Blackwell Family Kitty Blackwell 1900-1934 Harvey, PaulJan 22 1900 [18, Cheyne Row,] [Chelsea.] Queen Anne's Mansions Sunday My dear Kitty I am so sorry to hear of your evil plight & poor Miss Anna's death -- but if the latter was a release, then one cannot feelunmixed sorrow: We are having such a bad winter in all respects that a grief more or less does not seem to make so much difference! I am working from from breakfast time till eleven at night every day, so, you will understand my not writing. I hope to hear better news of you soon -- keep us informed. I must be off to the Wd. Yrs ever Paul HarveyEaster 1900 Saturday Apr 14 Hunters Inn Heddon's Mouth Devon Dear Kitty Just a line to say we got here safely and after a day or two of storm are having lovely weather. It is rather a bad moment just now, fortrippers are very numerous & this inn is a favourite resort: but this will be over after Monday. We are glad to hear good news of Susan & to learn that she is "giving satisfaction." I hope she is not troubling Dr. & you with lamentations, in which she has latterly indulged rather frequently. Ethel is well, taking a lot of exercise & eating heartily! As for me, I simply revel in idleness & find it very hard work putting a pen to paper to write to you! I feared I had lost the faculty of doing nothing, but it was only dormant; I have however largely forgotten the art ofwalking! It is slowly returning. Let us hear of Suky's welfare from time to time, & believe me My dear Kitty Yrs ever Paul Harvey Xmas Eve Dec 24 1901 My dear Kitty Many thanks from the twain of us for the good wishes conveyed by your card. We reciprocate them heartily to you & to Dr. & hope the new year will bring you both much happiness & freedom from care. Good wishes from us both. I hope we shall meet ere long. Yrs ever Paul Harvey We are paying one or two visits, during which I suffer a good deal from stuffy rooms, & I shall be glad to be my own master again. I like this wild country immensely & Ethel's numerous cousins are very hospitable. But I am beginning to pine to be at work again. My health keeps pretty good, but it is very difficult to keep up the treatment in civilised surroundings. People think me very eccentric & cannot conceive why I am always worrying to have the windows opened! No employment yet in sight, but both Cromer &Milner are 'nibbling' - I hope the former will decide to 'bite'! Ethel & Susan both well - the latter splendid, bigger & heavier than any of her little cousins, & very good withal. I have had 'Kim' sent you a token of goodwill - I fancy you will like it - if not you must change it at Hatcherds. Much love &[?on?ach] on Mendip Blagdon Bristol 23 Nov 01 My dear Kitty I haven't heard news of you for ages! I wonder how you + Dr. are faring. You will be glad to hear I have made amazing progress + am pronounced sufficientlycured to be able to continue the treatment at home- So I am leaving this in ten days, + shall join Ethel in Ireland where we shall probably spend 3 months during which I shall lead as nearly as possible the same life I have been leading here. I am delighted at my impending release for I am thoroly tired of sanatorium life + food + people, I have never spent a more unhappy 3 months than these last. It is clear that I am extremely fortunate in having succeeded in arresting the disease at so early a stage; for I see so many cases where it has been neglected at first where the disease proves most stubborn. Ethel + Susan are in Galway, benefiting by the goodair + the excitement of the recent election. I told you that Ethel spent a week up here, during which the weather was fortunately favourable. Now it is bitterly cold + most disagreeable, + I shall not be sorry to see a fire again-which I haven't done since I came here! Goodbye, + love to Dr + you, Yours Paul Harvey My address in Galway will be Daly's Fort Salthill GalwayVarenne, Walton-on-Thames. 31 July 01 My dear Kitty I am very glad to hear you haven't gone to Scotland, grieved as I am for the cause. It seemed to me too heavy an undertaking, + I am relieved at its abandonment. Let me hear from time to time how you both are + remember you are to come + see us when Ethel is back here in Sept. I have been to see them at Southwold. they are enjoying their stay by the sea, + it is doing them both good, notably to Susan-who is getting quite brave about bathing, + as brown as so fair a child can be expected to get. London is very oppressive + work very tedious in this fine weather + I pine to be away-but alas it is not to be. Yrs in haste Paul Harvey[*Oct 10 190*] Friday 10.10.02 The Close, Salisbury. My dear Kitty It is possible that Dr's letter to Ethel if addressed the Hague won't reach her, as she has been at Amsterdam for some days. The day that would suit us best for Susan'sreturn is Tuesday next- that being the day Ethel comes back. But if-which I could quite understand-you shrink from the responsibility of having Susan so long with you, then send her back either tomorrow Saturday, or Monday. Please decide solely by your convenience, + if you send her back tomorrow (Saturday) let me have a wire. The good trains from Waterloo leave at W'oo 11.0 1.0 2.10 3.0 5.50 arriving Salisbury 12.47 2.57 4.22 4.42 7.49 but the last is rather late for S. Can you settle the train from Hastings? And can Nelle be trusted to manage the change at Waterloo? Or shall I send up some one to meet her? Please