Item 83 - Letter from J. B. Mayor to Nora Sidgwick

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Thanks her for the copy of Henry Sidgwick: A Memoir; has 'hardly ever read anything more touching than the last chapter, especially the words which [Henry] wished to be read over his grave.' Refers to the 'bright calmness he maintained in the presence of death, and the interest he continued to take in the concerns of his friends', which remind him of '[Plato's] Phaedo'. Henry' 'is a splendid example of a high and noble life'; he 'maintained his freshness, his delicate sensitiveness and his power of growth to the end.' Remarks that one thing that is not referred to in the book is 'the trouble he took in helping the literary work of others': he found Henry's revision of the second part of Professor Grote's Exploratio [Philosophica] to be very useful, and has no doubt that others were benefited in the same way. Asks Nora to return his letters. Adds that he might have liked to see the reference to Miss [Emily] Davies' remark about Henry' 'gnawing on [her] vitals' omitted, as it may be misunderstood by 'matter of fact readers.'