The Henson Journals

[23]

Wednesday, April 18th, 1917.

989th day

Snow lay on the ground until breakfast time, when it began rapidly to disappear. In the afternoon the temperature rose, and we even dared to suspect a spring–like feeling in the air! I wrote to Dicey before breakfast: attended Mattins: worked at the Warden's journal all morning: attended Evensong: went with Lillingston to the potato patch, and worked for 1½ hours. George came to tea. I gave him a letter to his Father suggesting that he should come to see me about George's going to sea. Also I gave the boy "The Bride of Lammermoor". The afternoon post brought me two melancholy letters. The one from Mrs Hayward told me that her son Cyril, one of the old St Margaret's choir boys had been killed in the Battle of Arras. The other from Mr Pater, telling me that his son, who was usher at our choir school had been killed in a flying accident here at home. I wrote letters of condolence to both my correspondents. Edward Ridley sent me an informing letter about the late Warden. After dinner I read more of his journal for the years 1902–1905, when he held office in Balfour's administration as Secretary of the Board of Education. It is evident that his relatively subordinate situation was as practically inconvenient as it was intrinsically absurd. His chief was Lord Londonderry, a kindly soul enough, but grotesquely ignorant of educational affairs, and of mediocre political capacity. The mutual regard of the two men alone made the situation tolerable or effective.

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