The Henson Journals

[302]

Tuesday, October 17th, 1916.

806th day

The first frost lay white on the ground when the morning broke. How will this affect campaigning? Will it help, or hurt Roumania? Watkins lent me a curiously interesting book by a former Canon of Durham, who was evidently a man of note in his day, though a strange crank. Its title–page runs thus:– "Journal of a Tour in Italy in 1850 with an account of an Interview with the Pope at the Vatican by the Rev: George Townsend D.D. Canon of Durham. London 1850". The morning post brings a letter from Miss Anson, which rather complicates the situation in the matter of the Warden's "Life":–

"If you think – and it is generally thought – that his 70 years will be of interest to friends and public, – I feel how very gratefully & trustingly we would accept your handling of whatever material we could produce".

This is kindly expressed: but what of the materials available?

"As material, we have a slight sketchy autobiography of a few pages, ending before he became Warden, & many volumes of his diaries, which he kept very regularly of late years; yet they are more jottings of what he did, than comments or criticisms on what was happening. There is in his life no outstanding event, or engrossment, to make a centre of interest for readers, probably ambition for the well–being of All Souls & its ever high–level, was what he had most at heart, – but with that, he was so versatile and yet so unostentatious that it may be difficult to collect & depict his many–sided charms & varied usefulness. So please think & advise accordingly, without any scruple whether [300] something could be produced which would be an inspiration & interest, or whether you think the beauty of his life had best only remain a memory among those who cared for him? What is best? A bright sketch? for anything to do with him ought to be sparkling, & not too long: he would shrink so much from being tedious to anybody, or even being thrust before the world at all, but, I am sure, if any one can, you will be able to produce the desired gathering up into a beautiful completeness, if you are kind enough to consider about doing so".

Then there follows a post–scriptum to this effect:–

"Our idea had been, perhaps, to get from those friends left, who would know him under special aspects, some short written account, which the writers would allow to be incorporated into the Memoir, such as Home–life, Eton days, Undergraduate do. "Shooting Stars", Law Lecturing, Wardenship, Parliament, Education Bill &c &c There are of course, many letters collected under different headings, political & so on".

Now this is rather a different notion. It projects a volume of personal estimates & reminiscences rather than a biography. My own notion was something on the lines of Lord Rosebery's little sketch on Lord Randolph Churchill, only, of course, more biographical & less brilliant, & with the enormous difference, which severs the mainly political from the mainly academic. Only that implies a superior discussing an inferior, or at least, a Senior appraising a Junior.

[298]

I replied to Miss Anson as follows: –

Dear Miss Anson

Your kind & very kindly–expressed letter sets my mind on considering an alternative. Either there could be a small volume of "Appreciations & Reminiscences", which wd form a collection of personal notes by those who had known the Warden well, and were generally felt to be competent to speak of him: or, there shd be a biographical sketch written by one person, & attempting, on the basis of such materials, documentary & oral, as are available, to draw a picture of the Man & his activities. This might, of course, include in an Appendix some personal estimates, but wd be itself a substantive work to which these wd be wholly ancillary. The latter, perhaps, if it cd be adequately done, wd be in my judgment on every ground the more desirable: but then the 'if' is a very formidable one.

I shd like privately to consult Ker, Oman, Pember, Fletcher, and Lang before making a definite decision: because I am not very confident of myself, & I don't think I cd find courage to put my hand to the task unless I felt that the College desired it. In any case I cd hardly get steadily to work before the end of this year. But I apprehend that some delay wd not matter as there are obvious objections to publishing any books while the War, with its fearful obsessions, is upon us.

The Warden meant so much to me: & now that he has gone, I find my mind turning to him constantly.

Believe me, my dear Miss Anson, most sincerely yrs

H. Hensley Henson

[296]

I wrote to Firth some days ago, asking him to give me some advice as to the sources from which to construct a lecture on Book–Production during the Civil War & Commonwealth. Yesterday I received the following:–

Dear Henson

You have chosen a very difficult subject. Are you taking "Commonwealth" in the literal sense – 1649–53, or do you mean to include the Protectorate too?

The best modern book is Masson's Life of Milton wh. contains in vol. IV a good deal of miscellaneous information relevant to your subject. The Registers of the Stationers Company for the period have, I believe, been published by the Roxburgh Club, and are, therefore, practically inaccessible. I have never seen the book. I believe there is a copy in the Bodleian, & perhaps one in the London Library.

The Advertisements of Works in the newspapers are of some interest, but there are few of them in the papers of the Commonwealth though many more during the Protectorate.

A contemporary book wh. might be of use to you is the 'Catalogue of the most vendible Books' by W. London. It is a list of the standard books of the day published in 1658. They are arranged under subjects like Sonnenschein's catalogue.

Todd's Life of Brian Walton has some useful miscellaneous information about printing & the difficulties of producing works of learning. In vol. I of the Flemings in Oxford published by the Oxford Historical Society in 1903, you will find some of the [294] accounts of a book–buyer during the period. For instance, Pagitt's Christianography cost him 4s, he paid 6d for borrowing the Grand Cyrus, and 18/6 for a copy of Coke upon Littleton (pp. 40, 54, 61).

Dugdale's Diary & Correspondence edited by Hamper is full of information about the arrangements for the production of the Monasticon & other works.

You ought to look at the two Acts of Parlt relating to the Press which you will find printed in the Acts & Ordinances of the Interregnum (edited by myself & Rait). In vol. 3 of Mullinger's History of Cambridge you will find an example of the bond printers had to enter into with the Government.

I imagine that you are leaving out the subject of newspapers. Do you concern yourself with the question of the monopoly of printing bibles?

If you want to know when a particular bookseller died, look up the Obituary of Richard Smyth (Camden Society). The Catalogue of the Thomason Tracts published by the British Museum will very often give the exact month when a book was published.

But I want more information about the chronological limits of your subject & the method of treatment.

Yours truly

C. H. Firth

This is like meeting a request for a glass of water with a barrel–full! However, I think he suggests sources enough from which to extract materials for the lecture to the Royal Institution on Feb: 26th.

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