At Craig y Mor
Newport
Sat Aug 22nd 1914
My dear Mother
Thank you so much for your letter. I am returning George’s postcard, which we were glad to get. It is so nice to know where he is, and also that our letters reached him. He seems to be very busy indeed; I wonder how long they will stay at St Albans.
Thank you also for sending in my report, which rather surprised me – Miss Michael let me off very leniently! I should very much like to know what Miss Hamilton thinks she means by her remarks, they struck me as so vague.
I see in the papers that 800 English tourists will return from Switzerland on Sunday. I wonder whether Miss Grierson will be among them. I wrote to her a couple of days ago to Godalming, “to wait return”, so she will let me know I expect when she does get back.
We had a postcard from Arthur yesterday, at Southampton. They were to cross that afternoon, he wrote; he did not know to what port. I should think that their base hospital might be at Dunkirk or Ostend or some such place. Anyway, he does not seem at all likely to be sent to a field hospital, so I think Mary may really feel fairly happy about him, though I fear from all accounts she is worrying too much about him.
Mr & Mrs Williams came back here yesterday evening and had evidently much enjoyed their visit. Mr Williams presented us with a rabbit he had shot.
It will be nice to see Mela when we get back. I wonder how many days it will be before Cyril hears. I suppose he will most likely be gone before we come back; it would be “a bit of all right” if we saw him before he went.
Punch is awfully good isn’t it this week? Did you see the little paragraph about the extract from Queen Victoria’s diary – Vicky and the Wasps’ nest? I thought it was one of the nicest things in it!
Today we had planned to cycle to Cardigan, taking lunch and eating it on the way, and have tea also in Cardigan, but as usual being Saturday, it is raining, not very hard, but we have had to give it up; perhaps we may go on Monday instead. Last Thursday Vera Jones asked me to go to tea there, and Kath and I cycled over to Moylgrove; it is a pretty little place and we quite enjoyed the ride there and back. We liked Mrs Jones so much, and Vera’s brother was nice too; it is rather funny he is in all probability going to Brecon after Christmas. We shall ask the Joneses to our big picnic on Tuesday.
I love sleeping in your room, it is so nice to watch the sea in the mornings, it is very pretty now with the high tides.
Father must have been delighted to see you back again. I quite want to get back now in several ways, though I shall be sorry to leave the sea. It will be nice to see home again, and here we are out so much all day that I feel I have absolutely done nothing.
I am feeling very chock full of newspapers again, so much so that I am going to take a day’s rest only reading the headlines and hearing the extracts the others read out; I had to do that once before, and it was most refreshing and cleared my brain ready to sit down and read the whole of The Times next day! It will be very nice to get The Times on the day of issue again next week instead of a day late as we have it here; The Western Mail is such a rag, and except for the official part, you never like to trust much of it as quite true.
I am sure that the giving up of Brussels is a trap to draw on the Germans; one feels rather sad that they had to do it, but I don’t think it is as bad as it seems on the face of it. I think Kitchener is doing a lot behind the scenes, and I have got tremendous faith in him. And the Russians one feels are a great stand by; the papers were saying how it is a great mistake to grumble at the slowness of the Russian army, they should take Lord Salisbury’s advice and study large scale maps! And if they are not hurried they will do very efficiently when they are ready.
May is going up to The Mount this afternoon to talk to Mrs Williams about who is coming back with us. I wonder who Mrs Williams will send. Beryl is much better now, the irritation has all gone and the spots are drying up; they all seem to get over it very quickly which is one good thing.
I shall have to go and see Evelyn Joyce Carmont Allsebrook when I get back. She won’t be as fascinating as Janet, though. Janet has one tooth right through and another half-way, the other two are still worrying her rather though. Nurse says she never cries out of doors, but does when she is in.
I suppose you had an Intercession service yesterday. May, Kath and I went here at 8 and May and Jack went at 10.30.
Love to all from your ever affectionate daughter
Juliet E Sladden
