Letter from Edward Thomas to the poet Gordon Bottomley. Sent from Elses Farm, The Weald, Kent. Archival ref: 424/1/1/1/10/49
The Weald
22.xii.05

My dear Gordon
What is it you reproach me for?
For my prose my manners or my
last letter or what? As for my
prose & that inopportune letter from Swansea
I do apologize. I suspect you really referred to
my Chronicle articles. You could not
reproach me for not writing at once when
your news came. I only once congratulated
a friend & that was because he seemed likely
to turn out an enemy & I could not afford
an enemy just then. In your case,
the printed announcement came as I was
setting out for a walk in Wales and I
thought 'Oh well,Gordon is alright'
and of course it did not occur to me that I had
a duty to perform, & I don't believe it
occurred to you.
I am rather badly off altogether
just now. I am full of reviews & yet
I have made £20 less than usual this
quarter. Also I have been thinking.
Also, Hodder & Stoughton have asked me to
edit a lot of popular natural history in 12
monthly parts & I am going to accept because I
believe it will be discipline - (this is
hypocrisy). Also Fisher Unwin
says he think I am a great man & I must
write him a book. And now two
visitors are descending on us in 2 hours
time for a 5 days stay & when I want
to do some more thinking & gardening.
It may seem odd to you that 5s in cash as
as Christmas present for Merfyn has just proved
most useful to us.
Well then, how can I do more than send
you this book and ask you to forget that
if it is Tennyson & Wales so was Tennyson?
You may like 'Heraclitus'.
Ever yours
Edward Thomas

I am enjoying Midsummer Eve. Last
night the first 4 pages seemed to me
perfect & new.

Will you write 957 words on
Pond Life in January for my natural
history? Pay is 957/1000 of £1:2:6