don't fail to tell me this: Will you kindly lend Nelleany money she may require + I will send you a cheque. I am very sorry the child is such a plague. She will have to go to a reformatory, as I always feared! Yrs in haste Paul HarveyDec 26 1903 My dear Kitty, I have been meaning to write to you, but the last few weeks I have been quite overwhelmed with work, & on top of this Ethel collapsed a week ago with a bad attack of tonsilitis & has been very miserable & in bed ever since & is hardly any better yet. It is very painful & prevents her from eating, sleeping & talking. the new year may be a happy one for you both & that is also Ethel's wish. Susan sends most grateful thanks in anticipation of the bounteous present announced by her Godmother, and also kisses. She is a very good girl generally now. If you see Miss Judge please remember us all to her. Good bye, dear Kitty. Yrs ever Paul Harveyand she requires much attention. The rest of the family are well, particularly Susan, who is I think distinctly better for the change. As for me, I am tolerably contented & generally not overworked -- there has however been an exceptional lot to do just lately. The weather is curious here & on the whole satisfactory; during the winter it is either fine or desperately rough, wet & stormy - on the average two fine days to one of storm. The ordinary English grey day is rare; & it doesn't drizzle, but then when it rains, it rains to some purpose! The garden alas is rather bare now; the irises have lost their leaves, & there are hardly any roses left. Only the olive trees & cypresses maintain a show of greenery. There is nothing uglier than a leafless fig tree & we have a number of them. Soon I am told the almond trees will be in blossom, of which there are half a dozen; and anemones, which grow wild here, will soon appear. the winter is short, & so far we have had no cold to speak of, but I am told thereare some bitter north winds to come. I was much interested in your news of Miss Newcombe's marriage. I do not know if it would be seemly for me to convey felicitations, but if you care to say that an old friend wishes [them?] her ? happiness in her new state, it will be perfectly true. I told Hatchard to send you the lives of two men of the sea, which if you have not read them I am sure you will enjoy - Drake & Dundonald. I hope they reached you in due course, accompanied as of course they were with our best wishes for the inhabitants of Rock House, human & canine! I hope8 March 1902 COMMISSION FINANCIÈRE INTERNATIONALE. À ATHÈNES. My dear Kitty It seems a hundred years since I heard from you or wrote to you. Time goes very fast here, much faster than at home. There is so much more a-doing, that the weeks seem to fly by. We are (for us) very gay - dinners & picnics & dances, & withal plenty of work. We move in the highest circles (!) & have dined twice at the Palace, & the King has taken very kindly to Ethel, (atwhich of course I don't wonder!) and is very civil to us. The weather through February was lovely and we had some long excursions + picnics; most of Attica is desperately arid, but there are gorges, well wooded + where at this season a stream flows through, full of lovely anemones + other flowers. Up on the rocky mountains too flowers are beginning to be very beautiful, so that there is always an object in a walk or drive. Susan flourishes exceedingly- we took her today down to the sea at Phalerum where there is an excellent Zoo, the first she has seen; she was hugely delighted. She is I think stronger, + certainly ever so much better tempered and better mannered; eats like an ogress, + is I should say quite happy. Our garden is a great joy; the almond trees of which we have a lot were a grand sight, + now the apricots are all in blossom + the fig tree leaves are coming out; we have masses of violets as big as pansies, stocks are in full blow; we have never been absolutely without roses all throughthe winter which has been exceptionally mild. I ran over to London on business for a few days in January, but I had to get back here as quickly as possible, & was only five days in England, (and ten days travelling!) I see the poor old War Office is being thoroughly "scarified" & renewed. I only hope the new arrangement will be an improvement on the old- They are quite right, I think, to change the personnel if they want a new system - new wine in old bottles, we know, is not a satisfactory situation. What will happen to Dannreuther? I hope you & the Dr are quite well - let us have news of you! Love from Ethel Yrs ever Paul Harvey [*Harvey*] 2 July 1905 My dear Kitty It is ages since we have heard from you, and we are very anxious for news of the Dr. & yourself - Won't you write us a few lines? We are just back fromGreece, rather earlier than usual, because there is some possibility of the Foreign Office giving me another piece of work which would entail shortening my holiday at the other end. I stayed a week in Paris seeing my various friends & we have had a few days in London, which I found an odiously hot & stuffy place. We are now probably going for a fortnight to Brittany before settling in Oxfordshire at the farm house where we were last year. We had a fairly successful and satisfactory year in Athens, though the winter was exceptionally wet & cold. I was president of my Commission & discharged my duties it appears to the general satisfaction.Susan is very