Letter from Edward Thomas to his wife, Helen Thomas. Archival reference: 424/1/1/1/1/202
Slinfold
near Horsham
8 p.m. 15 viii 12
Dearest one, we got here comfortably by 7.30
through Midhurst, Petworth, + Billingshurst.
It is about 30 miles from home + I don't think it
was too much for Mervyn. He has just gone to bed
after a good supper. He enjoyed the ride tho he didn't
say much. The weather was really excellent - the
showers were light + short + it was never too hot or
too cold. We didn't hurry. At a quarter to 12 we
were in Terwick church, a little plain neat
place with tablets to various rectors + tombstones
outside to Tippers + Lintotts, + many illegible [crossed out]
doubtless restful people whose names are illegible on
the pretty old tombstones. The narrowest footpath
- between a hedge + some oats just being cut -
the narrowest I ever saw leads out of the road
to the church which has neither tower nor spire.
We stopped again at Trotton Bridge, which
has 4 huge blunt buttresses on both sides
+ takes you high over the shallow stream, where
there are broad emerald clots of weeds near the
surface + darker ones deeper down. The bottom is
of dark brown gravel except on the lower
side of the bridge where there are some half islets of
willow herb n[sic]. The rose-bay willow herb is lovely
when half the flowers have faded below + left
silvery ghosts of themselves. So we went up + [all crossed out]
Mervyn tried to get into the church but it was
locked. So we went up + down + very soon
came to the row of commons on the right -
Trotton Iping + Stedham commons with their
slopes of pale purple heather + deep sandy tracks.
on the left was corn + grass. At Midhurst we
bought a mug for baby + then eat [sic] apples +
a lard cake with butter at 1.15 + watched a
shower until 2 when we started for Petworth
thro Cowdrey Park. Do you know the
long avenue of huge Spanish Chestnuts with
barks of twisted grain that leads off to
the left just inside the gate? The smooth
Green, hardly passing a house in the 7 miles.
There is a lot of common alongside the road,
sometimes narrow, sometimes indefinitely
wide, with oak + beech + gorse + bracken,
+ we rested a little + I lighted a pipe where
some trees were lying waiting for a waggon.
We got different views of Chanctonbury from
yours + were often on very high ground
for example - where the road from Kirdford to
Bedham crossed ours at a hilltop. Then there
was more common spotted with low
camomile flowers.
We bicycled round Wisburgh Green +
Mervyn had ginger beer + I a cup of tea at
the Cricketers Arms which has a signboard
of stumps + bat + ball leaning together,
kept by Billy Ward + his old mother. At first
they wouldn't give us tea but I said we
would give no trouble + didn't want food. So
we all sat down in the kitchen bar by a fire

grassy slopes with crowns of beech + the
roadside companies of beech + oak + the
lower expanses with the ruins in the mist
are beautiful. At P[crossed out] The roadsides beyond
like those before Midhurst had many harebells
among the fine hairlike grasses, + there was
ragwort + woodbetony + knapweed under the
oaks + hazels. At Petworth we stopped +
Mervyn sat down in a pew while I looked at
the tablets + tombs + and a statue of a dead
Egremont resembling de la Mare. The tall spire
of St Mary + St Thomas of Canterbury is fine + so is
the churchyard of uneven ground with neat old
tombs, edged by the high creeper-covered wall of a big stone
house and edged by some lesser houses. One of the tradesmen is named Otway - the
poet Otway was born at Frotton. In
Midhurst I saw the grave of Thomas Amber +
a lane called 'June Lane.' From Petworth we
had a series of long runs to Wisburgh
The old man, a small bright eyed toothless
red headed chap, talked a lot about 50 years
ago when Sammy Woods used to make cricket
bats there + tramp over the downs with them on
his back to the match at Brighton + take
orders for next year. The local industry is
making hoops for brandy barrels, the centre
being at Billingshurst 3 miles off. They do a lot
of work in the copses - walking sticks
for example. He personally favours a 2 year
old sucker from an oak stump. It can be
kicked off + the knob at the juncture makes
a good handle. It is good for knocking a rabbit
over + lasts for ever. He had a beautiful dark
old stick something like mine with a natural
root handle just like a cock raising its
beak to crow. It was given him by a
man who used to go all over England with
a wonderful racehorse called Barcodine,
a vicious + treacherous animal. He knew
a lot about racehorses + said there were 2
famous steeplechasers trained at Alresford. He
smokes his own bacon + showed me a pair of
magnificent dark brown greasy chops +
recounted a joke he had with a collector of
antiques - how he told the man he had
a lot of 'ile paintings' + then showed him
8 sides of bacon in a row. He amused Mervyn
who was stroking the old woman's black cat,
a spoilt favourite who has a certain seat +
is 'particular' like her and her son Billy.
She was added saccharine instead of sugar
some years ago + now both will have only
saccharine - except in jam or coffee. If
they would have put us up we should have stayed
tho it was only 5. But Mervyn wanted to
go on. [crossing out] There is a beautiful full
church with one of the characteristic broach
spires on high ground near the green -
looking splendid over a [illegible] meadow or

