2110-4-1-15

[Lady Mary Minto]

50 Chelsea Park Gardens S.W.3

July 10th/22

My dear Mr. Buchan

I am absolutely thrilled by the 1st chapter of "The Border Elliots" I cannot say how delighted I am to feel a beginning has really been made & such a spendid beginning. You have contrived to get in an enormous amount of information in an astonishingly short space & this makes me realize how clearly you will sketch Minto's character with your masterly touch, & my gratitude knows no bounds that I have had the good fortune to enlist your sympathy in giving the work a knowledge of a very unique personality.

whom most people only look upon as a sportsman, whilst in reality he combined the soldier & the sagacious administrator as well. I am so delighted you shd. allude to Nina Lady Minto as you do .. Arthur & the other brothers will be so pleased. I am sending you in a registered envelope addressed to Elsfield. Arthur Elliots II Vol. of his mothers letters, in type. ( he does not intend to print them). They are very private & quite charming, & I know you will enjoy them. I have also a short summary of Minto's first journals. 1861 & 1862. These shd. have been put with the early papers but I stupidly over looked these two diaries & only went through them when I was at Minto in the spring. I have given up going to East Africa this winter. I don't want to be out of the way when you may be writing a portion of the

work, & also I want to get established in both my little houses, & it takes time, so I prefer putting off till the following year if I am alive.

I shall do my best to find you tomorrow, but amongst 4000 people I do not feel over sanguine. It wd. be a great pleasure to have a few words with you & to tell you how I appreciate your grasp of the family traditions. I have only just received the packet forwarded from Hydon & am writing after reading through it hurriedly, but look forward to re-reading it again to night.

Your very sincerely Mary Minto

Miss Acheson has not yet sent me the corrected copy of the early journal. I will forward it to you as soon as I get it.