Arthur Llewelyn Davies to Peter Llewelyn Davies -

Transcription

12, Beaumont Street, W.
June 19, 1906.

My dear Peter,
I was very glad indeed to get your letter this afternoon – just the sort of letter which I like getting. It was fine to get such a big score as 10, and to beat the other side by your own score alone. I think you must like cricket much better than last year, now that you can play so much better.
I am very sorry to hear of George’s spots. I think he must have caught them from the leopard at the zoo. Does he remember whether he went into the leopard’s cage? I hope we shall soon hear that the spots have all departed, and that the whole family is again in blooming health. Perhaps tomorrow morning there may be a long letter from Jack. I have not heard yet where he and George were in their week’s order, or what happened to them at cricket on Monday afternoon.
I am gradually getting better, and looking forward very much to the time when we can go back to our home and our dear boys. I cannot eat much food yet, but now I can feed myself slowly with a small spoon. At first I had to be fed by my nurse, and also washed by her as I lay in bed. Granny has kindly given me some fine peaches, which I eat in little bits with plenty of sugar.
Goodbye dear Peter and all of you,
Your affectionate Father.

Peter's comments:

There is a fragment of a pencilled note from Sylvia to Margaret which evidently refers to the spots… “Distressed that my George is not quite well – oh dear, and he was so so well the Sunday he was up. How unthinking the kindest people are sometimes. Perhaps a little stomach tonic…”

There is a gap of five days now, probably to be accounted for by the final (glandular) operation.

[AB: There appears to be no rhyme or reason as to why Peter destroyed some (in fact most) of the original letters, as was his declared intention, but happily not all, such as this one ...]