T
[Collection St. John’s College, Cambridge University]
TO MARY LOUISE ASWELL
[New York]
February 29, 1952
Darling:
I wrote to Paris and I hope you got the letter before leaving for Rome. Jack told me that he wrote you the other day; at least, amid all the confusion we are trying to keep up our end of the correspondence: see that you do. And, by the way, when you see the Princess, talk up Jack to her as I’m trying to get him to send her that story THE FAR COUNTRY. Just for the hell of it Jack wrote a sort of superior thriller script for television and it turned out wonderfully well—I think. Don’t know what Audrey [Wood] is doing with it, though.
Hope most of your editorial labors are over and you can have a real rest now. Sounds so wonderful—your coming stay in Capri. Maybe you can convince Tony et al to make a quick whirl to Taormina. Am working day and night to protect your investment, dear. Everything seems to be going quite well (which may or may not be ominous). But, anyway, Virgil’s music is ravishing and so is Cecil’s contribution. I do so wish you were going to be here, dear.
Jack’s book has been postponed again and now comes out the 24th of March. Jane comes round to see us quite a lot, but I keep falling asleep because she stays so late and I am so tired. Wrote a little piece for the Bazaar about Garbo and Dick Avedon has taken a startling and fantastic photograph of Virgil, Cecil and me. Virgil and I look like two little owls and Cecil, in a black bowler hat, is leaning above us like a terribly hungry hawk. Am writing Pearl today, there having been long silence on both sides, though in her last letter she told me she was getting quite fed up with Rio.
Mrs. [W. Murray] Crane gave a most elegant dinner party last Wednesday night in honor of Dylan Thomas to which I was invited but, alas, could not go—and I really mean alas from a most hysterically funny account of it.223 It seems that Mrs. Thomas, in a rage of some sort, suddenly picked up Mrs. Crane’s two Ming vases, crashed them to the floor with flowers and water spilling all over everything. Whereupon Mr. Thomas, quite drunk himself, knocked her to the floor—loosening four of her teeth and splitting her lip—and then proceeded to kick her in the stomach until she passed out. Whereupon Lolly H. and Louise [Crane], with great cries of distress and sympathy, tried to bring Mrs. Thomas to. At this point Mr. Thomas said to Louise who was bending over the prostrated Mrs. Thomas: “What the hell are you crying over her for? You need just what she got. What you need is a kick in the butt.” Whereupon he kicked Louise and sent her sprawling across the floor. Poor Mrs. Crane retired in a state of considerable shock to her bedroom, and that old butler and the maid managed to get Mr. and Mrs. Thomas out to the vestibule; then—and this is my favorite part—Mr. Thomas came back into the drawing room and very politely asked Louise and the company in general, could somebody loan him $2 because he didn’t have the money for a taxi! All of this happened in front of the following: Edmond [Edmund] Wilson and his wife, Virgil, Mrs. Otto Kahn, and poor Lady Ribblesdale.
Do write me a long letter, dear, with lots of gossip and news of everybody in Rome. My love to everyone there and a thousand kisses, precious.
[Collection Aswell Family]
TO ANDREW LYNDON
[Tour de Villebon]
[Meudon, France]
[Early April 1952]
Darling Magnolia—
The boatride was revolting—such big waves, such big boring passengers; but now I am feeling fairly rested and calm—staying in the country a few miles from Paris. We are leaving for Rome Wednesday—I think by car: I’ve been persuaded to buy a little Renault car on the grounds that I can resell it and thereby save money (better not look too deeply into this)—only hitch is Jack can’t drive and I haven’t touched a car in 7 or 8 years. It’s all rather frightening—when and if we ever reach Rome I hope there will be a letter from you at the Am. Express.
Have heard not a word from the Martin Beck set—so do not know what is happening there.224
Darling, I hope everything goes well. This is just a note to tell you that I am all right, that I love you with all my heart and miss you.
Your own
T
[Collection New York Public Library]
TO MARY LOUISE ASWELL
Rome May 12 1952
Precious darling Marylou,
How outrageously overdue this letter is; but we only just arrived in Rome after a huge delay in Paris due to my having the flu and etc. I was miserable when your cable came saying that you had to stay in London … actually, we would have come to London to see you except that we had nowhere to leave Kelly and they won’t let him on their blessed soil.225
Darling, you have no idea what those last two months in N.Y. were like for me … I was really off my rocker with exhaustion and that is why you never heard from me. Well, the play closed last week; we had so much working against us and there is no use going into it now. But I’m deeply sorry that you did not see it, for really it was absolutely beautiful, the sets, the music, everything. And of course I’m sorry that you lost your money … poor darling, very sorry. But maybe I will make it up to you.
It is awful that you are not going to be with us in Italy as we planned; I feel like scolding you … but on the other hand I do understand.
I’m afraid that we are going to miss [Princess Marguerite] Caetani (which reminds me, bless you for your opening night cable) because I have called her but there is no answer and I expect we will be leaving tomorrow or next day. But I will send her a telegram tonight. I’m not quite sure where we are going … we are going to look over a place called Cape Palinuro and if we like it stay there … if not, probably we will go to Taormina.
I am going to work on some stories and I hope a new play.
Jack just came in and says he LOVES you. He just today got your letter (forwarded from New York) and he says it was a sweet letter and that he is going to write in the next few days. Perhaps it will be he who sends you our permanent address.
I cannot at the moment think of much New York news. Newton is going to Harvard next year to replace Matthiesen [F. O. Matthiessen]226 … I know you will be glad to hear that. A strange thing happened just before we left … someone, and it must have been Pearl, tried to call me from Rio, but after a long delay the opeartor [sic] finally said the call had been cancelled. M. Young just called (she is in the same hotel, Lord save us) and said give you her love and tell you Caetani took the chapter.
Darling, write me as soon as you know where to write me. Meanwhile, I love you with all my heart
T
[Collection Aswell Family]
TO LEO LERMAN
Taormina, Sicily
June 16, 1952
Myrt dear—
Poor baby—all that you have suffered: and I didn’t even know it; but I hope all that is behind you now. I hate to horn in on your misery, but have been a little the worse for wear myself—I have three different ailments going simultaneously, one of which put me in the hospital briefly (can you imagine what a Sicilian hospital is like?), but I’m getting a grip on myself because I’m afraid I haven’t any alternative.
Darling, I’m very excited about the possibility of you and Gray coming to Italy in the Fall. We could meet in Venice—I would love to see the two of you in Venice: how happy both of you would be!
I don’t know any news from anywhere—except I heard that Newton had been appointed to Harvard. But I never see a soul, and my new house (or hotel) is much too far away on the mountain for anyone to walk to. I guess I told you that I bought a little car, and that is pleasant because we can visit all sorts of strange places we never could have gone before.
My various complaints have set me back so far as work goes, but I still hope to have accomplished several things before the summer is over.
I am delighted that Gray is doing the albums for Columbia;227 I hope he makes a fortune. I can’t wait for the two of you to come over here.228
Jack is working on a book—he is very mysterious about it.
Kelly has a girl friend—an awful mongrel really, not at all a suitable match, still I shall not
