14 June 1916 - 11 July, 1916

Little profound here. Besides other things, (like Tristan) Lewis is reading Archadia and loving it. He, his father, and Mr. K. are working on which colleges to apply to at Oxford. Jack is insisting on joining the army. He persuades Arthur to send him a story he is working on and Jack loves it. Arthur is also supposed to be illustrating Lewis' Bleheris. Lewis is sending him chapters as they are done. He manages to get Arthur to read some Christina Rosetti; he wants Arthur to appreciate poetry more.

Lewis is already quoting Milton's Paradise Lost in the body of his letters. Mercy.

Lewis shares his advice with Arthur about how a budding author needs to keep writing, even if he throw it away. The experience is good for him. As the letters proceed, he keeps offering advice on writing (11 July), such as not doing things in a hurry, allowing any rapid burst of writing energy to tame down. He also says he likes to put stories together in his head when he is out walking, which is the "only" time his imagination "works". It is interesting to read Lewis' opinions on writing at this age. The things he says are helpful.

Lewis thinks marriage is unlikely for the present; he'll let Arthur know if something happens.