The Henson Journals

[86]

Thursday, May 4th, 1922.

I spent the morning in writing letters. Lord Northbourne & his wife came to lunch. He is a well–meaning old fellow, who talks the long–obsolete dialect of Gladstonian Liberalism. After they had taken their departure, I resumed letter–writing. At dinner–time Alexander shocked me with the news that Mrs Lillingston died this morning. The poor lady had suffered so dreadfully from asthma that her death can hardly be regarded as anything but a "happy release", but the loss to her husband and sons is a very great one.

I received a letter from Harold Cox asking me to befriend an Irish clergyman of some distinction, who is compelled to leave Dublin by reasons of the persecution to which he is subjected. He has "lately received a number of threatening letters from the Irish Republican Army", and has "reluctantly come to the conclusion that he must attempt to get a living in the Church of England". The climax of the annoyance was reached when, during his absence from home his "manuscript history of the growth of toleration, running to 600 pages" had been stolen. There is a grimly satirical touch here. In Ireland at the present time a scholar who concerns himself with the growth of toleration may hardly be tolerated. But what can be the end of this madness? Ireland discloses the fierce bigotries of the Middle ages in the 20th century!

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