The Henson Journals

[155]

Wednesday, April 23rd, 1919.

I tried in the morning to write the concluding chapters of the Memoir, but with no success. Was there ever such a dead albatross about a literary "ancient mariner's" neck?

After lunch I took the Miss Ansons & Ernest to see some churches. We went first to Kilpeck, then on to Abbey Dore, then to Bacton, and finally made a detour through Dorstone, where we had tea very comfortably in the village inn, and returned through Weobley. These were 4 churches of unusual interest and beauty. Add that the road, almost the whole way, lay though a romantically beautiful country, and the description of a perfect tour is complete. We left the Palace at 2.30 p.m., and were back there again at 7.45 p.m. Deduct 1 1/4 hours for seeing the churches, and having tea, & there are left 4 hours of steady motoring. The road lay through a hilly district, and was in some places in a very bad condition: accordingly, we did not exceed an average of 15 miles. But 60 miles in an afternoon is something far beyond the possibilities of prae–motoring days. The weather was at first dull & threatening, but it steadily improved, & we wound up in sunshine. Only one circumstance was steadily adverse, and that seems to be incurable. I mean, the dust, which on the country roads is thrown up by the motors in great volumes, extremely disconcerting to travellers.

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