Scope and Content
"The day before I received your letter, I had almost begun a letter to you, as I discovered quite by chance among some odds and ends the map of Ampthill you referred to in a recent letter: you remember, the one I coloured and put under glass on a coffee table. As I have no further use for it, and you had mentioned it, I decided to send it on to you, as I thought maybe it would come in useful somehow. But the problem of HOW to send it arose. I searched for one of those cardboard tubes, but I could not find one anywhere. It would be a pity to fold it up: so I decided to wait until I DID get a tube: and so the letter was not begun! However, you shall have it as soon as I lay hands on something suitable to roll it in. Quite frankly, i have completely forgotten the candlesticks in the Children's Corner. I think they must have been Church property, as I had no brass candlesticks of my own. They could not have been worth much. (I was very sorry, by the way, to see that the wooden gilt candlesticks in front of the aumbry which Mrs.Seabrook gave had disappeared!). The Woolworth jewels I got for the Nativity Plays are no use to me now. So far as I remember, I bought them myself. I should hang on to them and regard them as your own property. They may come in useful for some play some time.
I was interested to hear about the Ampthill House sale, though there is nothing I should want to buy there personally. Sir A. did give me some beautiful pieces of silver before I left, but he was not a man with any interest in beautiful things generally. His tastes went in the direction of history. As for music, he could not tell one note from another. I had a nice letter from Miss Romola Russell, by the way, after the funeral. She said she had hoped to speak to me but I had disappeared.
The photograph which has appeared in the Sacristy came direct from me! It was one I gave to Miss Di many years ago. It was lying about here among some of her belongings in a drawer, and as it was framed, and I happened to notice at Sir A.'s funeral that Mr.Brew's photograph was there, and that Mr.Waddy had put one of himself up, I thought it might be a good plan to bridge the 14 years between them with one of me! I am afraid it represents me as I was in my early years at Ampthill: it was taken in 1934 (I don't think I have ever been to a photographer since!) What a curious man Waddy was! It would never have occurred to me to stick up a photograph of myself and not attempt to get one of my predecessor, especially if he had been there 14 years! But I suppose this is in line with his failure to invite me back to Ampthill, which I have always thought very queer. I invited both Mr.May and Mr.Sime and Mr.Pollard. None of them accepted, it is true, but the invitation was sent.
I have not seen any announcement of Mr.Broun's death in the papers. I wonder if he is still alive. What a tragic ending!
Yes: I saw in the "Daily Graphic" that Johnson was still at loggerheads with his parishioners at Pulloxhill. I am amazed that he has stayed on there so long. I believe he did decide to take a job in London some years ago, and then reconsidered his decision. I wonder how he would have go on in Ampthill??
I saw that Mrs.McCorq. had been at a luncheon in London of "women best-sellers" along with Ruby M.Ayres and the like. She seems to churn out books by the hundred. What kind of women are they who read them? I gather they are complete piffle.
By the way, if you still have a Boots' Library subscription do get hold of "Family Album" by Antonia Ridge(?): I know "Family Album" is right I am not sure about the Ridge. It is a delightful story, about a Schoolmistress in charge of an infant's class who has been brought up by an aged aunt. Her father was a Frenchman, and when the aunt dies, she throws up her job at the school and goes to France in search of her family. The scene is laid round Nimes, a part of France I know very well. You will like the heroine, and there are lots of odd bits about the teaching profession you will enjoy.
I think I told you in my last letter that I am in charge of S.Matthias Richmond until Christmas. The Vicar of Richmond is singlehanded except for the deacon, who will be priested on S.Thomas Day. There are two churches: both very large ones: so I am doing what I can to fill the gap. He simply cannot get an assistant priest. They want me to take on the job of running S.Matthias permanently, but I cannot, for several reasons. It is one of those huge Victorian Gothic edifices built about 100 years ago when apparently churches were full. Now the congregation at most services could get into one side of the church. There is a sung eucharist once a month, and no advance could be made without the priest in charge having a head-on collision with the choir, which is large, and consists mainly of girls and men. The organist is a Mus.Bac. The choir performs elaborate services and anthems to a meagre congregation. I never see any of the choir at the early services. All they are concerned with is their singing. A sung eucharist puts the choir in the background, if the singing is to be congregational (which is essential): so you see what would happen if the priest attempted to get a move on. I certainly do not feel called to tackle it. One Ampthill is enough.
My present plans are to go to France on January 3rd., as far as Paris, and from there with two friends to the Austrian Tyrol for the winter sports. I only hope I shall not have a repetition of my last winter sport experience! After that, I intend to stay in France for a time, but I shall be moving about, as I have several visits to pay.
Miss Florence continues as strong and vigorous as ever physically, but her mental faculties deteriorate steadily. She knows where she is and who she is: but her mind is a jumble of nonsense apart from that.
Yours sincerely,"
"P.S. I sent the photograph to Joe Jennings, and told him I thought it might be a good idea to put me in the Portrait Gallery!"