The Henson Journals

[341]

Tuesday, August 17th, 1915.

379th day

After shewing my guests the house, I took them (i.e. Bryce & his wife, & Olive) in the car on a little tour of church–inspection. We began with Pittington, where the Vicar, Guest–Williams, long–winded & discursive, but not either ill–informed or uninteresting, shewed us the Church: then we went on to Sherburn Hospital, where we failed to find the Master, Boutflower: finally, we came to Brancepeth, where we looked at the Church with its wealth of wood–carving, & walked round the Castle, which seemed to be filled with wounded soldiers, in various stages of convalescence. Then we returned to Durham.

Bryce told me that Henry Charles Lea, the American historian, was at the time of his death engaged on an elaborate History of Witchcraft: that he (Bryce) had had much correspondence with Lea's family on the subject of his unfinished MSS.: & that these had been handed over to Burr, the Librarian of Cornell, who would shortly publish the work.

Lord Barnard came to lunch. Also Colonel & Mrs Grimshaw. Then I attended Evensong: and afterwards took my guests over the Cathedral. Bryce's amazing wealth of knowledge impressed me greatly. He can suggest a parallel in some quarter of the world to almost everything he is shown. Turner of Magdalen came to see Bryce, & laboured to enlist his support for a Patristic dictionary.

Knowling & his niece came to dinner; and afterwards Olive sang to the delight of the company. But our society was shadowed by ill–tidings. A British transport is reported to have been sunk in the Egean, and 1000 lives to have been lost. The Germans are gaining ground at Kovno. The fall of that Fortress may happen at any time now. It is really a case of Amateurs v. Professionals when England fights Germany.

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