Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0054 (429)

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Ramle 21 October 1884 Tuesday 10 pm ―
    My dear Constantine,        I am obliged to begin this letter with the same     request that yours of 6th begins with. My excuse     is the usual pressure of work at this season of the     year: during the past ten days I have hardly had     time to think of anything else but the Office and     its immediate requirements and responsibilities, for     friend Kneen has again been away to Cairo on the     plea of want of change of air. Je me tire d’     affaire pretty well, and now that Moss himself     is here and sees me at work, I think I can con-
    fidently say that my services will be rewarded     and next year find me in an ameliorated pecu-     niary position. Inshallah! as our Moslem     friends would say. Without any self-flattery I     can say that I am of some use to R. J. Moss and     Co. and it is high time I should earn more than I do, for     I have now been seven years at work with an     average salary not much exceeding what is gene-
    rally given to a good butler in English houses.     I am really ashamed to think of the little     help I have so far afforded my family, and this     pervading thought often disheartens me ―     I can easily imagine the difficulties you must     have encountered through our reduced remittance     of this month. Poor Aristides has done his best
    but unfortunately could not until today remit you     the promised £5, which I have posted by this     mail to Paul’s address under separate registered     cover. As you will note from the heading of     this letter I write to you from Ramle, where I am     again staying at the solicitous invitation of
    Mr. Moss ― The Beau Séjour is not so full as when     I was last here, many of the Officers having     already gone forward to Assiout in readiness for     the impending expedition. To my great satisfa-     ction we finished yesterday the forwarding of the     entire 800 Boats for the British Government and this     as you may suppose has relieved me of much     vexatious correspondence with military Officials
    whose arrogance and authoritative mode of pro-     cedure is ― to say the least ― exasperating, and     mind you this arrogance is seldom if ever well-     placed for it is generally accompanied by the most     intense stupidity and ignorance, ― ignorance of the     country, ignorance of commercial etiquette, igno-     rance of languages, even (believe me) their own,     ignorance of everything! Only the other day one
    of these top-boot-and-spurs individuals, who is     a D.A.C.G. (Deputy Assistant Commissary General),     could not understand why £100 in Egypt should     not fetch £100 in England when the exchange was     ½% above par! ― Aristides gives you in detail     the news of the day, the absorbing topic of the
    sudden though hardly unexpected collapse of the     grandeur of the Sinadinos. I certainly feel no re-     gret for the people interested, but at the same time     I cannot help sympathizing with this latest     instance of a fall in human prosperity. So is     said that this is the coup de grâce of the     Sinadino supremacy in this country and that they     will never be able to rally from a blow that     must necessarily sweep away their entire fortunes.     They have had their day: recquiescant in pace!     I am writing under difficulties, id est with
    a bad screeching quill pen and with thick     “clothy” ink and on a table that every now and then     gives a lurch to either side: for this “Grand     Hotel Beau Séjour” is by no means well fur-     nished ― I shall send you in my next as     many stamps as I can collect, and in the
    meanwhile requesting you to kiss mother for     me and the sorely-tried Alexander and Paul           I remain, my sage Mentor,                Your faithful brother                     Johannisberg C.F. Cavafy Esquire Constantinople.           P.S. I enclose a version of     the popular nursery rhyme “Sing a song for     sixpence”, ― in select phraseology which I think is     very happy ― It is “Anonymous” ― J.C.C.

DIGITAL OBJECT DESCRIPTION

IDENTITY AREA

REFERENCE CODE:

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GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0054 (429)

TITLE:

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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

DATE(S):

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21/10/1884

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Item

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27 x 21.5 cm

FORMER REFERENCE CODE:

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F53_Φ1-32

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 recto of three ruled sheets. Their verso is blank. Pages 2 and 3 are numbered. John refers to the positive prospects of his professional position but admits that the financial situation of the family is, at present, poor. He complains about the behaviour of British military officers. (Ramlé)

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

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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. Physical item wear: oxidations.

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.

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SUBJECTS:

Letter

Works by other authors:

"Sing a song for sixpence" [Cavafy, John C.]

PLACES:

PERSONS:

Cavafy (Fotiadi), Charikleia

Cavafy, Alexandros P.

Cavafy, Aristeidis

Cavafy, C. P.

Cavafy, John Constantine

FAMILIES:

CITATION:

For citation purposes, please use the reference provided here.

Cavafy, John Constantine. “Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy”. Letter, 21.10.1884. GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0054 (429), 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-SF001-0054.