The Henson Journals

[451]

Tuesday, October 19th, 1915.

442nd day

The morning post brings an offensive anonymous post–card, evidently from some 'shop–boy ritualist'. It is regrettable that McKenna has yielded to popular clamour, & given up his excellent purpose of abolishing the half–penny post. I wrote to Archbishop Söderblom & sent him six copies of the "Lee" lecture; also to James Parker–Smith returning Wilmot's letters; and to Kathleen. I attended Evensong, & walked with Logic. Also I wrote to Harold, Gilbert, & Balfour Wilson, who is for the nonce school–mastering at Broadstairs.

I dined with Meade–Falkner, we two alone very pleasantly and had much talk. He told me the true legend about the burning of his father's papers &c, of which the false legend was told me by Bayley (v.p. 405). He rescued from the bon–fire some leaves of a Sarum missal of great rarity. The other contents of the boxes which were so absurdly destroyed, not by a dispute between the old man's sons but by a strange agreement between them, are unknown! We had some talk about religion, in which M–F takes up a purely medieval attitude. What the Church orders or does must not be criticized or resented! I told him that was well enough until the private conscience was really offended, & then it broke down at once. "We must obey God rather than men" was the first public declaration of Christianity & the most characteristic. He is a very strange man, & makes his conversation a shrouding veil for his thoughts more successfully than most men whom I know. There can be no doubt of his unusual ability, and of the manifoldness of his interests, and (I am disposed also to think) of the depth of his religious conviction. Though the last is generally concealed by a sardonic humour.

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