You will see by the above that at last after much tramping the stony streets of London & unwear- ied enquiry I have found a habitation & an abiding place. It is either in Bloomsbury or in Holborn, I'm not sure which, but WC1 will indicate the position sufficiently to the accomplished postmen of this great city. I started looking last Monday, & reckon that I have inspected quite ¾ of the in- sides of the houses of this highly respectable part of the city (as a matter of fact some of it isn't too respectable, but this joint is above reproach) & a good deal of those in the more outlying districts. Kensington is quite a decent place, but rents are too high, in addition to which you have to get the Tube in & out; now that Toob is an excellent institution, of the greatest utility in finding your way about in the metropolis, but I got fed up with it after a while. The Choob is all they claim for it; but it is also noisy; & though it is cheap, when you are saving up the pennies so as to be able to spend the pounds on books & other things, the expense is not to be lightly thought of. Earl's Court is a station farther out than the one which was nearest to Cromwell Rd; & I went out there to have a squiz at the district, which seemed fairly dirty — this you will remember was where that flat Averil Lysaght spoke of was situate; but from the tenants of same I have heard not. Now that I am settled I suppose it is on the cards that I shall. Round Gower St & district therefore I looked chiefly, in Bloomsbury Square & Bedford Square & Tavistock Square & so on & so forth, sometimes picking out boarding houses at random from the hundreds that line these streets, sometimes looking for a house where the top windows were uncurtained & asking if that room was to let. Generally it wasn't; sometimes it was, but then the price was 5/- or 2/6 too much. I met all sorts of landladies, clean dirty, well-dressed, slovenly-dressed perfect ladies, imperfect ladies; one or two men, one a Dago, who offered me an extraordinary sort of attic cupboard away at the top of a stepladder at the summit of an im- mensely high house, which had a dirty bed ditto washbasin & no room to stand up, for 8 bob; & the other a NZ.er, who offered me a 25/- room for 22/6 on the score of my nationality; & I nearly took this, as the bathroom was about the best I have seen in this country, peculiarly lacking in this respect, considering the state about the typical Englishman's cleanliness. I haven't seen a shower yet. I had options over about ½ dozen rooms at once at times, saying I would come back tomorrow if I wanted one of them; at last Joynt said that Brunswick Square was a place where several NZers had stayed & been very comfortable. So I ambled around & finally found Bruns wick Square, & started my usual house to house canvass; going by inadvertence twice to the same house, by the way, in one case, once in the morning, again in the afternoon. However the lady was very charming & put me on to this place & the Miss Hawkins who keeps same. Miss Hawkins only had a double large room, to a single gent 30/- to a double gent 35/- so I said nothing doing, although it was a nice room & prepared to depart, when she said "You haven't got a friend who share it with you?, have you? It wd only be 17/6 a week each then." I thought hard, & finally thought of Duncan so I said I wd see what I could do, tore down to the London School of Economics to see the boy or leave a note for him, & then back to the square to look for a single room in case he couldn't come & found a very good one I could probably have for 20/- when the proprietress got back from the South of France. So far so good — I went back to S. Kensington & informed McG that I would be leaving tomorrow. But he was a bit incredulous, as I had told him the same yarn for about a week (Henning went to Paris at the beginning of the week & McG filled his place in the bed, though he was not such a gentleman about the bedclothes as Henning) both night & morning. Duncan didn't get the note till the next day, & in the meanwhile spent several hours carting all his books (& he brought hundreds) up th what seemed like 1000 steps to me together with his clothes & trunks; at the same time informing his landlady that he was quite pleased with the place & would probably be staying perman- ently. When I went round to see him next night he wasn't in, having gone round to see me, but she told me she thought he was a very nice kid, & we stood on the doorstep & mutually sang his praises, ode & epode, till a quite late hour. It was a different story next day. I finally got hold of the lad on Saturday & brought him round here in the afternoon; I had spent the morning going down to Southwark & inspecting a 9/- room there which could by cleaned up for me in two or three days, & which on the score of cheapness I was inclined to take, though the house itself & the general environment was pretty dirty. Gas, no bathroom, only one tap down in the yard. The place was big enough, & could have been made quite attractive with some toil, but gas both for light & cooking wd probably have come to a fair amount, plus at least 1/- a week for Tube, Toob, or Chube; while the absence of a bath certainly irked me. although as the friend of the owner who took me there explained; there was a public bathing establishment not far away. But after Brunswick Square I still felt a bit repelled. So I said I would let her know if I wanted it, as usual, & decided that if Duncan fancied a joint ménage I would go in for that. And on bringing him round, he appeared pleasantly surprised, & after some inward communing, we paid £1 deposit & the deal was fixed. He said I would have to help him shift his books etc & I consented quite amiably, indeed with enthusiasm, not knowing what I was doing. That being Saturday, we agreed to move in on Sunday & got the business done. So I threw myself & baggage into a taxi (one thing that is fairly cheap here) & went round. Then Duncan came round & we walked back to his place right along the Edgeware Rd. Well his land- lady had turned snarky & said he ought to have given her a week's notice etc etc; tried to do him out of 10 bob & glared every time he passed — my word! I've never known a more rapid change-over, not even Brookie with me. But that was the least of his troubles. I'm coming to the conclusion that I travelled lighter than most people on that boat; likewise that D. travelled as heavy as anyone bar the Berry push, who had a stack of luggage as high as a house. By gosh! he had two enormous boxes, one of which was hard to move when it was empty, & impossible when it was full; both of them full of books, we had to empty his drawers, where he had put some of the books; carry down the boxes or trunks or cases whatever they were; carry down the books; stack some in the cases, & some loose in a taxi; get the boxes onto the taxi; get everything off at the other end, unpack & carry up numerous other stairs (we are right on the top of this house) & finally carry up what trunks we wanted. Well, I don't know which is the greater nuisance — having to bother with all his stuff, or having the lost feeling which I have when I think of all the books I've left at home & would like to see & feel around you me; let alone read. On the whole I think its better to have the books if you can get a friend who's mug enough to help you cart them from Cromwell Rd to B. Sq: from Oxford St where D. lived to B.S; back again empty; return journey full; & then after we had had some lunch (at 3 in the afternoon) from St. Pancras here with the final load, my green cabin-trunk. Luckily we were able to carry this up the stairs without unpacking it. These houses weren't built for convenience. Four stories, most of them, very narrow, steep, winding stairs & no method of getting anything anywhere except by climbing. They were built in the days when a slavey's services were to be had for a song — 125 years old this one is. Well, my heart's bled for some of the old women who've opened the door me on my adventures & led me up to the top-room. They earn their money. The houses aren't very handsome either, though from some aspects they have a certain dignity — it's the square that makes them — the lawn & the trees in the middle. Our square has according to Miss Hawkins the finest tree in Lon- don; which statement I'm prepared to believe but not to back with my authority till I've seen all the rest. It's certainly a very fine tree, although its species is unknown to me. In summer they play lawn-tennis on the grass, I hear; the place is closed in the winter, but all the houses in the square have keys. That's the tragedy about this place — none of these squares are is? private public; property & this one has just been sold together with all the land & houses around it, for a million or so. All the trees are to go as soon as the new owners take possession, unless a miracle happens first; & more of these uniform houses erected on the ruins. Its a darned shame, to put it so mildly as not to bring a blush even to Auntie's cheek — well, to look at the square now & imagine the place in two or three years time makes me feel quite sick. But the destroyers can't enter on possession for at least a year yet. You would think with a city built like this one that something could be done, to stop further congestion right in the heart of it. Give me the good old haughty landed aristocracy rather than this buy & chop commercial gang which runs the country now.

