[‘I used it because I meant it’: Nicolas Bentley, writer, illustrator and cartoonist.] Typed Letter Signed to V. H. Collins, defending his use of the phrase ‘I am afraid’.

See his entry by Ruari Maclean in the Oxford DNB. The recipient Vere Henry Collins (1872-1966), was an author and grammatical stickler. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. With Bentley’s distinctive stylized signature ‘Nicolas Bentley’. After thanking him for his letter he writes (apparently with reference to a newspaper article): ‘I am sorry if in using the phrase “I am afraid” I ruffled your grammatical sensibilities. I used it because I meant it. I am always afraid of hurting people’s feelings, and I know that sometimes the return of a manuscript must give pain to an author.’ He agrees that the phrase is used to often, as a substitute for ‘I am sorry’.