BR TO CONSTANCE MALLESON, 29 OCT. 1920
BRACERS 19710. ALS. McMaster
Edited by S. Turcon. Reviewed by K. Blackwell

Hankow1
Oct 29. 1920

My Darling

At last we are really on our way to Peking — we arrive tomorrow night or next morning — We left Chengsha (the capital of Hu-Nan) the day before yesterday, and came here by boat, across the biggest lake in China — very beautiful — I sent a diary of doings2 to Ottoline3 to send to all who might be interested — so I won’t waste time over them. I long to be settled where one gets letters, and where one can unpack. These people don’t understand how to make the best use of one, and I have to tell them. They think I must have some “message” by which they can solve all their troubles, and they can’t realize that one needs to know a country first. They long for guidance and want me to give it, but I can’t yet. I shan’t get a nice quiet peaceful time, as I had hoped, but I shall get a very interesting time. Only I am kept so busy that letters are difficult. During journeys I have to prepare lectures — At Chengsha, at a moment’s notice, I gave 4 lectures in 2 days. Then we had a great banquet (officially styled “a little drink”), where I sat next to the Governor, with whom I had a correct Chinese conversation through an interpreter. He apologized for offering me a mere crust of bread in a hovel (it was a vast feast in a palace), and said that he wished us to see how the Chinese live when they are without ceremony. I replied in a similar vein. He is said to be the only honest Governor of a province in China but I don’t know the truth of that yet. His predecessor made 30 million dollars in 2 years by extortion. Goodbye Beloved. I send you my heart and all my love.a

B

• 1

  [document] Document 200711.

• 2

  a diary of doings Published in The Nation as B&R C21.03; 47 in Papers 15. Three typed copies of this diary letter ended up in Colette’s possession: BRACERS 19709, 116711 and 116712.

• 3

  Ottoline Lady Ottoline Morrell née Cavendish-Bentinck (1873–1938). For information on her, see BRACERS 19077, n.5.

Textual Notes

• a

  love. period supplied editorially