×××× [crossed out] August 5th Monday[RG]

Wrote to Bank, asking them to for Laura paid Isabel's mother's fare on[RG] condition that same stays.
Dream about strange hall of a house in 1900-ish London: over the door a faded print called "In the Gay Old Days. The Duke of Westminster celebrates his Coming of Age in the Company of 10,000 Ladies of the Town." The D. of W, a long-faced fair-haired young man in evening dress, elbows on knees staring greedily forward: in the middle of an auditorium full of girls with doll faces and wasp-waists.
Girls boiled up the blackberry & apple jelly which I poured out & sealed: it made 12 small pots, very stiff. Algarrobas1 falling.
Richards2 all morning. Laura has bad stomach. Afternoon, sea: buried stinking corpse of a kid on foreshore,[RG]in company with the Staff-Colonel staying at Son Bauza, who was grateful on account of his wife & children with him. Laura going over Fantasia & writing a letter to Constable about business names3. We went through Documents. New arrangement made for files. I wrote to Eliot asking him to approve Wills of both & return; to Pinker asking Hogarth Press's profit-sharing scheme, what percentage; to Westminster enclosing our joint-account application.
For second time running got salt-water into the ice4. Finished going over Richards manuscript so far as he sent it. Gelat came & told us about enquiries he made about the spy, whom the Police know nothing about, may be a Private Cop. Also about Pedro & his shameless brother in law5 & political moves now taken to settle water dispute.

Editorial Notes

1St. John's bread. KG; carob bean, locust bean. WG
4ice cream. KG
5?? eds.

Hands Referenced

    • Annotation: ink correction
    • Character: regular
    • Ink: black

Places Mentioned

  • Son Bauza

    Deyá, Majorca, Sp
    A large farm complex on the opposite side of the valley from Canellun. WG

People Mentioned

  • Richards

    Richards, Frank
    Author of Old Soldiers Never Die and Old Soldier Sahib which R.G. rewrote for him. Was in The Royal Welch Fusiliers, R.G.'s regiment. eds.; Birth name is Francis Phillip Woodruff eds. see Diary September 27, 1936

  • Laura

    Riding, Laura
    (1901-91) American poet. Laura Riding (née Reichenthal; then Laura Gottschalk).

  • Gelat

    Más, Juan Marroig
    Juan Marroig Mas, called Gelat: Landowner on Deyá and friend of Robert Graves and Laura Riding (L.R. & R.G.'s factotum. W.G.)

  • Isabella

    Isabel
    Live-in maid from Murcia. Her mother (Carmen) then came over with Josefa who also came to work later. WG

  • Eliot

    Eliot
    L.R. & R.G.'s solicitor in London. WG

  • Pinker

    Pinker
    R.G. & L.R.'s agent in London. W.G. They later changed to A.S. Watt. eds.

Organizations Mentioned

  • Constable & Co., Ltd.

    Constable
    Constable Publishers. Arranged with them to print and distribute Seizin Press Epilogue and books. WG

  • Seizin Press

    Founded when Robert Graves and Laura Riding began their partnership in London. R.G. and L.R. continued to operate their own press in Deyá, but stopped printing in 1935. Seizin Press published a number of literary works in conjunction with Constable in London, including the Epilogue series, and other works by Laura Riding and their literary associates. eds

  • Hogarth Press

    Hogarth Press
    Press of Virginia and Leonard Woolf. R.G. had several early essays published by them. C.P. &`W.G.

  • Westminster Bank

Bibliography

    • Title: Old Soldier Sahib
    • Author: Richards, Frank
    • Editor: Graves, Robert
    • PubPlace: London, New York
    • Publisher: Faber & Faber; Harrison Smith & Robert Haas
    • Idno: A44
    • Date: 1936
    • Title: Fantasia [became A Film Scenario (Fantasia of Life), by Laura Riding]
    • Author: Riding, Laura/Lye, Len
    • Editor: Riding, Laura, Graves, Robert (Associate Editor)
    • PubPlace: Deyá & London
    • Publisher: Seizin & Constable
    • BiblScope: 162-189
    • Idno: B24
    • Date: 1936