Abbot McClure to his cousin William Thorndike, 1 March 1923

[From Abbot McClure in Nice, France, to his cousin William Thorndike. He says he's been there a month as the guest of an English friend, Stanley Josling, and describes the wonderful time he's been having; talks about the extravagance there, and says he prefers his quiet life in Rome; mentions the death of Mr. Eberlein's sister; and mentions an upcoming visit to Rome by the King & Queen of England.]

Nice, March 1st [1923]

Dear Will,

I have been in this wonderful spot a month as the guest of an English friend, a Mr. Stanley Josling,1 and have been having a gay old time. There has not been a day without something going on, either a lunch party, tea, or dinner, and I have literally danced through one pair of pumps. I have covered miles in motors and feel queer when on foot although I am walking a lot. Nice, Monte Carlo, Menton, and Cannes are the principal centers of gayity, but there are many other places I have seen and feel I know.

I have just come back after lunching with some English people in a wonderful villa at San Juan. We lunched in an enchanting garden filled with heavenly flowers and tall waving palms. The sea is so blue and the sun so hot that it was hard to realize it was only March. Tomorrow I am lunching at Cannes with the Crockers of California with tea and dancing afterwards at the Casino. So it goes, so when I return to Rome on the 13th. I think I shall be ready for a little rest and quiet. My room overlooks the sea, and the surf rolling in puts me to sleep and awakens me, and I love it.

I have not yet lost or won at Monte Carlo and feel I will not. The atmosphere in the rooms is most depressing I find, and the people standing three deep all with a fiendish look on their faces does not intrigue me at all.

This whole coast is too wonderful, and it all seems like a dream. I have never seen such motor cars and so well kept. The people who took me to one of the big balls the other night have four huge ones, and think nothing of having twenty people for a week end. It's all amusing for a while, but to continually live such a life would bore me stiff. Money is no consideration, and of course it must not be if one is to play the game here and play it well. I am awfully glad to have had this experience, and will again some time as I know people here, but my nice quiet life in Rome suits me better.

I have been asked for June with people who have a fine villa at Mont Baron, but am not sure whether I will accept. It means bringing a lot of things, and my summer wardrobe is not in readiness for the Cote d'azure yet.

When I think of my life in Wauwatosa, and then compare it with my life here, it does indeed seem a pretty big jump and really like a dream.

A letter from a friend in Philadelphia tells me of the death of Mr. Eberlein's2 sister.3 Mrs. Eberlein4 at the age of 87 is in bed with the jaundice. This and the shock of her daughter's death I fear will be serious.

Rome is to have a visit of the King & Queen of England5 in May. That will be a splendid sight I fancy as it is their first Royal call.

Give my love to Miss Norris6 and lots to Mary.7

Ever affectionately,

Abbot

Spent five minutes in Italy the other day crossing the frontier at Menton. The difference was really noticeable.

  1. Herbert Stanley Josling (1877-1951)
  2. Harold Donaldson Eberlein (1875-1964). He was a historian and author, and wrote several books with Abbot McClure as a co-author and illustrator, specifically on antique furniture and decorating.
  3. Laura Corinne Eberlein (1856-1923)
  4. Hester Ann Crook (1834-1923), mother of Harold Eberlein and Laura Eberlein
  5. George V (George Frederick Ernest) (1865-1936) and Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine) (1867-1953), King and Queen of England from 1910-1936. See George V and Mary of Teck.
  6. Katherine Townsend Norris (1842-1927)
  7. Mary Benson Kilbourn (1867-1945), William's wife