Dearest Christopher, I have just had three very pleasant nights in town, went to the Alchemist, saw Bob, had a present of a large picture by Jamini Roy, perhaps a farmer, perhaps a god (Kama?) holding a parrot with his legs rather apart.7 “Fancy meeting those eyes in the dark!” cried little Mrs Bolton. The picture has brought excitement and freedom to me in a way you may understand. It is something of my own, and it represents the goodness of India. The painter gave it me because I once admired it in his studio at Calcutta and did not say so; I talked about it in London and he heard of this. And it was brought to me by two other Indians, Narayan & Rekha Menon; such a trouble they took, she especially. The boy’s flesh is blue: he is that mixture of the sturdy and the sacred which, if it does not repel, attracts strongly. I only had the picture yesterday. I expect to get tired of it, then I shall take it down.
I saw that wisp in the distance, Guy Burgess. His meeting with you seems to have gone as I expected it would.
Much clothing is accumulating here for Heinz and his son. Christopher, you do not like packing things up. No more do I. That is the real trouble.
I am here till next Thursday. By then I hope to have finished my Harvard stuff and to spend 3 or 4 days in town.
Is there any prospect of help for your mother? Does Richard see eye to eye with reality more? Have you tried advertising? And for a married couple?
Hoping for another letter.
Morgan
* * *
In train called “Exposition” (to Burlington)” in Nebraska 2-6-47
Dearest Christopher,
I seem to write to everyone but you. And you to me? It was a muddle over Swami. Suddenly I decided to visit an old and isolated friend, C. H.
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Collins Baker, at the Huntington Museum, San Marino,8 wrote to Chris W.
and had nice telephone talk with him and Gerald, but that was all. My letter to Bill missed him. I do wish I had written to you.
I spent 9 happy days in Berkeley with Noel whom I like more and more, and with his wife whom I much liked so far as I could see her, but she is hoping to become a Doctor in Zoology and very busy. Noel and I went for two days to the Yosemite, and it even looks if I shall include Niagara. The third of the Heavies, whom I had purposed to exclude. Heading now for Chicago. I may very likely reach New York on the morning of Monday the 9th. Paul Cadmus should have left the keys of his apartment at Harcourt Brace’s where I shall call for them. If I do not find them, woe and telephones, in which you will be involved.
Niagara is rather funny. In 1944 I spoke to a Canadian air officer in the tube, and since he did not know London met him next day for St Paul’s—
that is all I have seen him—rather “common” commercial type. He came down over Germany and we corresponded, now it turns out from the map that he lives close to Niagara Falls. He is very anxious I should stop with him and meet his wife and child, writes “life is so short that we may never be near one another again,” which is enough to fetch me and most people?
There seems no reason you should need to catch me at Chicago. In fact I can think of no possible[reason]. But I shall be there until the evening of the 6th if I achieve Johnny Kennedy, and longer if I don’t. Address: c/o C. F.
Huth, University, Chicago.
Kindest greetings to Bill. Love to you and I hope we shall be together often. Except for visits to Bill Roehrick, Harold Barger, Archibald MacLeish, Paul Cadmus, and Asaf Ali,9 I am expecting to settle down in New York quietly.
Morgan’s Love
* * *
Dakar. April 12 [1948]
As you see, we are drawing inexorably nearer. We’ll probably get to le Havre around April 24 and then spend a few days in Paris. We ought to be in England at the beginning of May. Our boat is an overcrowded old French tub, and crawls across the Atlantic inch by inch. The jabbering of the passengers is probably audible for miles around. Am longing to see you.
Christopher
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143
[postscript:]
We’ll be seeing you very soon. It’s wonderful to be cross the Atlantic—it took forever.
Bill
* * *
K[ings] C[ollege] C[ambridge] 3-5-48
Dearest Christopher,
Thank you for your foreign card, and I have your arrival from Bob.
When will I see you. Bill also?
I was meaning to come up on Wednesday. Could you both come to tea at my flat at about 4.00? Lunch at the Reform Club would have to be for one guest only. Could you come alone to that, and then we meet Bill? Or I could offer you both drinks.
If you have gone north Wednesday, I will cut an engagement here on Tuesday with Harvard University and come up and meet you in the late afternoon or evening. But in that case, it will be necessary for you to ring Cambridge 55006 at about 9.30 tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.
Love from
Morgan
John not there, is he?
[the following, at the bottom of the page, is a poem by Isherwood, written in his hand:]
He pulled up short 2 miles from the place,
Number Four stared him right in the face,
Turned to his fire boy, said “you’d better jump
’cause there’s two locomotives that’s going to bump!”
[written below the poem:]
O mio babbino caro.
Petite Suite Roussell.
* * *
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[Kings College Cambridge] 25-6-48
Dearest Christopher,
Tennessee Williams got up too late to reach Cambridge. [Gore] Vidal arrived, and I wish hadn’t, as I disliked him a lot. I hope anyhow he returned you Gerald’s [A] Street Car [Named Desire]. I am looking forward to seeing it on the stage, where its colour, violence, and seedfulness [ sic]
should be effective. I did not find the characters alive (my old whimper), but that is where actors and actresses are so useful. Alive themselves, often through no wish of their own, they are compelled to vivify the dramatist’s ideas. I shouldn’t have thought it was a good play—with the chief character an invalid who ought to have been looked after earlier. Still the stage is always surprising me into a good deal of pleasure. The poker scene might look lovely.
What I am really writing about though is Maurice. I should very much like a talk alone with you during the next week or so. I am ashamed at shirking publication but the objections are formidable. I am coming up on Tuesday for a night or probably two. Wednesday morning should be all right. If you [are] able to drop me a line here, do so. Otherwise, I will ring you in London.
Lovely letter from Ben [Benjamin Britten]. Herring etc. comes to Cambridge at the end of the month.
Love,
Morgan
* * *
KING’S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE [summer 1948?]
Your visits much enjoyed—though there were provincial wonderings why you had an evening engagement in town. Now I am deposited here, I think for some time. Grand if you could disclose yourself to Heinz on Liverpool St. Sta[tion] Sat. 8.30—or ring him up at Lark-crow[?] on Sunday morning at CH1 2407. Later in the morning Bob drives them away to Coventry for a couple of days.
Much love,
Morgan
* * *
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[Kings College Cambridge]10 March 27, [1949]
Dearest no Christopher. No alas, no chance whatsoever of us taking the long trek to the Pacific seaboard. Am sure to get dazed and tired as it is and may pay but a short visit to the U.S.A.
On the other hand it is, as you know, only a little hop from the Pacific seaboard to the Atlantic one. Could you and Bill not take it during our stay?