09 September
09 September
9 September 1920
Travelling to Menton, France
"... But my dear child its no earthly use simply to say that you've lost it. That won't help you. How can it? You must stir yourself, rouse yourself, begin looking for it. It must be somewhere. Things don't simply disappear, vanish into thin air. You know that as well as I do. Pull yourself together. Concentrate. Now when did you last have it? When did you first realise it was gone. When did you feel that terrific shock, that - Good Heavens - where on earth - don't you know? You must remember that. And Oh! don't mind me laughing, darling, but you look so tragic. I can't help saying it is so exactly like you. So just the sort of thing that would be bound to happen to you of all people. One might almost say that you've been working up to it, don't you know, all your life.
Lost Stolen or Strayed. We shall have to advertise. Three shillings a line for the first two lines and something enormous a word afterwards. You don't think I'm cruel, do you, pet? Everything has its funny side, hasn't it? And if one can bring one's sense of humour to bear upon a thing - what can be better? Don't you agree? Of course I'm a philosopher. I don't believe there's a single thing that we aren't really better without, but I can't expect you to agree with that. Cheer up! We've only one life after all. That's cheap I know - but you could not say a truer thing - not even if you were willing to spend millions on it. [KM Notebooks, undated]