The Henson Journals

[613]

Friday, January 21st, 1916.

536th day

Cruickshank walked with me after lunch. He says that his mother, who is still living, was in her youth an admiring auditor of Robertson in his chapel at Brighton. The circumstances in which Robertson contracted his marriage were unfortunate. He was accused by the lady's father of paying too marked attention to his daughter, and so driven to make an offer of his hand. It is abundantly evident that the union was not happy. Reading between the lines both of his Letters and of his Sermons, one can discern the note of domestic desolation. He is one more instance of a strangely familiar phenomenon – the failure of great men's marriages. It is not easy to distribute the blame. The great man is many–sided, enigmatic, and surprising. He displays an aspect of himself to the lady with whom he is enamoured, which is as little representative of his character as, nay, far less representative than, his public performances in the pulpit, on the platform, in literature, on the stage, which create his fame.

The poor lady feels herself deluded and cast aside. It is as if she loved a man, & found him in her arms transformed into an icicle! In Robertson's case the whole blunder was the more lamentable since he possessed an ardently affectionate nature which sought female affection, and found nothing better than the appropriating regard of that rather formidable Deborah, Lady Byron, who perhaps did no good either to his character or to his influence. Mrs Robertston makes two appearances in the Biography, the one at her marriage, the other at his death!

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