Lyme Regis
Dorset July 17th 1870
My dear Mr Talbot,
I do not think any clergyman being a gentleman would like to do as you propose, that is to come to Lacock for a month or two to be inspected, I am sure I would not propose such a thing to anyman for whom I had the slightest regard: besides I do not think even if he would come you could form any adequate opinion of his fitness for the conduct of such a parish: if pulpit eloquence were the only requisite for a parish priest it might be different. Besides I have not sufficient furniture in my house to make a family man comfortable in, even if he would agree to try it.
As to the government grant being less that I calculated, this arose from our having too many infants in the school for our staff that is to say our average attendance of infants for the year ought not to have exceeded 40 whereas it was 42 and no one received no part whatever upon them which would have amounted to £25 <&?> we also lost £8 on the other part of school for the same reason.
Your aff: Cousin
Edward P. Nicholl