Item 191 - Letter from Lord Pethick-Lawrence to Lady Pethick-Lawrence

1 single sheet

Office of Cabinet Delegation, The Viceroy’s House, New Delhi.—They are now leaving on Saturday. It may be that the failure of the mission will pave the way to future success.

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Transcript

Office of Cabinet Delegation, The Viceroy’s House, New Delhi
June 25. 46

My own very dearly Beloved.

You will have learnt tht we are starting on Saturday {1} & are due home on Tuesday evening. So I am chancing this one more letter. Your little boy is longing to be with you. He has nearly reached the limit of human endurance.

I cannot assess how far we have succeeded & how far we have failed. I am afraid that humanly speaking the failure (in spite of first appearances) greatly exceeds the success. But that may prove too pessimistic a forecast.
The great trouble in this unhappy country is suspicion & if anybody does not get all he wants he or his press rush into torrents of abuse & vilification which exceed all limits. And this in turn produces counterblasts of fury. And the still small voice of reason & moderation is unheard in the babble of conflicting clamour.

It may be that in the mercy of God what looks like failure may pave the road to success & tht a nation like an invitual† can rise on “stepping stones of their dead selves to higher things”—I dont think I have got the quotation right.

I have made some charming friends—in particular Ragagopalacharier†, who has written me a most affectionate letter to say good bye.

God bless my beloved.
Your own Boy.

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The abbreviation ‘tht’ for ‘that’ occurs a few times.

{1} 29th.

† Sic.

This description was created by A. C. Green in 2020.