The Henson Journals

[125]

2nd Sunday after Epiphany, January 17th, 1915.

167th day

A hard frost. The Cathedral was unusually cold when I went into it for the 8 a.m. service. I celebrated myself. The military service was attended by about 1200 men. The 'Pals' Battalion from Cocken came in: a march of five miles, perhaps, is unfavourable to singing. Anyway, the singing was very disappointing. Knowling preached an admirable little sermon, which, however, I suspect was not heard by many of the men. At Mattins I preached from the words "Quit you like men: be strong", and discussed the claim of Christianity to be accounted 'a man's religion'. Hugh Lyon came over from Gateshead, & walked with me after service. Pease & his wife were in the Cathedral, & came into the Deanery. He has just returned from France, where he has been organizing "Red Cross" work. Jevons, Mrs Iremonger & her boy, & Hughes came to lunch. The absence of the choirboys robbed the services in the Cathedral of much of their attractiveness, though the men made a brave show. Hugh Lyon returned to his billet at Gateshead by the 8.57 p.m. train. I read 'Paradise Lost' to my family until Prayers: & then Ella & I committed the absurdity of finishing Mead–Falconer's book 'The Nebully Cost'. This is so far as I am personally concerned the real objection to novels. If once you are fool enough to begin them, you are committed to the time–wasting necessity to finish them: & as their holding power is in precisely inverse ratio to their intrinsic value, you have to suspend normal activities, & get through with them as quickly as possible!

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