【正文】
donably negligent in not having answered your letter dated 7, December sooner, but when I have told you the reason, I trust you will be convinced that the neglect was excusable. When your letter arrived, I was just in Hong Kong. As my family could not forward it to me during my absence, it has been, therefore, lying on my desk until the moment when I took it up. Now the first thing I have to hasten to do is to write to you these few