The Henson Journals

[52]

Thursday, June 6th, 1918.

1403rd day

This day has been wasted. The heavy state of the atmosphere would in any case have made effort very difficult, but I have the further disadvantage of finding myself quite unable to make up my mind what to do. The sermon at Oxford on the 23rd haunts me. What shall I preach about? In the afternoon I visited the Industrial Boys' Home. There are more than a hundred boys, mostly sent from London Unions, being taught useful trades. They looked a low type, such as the slums evolve. The institution did not wholly please me, though the object is unquestionably excellent. I presided at the annual meeting which was very thinly attended. Admiral Sir Day Bosanquet and Sir Elliott Wood were among the speakers. Rather grim old boys both of them, but civil to me. Moore of St Peter's is the Chaplain of the Home. He walked back with me to the Close, & told me that Hermitage Day had entreated Treherne to refuse the Prebend! I went through my letters with Norcock. The Archdeacon came in with a long face to say that about 80 clergy from his archdeaconery had not returned the papers about military service. Is this the beginnings of the clercial boycott with which I have been threatened? More probably, it is sheer slackness, but anything is possible, & I move in an atmosphere of treason in an unknown land! The outlook has an uncommonly black look today: Why?

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