Well, from the foregoing you can see what sort of a place the place is. We have two beds, one of which, a big affair occupied by me, swings back up to the wall by day. The other is a stretcher affair that doesn't occupy much room. Also a sofa, covered during the day by my rug, which at night covers me. Also two fairly satisfactory armchairs & three small chairs. Likewise a table with two extensions that drop down at the side when not required. Likewise a chest of drawers. Likewise a marble-topped sort of table for washing up on, the repose of shaving materials etc. A book shelf case, divided ½ & ½ between us. A gas fire with a burner at the side for our cattle. A Two cupboards for clothes just outside the door. In one of them the gas-meter — one of those bob in the slot things invented expressly for the purpose of diddling coves like us, I suppose. Bathroom just across the landing. Green carpet rather the worse for wear, but not so bad if you arrange the furniture diplomatically. Market-basket which we use for waste-paper. Two big windows; curtains to match sofa (when denuded of my rug & one armchair. My books are on the two top shelves of the book-case; Duncan's on e the two lower; four big stacks of his also on the chest of drawers; others in his cabin-trunk under the bed; others in another trunk beneath one of the windows. The rest in suitcases behind the sofa. However if he provides all the literature, or most, I provide all the pictures. By gum! I was annoyed about them; the glass of Daddy's photo smashed to smithereens, likewise that of one of the Corot's. Your two pictures came though all right, except for one wee little crack in the extreme lower right hand corner of the big one; which wd seem to argue some superior virtue in yourself which can make your presentment so immune. I think Horace, as translated by numerous English poets has something on the subject — innocence & virtue among raging wolves, or something to that effect. Then there was a crack right across the middle of that little watercolour Mrs. Mansfield gave me. And as I have four or five other things to frame, including my Japanese prints, the whole thing will cost me a fair bill. But the walls will be all the better for it; they are pretty bare at present. Thank Heaven they are also pretty clean!

