Читать книгу The Secret Love Letters - Dolores San Miguel - Страница 9

Little Jaime San Miguel loved his family and was close to all his siblings. It was an exciting life for a young boy, travelling the world on fine ships, visiting exotic ports and capitals and spending time with Grandpapa Cipriano and Grandmamma Francisca, Aunt Carmen and Aunt Maria, plus his cousin, Agapito. In 1906, aged eight years, Jaime was placed in boarding school at the College of Valldemia in Mataro, Barcelona.

As the business grew and grew, Antonio and Rebecca travelled extensively. By now, both Tony and Lionel were boarding at Xavier College and Francisca and Ines at Genazzano in Melbourne. Jaime missed his family very much although his parents visited him as often as they could, bringing butter and sweet treats and sending him postcards.

Alella

February 1 1907

Dear Jaime,

We are not able to come to Mataro before February 17, that is next Sunday, two weeks, so I am sending you this little girl and lovely doggie to see if you are quite happy and well. If you want butter tell the Director to buy you a tin. Hope your books are good and have no holes. With fondest love besos y abrazos from Papa, Patricia, and loads from Mother.

Jaime returned to Australia with his father and 12-year-old sister, Ines, on board the Mongolia on August 22 1907. This was the first time he had seen the new family home. In 1906, Antonio had purchased a 3.5 acre property, St Abbs¹ in York Street, Mont Albert from Mr John Lothian of Lothian Book Publishing Co². The house, a slate-roofed weatherboard villa was built around 1875 and contained nine rooms. Beginning with a 6 foot wide hall, four generous bedrooms, a large dining room, drawing room, sewing room, bathroom with a porcelain enamelled bath; there was also a large pantry, scullery and kitchen. The out buildings included a laundry, man’s room, two-stall stable with loft, and a coach house. Two wells were on the property, as well as an asphalt tennis court. Antonio planted a variety of fruit trees, vegetable plots as well as a cork tree, which he bought over from Spain.

On September 8 1908 at Our Redeemer’s Catholic Church in Surrey Hills,³ Jaime celebrated his First Holy Communion. He began school at Xavier College in 1911, and was a boarder in later years. He had to repeat a year when he started, due to his school years in Spain, resulting in him being a year older than his classmates. It was here he excelled in all sports, eventually becoming Captain of the Running Team and rower for Xavier at the Head of the River. Jaime was also a school prefect and then Captain of the School in 1916 and 1917. His two older sisters, Francisca and Ines, had both been school captains at Genezzano in 1911 and 1912, so Jaime was keeping the family tradition alive. All the San Miguel girls had attended finishing school in Spain after they left Genezzano.

At the end of 1917, Jaime finished school and in 1918, just before the end of World War I he volunteered and enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force). Although Jaime trained at the Broadmeadows camp for six months, this was a short-lived experience, as he was demobilised once the war ended.

All the San Miguel brothers were sought after by many pretty girls, loads of tennis parties and garden parties were regularly held at St Abbs. Antonio always encouraged his sons to entertain the pretty, dark-haired Parer girls, as he knew their families so well; however, they all only remained good friends.

Early in 1918 Jaime met his first true love, Alida (Ally). Her family lived nearby, close to Wattle Park, and it was here they often shared a picnic lunch and many stolen kisses. Ally was as pretty as a picture, with light brown hair, a perfect heart-shaped face, rosebud lips and a coquettish personality. They soon became besotted with each other, and Jaime would often also include Ally’s mother and her two sisters for jaunts in his newly acquired Ford T motor car. He became a regular guest at their home, and Ally was at first a welcome visitor to St Abbs. The romance soon blossomed and they became inseparable.

An extremely sad day occurred on 25 April 1919. Antonio San Miguel passed away at his beloved , St Abbs, aged sixty-seven, surrounded by his family. Around 1908, not long after Antonio had advertised the Perth business of Harrison, San Miguel for sale,⁴ Birdie had noticed a change in her husband. At first his facial expressions differed, he seemed to not blink at all, and she felt he was staring at no one in particular. Then when he was sitting, tremors occurred in his hands and face, and he felt sharp pain when he walked. The doctors diagnosed him with Paralysis Agitans (Parkinson’s Disease). The family were told there was no cure. By 1910, Antonio was too sick to take an active part in his company; however, he didn’t retire until 1915, when he needed the use of a wheelchair to get around. Eventually dementia set in and the family was devastated. Birdie felt the loss more than anyone. She had loved her successful and romantic Spanish husband desperately, and she missed him daily. Antonio was buried in a large granite crypt, which was built at the Box Hill Cemetery, and was large enough for most of the family when they eventually passed on.⁵

Genazzano Journal , Christmas, 1919.