flourishing and has gone for a month at her particular request, to her little school at Nailsworth. Are you going to Scotland this year, and shall we see you on your way through? Our love to Doctor & yourself - & please write to us. Oxford & Cambridge Club, Pall Mall, will always find me. Yours ever Paul Harvey Tuesday Evg My dear Kitty The bust has just arrived - quite safe - & has been placed on an exalted shelf in the hall - very prominent & yetout of danger. We are very grateful for your kind thoughtfulness; I know you must have been sorry to part with it. My modesty prevents my altogether liking to have it as a striking ornament of our house, but Ethel is very pleased indeed! This is just a line for the post - Susan is better - my future very uncertain.9th June 1910 My dear Kitty I have just seen in the Times the news of the poor Doctor's death, and I feel I must write you a line to tell you how much my heart is with you in your sorrow & bereavement. I know what it must mean for you -- the severance of two lives so closely knit as yours were. Paul Harvey Very many thanks again, my dear & very kind Kitty, for your goodness from your undeserving Paul Harvey I hope you will now soon come & pay us a visit - as you have not got the bust, you will have to see the reality occasionally. I wrote 'poor Doctor' above, but as I did so I felt that the words were out of place; I do not think she [was] is to be pitied, only you. As for her, she had completed a splendid career, a noble life of fullest span, and must have died in the happy circumstances of duty done and the world left better & happier for her life & work. So how few of us it is given to be able to think this! When one thinks of the number of women to whom her courageous pioneer work has brought relief & comfort, we notice what a debt the world owes to her brave spirit. But for you, my poor Kitty, I fear this is small consolation, with the world left blank & empty by herher love. And still it must be some consolation to know that her end was not untimely, & only came when her life's work was done & over. I do not know whether there is anything I can do to help you; believe me, it would be\ a very great pleasure to do it if there is. I shall be in England, I hope, in six weeks time, & I trust that you will summon me if I can be of any service to you. Goodbye, dear Kitty; this line is to assume that your friends though far away think of you & mourn with you in your trouble. Yours affectionately Paul Harvey Jan 9. 27 My dear Kitty, I was very glad to find your letter here on my return from Italy. Will you please thank Miss Alice Blackwell both for her own letter and for acting as intermediary in our correspondence. We had a most interesting time in Florence and Rome; indifferent weather, but an agreeable absence of tourists, so that we were able to see what we wanted to see in great comfort. I enjoyed Florence far more than Rome; the fine flower of Renaissance work goes to my heart far more than the medley - of overpowering historical interest no doubt - that Rome presents. I think that of all I saw, what gripped me most was the great hall of the Bargello in Florence with the Donatello and Verocchio statues. The works of arthave been much rearranged of late years - to their very great advantage - and things were probably quite differently disposed when you were there. For one thing the galleries, most of them, or at least the Uffizi - are warmed now, so that one can spend a winter's morning most agreeably there. But in other respects both Rome and Florence have terribly deteriorated; they are I suppose the two noisiest cities on Earth, owing to the advent of the motor car and tram. You remember how foot passengers straggle all over their narrow streets? Well, the motors can only make their way through the crowd by dint of incessant honoking, and the result is pandemonium; while if you step from the sidewalk on to the pavement, you are like to be caught in the back of a train and swept into eternity. I agree with you that the bells of Florence are a joy; but I do not recollect the via Baldi, which you mention. The Duomo front is finished, and through rather startling at first, grows on one after a time. At least it harmonises all right with Giotto's Campanile and the noble dome. YEW TREE FARM MAYFIELD SUSSEX We were present at some interesting ceremonials in Rome at Christmas time, a mass in St. Peter's, and a delightful procession of the holy Bambino in S. Maria di Aracoeli, and another very fine one in S. M. Maggiore. Occasionally, when they give their minds to it, the Romans can make Church ceremonial extremely impressive. Now we are back at our daily avocations again, all the better for the change, except in pocket; for just now the cost of travelling in France & Italy is prohibitive; the franc & lira have gone up very much in exchange value, while the cost of living has remained the same as it was six months ago. Paris, when we returned, had been swept absolutely clear of foreigners, to the delight of the ordinary population and the dismay of the hotel proprietors. We have one of Ethel's brothers staying with ushome from S. Africa. He was terribly wounded in the kidneys in the war, and has been in miserable health ever since; he had just had to undergo another operation and took the voyage home by way of restorative after it; but I doubt the wisdom of the step. We are doing what we can to cheer him up. Joan has 'got a job', salary small to begin with but hopes for an improvement before long; the whole thing is a great mystery, and no one, even father & mother, to know what it is for the the present, beyond the fact that it is quite honest and respectable! We are showing no interest, thinking that she will get tired of keeping a secret which no one appears to want to know! Ethel sends her love & so do I. Yours ever Paul Harvey YEW TREE FARM, MAYFIELD, SUSSEX Dec 16. 