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Letter written on the back of 12 sheets of a Sharpness railway timetable, from Christian Shamrock Radford from Kingsdown, Bristol, 8 Jan 1913 to A. R. Wallace congratulating him on reaching his ninetieth birthday; referring to the interview with A. R. Wallace ("The Spectre of Poverty", 6 Jan 1913) published in the "Daily News & Leader" and reminding A. R. Wallace that they had met forty years earlier at a meeting in London with Dr Nichols and others; the writer's life and wages in fifty years spent as a gentleman's servant, bringing up a family without debt, his current pension of five shillings a week; abstinence from alcohol and tobacco; proposal to walk to Poole to visit A. R. Wallace, giving details of other long walks he has done about the country lecturing on teetotalism and selling his booklet "A View from the Servant's Hall", chopping wood, picking oakum etc. to pay his way; asking if A. R. Wallace would pay him to travel the country selling his (A. R. Wallace's) book ("Social Environment and Moral Progress"? March 1913) and preaching "Personal Self Home Rule", Mr Crofton Gore of Bristol will give him a reference; a poem "Courage, Brother" setting out his personal rule of life; his pamphlet "Great Britons [sic] Wolf in Sheeps Clothing" which he proposes to sell with A. R. Wallace's book; his great-grandfather's estate in Galway and Dublin; father's death from drink and mother's long life supported by her son; most poverty traceable to drink; apologies for the quality of his writing paper. Stamped envelope addressed to A. R. Wallace at Broadstone, Dorset with "Pool" deleted below "Broadstone", postmarked on the front Bristol 9 Jan 1913 and on the back Wimborne? 10 Jan 1913; made from a letter from "The Showman" Lloyd's Weekly News, London 31 Dec 1912, to Symmer (sic) Radford thanking him for his interesting letter and returning the card sent. An anonymous printed rhyming couplet on Christianity, titled "Creeds" has been pasted on the back. Place: Broadstone Dorset England |
