Item 5 - Letter from Lucy Clifford to Frederick Pollock

26 Colville Road, Bayswater, W.—Reiterates her gratitude for his friend's generosity.

(With an envelope, postmarked 2 Apr. 1881.)

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Transcript

26 Colville Road, Bayswater, W.

Dearest Fred

I am so afraid I did’nt† convey all I meant today {1} or seem to consider y[ou]r friend’s generosity enough. But I can assure you I was very much surprised at your & very touched at the fineness {2} of my would-be helper. Don’t think I don’t value £20. I value every farthing—but it was not a case in which to think of the value of the gift nor of one’s own wants but only of what one ought to do.—I feel as if I had not said anything nice abt it & I sh[oul]d like to say so much. But the longer one lives among people the better one likes them & the less one is taken by surprise at any goodness or kindness—don’t you think so? Do let him understand how grateful I am

Thy
Lucy C.

Have been calculating up & find that with Testimonial, pension, books, & literary Fund I have £216 a year. So I ought to be content.

[Direction on envelope:] F. Pollock Esq[ui]re | 48 G[rea]t Cumberland Place | W.

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Black-edged paper and envelope. The envelope was postmarked at ‘[Sunni]nghill, Sx’(?) on 2 April 1881. Letters omitted from words abbreviated by superscript letters have been supplied in square brackets.

{1} See CLIF A9/4.

{2} Reading uncertain.

† Sic.