The Henson Journals

[60]

Thursday, September 19th, 1912. Winnipeg.

Today we transferred ourselves from 503 Wardlaw Avenue to 166 Roslyn Rd, from the hospitality of a brother to that of a cousin. The weather changed for the worse: & there was a great rain.

Before leaving I wrote letters to Compston & Ernest Rudling: also to Minneapolis about arrangements.

Mr Heathcote & his churchwarden called on me – a somewhat belated civility, as I am to preach for him on Sunday evening. He struck me as a feeble man, with no notions beyond those which may filter into his mind from his immediate environment. I heard of him subsequently as having dabbled unsuccessfully in real estate. This is, indeed 'to make the worst of both worlds'. It ought to be a fixed rule of the church in this country that the clergy are not permitted to speculate: of course such a rule would in equity have to be conditioned by their receiving a sufficient & secure stipend. As things now stand, they appear to be grossly underpaid, & are casting about for the means to live.

Max Dennistoun entertained me in the Club at tea: & then we motored home. In conversation, he mentioned that the parson–novelist 'Ralph Connor' had told him that for the copyright of one of his books, he had received from the publishers no less a sum than 75,000 dollars – a larger sum than Lord Beaconsfield received for 'Endymion'.

---