Autograph letter signed : Kew, to Siegfried Sassoon, 1943 December 7.

Saying that it has been some time since they were in touch; writing that he hopes all is well at Heytesbury House, that "the military invasion has not incommoded you, and that George [Sassoon] had the happiest of birthdays"; saying that they are very happy to be back at home; describing the bombing campaigns nearby: "German bombers come over pretty often. They dropped [three] bombs at Richmond one night and did some damage to a school, which was fortunately empty"; asking whether Sassoon has seen Walter de la Mare's latest anthology, Love; commenting that he does not like the illustrations, but "the letterpress is of course first rate and altogether delightful"; describing an afternoon he had spent with de la Mare recently in his flat in Twickenham, "a most sumptuous suite of rooms, beautifully furnished, in a stately Georgian mansion that was built in 1720. From the windows there are wide views over the meadow to the river, not an ugly or vulgar object meets the eye"; mentioning an inconvenience of the location, which is that, in a wartime household without servants, de la Mare has to go into Richmond for a meal; describing his visit: "But when I went, there was no sign of domestic shortage. Next to the blazing fire was a goodly bin heaped up with coal. I sank into a comfortable armchair opposite to W de la M. in another and we talked away about Jane Austen and other people and matters with great gusto, while my eyes rested on elegant cabinets and bureaux and delicate porcelain. After a bit we adjourned to another room in which unseen hands had spread a delicious tea of hot buttered scones and cake, all fastidiously arranged"; recounting an accident de la Mare had suffered: "he told me that he had recently stepped out of it [i.e., an omnibus] in the blackout while it was still moving and fallen on his face. He came off with a black eye, a bloody nose, and a considerable shock from which he has now recovered. He is nicer than ever."