2110-4-9-28

Cam Dearg Gairloch Ross-shire

July 30. 26

Dear John:

Dan will write to you anon about the "Dancing Floor"; but I must just add my own word of thanks and admiration. It came while Dan and young Rog. were off on a threeday trip to John o' Groats;

I ventured to open it, and read it in three sittings. It did a lot to make the time pass quickly till they got back. I had "my doubts", when you told me last May that your next was to be about a Greek island, but now I'm sure you were right. It's fully up to your best standard, and the way that the end of each chapter compels the reader to begin the next at once is glorious.

How devilish clever of you to get the conversation with the Greek priest into a Latin that anyone (even I) could readily understand! I long for the Scottish witchcraft tale. When will it appear?

We're having a glorious time and a real [underlined] rest. Yesterday I struck a very large brown trout in one of the lochs; and he promptly jumped across Dan's cast (we

were fishing from the same boat) and after almost 10 minutes we landed him by a fine cooperative effort, which scandalized but also impressed our very orthodox gillie. They're a ripping fish.

My love to Susan. Won't you come and pay us another visit at Harvard before we come back to England the next time?

Yours always

Roger B. Merriman