Wednesday 13th I continue between tea and going to a Prom. This is the last week of the Proms & I am accordingly having a week out. I forget what exactly I was talking about, but gather it was the virtues of the Room; though I think I had just about finished discussing them. Did I mention the presence as ornaments or lumber on various mantelpieces & other projecting ledges our trophies of the trip? — my candlestick etc, little brass bowl from Colombo; & a black elephant whose tusks came off on the sea- voyage, won by Duncan for something? I added to the orna- ments yesterday by the purchase of a chastely hortatory card at a shop run by religious ladies, inscribed thus (underlined words in red): "The Beauty of the House is Order: The Blessing of the house is Contentment: The Glory of the house is Hospitality: The Crown of the house Hospitality Godliness". This cost 4d; & Duncan demurred a bit at having to contribute 2d towards the promulgation of such sentiments, but by perseverance & cheer- ful reasoning I got him to see the light; anyhow he put it down in the account book. I do most of the marketing, & am already a pretty dab hand at marking down the cheap shops in the Holborn district; he keeps the accounts, on the score that he is thinking of taking a course of lectures in currency & banking. We thus split up the work & household expenses pretty equally; though as I had tea home tonight & he had his out I stand to have half my tea payed for by him. In other things where it is less easy to weigh up expenses we practice an enlightened communism — viz. I use his boot-polish. Under these conditions, & as we don't see each other all day, we reckon that we can go on for a fair whole without having a row. It will be a bit awkward if we do with all this impedimenta to shift, especially as we have now a quantity of household crockery, a kettle, glass jug, knives & spoons etc added to it. The acquis- ition of these cost me a weary trek all down the Edgeware Road to Woolworth's, in the rain moreover, & made me miss a lecture I wanted to go to by Pollard. However I don't suppose he could tell a bloke like me anything new.

That brings me on to the question of work. I haven't done any yet; although I have at last succeeded in tracking down somebody useful. I got hold of Foster the Provost & handed over Mr Jellies' letter; but it was right in the middle of the rush at the beginning of the term, so I just got pushed through & registered like any other student. I am hanging on to the other letter for Seton the Sec. of Univ College till things quieten down a bit, when I hope he will have the decency to ask me round to afternoon tea. We feel a bit starved now even on three pretty good meals a day, after the Osterley orgies so we naturally regard all our letters of introduction in the light of possible meals. Then I had a look over the Institute of Historical Research; which however I think I mentioned before. If I didn't, I found it good. Then after several failures I managed to run down Pollard, who is a great man, & chat to him a couple of times, with the result that I shall probably be working with under him on political theory of some sort. I think the idea of sovereignity, if that conveys anything to you. (It probably won't be a book you will be able to plough through — about twice as heavy as Gibbon, & you couldn't even do his first chapter). Polland reckons that would be far more broadening to the mind that working on NZ history. At the same time I don't exactly fall in with his idea of the exact scope of the thesis — but that is still pretty much up in the air. Well, I must get off to my Prom.

