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Elisina Tyler to Mildred Barnes Bliss, August 14, 1913

Côte d’Or, France

August 14th 1913.Thursday.

Dearest Mildred,

I have to send you the heartfelt thanks of the friendMrs. Curtis. See also letters of August 5, 1913, and August 8, 1913. Elisina Tyler provides Mrs. Curtis's name in her letter of April 21, 1914. of us both who owes you so much larger a share of gratitude. I did tell her that a friend of mine whom she must consider for the time being as a friend of hers had made It possible for me to be of some assistance to her: it went against the grain to appear as having done it all myself. I believe dearest Mildred that such acts of kindness as you so readily accomplished the other day have, besides their immediate value, an infinite number of harmonics; they help to make the world a safer place for some who must really tremble at being alive. We know in our hearts that every man born into the world has a right to as much of the earth’s produce as will keep him alive. Such is the ground meaning of the clumsy ideal “three acres and a cow”The slogan “three acres and a cow,” which was employed by a number of British politicians, was first used by Jesse Collings (1831–1920), mayor of Birmingham, to advocate land reform and to fight rural poverty in England. which is painfully coercible when once you have cast out the memory of all that is fine and quickening in the heritage of mankind.

That problem of the daily bread is one which we have solved in theory, which we are all paying taxes and ratesProperty tax. to solve, and which is yet unsolved because each new day has its root in the darkness of a closing day that preceded it. That bad nomenclaturist, Bernard Shaw,George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), an Irish playwright and a cofounder of the London School of Economics. called it “The Municipalisation of Bread;”See Bernard Shaw, The Commonsense of Municipal Trading (London: A. C. Fifield, 1908).—I brought out the figures in The EnglishwomanElisina Tyler founded and edited The Englishwoman, a feminist monthly journal, in 1909, the only year that she was involved with the periodical. The Englishwoman was published in forty-nine volumes from 1909 to 1921. The first number, “February 1909,” was printed on January 27, 1909. Volumes one to four (the first twelve months) were published by “Grant Richards.” It was then published by Sidgwick and Jackson (to 1913); Evans Brothers (to 1916), and finally by “The Englishwoman” (to 1921). tentatively to prove that a sufficient portion of bread could and should be distributed to each householder and that it would be cheaper far than the present system of almsgiving by the State. But don’t let me write or talk of these things if they seen sordid or even dull to you. We’ll keep them all until Robert founds his “Perfect Paper” in his days of leisure and retirement.

I want to thank you a thousand times for the box of goodies. I hope my frankness will not seem an aggravation when I confess that Fouquet’sSince 1852, the Fouquet family had made jams and chocolates, which they sold from a shop at 36 rue Laffitte in Paris. jams are too sweet for us. They shall be kept for you, when you come. You know there was a permanent pot of strawberry jam in the cupboard at the rue de la Barouillère in case vuestra mercedLiterally “your mercy.” The Spanish employed this phrase to address the nobility as “your honor,” and it eventually came to be contracted as "usted," the formal pronoun for “you.” came to tea.

I was going to write and tell you that AldrovandiLuigi Aldrovandi Marescotti, count of Viano (1876–1945), an Italian diplomat. See letter of June 18, 1913, in which Elisina Tyler recommended Aldrovandi, a childhood friend, to the Blisses. has written to me specially to ask me to convey to you his deep regret that he was sent away from Paris before he could hope to thank you personally for your and Robert’s kindness. He says he was kept hard at work every day till a late hour; that on the first day he could be free he tried to find your telephone number to ask permission to come and pay his respects personally as he was being sent to Rome; that he couldn’t find out your number, so he left “due misere carte.”“Two miserable cards.” He hopes you had them, at least.

William is well, and plays with Fabian, even rivaling his guitar with a trumpet. Fabian is here till Wednesday 20th, then returns to Paris. He is playing very well now.

Royall sends you his best love. To which please add mine, and a great deal for Robert too. Ever and as ever

Yours

Elisina.

 
Associated People: Fabián de Castro
Associated Places: Semur-en-Auxois (France)