28 Dear Kitty, I send you a line to wish you and Miss Alice a happy Christmas and New Year, and to thank you & her also for your very pleasant and entertaining letter. I think your friend Mrs. Ransom would be much surprised to hear how much village life has been developed and made interesting for the people hereabouts. During the winter there is hardly a night on which there is not something going on in the village, what between choral and dramatic societies, women's institute, fancy dress dances, whist drives, and folk-dancing. The other evening the folk dancing club of which Ethel is president gave a party, to which folk-dancers from neighbouring villages came; there were 110 people in all, nearly all of them dancers. Then the women's (Excuse blot!) Institute is a very strong and powerful organizations. There is one in nearly everyvillage, and besides providing entertainment and interest for the middle aged women, they discuss questions of administrative policy (not politics, but such questions as village - scavenging, motor-car regulations, &c) and their combined influence on the government is not inconsiderable; for of course they are all voters. I have told Sally what you say about a raw meat diet and warned her that if she shows any signs of savageness, she will be degraded to bread and milk! But at present she is the gentlest little lady in the world. The meat diet working itself off in an indefatigable wish to play and zealous barking at cats, both real and imaginary, whom she suspects of invading the garden. I noticed your reference, in your last letter, to me as the 'siege-baby'; I have never heard you mention this before and do not know this part of the story. Perhaps some day when you and Miss Alice have time, you will tell me to what you refer. Well, with best wishes for your New Year from Ethel, Yrs ever Paul Harvey I read with interest the great doings in honour of Jock's birthday & the rhymes of which I was the occasion. We have had a lovely summer; far more sun than usual, and farmers and gardeners for once have no cause to grumble. Yours ever Paul Harvey 1928 September 2. 28 My dear Kitty, Will you please thank Miss Alice very warmly for the two letters she has been kind enough to send me, giving news of you. It is a great pleasure to know how you are thriving and to be able to picture you against the 'American Scene.' Here things go very quietly. My visit to Switzerland did my health good, and the specialist whom I consulted at Lausanne was helpful. Since then I have had much less pain, and have been able to get on uninterruptedly with my work. Ethel is tolerably well, and has been active in getting up a village fête in aid of her folk-dancing club. The fête was a great success, about 70 of the villagers coming in fancy dress, besides another 100 or so in ordinary dress. The folk dances on the green laws were extremely pretty, and it was amusing to see them danced by corters, and harlequins, and French marquises. Ethel herself was unrecognisable as a rag doll, with a face painted on muslin. She won a prize, as did also our little maid, dressed as Little Bo Peep. The only creature that didn't enjoy it was Sally, who was very perturbed at the change in appearance of all her friends. She hates a crowd, and has lately taken an intense dislike of being in a railway train or motor car. We sometimes take he for a day on the Downs, and altho' she enjoys it immensely when she gets there, the journey is a sore trial to her nerves. I suppose that in your Scaland's Gate days you must have seen Bodiam Castle. Since it was given by Lord Curzon to the nation, it has been immensely improved, and is a lovely spot to visit. We go there once or twice every year, when we have friends staying with us. I wonder if you remember it. A fourteenth century castle, with a fine moat round it. It is about 4 miles from Battle Abbey. July 28. 29 My dear Kitty, I hope that you are having a pleasant summer, not too hot. Here we have been grilling -- I mean by the English standard -- and have had no rain for months, so that Ethel's beautiful garden is sadly parched up. It is cooler now, but still no sign of the longed-for showers. Ethel, who has long been suffering from a painful trouble which Harley Street proved quite incompetent to alleviate, has recently undergone the drastic and unorthodox fasting cure, living on nothing but orange juice, at a sanatorium where they apply this method of treatments. I saw her at the worst, just before the fast ceased, and was a good deal alarmed, but she has gradually come round, with undoubted benefit. So that nature is in a measure vindicated and the faculty discomfited. She is converted to the vegetarian diet and lives now almost exclusively on rabbit food, lettuces and the like, with a very little bread and butter. Nevertheless she is gradually putting on weight. The age of miracles is, I fear, passed, and we cannot hope for complete rejuvenescence; but