Faithfully yours,
Frederic Petherton.
Common decency compelled me to reply, so I wrote:—
My Dear Old Boy.—You don't know how grieved I am to hear that you cannot entertain the scheme.
Of course I can read between the lines, and know that your heart is in it, and that it is only the many calls on your time which prevent your active co-operation with me in the matter. Of course, needless to say, your lack of support has killed what looked like being a promising scientific bantling (through stress of emotion I nearly wrote "bantam," which brings me to the subject of poultry. How are yours? I forgot to ask before).
I hope the question of the S.L. & S.S. will now be dropped; it is too painful. If you insist on continuing the discussion I shall decline to answer the letter, so there!
Yours,
H.
But Petherton refused to be drawn.
From a Church appeal:—
"A recent collection revealed that, of 179 coins put in the plate, 176 were coppers, whilst not more than 15 people could have contributed anything above one shilling."