SundaycametheKATOOMBA，CaptainBickford，C。M。G。
Yesterday，GrahamandIwentdowntocall，andfindhehasorderstosuppressMataafaatonce，andhastogodownto-daybeforedaybreaktoManono。Heisaverycapable，energeticman；ifhehadonlycometendaysago，allthiswouldhavegoneby；butnowthequestionsarethickanddifficult。(1)
WillMataafasurrender？(2)Willhispeopleallowthemselvestobedisarmed？(3)Whatwillhappentothemiftheydo？
(4)Whatwillanyofthembelieveafterformerdeceptions？
ThethreeconsulswerescamperingonhorsebacktoLeulumoegatotheKing；noCusack-Smith，withoutwhoseaccessionIcouldnotsendalettertoMataafa。Irodeuphere，wrotemyletterinthesweatoftheconcordanceandwiththeable-
bodiedhelpofLloyd-anddined。Thendownincontinualshowersandpitchydarkness，andtoCusack-Smith’s；notre-
returned。Backtotheinnformyhorse，andtoC-S。’s，whenIfindhimjustreturnedandheacceptsmyletter。Thencehome，by12。30，jollytiredandwet。Andto-dayhavebeeninacrispationofenergyandill-temper，rakingmywretchedmailtogether。Itisahatefulbusiness，waitingforthenews；itmaycometoafearfulmassacreyet-Yoursever，R。L。S。
MYDEARCOLVIN，-Quiteimpossibletowrite。Yourletterisdueto-day；anasty，rainy-likemorningwithhugeblueclouds，andahugeindigoshadowonthesea，andmylampstillburningatnear7。Letmehumblygiveyounews。Fannyseemsonthewholethemost，ortheonly，powerfulmemberofthefamily；forsomedaysshehasbeentheFloweroftheFlock。Belleisbeggingforquinine。LloydandGrahamhavebothbeendownwith’bellybelonghim’(BlackBoyspeech)。
Asforme，Ihavetolayasidemylawntennis，having(aswastobeexpected)hadasmartbuteminentlybriefhemorrhage。
Iamalsoonthequinineflask。Ihavebeenre-castingthebeginningoftheHANGINGJUDGEorWEIROFHERMISTON；thenI
havebeencobblingonmygrandfather，whoselastchapter(thereareonlytobefour)isintheformofpiecesofpaper，ahugewelterofinconsequence，andthatglimmeroffaith(orhope)whichonelearnsatthistrade，thatsomehowandsometime，byperpetualstaringandgloweringandrewriting，orderwillemerge。Itisindeedaqueerhope；
thereisonepieceforinstancethatIwantin-Icannotputitoneplaceforagoodreason-Icannotputitanotherforabetter-andeverytimeIlookatit，IturnsickandputtheMs。away。
Well，yourletterhasn’tcome，andanumberofothersaremissing。Itlooksasifamail-baghadgoneon，soI’llblamenobody，andproceedtobusiness。
ItlooksasifIwasgoingtosendyouthefirstthreechaptersofmyGrandfather……Iftheyweresetup，itwouldbethatmuchanxietyoffmymind。Ihaveastrangefeelingofresponsibility，asifIhadmyancestors’SOULSinmycharge，andmightmiscarrywiththem。
There’salotofworkgoneintoit，andalotmoreisneeded。
StillChapterI。seemsaboutrighttome，andmuchofChapterII。ChapterIII。Iknownothingof，asItoldyou。AndChapterIV。isatpresentallendsandbeginnings；butitcanbepulledtogether。
ThisisallIhavebeenabletoscrewuptoyouforthismonth，andImayaddthatitisnotonlymorethanyoudeserve，butjustaboutmorethanIwasequalto。Ihavebeenandamentirelyuseless；justabletotinkeratmyGrandfather。Thethreechapters-perhapsalsoalittleofthefourth-willcomehometoyounextmailbythehandofmycousinGrahamBalfour，averynicefellowwhomIrecommendtoyouwarmly-andwhomIthinkyouwilllike。Thiswillgiveyoutimetoconsidermyvariousanddistractedschemes。
Allourwarsareoverinthemeantime，tobeginagainassoonasthewar-shipsleave。Adieu。
