The Henson Journals

[67]

Monday, June 4th, 1917.

1036th day

I walked to the Athenaeum, & had hardly settled there, before Herbert Fisher came in. We had some conversation about his educational plans. He evidently enjoys his present work, & is enthusiastic about it. I walked to Twinings and ordered a chest of tea (25 lbs) for our use, & a smaller supply (7 lbs) for the household by way of experiment. Then I visited Hugh Rees, & ordered some books. Then I returned to the club, & lunched, sitting with Athelstan Riley, & talking with him about Russia. He is very pessimistic. Rashdall came in & I talked with him about Carlisle. After being shampooed, I drove to 9 Ralston Street, Chelsea, & visited Elsie Knowling, & the children. Peggy is four, & Rex two – both are pretty & healthy. Returning to the Athenaeum, I prepared notes for my speech at Queen's Hall, & had an early dinner. Then I went to Queen's Hall, and presided at a meeting arranged by the World's Evangelical Alliance. There was a considerable attendance. I spoke for 20 minutes: Horton was the other speaker & he took for his subject, the observance of the Lord's Day. He spoke very fanatically. After the meeting was over I hastened back to the Deanery, and arrived in time to have three quarters of an hour with the Brotherhood, which had been dining there. Burge was one of the party. He is very melancholy about the situation in the Church. In passing from the Club to the Strand I fell in with Geoffrey Robinson, who started by saying, "When are they going to make you a Bishop?" & proceeded to discuss the chances of my going on the Bench. I said that, if a suitable Bpk were offered to me, I shd probably accept it, but that I would pull no strings to get the offer. Lord Robert Cecil joined us, & I congratulated him warmly on his recent speech. The "Birthday List of honours" is a long one. I wrote a letter of congratulation to Col. Lockwood on his peerage: to Evelyn Cecil on his Privy Councillorship: to Steele–Maitland on his baronetcy: & to Holland on his knighthood. The "Times" speaks of the "serried rows of political climbers" as scandalous.

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