[Colin R. Coote, Managing Editor, The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post.] Typed Letter Signed to H. L. Matthews, defending his 'Churchill anthology', discussing 'the old man', and recounting an anecdote about him which 'cannot be publicly quoted'.

1p., 4to. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper. 'Sombody', he explains, has passed on a cutting of Matthews's 'very kind review about my Churchill anthology' ('Sir Winston Churchill, a Self-Portrait; constructed from his own Sayings and Writings and framed with an Introduction', 1954). He refers to a luncheon to which he was invited by 'Mr. Sulzburger', before defending his book: 'I am only too conscious that what you say about the over-pleasantness of the introduction is possibly true, but I am not quite so humble to the charge of its being "not very penetrating".' Regarding Churchill he states: 'I have happened to know the old man fairly intimately for the past 30 years, and I am afraid it is true that the deeper you penetrate the more gold you find.' He considers it 'a fact' that 'many of his best things cannot be publicly quoted'. He gives the 'most recent' example: 'The Cabinet were discussing the Colombo plan, and the old man got a little tired of it, so he turned to Rab Butler and said: "Mr. Chancellor, I do not think that we need spend very much more time on this topic today; after all, all it means is "they breed, we feed".' He concludes by stating that Churchill is in 'excellent form, except, of course, for his deafness, which nevertheless, I personally suspect to be rather selective'.