The Henson Journals

[86]

Friday, March 12th, 1920.

There had been heavy rain during the night: the morning was rather threatening, but the day steadily improved. I motored to Upton Bishop, & there confirmed 19 candidates. After launching with the Vicar (Lyne) I motored to Bishopswood, & confirmed 29 candidates. The parish church is an ugly modern building, squalid in suggestion & on a pinched scale, but the parson, Wynne Thomas, gave me the impression of an earnest and hard–working man. I returned to the Palace, & after an early dinner, attended a meeting in the Town Hall convened by the mayor in the interest of the League of Nations Union. The mayor presided: the principal speaker was an Australian, ex–Prime Minister of one of the colonies, named Vaughan. He spoke well, & seemed a good fellow. I made a short speech. The Town Hall was crowded, and the audience seemed more representative than usual.

Miss Madge Graham from Westminster arrived to spend the weekend.

Lyne of Upton Bishop is a cousin of Father Ignatius, and was executor to his will. He left the monastery of Llanthony, which was his own property, & very solidly built. The property had gone with the community to the Papists, who apparently had no use for the buildings, which were falling into disrepair. Father Ignatius was buried there, & was like[ly?] to have the ruins of the monastery for his monument. A Benedictine house, which repudiates the Pope's authority, must needs be in a very artificial & unstable position. As soon as Ignatius himself had passed away, his society broke up.

[87]

March 12th, 1920, 22 Bramham Gardens S.W.5.

My dear Lord Bishop,

On the first appearance of the completed & bound volume of the Memoir, I must write to rejoice with you, & congratulate that the work is accomplished, & so satisfactorily. However much of the work has been a labour of love, I feel sure it has been a very arduous one – often encroaching on your time and thought which other (more?) important matters demanded. I am sure the subject of the memoir would wish to join with all members of his family in expressing appreciation of this most kind service, & giving grateful thanks for the love and thought of him which inspired it, as we all most certainly do:– I look forward greatly to the book being among all his friends, & the general public; to realise from them, & from reviews and comments the general approval of it. How glad you will be to be freed from the accumulation of manuscripts, journals, & letters which the production has surrounded you with. You must please ship them off to me here whenever it is convenient to you to do so: & I will destroy all that can be destroyed, or has been immortalised in your volume. With most genuine thanks from Florence & me, & with kindest regards, & love to Mrs Henson.

Yours v. sincerely

Eliz. G. Anson

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