Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Autograph letter signed : Warsaw, to [Eleanor Belloc Jebb] , 1928 September 18.

BIB_ID
212088
Accession number
MA 3546
Creator
Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953.
Display Date
1928 September 18.
Credit line
Gift of William Jovanovich, 1981.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 18.1 x 13.6 cm
Notes
Belloc simply addresses this letter to "My darling Child", however he does send his love to Rex & Marianne and to young Philip. Eleanor Belloc was the wife of Reginald Jebb and their children at the writing of this letter were Marianne, born 1923 and Philip born 1927.
His reference to his traveling companion, "Bear" is to Edmond Lancelot Warre, 1877-1964.
Provenance
Purchased from Christie's, London on the Fellows Fund as the gift of William Jovanovich, 1981.
Summary
Describing his adventures in Poland; relating the events during his time in Warsaw saying "I am here in Warsaw after many adventures. I went through Cracow & then to the Convent-Fortress of Jasna Gora where they keep the famous holy picture of our Lady of Chestochowa. There were crowds & crowds of pilgrims. I slept in the convent or rather monastery & hung up my Ballade as an ex voto on Parchment in the chapel - which I have wanted to do for many years. We then came on here;" saying he'd received a letter from Lady Lovat, asking her to keep in touch with her and reminding her Lady Lovat is at Beaufort, Beauly, Scotland; adding that he will be going on to Dantzig and then to Brussels and will write again from there; sending his love to her husband and children and asking her to"Tell Marianne I am in a country where no one can understand one word of what I say nor I one word of what they say!" adding, in a postscript, "The Polish tongue is like this 'Buska-gruska, Noyay, tac tac, Booshy Chowshy' all the time. I sat through a whole sermon of it at high Mass. The man who preached got very excited & waved his arms about - but not a word did I understand. I am now going down the Vistula to Dantzig in a boat. When I want to eat I shall point at my mouth & when to drink I shall make a low sucking noise. Bear sends his love[.] he has made 20 hideous pictures already & I six lovely ones.