she is unquestionably much better for the change. Poor Sally suffered very much from the heat, which her black coat seemed particularly to attract, and went about sadly all day with her little red tongue pathetically hanging out. But she is happier now and her appetite is unimpaired. You are no doubt following political events with interest. I have great hopes that the Labour Governt. here may put Anglo-American relations in a better footing and bring about real progress in the direction of international peace. I should like to hear your views on recent developments between your friend (!) Mussolini and His Holiness. You must have found them entertaining. My respects to Miss Alice Blackwell. Yours sincerely Paul Harvey Anyway it brings you our love and good wishes. Yours ever Paul Harvey The Hotel Suisse Kandy, Feb 23 1930 Ceylon Dear Kitty, There are many curious and beautiful things in this island, and the climate is warm and sunny, and my ailments have disappeared as if by magic since I have been here. If I could only be sure that the improvement would be permanent, I should be sorely tempted to cancel my return passage. I don't know what I enjoy most, the delicious spice- scented air, the birds of paradise and orioles, the monkeys playing in the trees, elephants bathing in a river, a tree covered with fireflies, or a score of other pleasant sights. Oddly enough in spite of its bad reputation, I have seen in Ceylon very few mosquitoes, far fewer than in Athens, Salonica, or Cairo for instance, and the weather at this altitude, 1500 feet, is pleasant and the nights cool. Presently we are going to stay at a planter's bungalow about 4000 feetabove the sea. And at Nuwara Eliya, where the English mostly congregate, above 6000 feet it sometimes freezes at night. But it is the lowlands and jungle, with the wild life, that that fascinate me most. We took a four days trip through the jungle and saw the strange old ruined cities, with their vast remains of Buddhist temples, now inhabited only by monkeys, a very impressive example of the transitoriness of the works of man. Of the animals I like the elephants best - tame ones, I mean, for the wild ones are difficult to see. I have the advantage of having one living next door, who goes off to work every morning under my window, carrying a modest lunch, supporting with quiet dignity a mediocre lot, and offering, with his strange and massive appearance, a striking example to mankind of how to live. His only joy in life is his afternoon bathe in the river. The dogs at this level are miserable creatures. But [among] at the planters' bungalow higher up I have seen some excellent terriers and a cocker spaniel, who seemed quite happy. But there is much rabies in the island. I wonder how long this letter will take to reach you.YEW TREE FARM MAYFIELD. SUSSEX. August 30. 30 Dear Kitty If you find that Eau de Cologne gives you some relief from neuralgia, I wonder whether you would try something of the same kind but stronger which I have latterly used with considerable success as a palliative. It is called strong ointment of Winter Green. It contains a large proportion of menthol. After a few minutes it has a penetrative and cooling effect; and this is increased if the temples are first bathed with hot water. But it is best to try it first without this addition, for it may prove strong enough. It has the merit of being much cheaper than Eau de Cologne, for a very little of it goes a long way. I have had an uneventful summer for ever since my return from Ceylon, I have been working [*Pyncheon, but I am afraid I shall never see again the Capital I have provided for their venture! We are at last having a little Sun and warmth, after a very wet and cold summer. Please thank Miss Alice for her kind letter, + the trouble she is taking about 'Dixie' Forever Paul Harvey*]steadily, six hours a day, at my book. And six hours work does not, in practice, leave much of the day, after allowance has been made for meals and Sally's walk, and the odds and ends that have to be done about the house. I am feeling stale and jaded, and so, as a complete change from mental work, I am going tomorrow to spend a week at Ditchling, to take lessons [E] with Ethel from a dyer. There is nothing like a handicraft to test one's mind. Ethel, who is a great embroiderer, constantly complains of geing unable to get the right coloured silks and wools, and wants to experiment in dyeing for herself. As soon as my book is finished, which I hope it will be by the middle of next year, we are to set up our own witch's cauldrons and rival the products of Jean Gobelin! Joan (or Susan as you know her) is setting up a shop in Eastbourne next month, where many beautiful things are to be sold. Ethel at first is to help her. I hope they will be more successful than Hepzibah Pyncheon, but I am afraid I shall never see again the capital I have provided for their venture! We are at last having a little sun and warmth, after a very wet and cold summer. Please thank Miss Alice for her kind letter, & the trouble she is taking about 'Dixie' Yrs ever Paul HarveyJune 11. 