Letter from Edward Thomas to the poet Gordon Bottomley. Sent from Berryfield Cottage, Ashford, Petersfield, Hampshire. Archival ref: 424/1/1/1/10/140
Ashford
12.x.09

My dear Gordon,

Thank you for two letters & two lots
of proofs. I hope your handwriting though in
pencil means you are decidedly better. For Helen
saw Mrs. Guthrie last week & got a second o
third hand (I gathered) & very bad account of
Zin, which I hope applies to a remote period.
Mrs. Guthrie - perhaps you know - is now recovering
from an operation for which she stays three weeks
at a hospital. Guthrie has had a very poor time, chiefly
with the children, but writes this morning a long very
cheerful [illegible] letter to try to cheer me - but I am
proof against such things.
I am glad you found things to like in
the little book. It is too small a selection from the things
I have been doing to be quite fair to me. Also it is
my own selection & various bad reasons led me to
include several - one of which was 'The Fountain'.
a glimpse of a girl by the sea sand, - I wonder
did you like it at all? I think I agree with your
preferences - also in what you say of
notebooks. But I shall not burn them I suspect.
Only I shall certainly use them less & less as I get more
of an eye for subjects. Among my bad habits was
that looking through old notebooks of scenery or
in order to get a subject or mood suggested to me.
I now use the notebooks more & more exclusively
for the details of things embedded independently.
also I am casting about for subjects which
will compel me to defend simply upon
what I am - memory included but in a
due subsidiary place. I think of Welsh legends &
as to modern subjects I can do little with more
than one character & that one is sure either to
be a ghost (of a pretty woman or nice old man)
or else myself. So far the best things I have
done have been cart houses. I have quite a long
series - I discover, tho I did not design it
the house in 'Sand & Snow' is one.
Nobody wants me to do a book now, alas )for
my purse) So I have to do all the reviewing I can get. How I have it. How much does Abercrombie
do? I imagine he is a pretty robust young man
with a stray spirit, - and he writes very
well & very rightfully about 'Gunnar', - but how
long can he stand it, specially if he comes to town?
I would like to see him in town, but feel inclined to
hope he won't go. I have to give it up more & more.
I have had to give up dining in London altogether -
bad hot city air, smoke, smell of food & alcohol
makes me bad for a week after these few hours.
Have you seen Manfields's 3 plays?
He is a wonderful man. It is beautiful natural
prose dialogue & full of poetry - also I believe
throughly sound for stage [illegible] ; in fact
even Shaw says he is the best of the young men.
Another anthology by E. V Lucas. I get
side of geniality & odd charming characters all
extracted from their context
as if you should spread jam over toffee & eat
it with honey.
Goodby for a little while. How I hope you
and Emily are better. Helen & I are ever yours