The Henson Journals

[445]

Thursday, October 14th, 1915.

437th day

The morning papers report a serious Zeppelin raid on London last night, in the course of which eight people were killed, & more than 30 injured. I walked to the Athenaeum, where I wrote a short preface to the Huguenot sermon, & took it & the sermon to Hugh Rees for printing. On returning to the club I found Sir Courtenay Ilbert there. He says the Members ran out on to the Terrace as soon as the Zeppelins were reported, & had a fine view of them. Also I fell in with Gamble, & walked with him for half an hour. He is evidently wearying of his London work, & covets a Deanery. I lunched with Goudy at the Reform Club. Here I found several acquaintances, & among them Moon, who had returned from Serbia, where he has been ill of typhus. He told me that he had been in Greece, when Venizelos resigned the first time, & that it was an error to suppose that King Constantine was mainly swayed by political considerations. He flatters himself on his ability as a strategist, & disapproved the strategy of the Dardanelles expedition. He refused to allow the Greek army to be committed to it. Most people would now admit that his Majesty had considerable justification for this view. I met Buckle, who was much annoyed at having had his pocket–book stolen while he stood in the crowd looking at the wreckage caused by the Zeppelin near the Lyceum theatre. Then I turned in to the National Portrait Gallery, where the attendant told me that more than 100 of the best pictures had been removed to the cellars. Then I returned to the Club, & had tea. After reading for an hour, I walked back to Elvaston Place.

[447]

There came to dinner Mr Justice Younger, Mrs Andrew Lang, the Charnwoods, the Charlie Parkers, and the Struthers. Younger told me that the painted widows in Lincoln's Inn Chapel had been completely destroyed.

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