October 25, 1943
 
      
 
 
Dear Sir Alfred:
 
      I am most grateful for those two delightful Klpling items; and 
      it is good of you to tell me their history. I had read "The 
      Burden of Jerusalem" before and I could understand why Mrs. 
      Kipling thought it would be best not to publish it. Nevertheless, 
      it is a gem. I had not read "A Chapter of Proverbs' before 
      and I like it much.
 
      
 
 
By a twist of fate, I never had a chance of meeting Rudyard 
      Kipling. I was to have lunched with him on a day in July, 191S, 
      but at the last minute I was called to make a visit to the Destroyer 
      Base in Queenstown with Sir Eric Geddes. My cousin, T.R., had 
      sent messages to him by me.
 
      
 
 
Thank you much for your thought of me. I shall always cherish 
      these perfect little volumes.
 
      
 
 
Sir Alfred Webb-Johnson, K.C.V.O.,
 
      C.B.E., D.S.O.
 
      Royal College of Surgeons of England,
 
      Lincoln' s Inn Fields,
 
      London, England.