Letter from George Yeats to Thomas MacGreevy. 9 November 1926.
[p.1 recto]November 9 1926
My dear Tom
Hows life? Willy has gone to London and is at the Orchard Hotel, Portman St. He has your address but may lose it so drop him a line.... He has all sorts of projects on hand, chiefly the forming of a London Committee of which you may be asked to be Hon Sec..Yeats has persuaded Lady Londonderry to establish an organizing committee for the campaign to return the Hugh Lane pictures to Ireland, with MacGreevy as secretary.note There's a shock for you.... And a little more work if you accept... He will be there "eight days or a fortnight" more probably the latter.
Michael's quite allright again, very nearly healed, and a very small scar that shows far less than the old ones from the lancing of the abscesses.Michael Yeats had been hospitalized briefly to undergo an operation for an ear infection.note He is very much better in himself since the thing was removed, but at present like everyone else has a bad cold.
I love Dolly. Dont generally much like females but she adds one to the small collection I do like - Dorothy, Eva and Jelly. The latter, complete with Adila and Titi played at the R.D.S.Royal Dublin Society concert hall.note yesterday, but Jelly was in bad form owing to a ghastly cold, even her face was swollen with it poor child. Life's been rather too hectic since I got back, all Willy's irons have to be kept hot and a symbolic coal strike among them as were asked to design coins - some accepted but the one he most wanted didnt reply and letters, telegrams, telephones have all been buzzing.
[p.2 recto]There was a pairty last night at Shelah Richards after the first night of Importance of being Earnest.The Importance of Being Earnest opened at the Abbey Theatre 8 November 1926.note Lennox very rude to Alan, Alan going out and sitting in the hall "waiting for Lennox" I went out and told him he was a fool, he said he wanted to bawl, I said he couldnt have a row with Lennox in his hostesses' house, so he crept back into the dining room and as I left L. was inviting "Dotey" to have a drink.. both had already too many and too mixed, but what the sequel was I dont know! Dolly will for she hadnt left when I did. Of course she's rather alarming when one is left alone with her but that's largely because one has heard so much and so much and none of it seems like her at all!
Alan's awful.......
Personally I thought the production of Earnest the best thing I ever saw at the Abbey... Shields and McCormick very good, but the house unanimously howled when "Cicely" says to Shields that she loves his curly hair and is it quite naturally wavy, and he answers "with a little help from others" everyone knowing that Mrs Shields had been running after him with curling tongs for the previous twentyfour hours!
What have you been doing and writing?
George