The Henson Journals

[355]

Tuesday, May 24th, 1921.

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Another brilliant day, and a very bad show of work! I wrote letters all the morning, that is, all that was left after I had got rid of Miss Storrs and Miss Arnold, who pestered me about another silly society for making silly girls into silly "Catholicks"! In the afternoon Wynne Willson and I strolled about in the Park, chatting to miners. They all seem anxious to get back to work. After tea Clayton and I motored to Holmside, where I confirmed nearly 50 candidates in a woefully mean church set on a hill. The beauty of the country, as we saw it on our way back to the Castle, was wonderful. The gorse with its wealth of golden bloom framed the road magnificently, and from this vantage ground of neighbouring splendour, we looked upon a wide expanse of hill and moorland, illumed weirdly by the setting sun. William stopped the car at the well–known spot where the view of Durham Cathedral bursts suddenly upon the traveller's gaze, and overwhelms him by its strange unearthly dignity. The towers were bathed in a rosy light, mysteriously beautiful, and the amazing ^church^ had the aspect of a dream–woven fabric. I have never gazed on a fairer scheme: even my good William was impressed. We arrived at the Castle about 9.15 p.m.

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