Page:Tex; a chapter in the life of Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (IA texchapterinlife00mcke).pdf/137



But all I ask that you should fix is the date of the deliberately dowdy well-dressed man

I think, he writes, 9. 8. 20, that the time has come for you to write a big political novel, a big, serious, flippant, earnest, sarcastic, political novel Your book should be quite Disraelian in scope; it should be a roman a clef'' to this extent, that it would contain half—or quarter-portraits; and you ought to concentrate on it very thoroughly. I am convinced that the world is waiting for it.''

''Do you observe the comparative sweetness of my mood. It is doomed entirely to this glorious weather. For the rest, I hope and believe that you never resent those whacks with which, when the sky is overcast, I am apt to belabour my correspondents like an elderly Mr. Punch on his hustings.''

''My good, kind Brighton doctor—good because he is clever, kind because he charges me no fee—was over here from Brighton y'day to see me. He tells me that this peculiar susceptibility of mine to atmospheric influence is a symptom of convalescence rather than ill-health. He is much pleased with the improvement in my condition; and he approves of my winter plans, though he would rather have dispatched me to San Remo or even Egypt had either been feasible.''