Francie San Miguel and her sisters, Ines and Patricia, are living in Mont Albert. During the early months of the year their father’s health was gradually weakening, until on April 25, after many years of patient suffering, he passed peacefully away. RIP. The devotedness and love which had surrounded him for so many years must have been to him a constant source of comfort and support in those trying days of helplessness and physical pain. All at Genazzano sympathised deeply with Mrs San Miguel and family in this great and irreparable loss, and many were the prayers offered during those sad days. In November we had several visits from Francie, who very kindly offered to teach the Spanish national dance for the entertainment on the twenty-fifth. It was undoubtedly owing to her painstaking efforts and interest that the dancers achieved such a signal success. We remember how, long ago, she and Ines used to practise these pretty, characteristic dances, which they had learned in Spain. Patricia continues her lessons in elocution and singing, for which she shows much natural ability.

At the beginning of 1921, when Jaime was planning a world wide trip, he and Ally promised to write and wait for one another. On March 30 1921, aged twenty-two years, Jaime set sail on the Makura, heading to Vancouver. His mother had paid for the first class passage, and given her son the means to travel. It was a delightful voyage, the San Miguel family was highly respected and handsome Jaime was always asked to dine with the very best guests. All the pretty, young, aristocrats on the voyage prayed that they would receive his dance card, and though he waltzed with quite a few, he never stopped thinking of Ally.

After arrival in Vancouver in April, Jaime set off on a trip through the Canadian Rockies, sightseeing the magnificent Bow River Falls in Banff, Alberta. He also stayed a night in the quaint little village of Paradise Valley, and was awestruck by the picturesque Mount Temple at the splendid Banff National Park. Niagara Falls was everything he had anticipated, and his journey through Canada was an absolute delight. Jaime had obtained an Alien Certificate from the US Department of Labour, which enabled him to work in the US. For nearly six months in Flint and Detroit, Michigan, he gained experience at the factories of General Motors, learning a variety of skills, and taking an interest in the manufacture and distribution of tyres. Whilst working at General Motors, he met a man who worked for The Coca-Cola Company,⁶ and suggested Jaime import the beverage into Australia. After tasting the drink, Jaime exclaimed, ‘It’s just another fizzy drink!’ and rejected the idea.

Jaime had met a fellow in Detroit, who lived in Chicago, Illinois, so he decided to spend a couple of days with him, enroute to his next destination of New York.

Prohibition had begun two years before in 1919, so Jaime, like many others had abstained from alcohol, although occasionally he’d have a tipple if his hosts had their own private supply (usually French champagne or wines stored in the cellar).

Edmund Scott met up with Jaime at the station; he lived in a stylish apartment at the Le Roy, 836–42 West Cornelia, close to Lake Michigan in the Wriggleyville area of Chicago. Jaime was suitably impressed. They dined with friends of Edmund’s that evening, although this time there was no alcohol on offer. The following day, after lunching at Ed’s Men’s Club, Jaime visited the Home Insurance Building, built in 1884, and designed by architect, William Le Baron Jenney.

‘Look how tall it is!’ Jaime commented to his friend as he gazed up at the twelve-floor building. He also spent time at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, a Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1874 by the Servite fathers. He admired the grand Italian Renaissance architecture that featured a barrel-vaulted ceiling, wrapped around a high marble altar. It took his breath away. He genuflected and whispered a quick Hail Mary.

That evening Edmund took Jaime to a midtown Jazz Club. It was here they ran into a former school friend of Ed’s. This venue was renowned for their bootlegged moonshine whiskies and so-called gin. Bertie suggested they all indulge. Jaime only partook of wines or sherries, so he declined the offer, but Edmund paid for a bottle of gin. After his first glass, Ed complained that the taste was vile, however Bertie eventually polished off the entire bottle. When Jaime and Edmund left the club around 1am, Bertie was extremely inebriated. Jaime suggested they take him home, but Bertie was engaged in a slurred conversation with Margie, who he’d taken a shine to earlier that evening, and so the boys left him to it.

The following morning, as Jaime was finalizing his packing, Edmund received a phone call. Bertie was dead. The gin he had consumed was tainted with metals and other impurities, poisoning him. Such accidents became more frequent as the Prohibition continued and illegally-produced liquor became more widespread. It was a mammoth shock for the two men, and Jaime thanked God he disliked spirits.

