ARTHUR HELPS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/29/1865 - HFSID 341411

ARTHUR HELPS
Handwritten, signed letter from the author saying he received the previously sent letter and is forwarding some information regarding the Cattle plague. Extremely rare!
Autograph letter signed: "Arthur Helps", in black ink, 3 pages (integral leaf), 4½x7¼. December 29, 1865. In part: "I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th instant. I enclose copies of the two last orders relating to the Cattle plague [not included]. It appears to me that Lord Carmasvor was not aware of the existence of the Order of the 16th of December, when he wrote his letter to the 'Times'". Arthur Helps (1813-1875) was an English author and Dean of the Privy Council. Helps, who had been appointed Clerk of the Privy Council in 1860, had already published a number of works, such as Essays Written in the Intervals of Business (1841) and Claims of Labor, An Essay on the Duties of the Employers to the Employed (1844) as well as three plays, including Oulita the Serf (1858). His other woks include The Life of Las Casas, the Apostle of the Indians (1868), The Life of Columbus (1869), The Life of Pizarro (1869) and The Life of Hernando Cortrés (1871), which had been extracted from his monumental work, The Spanish Conquest in America, and its Relation to the History of Slavery and the Government of Colonies (four volumes; 1855, 1857-1861). Helps' service on the Privy Council brought him into contact with Queen Victoria, and he was asked to write the introduction to an 1862 collection of the Prince Consort's speeches and addresses. Fold to right of center. Lightly toned, with faint stains across. Light surface creases. Paper clipping affixed to spine of letter. Adhesive residue staining front. Slightly soiled. Corners slightly worn and creased. Otherwise, fine condition.