Has been under a great deal of stress since mid-March. An old and dear friend died in San Francisco, and Roscoe has been in hospital with heart lesion. Local heart doctor let him go on with high blood pressure several months before calling in a specialist. Attack might have been averted if he had taken action sooner. Is going to California as soon as doctors will let him have a visit, probably June. Not letting Elsie Sergeant know how seriously ill he is. Has thought of them a great deal during these weeks and wishes she could have been with them to see exhibit of French paintings in Chicago. Has had many touching letters since publication of Sapphira and felt under emotional strain. Will probably not see them on her way to California, because doctors can make special arrangements for her on train from Montreal. Edith will go. With hand in metal gauntlet cannot even dress herself without help. Still hopes to write again with special brace. Sigrid Undset and the Menuhins have helped cheer her up. Undset a woman of great character and many abilities; knows everything about flowers; is a person cut on a heroic scale and never speaks of her son's death in German concentration camp. P.S.: What she said about Madame Undset to be kept confidential. Wanted them to know about this wonderful person who could not be broken even by the German Army. Willie [Stout #1541]
Had a good visit with Roscoe in San Francisco and is enjoying this part of Canada. Didn't see any friends, but kept her strength and attention solely for him. Brace is off most of the time. This is the first letter she has written, besides a short note to Mary Virginia. Willie [Stout #1547]
Had left New York before the flowers came. Left June 20 via the Santa Fe with stops in Chicago and New Mexico before meeting Roscoe and wife at Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Spent a month there, Roscoe coming for long visits every weekend. His condition still very guarded. Returned by way of Vancouver and Canadian Rockies. Stopped using the brace on her hand while in Victoria. Heat in New York now devastating. Willa [Stout #1548]
Glad to receive her royalty notice and to hear he is well. Has just come back from long, tiring trip to California. Six weeks in San Francisco spent with her brother were very happy; was able to take off Dr. Ober's brace during that time. Roscoe will never be his old self, but is adjusting well. Then spent some time in Victoria, Lake Louise, and Montreal. Splendid scenery but still prefers eastern part of Canada and Atlantic Ocean. P.S.: Please send a copy of latest edition of My Ántonia. Willa Cather [Stout #1551]
Sorry to say, will not be coming to Red Cloud this fall. Had a hard summer and has felt the strain. Edith ill for a week at Lake Louise and travel difficult. Was in hospital with severe anemia after they got back. Still quite weak and becomes faint with any excitement. Very little appetite. Also some family problems. Family in southern California very hurt by her not letting them know she was in the state. Was able to stop using the brace on her hand while in San Francisco, which pleased Roscoe. Hopes to get really well soon. Mary Virginia cheers her up and does some of her shopping, and niece Margaret, Roscoe's daughter, comes into New York for tea occasionally. Must not take on anything else until she regains some strength. Hand much steadier now. When destroying some old manuscripts yesterday, compared present handwriting to that of years ago and found it more legible now. Willie [Stout #1553]
Sorry to learn of her mother's death. Could not write at the time because hand still in brace. Was preparing to go to California to be with Roscoe, then in hospital in serious condition. Spent the summer there and did not get back to New York until late fall. Not doing much Christmas shopping this year; is enclosing only a small check. Regrets not seeing her mother in recent years. Has lost many old friends as well as brother Douglass. Life has been difficult. Willa Cather [Stout #1562]
Hand somewhat stiff from months in steel brace, but almost well. Wishing her a merry Christmas. Willa Cather [Stout #1563]
Very happy to receive her letter. Dr. Ober's brace cured the damaged tendon in her right thumb, after ten months of having no use of it. Even slept in the brace. Likes her "Hurricane" picture a great deal. Misses niece Mary Virginia, with her husband at an Army camp in Colorado, but enjoys her nice letters. She and Edith Lewis have no maid at present, so she spends most of her working time in the kitchen. Willa Cather [Stout #1607]
Hand is in brace again, so can't write. Many things have kept her distracted. Nieces in town looking for places to live while husbands in the military—one of them with a baby; no maid when they got back from Maine; five books out in military editions and a consequent flood of letters from soldiers. Tried to send Christmas notes for the first time in several years, and strain on hand put it back into brace. Feels worried about her since the cold weather set in. Hopes she is in town. Is still eighteen pounds underweight and feels the cold. Is cranky toward her friends sometimes and doesn't deserve the favor of a real letter, but please just drop a note. Willa Cather [Stout #1653]
Sorry not to have written in so long. The world is all in distress, everyone's lives disrupted. All the young people in her family caught up in the war. Mary Virginia and husband, Dick Mellen, at Camp Carson in Colorado, and her brother at a camp in Arizona, one of the least attractive spots in the state. Enjoyed having Mary Virginia in town for a visit recently. Another niece's husband is commander of an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Everyone lives in suspense. Will paste their Christmas card with picture of Beacon Street into Annie Fields's Memories of a Hostess. Doesn't understand why Boston has messed up the area around Trinity Church. Spent last summer in Maine; very comfortable in spite of poor food. Wishing them a happy new year. Willa Cather. P.S.: Has sprained right hand again and is back in Dr. Ober's brace. [Stout #1657]
