To George Sturgis
Fiesole, Italy. July 9th 1934
I am glad to see by your letter of June 28th that my income for this last half-year has kept up to the same figure, practically, as last year. That I have spent so much more is due, as you say, to the fall in the exchange and in my earned income: the $2000 you have sent me to London (one thousand I think, last year) would just cover my added expenditure. But I see there is still a surplus of $3323.27, so that economy is not pressing.
This is lucky as I have found, after a fortnight or three weeks at Strong’s that I can’t stand the heat, mosquitoes, confinement, and food; also a certain monotony and dryness in our personal relations, and I am leaving next week for Cortina. In September I shall go down for a month to Venice, before returning as usual to Rome.
I am sorry, because what Strong is allowing me to contribute to his household expenses is so little, that I should have saved a lot by remaining here. But after all, my health, work, and pleasure matter more than an economy which is not really required. . . .
What you tell me about your domestic affairs is not very satisfactory, one way or the other; but I suppose it is better to worry along, if possible, and especially to let the boys have a normal background, especially if they are not going to boarding-schools.
From The Letters of George Santayana: Book Five, 1933-1936. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2003.
Location of manuscript: The Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge MA