The Henson Journals

[45]

Friday, May 28th, 1909.

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A fine day. The house & grounds looked their best when we said 'Goodbye' to Mrs Toland. Again we muddled our luggage – the swollen hold all being left behind! After a wonderful amount of telephoning &c by the aid of Mrs ___ whom we met last night, we recovered the beastly thing, & – after some preliminary difficulties over the tickets, which we ought to have given up overnight – we got off by the 10.34 from west Philadelphia, arriving in Washington at 1.45 p.m. The line ran through a fine country, well–wooded for the most part with intervals of fat pastures wherein fed many cattle. We lunched on the train. Arrived at Washington we hired a motor & went to the British Embassy, where we found letters awaiting us. The Ambassador & Mrs Bryce carried us off to a Garden Party at the White House, where we had the felicity of shaking hands with "big Bill Taft & Mrs Taft. The White House is a modest building with a fine well–wooded garden, very pleasing to look at. Here we were introduced to several people, & spent the time very agreeably. Bryce & I walked home: & he pointed out to me the features of the city, which certainly has a very attractive & dignified aspect.

[46] [symbol]

President Jordan of Stanford University, California, dined here – a most interesting man who has officially surveyed the Yellowstone, and knows it intimately.

I asked Bryce concerning Hannis Taylor, and was interested to learn that he is nowise accounted. The American Law journals have generally espoused Goudy's side in the controversy between him and Hannis Taylor.

President Jordan gave a heart–rending account of the destruction of mammoth trees for the 'lumber' which they could provide. These noble products of nature, the youth of centuries, nay of millenniums, were blown up with dynamite! Some of them are supposed to be 7000 years old, & 40 feet in diameter.

He advised us to leave our superfluous cash & jewels with the hotel–keeper before going round the Yellowstone Park, as there was just a possibility of our being 'held up' by robbers.

N.B. I sent in to my bank at Oxford a cheque for £22 received from the Editor of the "Nineteenth Century & After".

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