The Queens
Toronto
(Sunday) 26th October 1913
My dearest little girlie,
I learn this morning that the mail leaves tomorrow evening & as I am going out in a few minutes & leave for Hamilton early in the morning, methinks I had better get to business, otherwise you would be without a letter for over a week. Then you would think things wouldn’t you & you might begin an action for breach of promise. Gee whiz wouldn’t it be funny. Wouldn’t people smile somewhat. To avoid that I will settle down seriously & to borrow a word of yours, not be flippant "no more".
Does oo? Really, truly?
Now let me be quite serious & don’t interrupt. Monday afternoon I was done out of my sleep as my correspondence took up such a long time & by the time I had finished it was time to dress & wend my way to Howard’s domicile.
I arrived there in all my glory at 6.25 & was introduced to his two sisters both charming ladies getting into middle age. Then another man came in – a young American & really he is one of the nicest fellows I have met for some time. We had our thanksgiving dinner & talked. Cigars came afterwards & as this man had been in Africa we were both interested in each other.
Later we went to the drawing room & then – ye gods – didn’t I have my fill of music. I played all night & the elder of the two sisters sang a lot of songs. In fact if it hadn’t been that we had to be at business the following morning I should have still been there. I left about 12.30 & walked back to my hotel.
Tuesday I managed to reopen an account which we have tried to do for eleven years. Moreover the order was a good one & on things I never expected to sell. Howard was rather astonished as he could never get in altho’ he is a bosom pal of the buyer. Good enough.
That took me all day but just to show there was no ill feeling I got another 16,000 yards from another firm.
At night Shaw telephoned & asked me to go to the theatre & see Cyril Maude. We went & saw "The Second in Command". It was a splendid performance & I enjoyed it immensely. Later we met his father & a lady relative & went to a top hole place & had supper. I arrived back at my hotel 1.45 am. Wednesday I wrote the firm’s letter & packed up. After dinner I packed my own things & came on here by the night train. It was a very uncomfortable journey & I don’t think the sleepers are as good as the Australians. I arrived here 7.30 Thursday morning. Couldn’t get a sample room so had to turn my bedroom into one. It does look a mess, but I try to keep it as tidy as possible. As the men don’t come in to see you here, I have to take cloths out to them & so I have only myself to consider as far as my room is concerned.
I set to work & met with rebuffs everywhere. Golly but I was wild. I went to see a man before taking my big customer & he told me just the same that the Montreal people told me. Then I trotted round to see the big man & he said he couldn’t buy a yard. I showed him a few cloths & he asked me to leave them. All afternoon I was with another man & there is no doubt business will result eventually, but not yet.
At night I talked to one or two Londoners & prepared cloths for Friday & went to bed. Friday was a most awful day. The rain came down in torrents. I bought an umbrella & the rain came through that after three hours use. I got soaked & my overcoat was not dry next morning. No orders were to be had all morning & then I did get cross, & I was determined somebody would have to suffer. The net result was I cabled home at night 85,000 yards valued at £1150about so then I was happy once more, altho’ I had received a cable with prices up again. To put it very mildly it is absolute collar work & you are fighting an uphill battle all the time. However I still live in hopes & have booked half of what I should be satisfied with & I still have to see three quarters of the customers in Canada. Now to social matters.
Friday evening I wrote Johnny Bentley & a Mr & Mrs Dalton who are Billy Calvert’s friends. Bentley I knew when he lived in Stalybridge. Then I bought some books & sent you one of them because I liked a certain poem. I thought it was so apropos of my feelings at the time. I will mention the title later when I go to my room & consult my copy.
Saturday I prepared for my Monday’s work in Hamilton & received a phone message from Mrs Bentley asking me to dinner & stay the week-end. It couldn’t be done for the week-end as I had my mail to finish. In the afternoon while still working Dalton phoned & I made an appointment for Friday next at his house.
While I remember I went to the theatre Thursday as well as my other work. Saw Oh Oh Delphine & it was very funny – very Frenchy of course but fairly respectable.
I got up to Bentley at 5.30. What a charming woman Mrs B is. I straight away fell in love with her. She remembered me but I couldn’t for the life of me remember her. We had a splendid evening/ We talked about old times & at ten o’clock we went across to some other Stalybridge people & met quite a colony of them. I knew three of them & one – Len Saxon who is contemporary with me was so surprised to see me he nearly fainted. He has been out eight weeks & is just knocking round to see if there is anything in his line. He has passed all his exams for surveying & architecture & really I think he is a fool to himself. However more of this when I can talk to you properly.
At twelve o’clock I thought it time to get along & so Len & I came down together & I got home 12.45.
This morning I have written all my mail – what bit(?) I am sending & Len is going to call for me in precisely five minutes & we are going up to Bentleys for dinner & tea. I am full up of engagements for next week & will try & give you a proper description of things & not a disjointed epistle like "this ‘ere".
Thanks for your letter dearie. You have no idea how much I look forward to them & I am so delighted when I get one. It brings back home to me & I seem to imagine I am only a few miles away.
I will reply to it in detail next week. Now I must go & wash & make myself look pretty. It is 12.45 & dinner is 1.30 & I have a forty minute tram ride.
With all my dearest love sweetheart & love to mother
Yours for all time
Harry