Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy
GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0067 (1149)
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[Alexandria] Sunday 6 September 1885
My dear Constantine,
I received this morning mother’s
letter of the 31st August. I have
gone thro’ it carefully, and it
has caused me much pain to
detect, between the lines, an
undercurrent of reproof.
I therefore write to you, to ask
you to intercede on my behalf,
and to obtain mother’s forgiveness
for any unwilling misdemeanour of mine.
Nothing short of absolute ne-
cessity would have induced me
to retain the £10 in question.
Inasmuch as I personally -
am concerned, I could be content
to dispense with renewing my
clothing, but for the sake of
appearances, I cannot do this.
You can judge from my
remittances and my salary,
during the last three years,
what money I have spent
in clothes, ― and you know
what things I had when I
left Constantinople.
I am well aware that you
are much worse off than I
am: none feels it more
than I do: but how could -
I have acted in these three years
otherwise than I have done?
I shall look upon the £10 as so
much money borrowed from the
family, and I shall refund them as soon as possible.
I am sorely grieved that I should
have unwittingly offended our
good mother, and I request you
my dear Constantine, to tender
her the sincere apologies of
a son and a gentleman. Due note is taken of mother’s
wishes about pillows and the
furniture in general. I trust
the £140 will have reached -
you safely. ―
Mr. Moss is still here.
I am
Yours affectionately
John.
P.S. Poor Pegasus has lost
his wings and is now an
eminently prosaic beast!
id.
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GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0067 (1149)
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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy
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6/9/1885
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Item
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20.5 x 13 cm
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Handwritten letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy on two letterheads of R. J. Moss & Co. The first three pages are numbered. Reference to their mother’s discontent regarding a financial matter. (Alexandria)
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English
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Writing in ink. Indiscernible watermark. Physical item wear: oxidations.
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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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Cavafy, John Constantine. “Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy”. Letter, 06.09.1885. GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0067 (1149), 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-SF001-0067.
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DOI: 10.26256/ca-sf02-s01-ss02-f20-sf001-0067
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PERSONAL PAPERS
Correspondence of C. P. Cavafy
Family correspondence
Incoming correspondence of C. P. Cavafy
Incoming correspondence by John Cavafy