ENpage_0001
Facsimile
Transcription
OXFORD UNION SOCIETY
May: 26: 96
My dear Mother,
I had your letter this morning. What a
depressing person you are! I am glad to hear that
you enjoyed Broughton & that Father enjoyed
Beattock. I think Innerleithen will be very nice.
I am sending Ervie [Walter] something for his birthday.
I had better give you a resumé of my exact
poistion with Watt as you don't seem quite to
understand it. I wrote to Watt a year ago last March
offering him Sir Quixote, which he declined, but said he
would wait for the long novel. Last October he wrote to
me telling about Blackwood's request. I told him I
had no objection to let him offer the book to Blackwoods.
Notes and Questions
Please sign in to write a note for this page
This is perhaps the clearest version of Walter's nickname. Could it be Ervie (like the Galloway village)? I can't see Ernie.
I am sure you are right. It is definitely Ervie in this letter, but a village so far away from anywhere they knew in Galloway doesn't sound very likely. Perhaps it's a shortening from a name in a poem or book? All the Buchan children were steeped in Scots literature, in particular, and great reciters of poetry. Quite soon after this, Walter became known as the Bird instead.
Queen's University Archives & Library Transcription Project
Help us transcribe historic documents from our Queen's University and Manuscript collections
Getting Started & Transcription Tips | Queen's University Archives | Queen's University Library | Questions? Contact us