On arrival in New York, Jaime checked in to The Plaza Hotel at 768 5th Avenue, close to Central Park. Lionel, his brother, had arranged a room for them both, as he too was staying in New York doing a postgraduate course at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, situated at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan. Lionel had graduated from Melbourne University with Honours in Architecture. They would spend a week at the hotel until Lionel found other, less expensive lodgings. One evening Jaime and Lionel were in the elegant foyer of The Plaza, when a party of five came bursting in. Jaime commented about the only girl in the group, observing her beauty and exuberance, and mentioning how much she looked like Ally, with the same hypnotic eyes. They later learnt her name, Zelda Fitzgerald, wife and muse of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who had come in with her husband and three of their friends.

Jaime and Lionel had received plenty of invitations to dine with a number of families during their stay in New York. Many took them to lavish restaurants, and another young man, whose home was in Maine, gave them a tour of the Speakeasies and Jazz Clubs of 52nd Street. At one club Jaime thoroughly enjoyed the Paul Whiteman Ambassador Orchestra, and hummed the tune of ‘Whispering’ all the way home. Jaime also took in all the tourist sights, including the Statue of Liberty, Grant’s Tomb, New York Stock Exchange, and both the Metropolitan and Woolworth buildings. He always purchased a number of postcards to send to Ally and his parents. A week later, he was delighted to find a postcard had arrived from Ally. He took out his wallet and gently kissed the photograph he had of her.

In late September, Jaime boarded the ship, Adriatic, in New York, bound for Southampton, England, arriving on 13 October 1921. When he saw the date, Jaime felt a trifle nervy; he had a strong superstition about the number thirteen being unlucky. However, he soon forgot about it, as he began a tour of London. Taking in all the historical sights, he visited Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London on the north bank of the River Thames, and thoroughly enjoyed Hampton Court Palace, former home of the flamboyant King Henry VIII. He caught his breath at the Unknown Warrior’s Grave, in the beautiful Gothic church of Westminster Abbey. The unidentified British soldier from World War I had only recently been buried there, on 11 November 1920. The Cenotaph, in Whitehall, had recently been built and designated as the United Kingdom’s official war memorial, so he bought a few more postcards to send back home.

His next stop was Paris, before heading back to Barcelona, where he would catch up with his cousin, Agapito Ferran and other relatives. Jaime spent a night at the palatial Hotel Ritz, 15 Place Vendôme, Paris, that was founded the year he was born, 1898. His mother, Rebecca, had supplied some extra spending money, urging Jaime to experience at least one night in the grand hotel. She and Antonio had spent several enjoyable nights there on one of their trips. And now that he was gone, her precious memories were all that kept her going.

Jaime was thrilled to return to Barcelona and the old family home in Alella, where Agapito, his wife, and their three children now lived. Agapito’s wife was also pregnant with their fourth child, and they welcomed Jaime with open arms. They all discussed the assassination of the Spanish Prime Minister, Eduardo Dato Tradier, who had been shot on 8 March 1921 by three Catalan anarchists as he was exiting the parliament buildings in Madrid. Agapito told Jaime he knew the brother of one of those arrested, adding that his friend was appalled at his brother’s involvement.

A sunny afternoon was spent at Montserrat, the multi-peaked mountain located near Barcelona and site of the Benedictine Abbey , Santa Maria de Montserrat. He took a few photographs with his Brownie Box camera, and once again purchased postcards of the magnificent vistas.

As the weeks rolled by Jaime was slightly concerned as he’d heard nothing from Ally since the postcard he’d received in New York. He had been sending her postcards and letters constantly, and she knew the address of the Alella home. Early one morning, after returning from a walk, Agapito greeted him waving a letter from Ally. Thrilled to bits, he retreated to his room to read its contents. What it contained completely devastated Jaime, and he couldn’t understand what had happened.

14 September 1921

My beloved Angus,

I treasure every moment we spend together and I count the moments till we meet again, for when I am with you, this world is a different place. Everything but you fades away into the background and becomes dim. But with you there is always that vividness of life. I have written to Jaime and have told him about us. I pray he understands. He has been gone such a long time, and you my darling, have captured my heart.

My eternal love forever,

Ally

Jaime read it again, tears pouring down his cheeks. Who was this man, Angus, and why had Jaime received his letter? Obviously, Jaime concluded, Angus had received Ally’s break up letter to him. How could this happen? Later that evening as Agapito consoled his cousin, he suggested to Jaime that perhaps Ally had mixed the letters up on purpose. At first horrified at the thought, Jaime eventually agreed that it was a strong possibility, and then he remembered the date he had arrived in Europe, the thirteenth.

