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August 11th

Villa Crawford
Sant' Agnello di Sorrento

Dear Mrs Stanford -

Although I have never had the pleasure of seeing you as often, or knowing you as well, as I could have wished, yet, I have always felt strangely drawn towards you ever since I first met you in Constantinople. You were there with your Husband and dear only son. When I saw you with the latter, I could hardly supress a feeling of envy, as only two years before our only son had been taken from us. Then a few months later I heard that you had lost your boy, and have

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President Cleveland will have his hands full & [???] [???] [???] . We will do if the Democrats will do any better than the Republicans -- of course everything is changed and although the Democrats pretend they wish Civil Service to be enforced - still, even those [???] second was of the best have been thrown out of employment. In my own family my brother in law Cal. Lay??? who was Counsul [???] in Canada & who had placed everything [???] an excellent footing was suddenly deprived of his post without the slightest warning. This is very hard especially now. While writing this it has occurred to me that possibly you might be in need of a person in whom you could [???] absolute confidence, excellent knowledge of business & accounts. [???] thorough [several words unintelligible???] / he is a Catholic/