p.

Letter. no. 11

Lieut J. H. Massey
Infantry Base Depot
Egypt
Sunday. Dec 29

My darling sweetheart - I seem to be deteriorating as a correspondent,
and I'm sorry. When I looked at my list just now, I realised that
it is ten days since my last letter to you went off - which is
breaking my promise to send one every week. But it is so
difficult & uninspiring, when I do not hear anything from you
or about you. Why, my darling, did you not tell me more in
the only cable from you which has got through to me so far.
I can only think that you must have been overcome by
that dreadful & unecessary address, that you cut the message
down to a minimum. And you must have been thinking I had
already receivd your letters.
I did my very best to write to you on Christmas day, but
it was of no use. I set over this pad for at least five
hours on Christmas day. You see. I had intended to write to
you on that day, & I had thought a great deal about all
the things I wanted to say to you: even though you
probably would not receive the letter for several weeks, I
wanted you to know what I was thinking about on this day.
But all I produced in all this time - was three pages of
rather incoherent misery, without even reaching what I wanted
to say. And so I tore it all up. Christmas day acts as a
landmark of how happy we were this time last year, &
still happier on that day, the year before. But neither of us
require landmarks, & we both think & remember every day,
quite irrespective of what day it is. And I do not feel
equal to saying very much now. Except that I am always
revealling what a sweet & lovely child Lisa was - & how
lonely you must be without her. What a fine & wonderful
& lovely person you are. And how much & how deeply I