31 My dear Kitty, Your letter of May 31 followed me here. We are spending a week by the Lake of Thun to celebrate, and recover from, the completion of the Ms of the book on which I have been at work for the last 3 1/2 years. I found the last three months a great strain, every day at my desk by 6 a.m., seven days a week, in a desperate effort to get the horrible thing finished. At last I succeeded in shaking the Old Man of the Sea off my shoulders and sent off the Ms to the publishers, so that I breathe fresh again. I had brought it more or less within the limits assigned to me only by cutting outeverything that was interesting, amusing, or a little human, and felt very depressed about it. But by some queer chance it has taken the publishers' fancy and they express themselves enthusiastically about it. So I feel rewarded for my hard work, particularly as they are profuse in their offers of further work. What I dread most is enforced idleness, and of this there seems no fear for the present. In a few days we leave this delightful spot for the cooler and more austere atmosphere of Kandersteg, among the giants of the Bernese Oberland. There we shall spend a week or ten days before going home. As regards Majorca, I do not think the troubles in Spain are very likely to affect it. It is an extraordinarily peaceful and un-political spot, absorbed in its agriculture, and nothing else. The character of the people is quite different from that of the Spaniards of the main land. I shall, however, write a little later on to a friend who is resident there, for first-hand news of the situation in the island. You will be relieved to hear that Ethel is not, as you put it, 'growing broad.' Indeed I wish she were a bit 'broader'; she weighs, I am sorry to say, barely 8 stone. And as she lives almost exclusively on fruit and vegetables, there is little prospect of her becoming 'The Fat Woman of Sussex'! However, she can still do a good walk. We did about 7 miles this evening before dinner, including a climb of some 1000 feet, and it was intensely hot. I was grieved to hear of the painful end of Mr. Tillerton. I have a vivid recollection of him and his wife. I am very sorry [to] for her; it is those left behind who often suffer most. We left Sally very well; unfortunately we seem to become increasingly attached to her as time goes on, and she to us. And I dread the long separation next winter extremely. But I do not see what is to be done. We are trying to arrange that at any rate she shall have a happy home during our absence. I hope you will have a pleasant and healthy summer; I suppose you will soon be migrating from Boston. Love from Ethel. I am very sleepy and must go to bed. Yours ever Paul HarveyJuly 12. 31 Dear Mrs. Blackwell I am extremely obliged for your kind thought in sending me the extracts about the Baron de Triqueti from the Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe. I read them with great interest. I must try to discover what became of the ms copy of the Gospels referred to. The work on which I have been engaged for the last three years has been very favourably received by the publisher -- too favourablyin fact, for they have asked me for an additional section, which will keep me very busy until I sail for Majorca in October, just when I had hoped for a little leisure to work at Spanish. But it is very little to get enough work without getting too much! The enclosed picture of folk-dancing down our village street may interest you and Kitty. The folk-dancing here was mainly introduced by my wife five years ago, but she no longer is herself a performer. Many of the old folk dance airs were recovered from America. Yours sincerely Paul HarveySept 24 - 31 Dear Miss Blackwell I am very much obliged for your letter about Chautauqua, and overwhelmed with confusion to find that owing to the wrong spelling of the word which was given to me I have troubled you unnecessarily. Oddly enough, 'Chatauqua' is the spelling which is current here - I met it only a few days ago in a rather high-class periodical. I at once found the word explained under teh correct spelling when I received your letter. But your trouble is not entirely thrown away, for it is much better to get first hand information from those who know. Please thank Kitty very much for her letter and give her my best wishes for her birthday and for her health and happiness are much perplexed, 'Sally' is to remain with the gardener and his very pleasant little wife, who will occupy our house during our absence, if we go. With many thanks again, and love to Kitty. Yours sincerely Paul Harvey I will let you know our movements in the years to come. I was also much amused at Jock's complimentary birthday ode; how Sally would be gratified if her praises were to appear in print! We are in a good deal of perturbation just now. We had arranged to sail for Majorca on the 7th Oct, taken our passages, paid the rent of our house at Palma, and I had last February left money out there on deposit at a bank to defray our expenses while there! Now this financial cataclysm has come, and foreign travel by British nationals is being actively discouraged. As we should be taking no English money out of England and as both my wife's health and my own make it very desirable we should escape the damp English winter, we feel this exhortation does not really apply to us. Yet I fear that it would be a bad example. All our friends urge us to to, and we shall have to decide in a day or two. Meanwhile for this and other reasons connected with my daughter's business we May 28.33 My dear Kitty, We have now settled down again to our usual quiet country life here. The spring has been a lovely one, and the nightingales have increased