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Correspondence from Aleister Crowley to Cordelia Sutherland
Bell [Bell Inn]
die
[Undated: circa January 1945]
Sunbeam hidden by distance!
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
This just on the chance that it may help you with Evan’s pin. Samuels c/o Clerkenwell Road do all kinds of things like that. How did I hear? From the Bucks Bullion Co; I went in this morning to [illegible] the Cowtan thing, and to get that needle fixed. (No Cowtan: hence my wild wire) The beastly thing has a lovely point, but it bends like soft wire, and broke off to-day. So I thought I’d try having it cut at the root to 1/2 inch. If you pass the place where you bought it, scowl, buy another! (Don’t forget to tell me what I owe you.)
I’m terribly bored; no ideas for new letters—I’ve used up Louis’ questions—and the weather is curses terribly depressing; bursts of hot sun, and then all sinks in gloomy apathy—just like me and you! So do come Thursday, and take the chill out of my aged bones!
Love is the law, love under will.
Yours,
Aleister
If you do this as I want, you ought to be about a Knight stronger right away.
This [illegible] diagonal open, and the King now. See how in that game you held me to the last minute, even after your Q[ueen] had gone, by that fooling little bishop. All because I had moved my K.B.P. I would almost say: never move it (if castled on that side) while the K B is alive to command those two diagonals QR2 - KKr8 and QU1-sq-KR7. Most specifically if your own QB has gone and you can’t oppose him.
This is I think the chief reason why PK4 is risky; not the weakness of the P itself, but that it exposes, irrevocably from that direction, the K.B.P.
On the other hand, your own K.B.P. is the great bar to the action of your Rooks. So, provided that you have a P at Q4 supported by one at QB3 so as to block that B., you want above all things to get him out of the way.
This is of course the whole idea of the King’s Gambit; alas! the enemy has now a P at KB5, easy to defend by PK Kr4 B-KR3 or B-Q3 or, if you could just take off that P, the K’s Gambit would win every time despite the material loss. Now, child, the whole of the above is only a [illegible] on the open file or diagonal on the K.
Move up to the [illegible]’s Lunch!
Your heavy let-down about the car had a good affect after all. I bullied my thermometer with the threat that if it kept on jumping about, I would do the Witchcraft stunt on Sunday. So it behaves at last. I started packing, too; and if I can get car, I shall make a dash in Friday.
Started packing, too.
Now don’t overdo it, Aleister ; it’s quite nice you quit writing letters, had a nice cuppa tea, and laid down!
Good-night!
93 93/93.
Yours ever,
Aleister
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[Tuesday]