Letter from Edward Thomas to his wife, Helen Thomas. Archival reference: 424/1/1/1/1/155
Lincoln College

11.iii.1900

My dearest Friend,
Holy Scripture occupied three hours of
yesterday morning : the result will be out next
Friday, after the viva voce examination. I did
far better than last time and avoided a secular
tone - used 'Our Lord' in every other line
and only once lapsed into a sentence like this: 'In
the trial before Felix of S. Paul, Tertullus appeared
for the prosecution'. I am glad it is over.
Examination is the thief of time for ten days
I have done no real study at all. This week
also I fear I shall do little. I have much
packing to do. My pictures, my more
valuable books, must be carefully packed for
transit to my lodgings. In fact, I must
somehow get some packing cases, though
I possess only 3 1/2 d and The Review of the Week

I take tea with Curran and a friend of his, a
wealthy, sane, pure hearted, great experienced
Roman Catholic New Zealander, who remains
uncorrupted tho {sic} not aloof in Pembroke, which
is probably the foulest College in
Oxford, full of venereal disease + delirium
tremens, tho {sic} it is the smallest College + at the
same time very high up on the River. Then
will come an hours' reading - or - too delightful
thoughts - writing : then Hale: then
spend the evening with Maine + Scotch whisky or
'my blood', Creme de Menthe the mysterious
liqueur of everchanging colours.
Tell mother I will send as many
Bottels {sic} as possible tomorrow, i.e. two or
three.
I hope I shall get money soon to pay
my fare.
Goodbye now! Kiss Philip Merfyn
for me many times. My own sweet little one,
Adieu. I am yours and wholly your Edward.
You must not say your figure has changed.
Goodbye!,

has not paid for the 'Caryatids' tho {sic} it has
accepted a second paper; the Atlantic Monthly
may delay very long; Literature + The Speaker
are deaf to my inquiries. Besides packing,
I feel a need or craving for dissipation,
until it is certain whether I am through Holy
Scripture. Even now 'much brandy doth turn
me to drunkenness' as Scripture says - tho {sic}
it is but the third hour. You see how the
scriptural phrases cling to me! In spite of the
absurd system of examination this watching +
praying may have done me good; at any rate I know
a little more of the literary beauty of the new testament.
The system however has so sickened me that by
my utterances I have gained notoriety as a
reckless blasphemer. I have formulated two new
heresies on material + perhaps obscene
foundations. In fact the most immoral fellows
are shocked by my audacity in dealing with
the Illustrious, Enigmatic Trinity. This I {illegible}
{illegible} out of, if only because it is so easy + so
liable to shock amiable people. It is as easy
as the perversions {illegible} by Haynes + others:
A Miss is better than a Mrs:
In the midst of life we are in debt:
And only
Enough is as bad as a feast.
I shall remedy this in part in the coming Vacation
with you + Philip Merfyn + Haynes. I
look eagerly forward to Saturday tho {sic} of course my
first business is work, if possible bed at
11, up at 7. Be careful that you are down
to receive your parcel - for it might be
addressed merely to Mrs Thomas. (I am still
unable to guess at Mrs Potterbury's meaning, tho {sic)
I thought I was wonderfully well versed in sexual
matters considering my inexperience :- I mean
I can talk with all the learning of Haynes on the
great subjects, the eternal comedy of apple,
tempter + figleaf -
In a few minutes I must be off. At 4