greatly in number in the neighborhood, though not near enough to the house to trouble us at night. The garden has been [lovely] a mass of flowers, everything coming out at once, so much so as to make us fear it must soon be bare and colourless, like a Sicilian garden in summer, for there will be nothing left to come out. Sally is well, but more whimsical and easily offended than ever. If we go out and leave her unattended, she shows her annoyance in the following odd manner, just like a spoilt child: there are three cushions always neatly arranged on the sofa, and another soft cushion in Ethel's armchair; Sally gets up when no one is there (she is never allowed on the chairs) and stamps on all the cushions one after another and knocks themout of shape! We have a new neighbour in the oast house which used to belong to this farm (it has been converted into a very pretty dwelling house); she has two big cats which are fond of trespassing in our garden -- Sally's garden as she regards it. [She] Sally spends hours on the window-sill where she can command a view of the neighbour's fence. The moment she sees a cat crossing the fence, there is a terrific hullabaloo of barks, or rather screams of rage, and a frantic pursuit, until the cat is driven back to its own territory. I have arranged with my publishers for another long and laborious work, which will I suppose occupy more than the remainder of my days, and am once more busy. I have had a good holiday, and after all occupation is the principal source of contentment. I hope you are all tolerably well and are enjoying the sea breezes: but I address this to Boston for safety. Let me hear from you soon. Ethel is well and busy with various good works. Yours ever Paul Harvey Vichy Oct 2.33 Dear Kitty, Ethel, who has for long not been really well, latterly became so seriously indisposed (digestive troubles) that the doctor sent her her for treatment. The Vichy doctors understand this form of ailment better than any others, and they have wonderful appliances, apart from the actual waters. She has been going through a very severe course, which has certainly done her good though it has left her reduced to a state of pulp. But this we are told is to be expected, and she will pick up when she goes away, which we do next Friday. I have myself, under advice, taken a milder form of cure, and am the better for it. Vichy is a pleasant enough place, admirably laid out and organised, with beautiful gardens along the river. One is so limp while taking the waters that one can only stroll from one chair to another, & flop down into it. There is a fine Sporting Club & Golf links, used I imagine only by the healthy companions of the sick. We have been received as distinguished foreigners, and been made honorary members of this Club, which enables us to go and take tea in its admirable garden. We are also sent boxes for the theater two or three times a week, of which we have made only the indispensable minimum of use, for we like to turn into bed at nine! We came when the season was practically over, which is much the pleasantest time; for during the season Vichy is fearfully crowded. By great good luck we have found French friends here, three generations of the Sartiges family -- Edward Lee Childe you know married a Mlle de Sartiges, and on our way home we are going to spend a few days with them at Le Perthuis. I never knew such a place for fishing; every day there are hundreds of fishermen (& women) on the banks of the river, catching sprats about 4 inches long for a 'future'. It is most amusing to watch them & their excitement when they get a bite. Excuse handwriting -- I am writing in bed. Yours ever Paul Harvey Janry 14. 34 Dear Kitty I was very glad to get Miss Alice's long letter telling me of your Christmas and other doings. Please thank her for writing so fully. I know how busy she is and it was very good of her to find the time. Ethel too is very grateful for the suggestion regarding the [p] noises in her ears. She is still having treatment from the osteopath, who says it will be a long business, but remains hopeful - I suppose they have to do that! But indeed sh is I think a little better. At any rate she attended last night an evening party of 26 young folk at a neighbor's house and came home none the worse. I for my part felt much too old for that kind of thing! She keeps wonderfully young in mind and energy, always thinking how she may give pleasure to others. She insisted on taking me to a play in London the other day, the first I have been for about five years, to see the wonderful new German actress, Bergner. She is a very plain little person, extraordinarily full of vitality and expressiveness; in this play she impersonates a sort of guttersnipe, totally without the conventional morality, but with great qualities of heart, and does with remarkable cleverness & success. I don't know anything about her, and I am inclined to suspect that she is a Jewess who has had to leave Germany -- [for] to our advantage, for she is a great acquisition. This deplorable handwriting is due to my writing in bed, where I am waiting for the doctor, who is coming to treat me for one of my manifold ailments. Early next month I am probably going away for a few weeks, to seek a little sun in Morocco. But nothing is settled yet. I am reluctant to go, for E will not be coming with me, and I hate to go alone. A friend is coming to stay