Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

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[Alexandria] 23 January 1883
    My dear Constantine,             Yours 14th instant duly to hand, and I tender     you my best thanks for same. I shall strictly adhere in     future to your request, and avoid the mention of “money-     matters” in my correspondence with you. As to my poetical     talents (for such you will have them), they are, I am sorry to     say, of the “touch-and-go” nature. No man is the same     under all circumstances; and least your humble servant,
    who is subject, in the highest degree, to outward objects and     the inclemency of the winds. I beg thee, pardon me, om-     niscient Mentor, and avert thine angered face. “I have     entirely given up that sort of thing” wishes to express my     inability to write at all times, and the constant lull     that overtakes my imaginative powers. Be this as it     may, you are very wrong in supposing that I never     intended to send you a Xmas epistle at all: upon
    mine honour, Sir, I exerted myself to the utmost of     my valour to execute the task prescribed, and I call     the Muse to witness; pages and pages of foolscap have     I smeared with inimitable scrawl to no avail.      After a whole hour’s labour I was vouchsafed the following “Dear brother, I send thee a Christmas epistle.      The season is cold and the tempest is rude;      The slanting rain and the shrill-voiced whistle      Of the winds, engender a pensive mood.” ―
But beyond this I could not get, for the “Eumenides” and dread “Άτη” set my brains “a wool-gathering”. ― Really and truly ’tis not my style: I can make nothing of it, and demand your credence, as aright, to this state- ment: ― for meseems, I have never given you cause to doubt my word. To appease your wrath however, I hereby promise to send you by next mail a poetical rendering in blank verse of your own “L’Ombre et les Ombres” ― I shall start working at it tomorrow and hope to finish in good time. The weather here is anything but pleasant. Wind, rain, and hail alternate rule the hour. The streets are mucky, and the ruins are tumbling. Altogether Alexandria is not so desirable a place to live in just at present.
About Araby’s departure I have already written you. I am at a loss to understand what you mean by asking for the details of Mr. Moss’ departure. What details? I accompanied him on board the Peninsular and Oriental steamer, shook him warmly by the hand and saw the vessel steam out of the harbour in a clear December morning. I have since written to him and he has responded in his usual kind style and enquiring your news. I never fail to transmit mother’s kind regards. I sent you last week the Pays Financier containing the drawing of the Credit lottery. Unfortunately mother and yourself are not members of the successful list. Hope, hope ever: the month of May will probably bring better tidings. ― At the end of this month I
shall subscribe you to the Queen and Gentleman’s for six months: the cost of same cannot possibly exceed £ 1. ― About Zogheb’s marriage and the Scanavi family, Aris- tides writes to mother. He is more au courant of these things than I. The new building of the Board of Health is situated immediately behind the Presbyterian Church. It is large and airy, and faces the sea. Half is taken up by the “Conseil” and half by the Post-Office; for, you must know, the former quarters of this Administration, close to the Hotel Abbat, have been given up. ― “Copy-book” is not the equivalent for the Greek “τετράδιον”. I would rather use “note-book” or “scribbling-book”.
Thanks for your recommendation of Sand’s Lelia. I am now reading Thackeray’s Adventures of Philip, lent to me by Ambrose and which I believe you are acquainted with. I like it very much and begin to find out that Thackeray’s style of writing is superior to Dickens! Better late than never. There is a sort of dry irony pervading the whole work which is very pleasant and alleviates the sorrow attached to the tragical phases of life therein described. The Shabby Genteel Story is also very amusing. I don’t know whether Aristides has written to you that Xenos (with whom George had something to do in London) is now here. The man is an awful swell: and appears to have no end of cash at his disposal. He speaks
English with a faultless accent and speaks Greek like an Englishman. He has lately taken up the corner shop opposite the Exchange (formerly the “Egyptian Bar”) and opened a bar in Monferrato’s style under the name of the “Princess of Wales”. This in partnership with Carali the broker. He is said to have spent £ 1,200 in refitting the place, and truly he has made it look very pretty. I am of opinion however, that it won’t last long; albeit Xenos is a great friend of the English Officers and they seem willing to patronise him. Your letter 1st instant was duly received, and, ere this reaches you, my reply thereto will be in your hands. In reply to your quotation “Be still, sad heart”, etc. allow me to copy the following: “The longing of thy youthful mind Is such as time cannot appease; We seek what we can never find, And sorrows thus with years increase.” ― You surely cannot complain of brevity this time: and so, my dearest Constantine and severest Mentor, kiss mother for me, Alexander and Paul; remember me to grandfather, and our other relations and forgive Your faithful and devoted John.

DIGITAL OBJECT DESCRIPTION

IDENTITY AREA

REFERENCE CODE:

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GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0015 (390)

TITLE:

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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

DATE(S):

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23/1/1883

LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION:

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Item

EXTENT AND MEDIUM:

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44 x 27.5 cm

FORMER REFERENCE CODE:

Records the former identifier of the item as given by the Historical G. P. Savvidis Catalogue.

F51_Φ1-33

CONTEXT AREA

NAME OF CREATOR(S):

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Cavafy, John

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE AREA

SCOPE AND CONTENT:

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Handwritten letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy on the first and third pages of two double sheet letterheads of R. J. Moss & Co., Alexandria. Pages 3 and 4 are numbered at top right. Update on current affairs and on the developments in Alexandria. Thoughts on literary works.

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

CONDITIONS GOVERNING REPRODUCTION:

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CC BY-SA 4.0 Cavafy Archive Onassis Foundation

LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT NOTES:

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English

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

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Writing in ink. Watermark: R. J. Moss & Co Alexandria.

ALLIED MATERIALS AREA

RELATED WORKS BY C. P. CAVAFY:

Reference to the works of C. P. Cavafy that are directly related to the described digital object, followed by their number of entry in the C. P. Cavafy Bibliography (ed. by D. Daskalopoulos).

“Darkness and shadows” >Α524

NOTES AREA

NOTE:

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The transcription and editing of the letters of John Constantine Cavafy addressed to C. P. Cavafy was first carried out by Katerina Ghika; said transcriptions were subsequently uploaded to the official website of the Cavafy Archive.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Literary annotation, providing additional information on the digital object.

Reference to the translation of C. P. Cavafy’s poem “L’Ombre et les Ombres” into English by John in blank verse.

ACCESS POINTS

Key-words aiming to facilitate search within the fonds.

SUBJECTS:

Letter

Journals:

Gentleman's Magazine, The

Queen, The

Newspapers:

Pays Financier

Works by C. P. Cavafy in translation:

"L'Ombre et les Ombres" ["Darkness and Shadows"]

Works by other authors:

A Shabby Genteel Story [Thackeray, William Makepeace]

Lélia [Sand, George]

The Adventures of Philip [Thackeray, William Makepeace]

PLACES:

Alexandria (Egypt)

London (England)

PERSONS:

Cavafy (Fotiadi), Charikleia

Cavafy, Alexandros P.

Cavafy, Aristeidis

Cavafy, C. P.

Cavafy, George P. J.

Cavafy, John Constantine

Cavafy, Paul

Dickens, Charles

Fotiadis, George (1800-1896)

Thackeray, William Makepeace

FAMILIES:

CITATION:

For citation purposes, please use the reference provided here.

Cavafy, John Constantine. “Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy”. Letter, 23.01.1883. GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0015 (390), Onassis Foundation C. P. Cavafy Fonds. From The Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive, edited by Onassis Foundation, Athens, last modified 01.10.2025. https://doi.org/10.26256/CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0015.