THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates.
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

Monday night [May 1935?]

Dear Miss Scott
Ralph had on the whole a good visit to Ivor. He found him with a newspaper over cricket scores & they had some intermittent talk – He looked weak, but was not much changed Ralph thought from what he was before
The doctor said that he had had muscular rheumatism – but there was nothing else except that he had got constipated & had refused food & medicines, but that now that was all right – Ralph asked his opinion about injections – he said they worked all right in theory but not often in practice – tho’ there might be a few cases where they had had success.
The Dr certainly did not give Ralph any hint that there was anything in Ivor’s state that was causing him apprehension “Are you going back to Chelsea” Ivor asked Ralph – showing that he remembered – they looked at the Royal Academy Catalogue – Ivor remarking that Sir Joshua Reynolds picture of himself (on the cover) was the only good one in the book – & then in looking at the landscapes he called one the Ravel 4^tet– another Cesar Franck. All this was better than I expected.
Yours very sincerely
Adeline Vaughan Williams

Ralph took chocolate & grapes & tobacco – Ivor made him take away some of the tobacco saying he had brought too much

1. This letter concerns VW’s visit to Ivor Gurney, who was in a psychiatric hospital in Dartford.