"My Dearest Alys What a bore it is to be writing again instead of having thee here."

BR shows off The Millhangar to Aunt Agatha and Uncle Rollo. Croquet with Logan. Whist with Logan and Robert Pearsall Smith. BR relates his dream about entertaining God and asking him for the ark. "I have written all this down so as not to forget it."

"My Dearest Alys What a charming letter thee wrote me the night before last!"

"My Dearest Old Woman What charming letters thee has been writing!"

"My Dearest Alys Many thanks for thy letter, wh. I got before breakfast."

"My Dearest Alys Emily got off all right this morning, and I am left to inhabit the house alone."

"Dearest Alys—I am sorry thee is staying away, but I admit the cause is adequate."

"My Dearest Alys I was very glad to get thy note this morning: I am not surprised at Logan's delay!"

"Dearest Alys—The enclosed makes it important for thee to come home early, or thee may miss Wallas altogether."

Re a visit to the Russells at The Millhangar.

Enclosed with document .055190.

"Dearest Alys The day has passed prosperously in spite of the absence of Mrs. Pond, tho' not so agreeably as it would have done with her amiable (?) assistance."

"Moore to luncheon after my lecture".

"One of the things I said caused Dickinson to go off into a guffow".

"I have been engaged in proving that Leibniz is committed to the impious conclusion that God cannot know anything—which, I hope may reconcile the parson to my censures on Leibniz's God."

"Dearest Alys It is already after five, so I can only write a line."

"Dearest Alys I posted thy pamphlet at 4.30—fourteen of them, as some had corrections in ms."

"My lecture went off successfully—the parson, I hope, not too much shocked."

"I took the step of giving the typed copy of Lecture III to Ward. … He feels that Leibniz was a scoundrel, that he plagiarized shamelessly—and I must say, since I have been reading Spinoza lately, I have come to think so too." Ward promised a frank opinion on the lecture next term.

"Dearest Alys I got thy letter this morning, and as it was posted a good deal later than the pamphlets, I inferred they must have arrived in time."

[In connection, probably, with Leibniz:] "I am reading Spinoza's Ethics, which I have nearly finished." "[It contains] the most delightful pedantic cynicism on the Passions".

"Dearest Alys I got thy p.c. from Willesden this morning: I was relieved that thee arrived there successfully."

"Dearest Alys I am still too stupid with my cold to write much of a letter."

"My Dearest Alys I got thy letter about Edith yesterday afternoon, and about Satey* this morning."

*[Sally Fairchild.] <Her nickname was "Satty", misspelled above.—K. Blackwell>

"My Dearest Alys I am longing to have thee back, and find it unusually difficult to get on without thee."

"White Hart Hotel Wed."

"9.15 a.m. My Dearest Alys I only had time for a very scrappy letter yesterday, but today I am up early, and can write properly."

A leaflet signed by Alys Russell, 44, Grosvenor Road, Westminster, London, S.W., titled Letter to the Y Branches.

Also a British Women's Temperance Association leaflet.

"Tuesday"

"Dearest Alys I arrived here safely, and found myself established in Whitehead's rooms, where we shall lunch tomorrow."

"My Dearest Alys I am very anxious about thy sore throat, which I hope continued to improve."

"My Dearest Alys I enclose a letter from Sanger saying he can come."

[Not present.]

"My Dearest Alys I enclose a letter from Mariechen*, which seems to ask a good deal of thee."

*[Mary Berenson.]

"My Dearest Alys I am forwarding a great pile of letters, which I suppose will arrive with this."

[Not present.]

"My Dearest Alys Nothing very stupendous has happened since thee went away."

"My Dearest Alys Ever since I wrote to thee last, it has been raining continuously, and nothing at all has happened."

"My Dearest Alys I enclose a letter from my brother,* sentimental and rather pathetic."

*[Frank Russell.] [Letter is not present.]

"Dearest Alys Many thanks for thy note. I too wrote a line to Evelyn, tho' I had nothing to say."

"I wrote 20 pp. yesterday, and hope to do the same today and tomorrow.…" [No hint of what on. BR had "finished" The Principles of Mathematics on 31 Dec. 1900, but he may have been rewriting Part I to take the Paradox into account.]

"Dearest Alys I am sorry thy scheme was found to be out of order: I hope thee had had time to come to the point before thee was stopped."

"Dearest Alys My Committee* yesterday was unusually short, so I caught the 7.10 with ease."

*[At the University of London.]

"Tuesday I found her very well, barring a slight headache, and not having been ill, but only busy with Bubby."