MYDEARCOLVIN，-YourpleasingletterRETHEEBBTIDE，tohand。Ipropose，ifitbenottoolate，todeleteLloyd’sname。Hehasnothingtodowiththelasthalf。Thefirstwewrotetogether，asthebeginningofalongyarn。Thesecondisentirelymine；andIthinkitratherunfairontheyoungmantocouplehisnamewithsoinfamousawork。Aboveall，asyouhadnotreadthetwolastchapters，whichseemtomethemostuglyandcynicalofall。
YouwillseethatIamnotinagoodhumour；andIamnot。
Itisnotbecauseofyourletter，butbecauseofthecomplicatedmiseriesthatsurroundmeandthatIchoosetosaynothingof。LifeisnotallBeerandSkittles。Theinherenttragedyofthingsworksitselfoutfromwhitetoblackandblacker，andthepoorthingsofadaylookruefullyon。Doesitshakemycast-ironfaith？Icannotsayitdoes。
Ibelieveinanultimatedecencyofthings；ay，andifIwokeinhell，shouldstillbelieveit！Butitishardwalking，andIcanseemyownshareinthemissteps，andcanbowmyheadtotheresult，likeanold，stern，unhappydevilofaNorseman，asmyultimatecharacteris……
Well，ILFAUTCULTIVERSONJARDIN。Thatlastexpressionofpoor，unhappyhumanwisdomItaketomyheartandgotoST。
IVES。
24thAUG。
Anddid，andworkedabout2hoursandgottosleepultimatelyand’a’thecloudshasblawnaway。’’Besurewe’llhavesomepleisandweather，Whena’theclouds(storms？)hasblawn(gone？)away。’Versesthathaveaquiteinexplicableattractionforme，andIbelievehadforBurns。Theyhavenomerit，butaresomehowgood。Iamnowinamostexcellenthumour。
IamdeepinST。IVESwhich，Ibelieve，willbethenextnoveldone。ButitistobeclearlyunderstoodthatI
promisenothing，andmaythrowinyourfacetheverylastthingyouexpect-orIexpect。ST。IVESwill(tomymind)
notbewhollybad。Itiswritteninratherafunnystyle；alittlestiltedandleft-handed；thestyleofSt。Ives；also，tosomeextent，thestyleofR。L。S。dictating。ST。IVES
isunintellectualandexceptasanadventurenovel，dull。
Buttheadventuresseemtomesoundandprettyprobable；anditisalovestory。Speedhiswings！
SUNDAYNIGHT。
DECOEURUNPEUPLUSDISPOS，MONSIEURETCHERCONFRERE，JEME
REMETSAVOUSECRIRE。ST。IVESisnowinthe5thchaptercopying；inthe14thchapterofthedictateddraft。IdonotbelieveIshallendbydislikingit。
MONDAY。
Well，heregoesagainforthenews。FannyisVERYWELL
indeed，andingoodspirits；IamingoodspiritsbutnotVERYwell；Lloydisingoodspiritsandverywell；Bellehasarealgoodfeverwhichhasputherpipeoutwholly。Grahamgoesbackthismail。HetakeswithhimthreechaptersofTHE
FAMILY，andistogotoyouassoonashecan。Hecannotbemuchthemasterofhismovements，butyougriphimwhenyoucanandgetallyoucanfromhim，ashehaslivedaboutsixmonthswithusandhecantellyoujustwhatistrueandwhatisnot-andnotthedreamsofdearoldRoss。Heisagoodfellow，ishenot？
SinceyouratherreviseyourviewsofTHEEBBTIDE，IthinkLloyd’snamemightstick，butI’llleaveittoyou。I’lltellyoujusthowitstands。Uptothediscoveryofthechampagne，thetalewasallplannedbetweenusanddraftedbyLloyd；fromthatmomenthehashadnothingtodowithitexcepttalkingitover。Forwechangedourplan，gaveuptheprojectedMonteCristo，andcutitdownforashortstory。
Myjmpression-(Ibegyourpardon-thisisalocaljoke-afirmherehadonitsbeerlabels，’solejmporters’)-isthatitwillneverbepopular，butmightmakealittleSUCCESDE
SCANDALE。However，I’mdonewithitnow，andnotsorry，andthecrowdmayraveandmumbleitsbonesforwhatIcare。
Holeessential。Iamsorryaboutthemaps；butIwant’emfornextedition，soseeandhaveproofssent。YouarequiterightaboutthebottleandthegreatHuish，Imusttrytomakeitclear。No，IwillnotwriteaplayforIrvingnorforthedevil。CanyounotseethattheworkofFALSIFICATIONwhichaplaydemandsisofalltasksthemostungrateful？AndIhavedoneitalongwhile-andnothingevercameofit。
