Jan 15th 1918
My dear Father
I am expecting another two weeks’ mails today. But I have to send down to post this afternoon, and if I wait till they come in before starting I may not get the letter written at all.
We have had it mostly fine since the storms that I wrote about last week, and the place is quite pleasant for getting about again, and nobody is any the worse for it now. The weather will be liable to collapse occasionally during the next two months or more, but is likely to get steadily finer and warmer in the intervals.
I have been very glad to hear such good reports of the fruit crop, also of your business. There are worries enough these days without the additional one of having ones source of income badly undermined, and at times you must have wondered what was going to happen.
The news we get these days seems to contain more and more peace talk; a month or two back it was all fighting. I am inclined to think that when both sides have had their say this time they will agree to differ for a bit longer, and no more may be heard of it again for a time. Certainly the conditions at the time are good for Germany and bad for us for any negotiations. The various successes which Germany contrived towards the close of the year have made things look at their best for her.
However these preliminaries are probably necessary and will ultimately help in the final settling. The whole situation is so fearfully complicated at present that with only our brief cables it is very hard to get the hang of things at all intelligently.
Please thank May for the letter she sent with yours, designed to reach me at Christmas, though actually I got it late on New Year’s Day.
When you wrote you were hoping to see Mela next week-end. However that visit must have been postponed as I had a letter of later date from Mela in which she said nothing of having got away, and much of being very busy still. I hope she may however have managed to get over to you soon after. She writes to me with the most evident satisfaction at her work, though it was hard, especially by its novelty. I don’t think the amount of work will prove too much for her as it is done under congenial circumstances.
I am in hopes she will be kept in England. I have no prospects of getting home but do not lose sight of the hope that I may yet get leave some day. If so I mean to waste no time at all in getting married.
Later – The mail has brought your letter of Nov 14th, also my rather belated parcel sent by May and Ethel. Please thank them very much. It was most carefully packed, with the result that that it arrived perfectly intact. I shall be able to report later upon the contents.
I am sorry to hear from Mela that she had had to collapse to bed with influenza, and hope it didn’t last. She said it was short and sharp and she was getting better.
Best love to all from
Your affectionate son
Cyril E Sladden
