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P. Beazley Glengariff, Rudgrave Square, Egremont, Cheshire 17 th July, 1916. My dearest Pierce, Though impatient to write to you, I have de—
layed answering your letter, first in order, as you sug—
gested, that I might get more news about friends, and
secondly, not to leave too much time between the
receipt of this and the answer to your next letter, which
we hope to receive in September. I need not assure you
that mother and I have been thinking of you every day
and every hour of the day and praying that God may con—
tinue to give you good health and all the happiness
that can be attained under the conditions. Your letter
was a great pleasure and comfort to us, for, besides giv—
ing us the most welcome intelligence that your health
was good, it was written in a spirit which showed that
you were bearing your lot with fortitude. It was a
great consolation too to know that you are so well
provided for spiritually and intellectually and that the
food is good and the work not too hard. It was very
kind of the Bishop to pay the visit. From what I hear,
he is a man of high capacity and good presence. I have
had letters at various times from his brother who is
a medical doctor in Plymouth. It is a blessing too that
you find the chaplain to be, as you say, a charming man.
A kind disposition is like a perpetual ray of sunshine.
I have not yet taken my holidays and probably will not do so
till next month. I had resolved to go and see you, but after
having carefully considered what you said in your letter, I
decided that it is best to be content with writing to you.
It is better that you should be able to write the extra
letter. One could not say very much during a visit of
twenty minutes. I am exceedingly glad that there is such
a good library, but I would utter a word of caution against 2 anything like hard study. When one has manual work
to do tis well not to tax the brain heavily, but
light intellectual work is beneficial. If you are going
through the Iliad you will find it a delight, especially
if there is an edition with good notes. Anthon's, though
not at all critical, is very useful through saving the trouble
of a dictionary in the earlier books. Knowing Latin and
French, you will find Italian and Spanish quite easy. Dante
is as interesting as Homer and as difficult to interpret.
You will, I am sure, be glad to know that the number of
friends who have been enquiring about you and desire
to be remembered affectionately to you is very large.
Father James, in letters I have had from him, has shown
that he is most anxious to hear as often as possible how
you are. His letters of enquiry are extremely kind. He
has just been at the annual Clerical Retreat in Killarney.
He has not yet told me when or where he is going on his
holidays. Since I wrote this I have had a letter from him
in which he says he is going to Bray on the 23rd He wants
me to go there also for my holidays. I may be able to ar
range to go there about the 29th. The only drawback is
that mother will not be able to come, but she is, thank God,
in very good health and insists that I must go. Father
James has sent a card for you which I enclose, hoping you
may be allowed to receive it. He says a number of relatives
and other friends asked to be remembered to you. With his
letter came one from Mr. J.J. O'Kelly. His expressions of regard
for you are most warm—hearted. He has not yet had an
opportunity of reading your novel, but he hopes to have
time to do so soon and that it may be possible to pub
lish it. He enclosed a note from Mr. Foley who writes:
'When writing to Liverpool do not fail to say how delighted
we all are about our devoted P.B. Let him be told that
his friends at the Bailey are always asking me for items
about him and that they want their kindest regards to be 3 conveyed.' Both Mr. O'Kelly and Mr. Foley are anxious to send
books but I shall tell them they are not permitted. I think I told
you in my last letter that Mr. O'Kelly said (in a previous letter)
that good care should be taken of your manuscripts. You will
be sorry, he says, to hear that the mothers of Padraig O'Maille and
Owen O'Brien died recently. He adds that John O'Keeffe is no longer
staying with the old lady in Prince's street and has started in bus
iness for himself. Michael Murphy called on me the other day. He
said Nellie, Norah, and Kitty desired to be warmly remembered to you.
Norah has finished her first year at Hull. He said they were com
ing to see us in a few days, but they have not come yet. John
Smyth often talks about you and wishes me to send his kind
est remembrances; also Mrs. McLoughlin. Her daughter is now
married and happy. I met Dr Niven in Dale Street a week ago.
He made kind enquiries about you. His daughters, he told me, have
grown into young women. Annie, the younger, is studying
medicine and will, no doubt, be helpful to him when she is
qualified as a doctor. I have put off mentioning Langford
as we have been expecting him to arrive for his holidays to
day. I have, however, had a letter from him just now, saying
business will not allow him to come for another week. He
mentions you affectionately in every letter. In answer to
your enquiry about the books of the Irish Journalists' Asso
ciation, for which you were Secretary, he says : 'The building
was partially damaged during the Dublin trouble, but the
Association has all the books and records and nothing
needs clearing up.' He adds that Jack Clancy is in Dublin
but he does not know whether Maud is in Dublin,
London or Timbuctoo. Now I am drawing to a close as I
am leaving the next page to mother. Let me assure you
again, though I know it is not necessary, that we think
of you continually and pray that God may bless and comfort
you. Mother, Langford and myself are all, thank God, in ex
cellent health. We earnestly hope that your health and spirits
continue good and that we shall all be well when we meet again.
With fondest love from all three & from many friends
I remain ever affectionately Father.