Sydney tells us he is feeling settled in Tokyo and enjoying his life there, worries about Rose Mary’s ‘fits of depression,’ expresses his distain for Japanese music, records the excitement of a visiting American aviator, praises the spring weather and Japanese blossoms, and laments that all the servants are making him lazy. The end of the letter is missing.
The Tokyo Hotel
Atago hill Park
3 Apr 1911
I was hoping to have been able to send you this letter by today’s mail but unfortunately put it off till too late and it must therefore go by the usual Wednesday’s mail
I got two letters from you dearest on Saturday, one dated the 17th Feb which came via America and the other my birthday letter wishing me all the good things. Many, many thanks darling and I only wish you were here to give me a real birthday kiss!
I am so sorry to hear you are still having fits of depression, but you must ‘buck up’ and look forward to coming out to me in a few months. I am going to have a chat with Wheeler tis week about it. And then I shall write to Mr. Potter. I would of course rather wait a month or two before mentioning it to the letter but as you are not keeping so well as I had hoped you would I shall write sooner than I had intended. In the meantime, my precious darling, have patience, and we will see about getting you out in August or September! Anyway, before the winter commenced. As a matter of fact, even if you come then, your time will be fully occupied, I expect, getting things ready. And in that, you will have to get the aunts to advise you.
There is not much news to tell you of. Last Saturday I went to a Japanese music hall and of all the piffle you ever saw in your life, that takes the family biscuit.The music consists of a pair of clappers! A rotten tin horn!! with the occasional use of the drum while a man at the side is continually shouting with a voice like a sawmill in distress!! Preserve me from any more of them! That’s all I say!
Yesterday was Sunday and there was a big meeting at a place called Meforu about 5 miles from Tokyo to see an American Aviator. Of course, ‘everybody’ was there. I was there. It was a lovely day and hardly a breath of wind, the flying therefore was excellent.
Today is a public holiday but unfortunately it has rained all day! Most disappointing as there was a great deal of excitement over the opening of a new bridge over the river about 1 1/2 miles from here.
Yesterday, several of us went for a walk before tiffin round Akasaka, one of the best parts of Tokyo. We are thinking of leaving the hotel to take a house as one or two of the boys are dissatisfied with the attention here. As a matter of fact, hotel life gets a bit monotonous after a while.
The cherry blossom is now quite out, and some of the roads where there are long avenues of these trees, are simply lovely! I do so wish you were here to see them. You would be charmed! These blossoms only last about ten days, but then, of course, there are other trees to follow. In fact, it seems to me that every tree you see has a blossom on it or will have soon. You can imagine how lovely they will look in the summer time.
The weather’s still chilly and we have not yet done with fires as April has many cold days and one has to be careful not to catch cold but on the whole the climate is certainly better than England.
I wonder how you will like Tokyo? I didn’t at first but now that the weather is better and I’ve been out and seen different parts of it I’ve changed my mind and really getting to quite to like it. Nevertheless, one has to give up a great deal of the pleasures of ‘home’ with nothing much to compensate you for those losses. However, altho’ I have plenty to do at the office, life on the whole is easier than it is at home. The only thing is one gets awfully lazy, servants wait on you everywhere and I, being no different to the rest, take full advantage of it.
I am so glad to hear Mr. Potter has been so kind to you. He really is a good sort and I should certainly take the opportunity if you can to see him one day very soon and tell him how you feel about staying away from me. He will help you I know and push things forward for us. I shall in all probability be writing him this week. You ought therefore to see him about the same time! And then if you can get anything definite from him set about selling up! All the ‘furniture’ may go except the piano. I will advise you later of this, but you must of course keep all the linen, plate and all small stuff of any value that can be packed in cases. But don’t trouble about crockery!! We can buy it here quite cheaply.
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