The Henson Journals

[168]

Ash Wednesday, March 1st, 1922.

A most beautiful morning. I celebrated the Holy Communion in the Chapel at 8 a.m. Ella, Alexander, Mrs Berry, & 3 of the maids communicated.

"As life gets on to the inevitable end, I think one gets to look at things more simply, and to rid oneself of unnecessary encumbrances. There cannot well be anything in the shadows around us that we should fear, nor anything better to hope than the love that clasps our hands together. And if there is any key at all to the mystery of life, it is in the things we feel and know to be best in it. We need not ask questions about the future state or trouble ourselves about the answer, but wait in tranquillity, & confidence in the justice of God, who has not made the world for nothing, or lighted the fires of spiritual life in order to produce nothing but ashes. In the meantime there is work to do. I think there is perhaps a kind of Stoical – Epicurean – Christianity which may serve these latter days better than apparently more aspiring doctrines." Caird.

The illustrations of the Royal Wedding which fill the papers this morning make it quite clear that the photographers were busy inside the Abbey during the progress of the marriage service. It needs no gift of prophecy to foresee that this will soon become the general practice, & another long stride will have been taken towards the complete secularisation of Religion.

Ella, Clayton, and I left the castle at 10.40 a.m. in the lamed motor, and went, via Durham where we picked up iste Archidiacons, to Burnmoor for the funeral of Lady Anne Lambton. Knight had arranged everything quite nicely. He read the prayers in church, the Archdeacon read the Lesson, & I took the graveside prayers. There was a considerable gathering of relatives, & a crowd of onlookers. Immediately after the service we returned to Auckland.

Broadbelt came to see me about the time of his leaving this parish in order to take up his duties in Leeds. It appears that the Trustees object to his being absent until Trinity. I undertook to write to the Bishop of Ripon on the subject, and did write without delay.

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