10.30 Well, I've been on the 7th Heaven — the London pavements were like air beneath me as I walked home, & they glistened like silver; the trees in the squares as I turned the corner were the abode of magic; the street-lights sang to the policemen underneath then & I positively looked for a pavement- artist to give my last penny to. (I found one too, though it was after ten) So I threw my coat & hat on the floor & said to Duncan let's have some cocoa to celebrate! So the water is now getting hot. He said I heard a hummer lecture from Laski today on sovereignty, so I brought my notes home for you to see. And I am now quite broke & will have to borrow 2d from the boy to get down to the Bank tomorrow morning to cash a cheque for myself — or walk, & it is a darn long way. Bach, Handel, Mozart — you can't beat 'em; I wouldn't give two damns for anyone else. I actually went to the extent of scratching out a poem in the interval. Well, well, this life will do me for a while. Glory be to God in the highest! You never heard anything like the Bach fiddle concerts! & played like by Jelly d'Aranyi like a flaming angel. While the Handel 12th concert! My oath!

10.45. Have made cocoa. I could have fought Jack Dempsey: I could have knocked out Gene Tunney. I could have walked over a bus. Luckily all the buses got out of the way.

Thursday 14th To get things finished up to date; I am now struck by spasms of doubt about my thesis, & am inclined to go back to NZ after all. Harrop's book is out & I have just bought it, but he doesn't touch most of the stuff I have been working up. I think I'll chat to one or two more blokes before deciding. NZ is a bit parochial — the only thing is that I know the ground pretty well. However by the time you get this I suppose everything will be fixed. As a matter of fact, it is a darned nuisance having to do any work at all; all I want to do is to sit down & read, history or otherwise & get up & travel. About all I have done so far is to inspect the bookshops, famous & other- wise. I'm not so charmed by the 2nd hand ones as I thought I would be so I can't have the true collector's spirit. I like my books clean. J.E. Bumpus I patronise mostly, & am getting on pretty fair terms with them. But I have nosed round most of the celebrated joints — Bu Dobell etc.

I gathered from some hierogliphics on Keith's parcel for Frannie, that her birthday was on the 10th & posted same to reach her as near then as might be, though the 10th was a Sunday. I had sent also a bit of a book to the girl on my own account being anxious to make a good impression as sole representative of the family, bar Keithles. But apparently such was not needed — my fame had gone before. I got a note from Mrs. J. by return post — they were ashamed they hadn't welcomed me to the country before, but didn't know how to get a letter to me etc etc. Would I come & make my- self at home at their place as soon as I could? how about Xmas? I gathered from what she said ("Dear Jack" she said, which is a bit familiar "I feel as though I have known you for the past two years", & went on to say what a fine feller I was) that the main occupation of Keithles when he was around at the Johnsons & not singing his own praises to Frannie was singing mine to the family in general. This is very gratifying; it just goes to show the influence for good a single high-souled cove can have on his brother, when a rough like Keithles displays such gratitude for his the early opportunities he enjoyed of association with me.

I wrote to Auntie Jeanne also announced my advents as she didn't seem inclined to write to me on the welcom- ing stint — wasn't there some row when Alan was here about his writing first business? — & invited myself down for the weekend. So that's all right.

I got your letter this morning (dated Sept 12th to be precise) received same with much enthusiasm & noted all points therein contained with interest. As a matter of fact, I went out & bought Earlham on the strength of Daddy's praise of it. By gum! it's a joy buying books for the net price; though even then you growl at it. What's this gag of Daddy's about Davies' Later Days? He says he'll be glad to have it if I don't want to do anything else with it. What does he think I am? — a benevolent institution for the maintenance of the libraries of hard-up bookmen?— Birth Xmas present from my young brother Ern too. I'm prepared to sell it to him for a lot more than Ern gave for it. By the way I suppose it's a bit late to wish Ern luck in his final BA., but I dare say he will have done his best all the same to live up to the great traditions of the family, as laid down by me & a bit wrecked by Keithles.