Alella,

30 November 1921

My Own Darling little Sweetheart of Old,

Oh, Ally darling, if you only knew what I am suffering, you would never have let me go through this. I cannot realise it all yet, dearest, and what it means to me, and to think it is all true. This will be my first of many nights in agonizing torture of mind, without any possible chance of sleep. It is driving me crazy. Any way I might express myself tonight in this letter is only one quarter of what I feel as words won’t express my feelings, but I shall make a feeble attempt nonetheless.

Ally my own, I am going to make one last pathetic appeal to you now, and for the sake of my sacred love towards you my own ‘little chicken’, do please listen to me. First of all, sweetheart, I love you to death itself, and honestly, I would go through hell itself to have one last small chance of winning you back. My cup is full of bitterness to think that it is really my own fault — that I had you, and so to speak, let you slip through my fingers. Yes Ally, I know that you had every right to wonder whether I was really in earnest, but I was, and I realise it fully now. I know I have been away so long, but I will be home soon.

Somehow your precious nature always made me turn to you, and now that is gone, I have only a dead world to face. Perhaps it was the unhappy relations that existed once between you and my people that has influenced your mind most. Our love for each other has been too great to think anything else, but that state (with my family) has passed long ago, although you may not think it. I have unfortunately, and bitterly so, been lax on that point. But sweetheart I promise you that I would become engaged to you tomorrow if you will only let me, and what is more, with the full consent of my people. If it is a case of your lifelong happiness, surely it is not too late. Ally, just think of the happy times we have had together during the last three years. Do you mean to say we could not have any more such as those? So think about that and your promise to me before I left. If you …

The letter was unfinished and never sent; Jaime often wondered whether it would have changed anything, had Ally received it.

It was now December and soon Jaime would be returning to Australia. He bid an emotional farewell to Agapito and his family and headed to Toulon in Southern France to spend a few days on the Côte d’Azur. Just prior to Christmas, he boarded the Ormonde in Toulon, bound for Australia. Christmas and New Year were spent on board, and although the voyage and ports of call were extremely interesting and enjoyable, his heart still bled for Ally. Jaime arrived home on 1 February 1922. He had been gone for nearly two years.

FOOTNOTES

1 St Abbs at 33 York Street, Mont Albert, still stands although on much smaller grounds. The cork tree that Antonio San Miguel planted was eventually ruined by possums and cut down by the current owners in the mid 1990s. Finding St Abbs was also a detective game. My research assistant, Jo Simmons and I went to York Street in May of 2012. I had been shown St Abbs as a little girl, but had only a vague memory of the property. We had no luck and returned a week later, as after more research we had found the street number. Jo convinced me to ring the doorbell, and after much trepidation, we did just that! After introducing myself to the owner, she knew the history of the home (and the San Miguels) and invited us back for a tour. This too was a remarkable experience.

2 Mr John Lothian came out from Scotland in 1890 as a publisher’s representative for English and Scottish books. By about 1900 he had set up his own firm, Lothian Book Publishing Co. He purchased the property in 1898 and named the house after St. Abbs Head, on the east coast of Scotland near Edinburgh. In 1924, the original 3.5 acre property came up for sale again, and Thomas Carlyle Lothian, now the director of Lothian Publishers, bought back the family home. Thomas, his wife Effie, his three sons and two daughters, were to live at St Abbs for fifty years. The publishing company still exists today, having been run by John’s son Thomas after his retirement. His great-grandson Peter is now the director of Lothians.

3 Surrey Hills and Mont Albert in Melbourne are both twelve kilometres east of Melbourne’s Central Business District. They are virtually the same suburb, so in the electoral rolls, St Abbs and other properties the San Miguels lived in are either listed as Mont Albert or Surrey Hills.

4 In January of 1908 an advertisement was placed in the Perth Sunday Times: An excellent opportunity to a money-making and established business is now before the public. A goldfields brewery, showing profits averaging £2500 per year is for sale on easy terms. Full particulars from Mr. F.A. Henriques of King St or Mr Harrison of Murray Street. On 15 February 1909, the business was sold to Joseph Duffell of Perth, who for the past four years had controlled the management of Harrison, San Miguel in Perth.

5 Now buried in the San Miguel crypt at Box Hill Cemetery is Antonio and Rebecca (Birdie) San Miguel, Lionel San Miguel, and Jaime San Miguel. I will be buried next to my father when the time comes. Close by in the Church of England section are the graves of James Albon Senior and his daughter Grace Albon. The Surrey Hills Historical Society takes tourists on a tour of the cemetery and one of the highlights is the San Miguel crypt and the nearby graves of the Parer family.

6 In the late 1920s, The Coca-Cola Company was well established in the US. Coca-Cola did not come to Australia until 1937, when a Perth company became the distributor.