The Henson Journals

[273]

Thursday, April 14th, 1921.

The miners turned up, 26 of them, at the appointed time, and I spent rather more than an hour in walking them through the Castle. They were very well–mannered, and seemed to be interested. Of course they know extremely little, & the objects which pleased them most were not those which, perhaps, most merited their concern. Beck's sword, Queen Victoria's fauld–stool, the carpet in the State–room, the pastoral staff, above all, the moose's head in the stone–hall appeared to fascinate them most. They were very polite, & thanked me when they parted. There is, I think, no feeling against the Bishop, though, of course, it might easily be roused if the Bishop were to cross their path.

I wrote to Lord Muir Mackenzie with reference to the debate on Ld Gorell's Bill, from which I was so unfortunately absent. It would seem that his Grace of Canterbury was more brazenly dogmatick than ever: & both the Bishop of Birmingham & the Bishop of Worcester voted with the minority against Ld Buckmaster's amendment making desertion for 3 years a ground of divorce. It is difficult to think that these prelates were acting quite candidly, for (unless they are grosser humbugs than I care to believe) neither of them believes in either the canonical or the literalist law of marriage. Yet they cast their vote with the fanaticks without a syllable of explanation: and the hollow simulacrum of episcopal unanimity is again set on its legs to befog the public!

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