Got away from the desert, but may yet go back and get Julio. Sorry to hear she is no better. Would like to go to France with her. Knows she will like Avignon. A good place to work. Enclosing a translation of a serenade Julio sang to her, which is not proper for a woman to sing to anyone but her lover or her husband. ["Serenata Mejicana," which ends "The heart of night is still—/ Beloved, sleep!"] W. S. C. [Stout #236]
Hopes to hear she is better. Is going to the Bohemian area to see the wheat harvest next week. Leaving for Pittsburgh in about two weeks. Will work on a story to be called "The White Mulberry Tree" that will alarm Ferris Greenslet. [Enclosure: poem "Prairie Spring"] W. S. C. [Stout #239]
Enjoyed her long letter. Hopes voyage will be restful. Enjoyed reading her paper about France in Scribner's. Glad to be back from the West; feeling worn out by its vastness. Couldn't exchange all of civilization for Julio. Reading vol. 9 of Michelet with Isabelle. W. [Stout #241]
Spent two weeks in New York getting the winter's work set. Promised the magazine two stories before Christmas. Wants to lengthen the Swedish story and merge it with the other to make a two-part pastoral. British edition of Alexander looks much better than the American. Has been reading Balzac and the disgusting Idiot by Dostoevsky. Thought the first two parts of Creative Evolution [ Bergson ] were splendid. Everyone seems to be celebrating "The Bohemian Girl" except a reader who thought it immoral. W. S. C. [Stout #242]
Postcards from London are plenty. Has moved into the ideal apartment at no. 5 Bank Street. But wishes she [Cather] were in London. W. S. C. [Stout #244]
Don't overwork while running a temperature. Glad she likes "The Bohemian Girl." Feels pretty good about it. Is doing a longer story with the same setting; actually, setting is the main character. Saw Arnold Bennett's Milestones in New York. Wishes the office would quit interrupting her work. W. S. C. [Stout #246]
Enjoyed reading her one-act play and her sonnets, but doesn't really like poems about artistic endeavor. "Rain, Rain!" and "Amen" are very good. Was in New York in October working on an article on the play openings. W. S. C. [Stout #247]
Enjoyed her letter. Has nearly finished new story. Can't write when she is gathering material; the two processes are separate. Recommends Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Wants to write more, but very busy with holiday season plus writing the murder in her story. W. S. C. [Stout #249]
When is she coming home? Hopes she will like the apartment. W. S. C. [Stout #251]
Being back in New York and going to the opera makes her want people around. Wishes they could have a good visit. Won't she come for a visit when she gets back? May go to Virginia in May. Sending "Pioneers" for her to read. Be honest. W. S. C. [Stout #252]
