the bitter bread and gave away The shining salt, to all who came his way. Sir Austen Chamberlain, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, described Williams' death as "in a very real sense a national loss." He walked with the most prominent figures of his day, yet remained unassuming; The Times''' obituary called him, "a very lovable man, modest to a fault."References Further reading Sources Harold Williams Charolotte Alston (2004) Russian Liberalism and British Journalism: the life and work of Harold Williams (1876-1928) Cheerful Giver: The Life of Harold Williams by Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams (Peter Davies, London, 1935) has a preface by Sir Samuel Hoare, who quotes about her that 'the Cadet party had one good man, and he was a woman'. She acknowledges advice on the book from Philip Graves and Sir Bernard Pares. Grayland, Eugene. (1967) Famous New Zealanders, 'Dr Harold Williams: Linguist With Amazing Powers' Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd, New Zealand. The Guinness Book of World Records . Note: Williams' listing as the greatest polyglot ever to have lived is probably incorrect—he is likely to have been surpassed by others including Giuseppe Mezzofanti, Hans Conon von der Gabelentz and István Dabi; and equalled by Ziad Fazah, Kenneth Hale, Georg Sauerwein, Robert Stiller and Uku Masing. See List of polyglots#Highest Claims Brogan, Hugh (1984) The Life of Arthur Ransome'' (Jonathan Cape, London) External links The New Zealand Edge : Heroes : Linguists : Harold Williams : www.nzedge.com at www.nzedge.com Harold Williams at www.spartacus-educational.com The Tyrkova-Williams Collection at www.bl.uk Linguists from New Zealand New Zealand journalists 1876 births 1928 deaths Tolstoyans New Zealand Methodists New Zealand people of Cornish descent People educated at Timaru Boys' High School Writers about Russia British journalists British Methodists 20th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United Kingdom Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Protestantism