Huxleys

Tuesday, January 25th., Hotel Savoy, Cortina.

Magnificent morning yesterday. Pinkish, salmonish Dolomite peaks, grey rocks, white snow, blue sky, strong sunshine. The air is undoubtedly very tonic at this height, 4,200 ft. I can feel that I am sleeping better already. Who knows, with plenty of exercise I may sleep a whole night through!

 Aldous and Maria Huxley called on us. We talked with them for some time and then they took us to their house for tea, where several other people arrived.

Today was the first full, empty day of the holiday. We met the Huxleys again. They had been ski-ing. This seems to me to be a lunatic sort of exercise, but each to his own. I stood about till I could risk the cold no longer, and then went for a walk, breaking often into a run. By this time (4 pm.) all the tracks around here were in shadow. The Aldous Huxleys came for dinner and stayed till 11.55. Inevitably, most of our talk was about literary things. I couldn't help thinking that in some sense we were competing with each other, Aldous and I, though we didn't want or intend to. I suppose it is a male thing. I like them both.

The novel is going well and I am getting a lot of 'colour' from this place.