1889-10-26 to Clara Lanza

Autograph letter signed, University of Texas at Austin, 579 words

[Edited for paragraph breaks, capitalization, spelling and punctuation.]

8 Kings Bench Walk, Temple

[Saturday, 26 October 1889]

Dear Clara Lanza,

You are really too good and kind. I have always been lucky and I esteem my luckiest day the day I made your acquaintance. It is an immense pleasure to me to think about you, and waiving all ideas of foolish and ineffectual sentimentality I can say that you are present in my thoughts like some favorite picture or statue; like a statue in the corner of a room you stand in a corner of my mind, and my eyes often go that way. Your photograph is on the chimney piece but I do not think much of it; it furnished me with the idea and I see you — [as] well [as] I see my own books and poems. My knowledge of you is strangely intimate and personal. I have expressed myself badly but I daresay you can guess my meaning.

You will send me the first copy that appears of your book. I shall write about it and I will take it to my publishers Ward and Downey and get them to reprint it.

By the way I have just this moment corrected the proof of an attack on Stevenson's last book, The Master of Ballantrae.

And now about your play. I will send you the first act next week — This I promise. But I am afraid nothing will come of it; it is not stupid enough. The theatre is in a hopeless state.

I have just finished the scenario, fully developed, of a five act play for Tree — You know, Beerbohm Tree. I will write it if he gives me a commission but not otherwise. You have no idea what a good story I have sketched out — the story of a strike, the socialist seduced by the aristocracy — but he will never take the play. He will want my socialist as white as snow and my Jew as black as ink and comic love scenes and many other horrors known to theatre managers. Situations borrowed from the works of M. Scribe.

Tree has not refused it but he will; and as with my play so it will be with ours. However I will finish the first act, and with the first act and the scenario and the book one of your dramatic stars will be able to decide; between ourselves she will be more likely to take the play for the first act will come out very well indeed; I do not mean that the other acts will not come out as well, but a first act in a play, as in all things, is always full of fascination. I will write the rest of the play the moment it is decided that the woman will have it. The courage is lacking in me to go on with my own play without a commission. The people we have to deal with are so stupid, they are perfect brutes and should be treated as such. The first act shall be sent to you next Wednesday by the North German Lloyd.

By the time this letter reaches you my book will be published here. I cannot write another line or I shall miss the post. So sorry for I had a lot to say.

Au revoir dear friend and believe me

Most sincerely

George Moore