[Although written on printed letterhead of Whitehead as from Pont-Even, West Road, Cambridge, the Whiteheads had not lived there since 1898.]

Yet letters dated 10 July 1901 et seq. are continuous with respect to several details, especially re Evelyn Whitehead.

"My Dearest Alys I have just got thy letter."

"My Dearest Alys I had no letter from thee this morning, but this did not surprise me."

"My Darling Alys I shall only have time for a line, as it was so hot it took me ages to ride in."

"My Dearest Alys Miss Beeton, good lady is ill, and cannot come till Monday: this has filled our hearts with joy."

"My Dearest Alys It was a great pleasure to hear from thee by the first post this morning."

"My Dearest Alys The visit of the Americans* has gone off most successfully so far."

*[Wyckoff and Sedgwick.]

"Dearest Alys I got both thy letter and p.c. this morning."

"Dearest Alys I have only time for a line, as I have been spending the day in the fascinations of Jane [Harrison]."

"Dearest Alys I am not sure whether this will reach thee, but I am writing on the chance."

"10 a.m."

"All well so far."

"My Darling Alys In spite of the fog, I managed to get here by 2.20, and to get across town in a bus."

"My Dearest Alys I got thy letter this morning, and was glad to hear that the Carlisle people were not objectionable."

"Friday Dearest Alys Thy telegram has just come—from Sloane Square, which seems an odd place."

[Could also be Feb. 1908; dated from reference to Stanger's bill.]

"Thursday Dearest Alys Thanks for thy letter."

"Friday 2 p.m. Dearest Alys In case thee reaches Tawton [?]* before me, this is merely to say I shall arrive there (D.V.) between 3 and 5 tomorrow afternoon."

*[Possibly North Tawton, within riding distance of Bampton, Devon.]

"Tuesday Dearest Alys Nothing remarkable has occurred to me, except that I got a letter yesterday from Col. Lynch (the man who fought for the Boers and was condemned to death) to say he had written a work* on the philosophy of mathematics and to invoke my blessing."

*[It may be Psychology: a New System Based on the Study of the Fundamental Processes of the Human Mind (1912).]

"Things going on well here."

"Tuesday Dearest Alys I am sorry thee waited in vain for me, it hadn't occurred to me thee would be waiting."

"Wed. Dearest Alys Thanks for letters and book. I am frightfully busy, finishing up before going."

"Sunday Dearest Alys I am sorry thee was disappointed by not hearing yesterday: I hope thee heard this morning."

"Dearest Alys I have attended to all the matters in thy letter, which has made me feel quite a man of action."

"Friday night Dearest Alys The meeting went off all right."

[Written from Cambridge on Bagley Wood letterhead.]

"Monday Dearest Alys Thanks for letters."

"Thursday 1 a.m. Dearest Alys My paper went off all right, tho' it was a less dramatic and exciting occasion than before."

"Tuesday Dearest Alys The date that suits them best is Friday 6 to Monday 9 for our visit here."

"Wednesday Dearest Alys Thanks for thy letter."

"Saturday night Dearest Alys Henry met me at the station, and walked up with me; I saw Arthur and Frances as soon as I arrived, and Mr. Dakyns after tea."

"Thursday Dearest Alys As it seems I have no committee today I have decided to go straight home, unless I find any letters at Cranmer Rd to induce me not to."

"Sunday Dearest Alys Thy two letters have duly reached me."

"Prince of Wales Hotel"

"Dearest Alys We reached this place without misadventure about 6 this evening."

"Sunday night. We have had very good weather and a pleasant day on the hills."

"Prince of Wales Lake Hotel Tuesday"

"Dearest Alys I am very sorry Mariechen is so done up, and also that Karin's hearing is so bad and that she still has to have something more done to her ear."

[Date is in Alys's hand.]

"Wednesday Sorry thee has to speak at Oxford and cut short the visit to Kirkby."

"Prince of Wales Lake Hotel"

"Wednesday evg. Dearest Alys We leave here tomorrow, and our address until further plans will be New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Langdale, Ambleside."

"Prince of Wales Lake Hotel"

"Thursday Dearest Alys I am sorry Val has not got a scholarship."

"Dungeon Ghyll Hotel"

"Friday All well with us."

"Dungeon Ghyll New Hotel"

"Saturday Dearest Alys The only cathedral at all on the way to Kirkby, so far as I know, is Lichfield—Lincoln is nowhere near the route."

"Dungeon Ghyll New Hotel"

"Sunday Dearest Alys I expect this won't go till tomorrow, but I may as well write it now."

