BR TO OTTOLINE MORRELL, 25 SEPT. 1911
BRACERS 17275. ALS. Morrell papers #194, Texas
Proofread by K. Blackwell et al.

Ipsden1^, 2
Monday Sp. 25. 1911.

My Dearest Dearest

Your letter of Friday evening has just come and is a great joy to me. Thank you for it. Yes I know very well that you would never feel hurt if I were absorbed in work — it is not that, but only that I like better to be free to think about you. — You know how you help the less technical parts of my work — by your interest, and by the whole way you feel. As for the technical things, it is chiefly by making my life easier and less of a strain, so that I don’t spend half my energy on merely going on. I know and love your faith in the work, but as regards the technical work my own faith is so great that that is only a joy, not so much a help. For things like the Prisons it is an absolutely necessary help. Left to myself I haven’t enough faith in any general philosophy of life to be able to write things like that. With technical things, that is not the difficulty, but they don’t fill one’s life and the rest of one grows rebellious. — I have quite finished my Aristn. paper, additions and all.

The portrait came by the same post — I think it very like. But I observe Marienbad has had the opposite of the effect which it has on most people! Cantor, who is back in Halle, has sent me about a million picture post-cards of the place, and several Bacon–Shakespeare pamphlets. On the back of one of them he writes that his son is better, and is going to Meran!

Besides the letter I posted yesterday in Reading,3 I posted one early this morning in Goring,4 addressed Marienbad, so as to make sure of your not having a day without a letter. It was about Spinoza, Plato, Aristotle, etc. If it doesn’t arrive in time it doesn’t matter. — It is sad that after all you won’t be back till about the 24th. I think I shall go to the Pope-Hennessey’s one of the week-ends in October, but I don’t know. They are not at home now. — I like your mass of stamps, but the addition-sum is beyond my powers.

Dearest you do I know realize all I feel about my work — more than I do really, because as you say I am too much inside it, and at most times doing it takes the place of feeling about it. But I know I should never turn aside from it except for long enough to have fresh thoughts about it — it is really very deep in me. And I know you feel just as I do about it. Your sympathy is quite marvellous, and so deeply understanding. Now I must be off to catch the post. Goodbye my Dearest Love. Don’t think of me as depressed, I am very happy, living in the thought of you. I love you Darling I love you.

Your
B.

• 1

  [document] Document 000194. Proofread against a colour scan of the original.

• 2

  [envelope] ??.

• 3

  letter I posted yesterday in Reading Presumably the letter of Saturday night, 23 September, BRACERS 17272. BR refers to posting a letter to her there in the morning, in his of Sunday night, 24 September (BRACERS 17274).

• 4

  posted one early this morning in Goring BRACERS 17274.