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CHECKENDON COURT,
CHECKENDON,
READING.

15 October 15

Dear John,

I've just been studying
genealogy in an old volume which
belonged to my predecessor. It will
surprise you, but I think it will also
interest you, to learn that the original
À Squiff - or as it sometimes
figures - À Soif, which seems to be
a French word signifying 'thirst' -
was the fruit of an illicit commerce