"Dungeon Ghyll New Hotel"

"Monday Dearest Alys thanks for clothes."

"Dungeon Ghyll New Hotel"

"Tuesday Dearest Alys I have written to Val."

John Lenz and Tony Simpson provided appropriate readings for words that seemed illegible in the original.

"Wednesday 7.15 a.m. Dearest Alys This is written on the coach towards Garve."

[Written on letterhead from the Caledonian Hotel, Ullapool, Rossshire. He has just left it by coach.]

"Loch Maree Hotel"

"Sunday morning. Dearest Alys At Kinlochewe they had no room for us, so we came on the extra 9 miles to here after tea."

*"Monday Dearest Alys Yesterday we walked along Loch Maree, and over a pass to Gairloch, which is an actual sea-side place with a sandy beach."

*"Hotel-Poolewe"

"Thursday Dearest Alys Thanks for letter and clothes."

[Written on Bagley Wood notepaper; date is in Alys's hand.]

"Friday morning. In the train to Toblach.* Dearest Alys we are taking the train to begin with, and shall then walk up a valley towards Cortina."

*[Now Dobbiaco, Italy.]

"Sat. between Chaumont and Belfort.* Dearest Alys All well so far, except that our train is 50 minutes late, which makes it impossible to go on to the Lake of Constance tonight."

*[France. Date written in Alys's hand.]

"Sunday"

"I got thy card this morning at Cortina, it had not yet arrived when I asked for it yesterday."

[Alys has dated this card "Aug. 8" but this seems wrong as it was pmk. 18 Aug. when it arrived in England.]

"Tuesday. This morning early we crossed a pass into a valley going down to the Brenner, which we hope to reach today, going by train to Bozen* (1/2 an hour) tomorrow morning."

*[Now Bolzano, Italy.]

"Tuesday Pfitschjochhaus After being baked for 2 days, we started at 6.30 this morning to walk over a pass 7000 odd feet high, the one next east of the Brenner, and we have got caught in a snowstorm."

[Continues] "Wednesday"

[Address code is taken from pmk. as Pfitschjochhaus could not be identified.]

"Saturday 11.30 a.m. Last night we slept at a place called Moena, where they spoke Italian."

"6.45 a.m. Just off for a long day to Agordo, in Italy."

"Tuesday, 6.45 a.m. Our walk yesterday, tho' long, was very pleasant, and brought us down to this charming Italian place, with a 16th century Venetian palace (v. nice) and a pleasing piazza (Vit. Em.!)* and all the other paraphernalia."

*[= Victor Emmanuel.]

"Train from Belluno to Feltre [Italy], Wed. a.m. Yesterday's walk was dull and dusty and frightfully hot, but Belluno at the end was delicious."

[Pmk. Tezze-Trient.]

"Vintl***, Thursday Yesterday we returned to the Brenner Road and slept at a place called Mauls: today we went south to Franzensfeste,* and then turned into the Pusterthal."**

*[Now Fortezza, Italy];
**[no doubt Pustertal or in Italian Pusteria];
***[unable to identify Vintl].

[Card is pmk. Franzensfeste.]

"Sunday morning. There has been rain, which we are glad of, as the dust has been very bad."

"Wednesday Dearest Alys Thanks for letters etc. which I found on arriving here this morning."

"Thursday Dearest Alys On reaching this place this morning I found letters of Aug. 8, 11, and 15 and April 13, from thee."

"My Dear Alys Crompton* was at Cambridge as well as the Mathiesons.

*[Llewelyn Davies.]

"Thursday Dearest Alys Goldie's* father is dead, so Goldie will not come this week-end."

*[G. Lowes Dickinson.]

"Thursday night Dearest Alys Margaret's telegram reached me at the committee. I know nothing further."

"Friday Dearest Alys Thee will be glad to hear that I succeeded in seeing Aunt Maude yesterday as soon as our committee was over."

"Liverpool Str. Saturday Dearest Alys We had much interesting talk on adult suffrage, and saw Scott fresh from an interview with Asquith."

[Written on Bagley Wood notepaper from Liverpool Street train station.]

"Dearest Alys I have agreed to go on the P.S.F. [People's Suffrage Federation] executive."

"Dearest Alys I feel sure we haven't got Acton on prostitution unless it is hidden in some cupboard."

"Dearest Alys I am sorry I didn't write yesterday—we were so full of work that it went out of my head."

"Dearest Alys Thy letter only reached me this morning—it took a good deal longer than I did."

"Dearest Alys Thanks for p.c. I am sorry thee was so tired out."

"Wednesday. The congress continues interesting."