It's a pity I'm not home; I could give Keithles a lot of advice on how to manage a dog. I remember I read a series of articles in the B.O.P. by Dr. Gordon Stables on the subject about 18 years ago, which added to my own original experience makes me a good deal of an authority. But I don't know that it's much use my giving any advice from this distance, unless I cable it; by the time you get this letter, the dog will probably be dead. But what Keithles particularly wants to look out for, is to keep the dog well in hand, in case it is inclined to bite the hand that fed it. Likewise to buy a dog-license. Also keep Auntie off the dog, or she will be making it sick in her well-known matter. Also to keep Willie the Cat from eating the dog in mistake for a meal one of these days in absence of mind. By the way, you don't say what the dog's name is. I am prepared to supply a list of suitable names on application, accompanied by stamped addressed envelope & remittance. All cheques to be crossed.

I don't know about that thing of Mrs. Moore's, darn it. It was stuck in a Manchester Guardian Weekly on my table at coll. to keep it from getting dirty or crumpled up; I certainly didn't bring it away. Ern had better go in & see if the M.Gs are still in existence though it's a bit late now. I'll write to the old girl with apologies etc — though the darn thing isn't of any real importance, & if I ever get another (which is extremely unlikely she shall have it) All the more reason for putting the stuff into the Turnbull. Sorry to give you all this bother. I see by a file of F.h's in the High Commis that Geddis has been printing a bit of Capt Moore's autobiography, or rather his boiling down of same, which is a hopeless trav esty of the original.

In answer to your question re McG. — all the people at our table had scholarships, bar Whinfield, & he didn't need one — he could hold his end up against anyone. Sorry that Auntie had to be laid aside for a while. A fat lot of good any of these darn quacks are. My face is all right & wd. have been so years ago if any of them had had the gumption to suggest shaving in the other direction. Didn't I tell you I fixed the business myself — flesh-pots or no flesh-pots. — Bickerton has a neck to growl at may not writing to him — that post card's the first thing I've had from him for a year or 18 months. What was the use of writing to him after he'd left Japan? I wrote just after before I got those prints to say I'd meet him in London & the cow goes & hops back to Japan before I get here. He couldn't stand Eng- land, according to Fortune, who seemed desperately anxious to see me again, in spite of his low opinion of my general capacity & culture. I saw him & had a look over part of the Tate Gallery with him one day, & lunch & a bit of a yarn in an ABC shop.

By the way will you post me my Old Clay Patch? I forgot to bring it with me.

Also I forgot to mention that one of the advantages of this place is that it's very handy to (a) Univ. College (b) Inst of Hist Res. (c) Br Museum (d) London School of Econ (e) Queen's Hall (f) things & places generally.

Please thank Mr Hooper for his note & Fabian News. Duncan is writing for two season tickets for the lectures noted therein tonight.

