SIR,--I have read Mr. Theophilus Sadrock's letter and am surprised by its
tone. If Mr. Sadrock did not make use of the words that I attribute to him
how could I have set them down? Because I was writing unobserved all the
time he was talking, and I could produce the notes if they were, to others,
legible enough for it to be worth while; surreptitious writing must
necessarily be indistinct at times. As for the question of time and place,
that is a mere quibble. Mr. Sadrock was alive when we had our talk, and I
am sorry if I have misdated it. The talk remains. May I add that it is very
astonishing to me to find people with the effrontery to suggest that they
knew their illustrious relatives better than strangers could. Everyone is
aware that the last place to go to for evidence as to a man is to his kith
and kin. When my book appears there will be a few corrections; but in the
main I stand by the motto which I invented for Chamberlain one evening:
"What I have written I have written."