WCP3342

[1]

The Cottage

Raheny,

Co. Dublin

Feb. 13^th1

Dear Dr Wallace,

I am returning The History of Ralahine² with many thanks. It is very interesting in spite of all its literary defects. Your Land Nationalisation I have been studying carefully, and have seldom read anything that interested me more, especially so the parts relating to Ireland, from which I learned much that that I had not known. Mr Pim's statement (p 150) about the reclaimers of the mountains of Forth struck me as being one of the most shocking of its kind that I had ever seen, though indeed the scarcely credible meanness [2] of landlords is constantly in evidence. I firmly believe in the principle of land nationalisation.

I have beg made a small beginning of my story, and am not satisfied with it at all, but I hope that it may improve as I go on, in which case I shall certainly re-write these first chapters. It has occurred to me that a possible incident might be an attempt on the part of the reforming landlord's family to have him declared a lunatic. This would bring out a point touched upon in your Wonderful Century.³ The abolition of private lunatic asylums seems to me a very urgently needed reform wherever they exist, but the prevalence of insanity unhappily makes the subject particularly important in Ireland.

I hope that you will forgive me for troubling you with these details. If I ever succeed in making the book, it will be entirely due to your encouragement, but even if I fail, I am much better occupied in the attempt than in idling [3] over small things in an aimless way, as I have been doing for some time past.

Yours very sincerely | Jane Barlow⁴ [signature]