with her during my absence, if I do leave her. The doctor is to decide. We are horrified to find that Sally has put on two pounds weight in the last few weeks. She is becoming lethargic and requires much pressure to induce her to accompany me on my [dela] daily walk. Strong measures have had to be taken with her food. But I am afraid she is following the general tendency of all spaniels to get fat in her old age. It would amuse you to see the start of the walk: she is lying by the fire, and I put her collar on and set her erect on her four legs; she flops down again like a very moist plum pudding might, and as if she had no strength at all; this process is repeated half a dozen times before she can recruit sufficient energy to stand up! However if she sees or smells a rabbit on her walk, she recovers her youth [continued on recto] quickly enough! Well, goodbye. I hope you have got past your cold spell. Here it is blowing a hurricane and a huge limb from a sycamore tree has been blown down in the night opposite my window. E. sends her love -- Ever yours Paul Harvey Friday 11 Oct. My dear Kitty I have not had an opportunity of writing since I received your letter, as I am very busy, both in office hours & play time. The paper in which I [?] saw the notice of Dr.'s book was the 'Globe' but I have no recollection of the date. Will you let I consider I have been very ill treated in the matter of leave this year - Love to Dr Yrs Paulme know the title of the work, as I want to get it to read. I was delighted with the photo of the bust: it is really a very pleasant picture, & I must have been a rather nice little boy then! But you know I always have lingering doubts as to my identity with the original of the bust! how funny if it were all a mistake! Lady Gregory to whom I shewed the photo is very anxious to have a copy: She is so amazingly kind to be & fond of me that I must make an effort to induce you [to allow me] to order one for her [through you]: Will you do so for me, please? & let me have the bill? Do you think I could in any way open negotiations with Mrs. Wallis or Miss Davison? It would require some delicacy of treatment. Give me any news you have of the Newcombe family, please; I haven't heard of them for an age. I hope to come down the first Sunday that I can spare from my Essex garden, which is in a deplorable state of neglect. Did I tell you of my four days' holiday, two of which I spent at sea in a cutter with a sailor, in a gale? Very exciting; we were fortunate to get back safe -- Sunday 20th My dear Kitty I ordered a copy of 'Daisy Miller' to be sent to you, the best edition that I could get - but we must find another book for you when we return to England, as that is such a small one -- Can youtell me anything that you would like? Paul will be returning home before New Years Day, but he wants me to stay over here for another fortnight, so as to escape as much of the London winter as possible -- Such lonely frosty weather here - we thoroughly enjoy it - and it is very bracing. Paul spends his whole time out of doors - trying to get a shot at wild duck & snipe - We are to have a Xmas tree for the school children on St. Stephens Day -- also a shooting party next week so we shallbe very lively -- To day I am going to take Paul over to lunch at my father's old house about 7 miles from here -- my little cousin and one of my small brothers will arrive here on Tuesday -- With love and all best wishes for Xmas to you & Dr from us both -- Affec yours Ethel HarveyVarenne Sept 12th My dear Kitty - Just a line to say that we came home yesterday & shall be delighted to welcome you when you can come to us? Susan isthe proud possessor of three teeth We had a very nice holiday - so hot o fine. Paul is as brown as a berry affec yours Ethel HarveyPaul Harvey 88, St James' Street S.W. Friday Dear Kitty - I think we have got through the worst of our work now - but the beginning of the Estimates in Parliament was an awful grind - as it meant sitting in the House & not daring to go to sleep, but having to listen to those worst of all bores the Military Members - We have been the object of a good dealof ignorant attack as usual, but I think we have got out of it as well as the peculiar circumstances of our army permit. Simultaneously with Estimates we have had the Public Accounts Commte going on, at which my Chief has to appear on his defence & be examined & cross examined & badgered by Radical members on all the details of administration -- All this in addition to our regular work so that you may imagine I have had my hands full - However I have found some time for shopping & have broken the back of my furnishing & hope to be settled in my new house next week. I haven't got my housekeeper tho' yet - that is a troublesome business & I am anxious about it, the more that I have little time for it. I wish you would let me have Sarah! I had an invitation the other day to an At Home from some friends of the Newcombes butdiscreetly refused lest I should come across the charmer - what news of her? You write to me very seldom -- I suppose because I am such a bad correspondent -- Que voulez-vous? - I am so tired of a night as usual that I have not energy to hold a pen. But that should be no excuse for you, seeing you have plenty of time. I hope Dr is well & the dogs - pity you haven't one of the third generation to give me as a watchdog! Goodnight & much love Yrs Paul