend a week at Hyères to supervise the planting.

Ten days after my return here I received a letter from the said gardener telling me that he was going to leave on the 1st of July. I think he felt that the job was entirely beyond him, and I suppose I ought to have recognized the fact long ago; but I did not know which way to turn for another man, and I hoped I might teach him enough for him to be able to keep the place.

Now I am confronted by the fact that there will be no one to supervise things for the next few months. I have arranged with M. Guido, Nardy's head-man, who is nice and intelligent, to go up once or twice a week to Sainte-Claire and give directions to the garde, Alexandre, who is very willing, and to a little under-gardener who seems to know something about flowers and potting. Before I left Benoit had implored me to find a really good under-gardener for him, and I wrote to Emile, my gardener here, to ask if he could find someone. He told me that his head under-gardener, Joseph Cherrier, an extremely intelligent and nice young man, who has been with me for several years, was anxious to make a change, and particularly to go south and learn about horticulture on the Riviera. I therefore arranged that he should join Benoit on the 1st of August. Now that Benoit has gone, and there is no one at Hyères from whom Joseph could learn what is necessary, I have decided that the only thing to do is to send him for two months of arduously competent gardener. Emile is persuaded that with two months of training he will be able to come back and look after the shrubs and flowers at Sainte-Claire, while Alexandre looks after the park; and things will have to go on like this until I can find a really competent head-gardener.

You will guess by this time that I have told you this long story preparatory to asking if you think Lloyd would care to

Trianon-Palace Hotel

Versailles.

June 7th, 1929

Dear Doris,

I was so glad to hear from you the other day that you had made your ambulance journey successfully, and that you were pleased with your new sanatorium. It certainly sounds as if it were going to be published later than the other, and I do hope it will, and that the summer will make up to you for the trials of last winter.

If your lungs are doing so well I cannot but feel that it ought to be possible to cure the internal troubles, and I wonder if it would not be better, when you get stronger, to try Switzerland, on account of the dryer climate.

At any rate it must be a great joy to you to be near your sister and your cousin, and I hope you will not again spend so many lonely weeks as you have for the past months. I cannot tell you how much I have admired your courage and holding out so bravely and making the best of everything.

I left Hyères a fortnight ago, and came straight here by train, instead of making the trip in the motor by slow stages, as the doctor originally wanted me to. It was really better I think for here I am in reach of my Paris doctor, and as I caught a chill last week and had a slight setback I was very glad to be so near Paris.

I am going out to Saint-Brice tomorrow, and I am sure it will do me good to get home.

Did I tell you that I had a delightful visit from Philomène and her husband not long before I left Hyères? They were on a flying motor trip to the south, and were returning that same afternoon to Arles, to spend the week-end with the old Comtesse de Divonne. They both looked well and happy, and everything seems to be going prosperously with them. I am afraid it is not the case with poor Mme Bourget. I have had no direct news from them since I left Paris last autumn, but I saw a friend not long ago who had heard indirectly that Mme Bourget was decidedly less well. It is dreadfully sad that he shut himself off almost entirely from all his old friends, and that one feels it is only a burden to him if one writes.

Trianon-Palace Hotel

versailles

- 2 -

I hope very much to get to England in August this year, and if I do, and am strong again, you will have a visit from me. It will not be as far to go as Bournemouth.

Do let me know if I can ever be of any use, especially in any material way. Please never hesitate to tell me, will you?

Yours affectionately

Miss Doris Charnaud
Farmwood Sanatorium
Sunninghill

Ascot

Angleterre

July 9th 1929

Dear Doris,

Thank you so much for your letter of June 25th. It was a real pleasure to hear from you again, and to know that your sister is able to be with you so much. It will make all the difference to you, I am sure, to be within easy reach of the various members of your family, and I feel from the tone of your letter how much you are enjoying their visits.

I wish the fatiguing cough could be relieved, but Mr. Lapsley, who was here when your letter came and to whom I read that part of it, tells me that when his lungs were healing (he was laid up for two or three years with bad tuberculosis), his cough was particularly trying. As you told me in a former letter that your doctor found your lungs much better, I hope it is the irritation of the healing process which makes you cough so much now.

I had a note from M. Bourget two or three days ago, the first sign of life he has given me for months. I am sorry to say that his news is not good. Poor Madame Bourget seems to be in the same state of chronic depression, and in spite of the reassuring declarations of the doctors, M. Bourget is becoming very much discouraged. I do not think he has published any books since "Nos Actes Nous Suivent", but he writes occasionally articles in the Figaro and the Revue des Deux Mondes.

I had a delightful visit from Philomène and Jules de Divonne soon after I arrived here. They have gone off for a cruise of a month on the sailing yacht of some friends in the Mediterranean, and are not to be seen until July 15th. I think Florence and the baby have gone to La Baule to stay with Mlle de Lareintye.

I suppose you know that my old butler, White, has married Miss Tancred. They were married at Hyères two or three weeks ago, and Lucy Ellis was Miss Tancred's witness. They are going to live at Pierre Lisse, the villa at Sainte-Claire, just below the house, and I think they will be very happy.

You ask about my work. "stopped from writing". I should think so. For two months I was not even allowed to write or to dictate an answer. My friend, Mrs. Tyler, who is an angel, came to Hyères and stayed for over a month at Sainte-Claire, doing with all my correspondence, and thus helped on my convalescence.

more than any doctor could have done. Now as you see I am able to
take it up again myself, though I dictate my letters to save the
fatigue of writing.

I hope to go to England toward the end of July, and if
I can possibly get out to Ascot to see you I shall do so, but I
cannot tell until I have tried my strength in a short motor
trips.

Thank you again for your good letter, dear Doris.

One wish should to own a car. I own one and drive it with a
lot of pleasure. I wish I could have one of those cars and feet
as fast as you. I should like to know more about driving
trucks and about cars. I have a few questions about cars.
Please answer them as soon as possible. My name is Doris.

I have a few questions about Italy. Italy is a very nice country.
I want to know more about Italy. Will you please tell me all
you know about Italy. What is the capital of Italy? What is the
population of Italy? How many people live in Italy? How old are
they? What are the languages spoken in Italy? What kind of food
do they eat? What kind of music do they sing? What kind of art
do they have? What kind of movies do they watch? What kind of
books do they read? What kind of music do they listen to? What
kind of movies do they watch? What kind of books do they
read?

I have a few questions about France. France is a very nice country.
I want to know more about France. Who are the people of
France? What are the languages spoken in France? What kind of
food do they eat? What kind of music do they sing? What kind of
 movies do they watch? What kind of books do they read?
What kind of movies do they watch? What kind of books do they
read?

I have a few questions about Germany. Germany is a very nice country.
I want to know more about Germany. Who are the people of
Germany? What are the languages spoken in Germany? What kind of
food do they eat? What kind of music do they sing? What kind of
 movies do they watch? What kind of books do they read?
What kind of movies do they watch? What kind of books do they
read?