To George Sturgis
Hotel Bristol
Rome. April 1, 1927
It happens that the Harvard Lampoon has been sending me specimen numbers in the hope that I may subscribe. I want to do so for the sake of Auld Lang Syne and in order to show goodwill to the younger generation, but I find that I can’t understand a word of it, and the pictures are not modern enough for my taste. . . . It occurs to me that you might subscribe in my name (and at my expense) but have the copies sent to you for the boys. They will some day go to Harvard, I suppose, and they might as well begin early to understand the secrets of the place.
There is no change here. Randolph Chetwynd staid with me for the whole month of January, my friend Lawrence Butler was here for a few days, and lately Strong has made a long visit to Rome, and I have lunched and driven with him daily about Rome and the Campagna. In May I expect an unknown disciple named Cory, who is coming on a pilgrimage on purpose to make my acquaintance—fancy that! Apart from these distractions, I have been doing nothing but my usual reading and writing and strolling in the Pincio—and have been twice to the Zoo, remembering our visit there when you and Rosamond were here.
From The Letters of George Santayana: Book Three, 1921-1927. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2002.
Location of manuscript: The Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge MA.