2 miles off behind us. [diagram of broach steeple]
We were soon at Billingshurst which Stane
Street (the Roman rd from London to Chichester)
runs through. Here we saw some of the
Horsham slate roofs - of big thick slabs
cemented together. There is a King's Arms +
a King's Head, as at Wisburgh [crossed out] Wisborough Green there is
a Cricketers' Arms + a Bat + Ball. We turned
out of Stane Street by the Five Oaks. after
meeting a Gypsy Caravan with a Red Indian-
looking old woman in it, her hair parted in
the middle. We passed several lots of
ponies, one at [illegible], one beyond,
including a little black foal small enough for
baby. At first we thought we shouldn't get
put up here. The only pub - the King's Head
+ a place there recommended to us were full.
But we tried this blacksmith's house with a
2 round bay windows behind a chestnut [crossed out] plan + a cherry tree, +
they took us in + gave me bacon + Mervyn
eggs, + both some Victoria plum jam newly
made. We [crossed out] I am in the piano room with
innumerable vases, china children, family
photographs enlarged + a dark 'Lily of Killarney' +
a 'Cherry Ripe', a photograph of Chichester
market cross &c. It is cool + breezy but
dry so far.
I hope you have had as good a day as we
have + I wish you fine weather for Baby's
birthday. If it is dry on Saturday will you
get some shavings for a bonfire?
We shall have an easy ride to Slinfold
tomorrow + on Saturday Mervyn at least
will probably go over to the de la Mare's.
We have seen far more apples, pink
+ golden brown about here than at home. We
have looked back at Hindhead + Blackdown just
as we looked forward to them at starting. The
roads have been perfect all the way, + more
than half way they have been tarred + smooth as
ice, with few motors
This village is just one winding street - its
pavement makes it resemble London, Mervyn thought,
when people were going up + down last evening - the
houses (at irregular intervals) mostly small double fronted ones with a flagged
path [illegible, crossed out] (rather longer than usual) + railings +
a few trees, often [crossed out] + usually a porch. The smithy has
lime trees and a Wild Bird Protection notice Mostly the
houses are brick + either slate or tile, not Horsham
stone, except the church, which is a rebuilt one with
an old churchyard. Towards the station there are
several larger newish houses. At the other end are also
several small villas + rows of old cottages.
The flagged pavement has long grass edges, as you may
suppose.
I enclose two songs from a collection resting on
the piano. Similar ones were performed by the gramophone
last night, about the dear old home, + old friends
+ so on, + the 'dear little wife who's always the
same to me' + he finds her after his work with his
slippers, his fire + that's why he never wants to roam.
Please keep these gems.
A breezy nice morning + we are just off.
3 pm. Selsfield House

Just arrived after a beautiful ride
which I will tell you about - past Shelley's
birthplace - through St. Leonards Forest + Worth Forest.
It is now quite hot + you ought to be having
a fine day. Goodbye with our love to you all.
Edw.
1 Dreaming of you, that's all I do.
Night + day for you I'm pining,
And in your eyes, blue as the skies,
I can see the love light softly shining.
Because you love me there it seems,
Pray meet me in the land of dreams.
Meet me tonight in Dreamland,
Under the silvery moon,
Meet me . . . .
Where love's sweet roses bloom.
Come with the lovelight gleaming
In your dear eyes of blue;
Meet me in Dreamland, sweet dreamy Dreamland
There let my dreams come true.

2 Dreaming [crossed out] Sighing all day, when you're away
Longing for you, dear, you only;
In blissful dreams, sweetheart, it seems,
One can never be sad, never lonely.
And if you'll come with me to stay,
We'll live in Dreamland night + day.
Meet me tonight . . . . . .

PTO
'They're all single by the seaside'.

When a fellow goes down beside the seaside once a year,
For his holiday he feels so bright + gay
If he's married or single, in the "swim" he's going to be
When he's down beside the silv'ry [sic] sea.
Now take the poor old married men, who never smile at home,
Why do they look so happy when they're down beside the foam?
Chorus (underlined) They're all single by the seaside
All single by the sea
Oh! [sic] see them on the pier each night,
All busy in the twi-twilight
They're all single by the seaside,
All happy as can be
When they see a pretty face or a dainty piece of lace,
They're all single by the sea.