The Henson Journals

[368]

Monday, September 18th, 1916.

777th day

I was called at 6.30 a.m., and had some tea. Then I allowed myself the luxury of reading for an hour in bed before getting up. The "Glasgow Herald" contains an extract from my sermon of yesterday morning which it describes as preached in connection with the Boy's Brigade Conference, a character which I had taken particular pains to repudiate!

Ella, together with Sir Charles Renshaw arrived about 11 a.m. I met them on the platform. He had to go forthwith to transact business in the city. Ella and I loafed in the Hotel, and lunched there, the weather having, after a brief spell of sunshine, became again wet & stormy. After lunch, however, we went to the Art Gallery, and I spent an hour in looking at the pictures. Then we returned to the Hotel, picked up our bags, and travelled to MidCalder. We had tea very sumptuously in a Pullman car. Here Kathleen met us with the pony cart, and drove me to Linburn. Ella followed in a super–annuated 'growler' with our luggage. The interval before dinner was mostly spent in a walk with James in the garden. Mine host has been to see the Somme films and found nothing objectionable in them save, perhaps the scenes which exhibited the wounded and the burial of the German dead. He was mostly impressed with those which displayed the handling & mechanism of the guns, and the system of trench warfare. I am disposed to think that a difference between the sexes makes itself apparent in this matter viz: that while the men are mostly interested in the mechanical, the women care rather for the personal aspects of the whole pageant. The wounded and the dead appeal to them: & the burying scene has a morbid fascination.

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