Tuesday Oct 19th final burst: Well, I spent the weekend at Popplestones Trimley with my aunt & uncle & cousins male & female; and apparently in one way I was a great success — anyhow I was not quite quick enough in making my getaway & I'm blowed if Auntie Jeanne didn't hang round my neck & kiss me. Which I judge, on so short an acquaintance, was taking a decided liberty. However I got four or five meals out of them, plus a pot of chutney & a bit of cake to bring back, so perhaps it was cheap at that price. Auntie J. doesn't seem too bad, although she talks a good deal on a large variety of subjects which didn't interest me a great deal. She's very much smaller than I judged she would be from her handwriting, if that's any guide. Pressed me to come again soon & write to her often. Keithles seems to have been blowing my trumpet down there too; they all seemed to have a terrific admiration for me before even I turned up; & I gathered it was all through his emphasising what a fine feller I was. It was a pity I couldn't say the same thing truthfully for him; so not wanting to let him down too hard, I didn't say anything about him at all. Uncle George I liked very much; he took me down to his studio & showed me a lot of stuff — some snorter little landscape sketches, which I like a lot better than his big stuff, & some good portraits. He is doing a stunner pair of Berrie & Brian, though Berrie's improves her a bit. He said he would do a sketch of me some time. I had some very agreeable converse with him. Berrie is very decent too; although to be sure, as Keithles said, she doesn't dress too well, even if it's largely because she can't afford it. She has a good cheerful face though. Brian met me at the station, a gawky bloke much in need of his annual shave. He had his annual shave next morning & emerged quite a little gentleman, though it was a bit hard talking to him. He took me for a stroll on Saturday afternoon down to the beach & Felixstowe way, where I explored one of those old Martello towers & saw a mob of harriers toiling across country in the old familiar way; including the usual lad with the stitch staggering painfully in the rear & having to shut all the gates. The tower was an interesting place & would be put to good use by Trampers if existing in NZ. Then on Sunday morning we saw a dead branch off an oak tree & started to saw some up; but just as I was really getting warned up to the business Uncle G & B got fed up & as it was a cross-cut saw I had to leave off. First time I'd really exerted myself since leaving home. If you omit moving D's books. Then in the afternoon I walked back from the studio to Trimley so rapidly that I walked right past the place & had to come back to it a good long way. You can see it doesn't stand out very prominently.

Berrie has done some good Christmas cards & calendars etc which a London firm is publishing. I ordered 10/ bob's worth, so you will see some of them in due course. I asked why she & Uncle George didn't send more stuff out to NZ, especially at Xmas. The trouble apparently is that they send out stuff & that's the last they hear of it, & they gather that there's no possible sale for it. They haven't heard a word from the Paterson's about the last lot, much less got any cash, & had come to the conclusion that the only thing sold out of the whole lot was the stuff you & Daddy bought. So Berrie was quite pleasantly surprised to get only those back that I brought. I said Why don't you write out to Uncle Alec & stir him up about a cheque? But apparently they don't like stirring up relations I said By gosh! I wouldn't have any hesitation! & said I wd put in the boot. Berrie also said that now she knew some- thing actually had been sold she wd write also. The only word they had heard about the stuff sent out last Xmas was in one of your letters. So Uncle Alec hardly seems to be one of the monarchs of modern business. You might stir things up a bit, if you can do so tactfully. They said everybody had the same experience with NZ — another cove they knew sent some stuff to Auckland which was all sold & wdn't have got a penny if it hadn't been for a cobber on the spot. I told them they ought to try Eatons, but they never heard of them.

The house is very nice, & fits the landscape very well — looks a couple of hundred years old, though hardly two. It looks very small from the outside, but when you get inside has an astonishing amount of room. Some jolly good pictures by Uncle George. Also a very excellent small dog, indefatigable in chasing stones you throw away for it — in fact a good deal more indefatigable than any one could be in throwing the darn things for him. One of these automatically wagging tails. In fact they seemed a pretty good family all round; if you can forgive such errors in taste as kissing a man after knowing him for a day & a half. I don't go much on their meal system, though — the plan is to break tea up into two sections, one farthing little thing about ½ past 4 in the afternoon, another sort of supper. Give me one good boy in about 6 and I'm jake or I can stand afternoon tea as well, as on the Osterley; but I can't stand this messing around.

Well, I think that's brought everything up to date. I had a note from Frannie the other day — she writes in a funny way; starts off familiarly (too darn familiarly) Dear Jack & finishes up Yrs sincerely F.F. Johnson. She is coming down to London & I am to meet her this afternoon, & give her afternnon tea I suppose. My busy day too but as it's a matter of backing up Keithles' efforts I suppose I'll have to do my best.

I enclose some snaps, nearly all mine. The few I mark D were taken by Duncan. I didn't take any at a good many of places where McG & Henning were on the warpath but when I can get hold of their films I shall send you out a few to fill up the gaps. I haven't seen any- thing really decent of me yet. I send also two or three Osterley menus & a pamphlet on the Foundling Hospital destruction with some photos of Brunswick Square — we're all marked down for destruction together.