d needed him."

_Copy of Letter received by Mrs. Thomas Andrews, Jun., from
Mr. Bruce Ismay._

30 JAMES STREET,
LIVERPOOL, _31st May_, 1912.

DEAR MRS. ANDREWS,

Forgive me for intruding upon your grief, but I feel I must
send you a line to convey my most deep and sincere sympathy
with you in the terrible loss you have suffered. It is
impossible for me to express in words all I feel, or make you
realise how truly sorry I am for you, or how my heart goes out
to you. I knew your husband for many years, and had the
highest regard for him, and looked upon him as a true friend.
No one who had the pleasure of knowing him could fail to
realise and appreciate his numerous good qualities and he will
be sadly missed in his profession. Nobody did more for the
White Star Line, or was more loyal to its interests than your
good husband, and I always placed the utmost reliance on his
judgment.

If we miss him and feel his loss so keenly, what your feelings
must be I cannot think. Words at such a time are useless, but
I could not help writing to you to tell you how truly deeply I
feel for you in your grief and sorrow.

Yours sincerely,
BRUCE ISMAY.

_Letter from Sir Horace Plunkett to Right Hon. Thomas
Andrews._

THE PLUNKETT HOUSE,
DUBLIN, _19th April_, 1912.

MY DEAR ANDREWS,

No act of friendship is so difficult as the letter of
condolence upon the loss of one who is near and dear. Strive
as we may to avoid vapid conventionality, we find ourselves
drifting into reflections upon the course of nature, the
cessation of suffering, the worse that might have been, and
such offers of comfort to others which we are conscious would
be of little help to ourselves. In writing to you and your
wife on the sorrow of two worlds, which has fallen so heavily
upon your home and family, I feel no such difficulty. There is
no temptation to be conventional, but it is hard to express in
words the very real consolation which will long be cherished
by the wide circle of those now bitterly deploring the early
death of one who was clearly mark