CLII
Richard Haven to Verena Raby
Dear Verena, one final word about your money. I have, I think, a really good suggestion at last; at any rate it is one which I myself, in your position, should follow. Not only as a valuable gift, but as a well merited stroke of criticism, it would be a fine thing if you were to leave the money to the Prime Minister of the day, not for his own use but to increase the paltry £1200 which is all the money for new Civil List pensions that this great nation can find every year. Every year the number of claimants for its miserable little doles is far in excess of those that can be helped, and the help is therefore of the most meagre, and often, I should guess, useless kind. A pension of £50 a year to the widow of this eminent but unfortunate man, £70 to the daughter of that, and so forth—always “In consideration of his distinguished services to Science, Literature, Art or to his country” and of “the necessitous circumstances” of those whom he has left behind. If some of these fifties could be turned into hundreds it would be an act of benevolence indeed. What do you say? Alms-houses are excellent, but somehow I feel that this is better.
Little Mrs. Peters amused me yesterday with one of her remarks. Speaking of the impending visit of her sister-in-law, she said, “I want to give her a decent lunch but I don’t want to appear well off. Don’t you think an old partridge stewed is the thing?”
Here is the poem:—
Meanwhile there is every sign of the coming winter here. Falling leaves everywhere.—Good night,
R. H.