The Henson Journals

[83]

2nd Sunday in Advent, December 6th, 1914. Oxford.

125th day

I went for a short walk before attending chapel. The streets are full of strolling soldiers, and a great red–cross flag hangs outside the New Schools. Johnson looks very grey & broken. He read the Prayer for the Church Militant as part of Mattins, & introduced into it the name of young Anderson, whose death at the front is greatly lamented in the college. There was a large congregation of dons, and a considerable sprinkling of undergraduates, though as term ended yesterday, many had gone down: & the university is reduced by the war to slender proportions. I preached on "The Supremacy of the Individual Conscience", and took occasion to criticize with some sharpness the attempt to represent the Prussian Doctrine of the State as the proper effect of Protestantism. My audience were very still & attentive. Frank, Simon, Raleigh, & Mr Davidson expressed themselves afterwards very approvingly, but of course they are likely to be biased in my favour. After the sermon I went to Raleigh's rooms, & then went to lunch with Sir Wm Osler. He had drawn together some guests, among them Dr Fremantle, a son of the Dean of Ripon. We talked with much energy until 3 p.m. when I went off to the station. I was interested to hear Sir W. Osler declare his unbelief of the German atrocities. He said that his experiences in the military hospital had led him to this conclusion. My journey from Oxford to Durham was cold, wearisome, & unrefreshed. Nothing could be obtained on the train or off it. Every station was crowded with men in khaki returning after leave to their stations, & all escorted by troops of girls. They behave well enough, but the ubiquity of the civil petticoat is disconcerting. I arrived at the Deanery about midnight.

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