Considermynewproposal，ImeanHonolulu。YouwouldgettheAtlanticandtheRockyMountains，wouldyounot？forbracing。
Andsomuchlesssea！AndthenyoucouldactuallyseeVailima，whichIWOULDlikeyouto，forit’sbeautifulandmyhomeandtombthatistobe；thoughit’sawrenchnottobeplantedinScotland-thatIcanneverdeny-ifIcouldonlybeburiedinthehills，undertheheatherandatabletombstonelikethemartyrs，wherethewhaupsandploversarecrying！DidyouseeamanwhowrotetheSTICKITMINISTER，anddedicatedittome，inwordsthatbroughtthetearstomyeyeseverytimeIlookedatthem，’Whereaboutthegravesofthemartyrsthewhaupsarecrying。HISheartremembershow。’
Ah，byGod，itdoes！SingularthatIshouldfulfiltheScotsdestinythroughout，andliveavoluntaryexile，andhavemyheadfilledwiththeblessed，beastlyplaceallthetime！
AndnowawordasregardsthedelusionsofthedearRoss，whoremembers，Ibelieve，mylettersandFanny’swhenwewerefirstinstalled，andwerereallyhoeingahardrow。Wehavesalad，beans，cabbages，tomatoes，asparagus，kohl-rabi，oranges，limes，barbadines，pine-apples，Capegooseberries-
galore；pintsofmilkandcream；freshmeatfivedaysaweek。
Itistherarestthingforanyofustotouchatin；andthegnashingofteethwhenithastobedoneisdreadful-fornoonewhohasnotlivedonthemforsixmonthsknowswhattheHatredoftheTinis。Asforexposure，myweaknessiscertainlythereverse；Iamsometimesamonthwithoutleavingtheverandah-formysins，beitsaid！Doubtless，whenIgoaboutand，astheDoctorsays，’exposemyselftomalaria，’I
aminfarbetterhealth；andIwoulddosomoretoo-forI
donotmeantobesilly-butthedifficultiesaregreat。
However，youseehowmuchthedearDoctorknowsofmydietandhabits！Malariapracticallydoesnotexistintheseislands；itisanegligeablequantity。Whatreallybothersusalittleisthemosquitoaffair-theso-calledelephantiasis-askRossaboutit。Arealromanceofnaturalhistory，QUOI！
Hi！stop！yousayTHEEBBTIDEisthe’workingoutofanartisticproblemofakind。’Well，Ishouldjustbetitwas！
Youdon’tlikeAttwater。Butlookatmythreerogues；
they’reallthere，I’llgobail。Threetypesofthebadman，theweakman，andthestrongmanwithaweakness，thataregonethroughandlivedout。
Yes，ofcourseIwassorryforMataafa，butagooddealsorrierandangrieraboutthemismanagementofallthewhiteofficials。Icannotbeartowriteaboutthat。Manonoalldestroyed，onehousestandinginApolima，thewomenstripped，theprisonersbeatenwithwhips-andthewomen’sheadstaken-allunderwhiteauspices。Andforupshotandresultofsomuchshametothewhitepowers-Tamasesealreadyconspiring！
asIknewandpreachedinvainmustbethecase！Well，well，itisnofuntomeddleinpolitics！
Isupposeyou’rerightaboutSimon。ButitisSymonthroughoutinthatblessedlittlevolumemyfatherboughtformeinInvernessintheyearofgrace’81，Ibelieve-thetrialofJamesStewart，withtheJacobitepamphletandthedyingspeechappended-outofwhichthewholeofDaviehasalreadybeenbegotten，andwhichIfeltitakindofloyaltytofollow。Ireallyoughttohaveitboundinvelvetandgold，ifIhadanygratitude！andthebestofthelarkis，thatthenameofDavidBalfourisnotanywherewithintheboundsofit。
Aprettycuriousinstanceofthegenesisofabook。IamdelightedatyourgoodwordforDAVID；Ibelievethetwotogethermakeupmuchthebestofmyworkandperhapsofwhatisinme。Iamnotashamedofthem，atleast。Thereisonehitch；insteadofthreehoursbetweenthetwoparts，IfeartherehavepassedthreeyearsoverDavie’scharacter；butdonottellanybody；seeiftheycanfinditoutforthemselves；
andnodoubthisexperiencesinKIDNAPPEDwouldgofartoformhim。IwouldlikeacopytogotoG。Meredith。
