2110-3-11-1

34 Great King Street Edinburgh

[Advocates' Library stamp]

My dear John

I hope you are well and Mrs John and Alice and the boys - what a fine family man you are now; but it hasn't spoilt your writing, I enjoyed the Path of the King as much as I always do your books. God I wish I could write English.

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Here's a curiosity for you.

A sermon of mine

I stand also among the prophets.

Its a lecture really on Clutton Brock's Kingdom of Heaven - Excellent book.

I was asked to give a lecture at a P.S.A. in Edinburgh in November.

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So - having read Brock's book a few months before: I sent in my subject as the Kingdom of Heaven, but (not knowing what they wanted) I said if they liked something lighter I'd give them a lecture on the House of Commons. They wrote that they thought the audience would prefer the latter as they would like to hear me on a subject I was intim

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ately acquainted with - I thought they got me on toast.

So when another P.S.A. asked me to speak in December I told them they could have the Kingdom of Heaven or go to blazes: And preached my first sermon to the amusement of my godless friends - It created some little stir.

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However when I sat down to write half an hours discourse I found that the Kingdom in the manner characteristic of it grew from a small seed into a large tree, and every kind of wandering fowl of the air lodged in the branches. I had a most horrible task pruning it down, and giving my audience a mere stump: but they were quite