The Henson Journals

[182]

Saturday, August 15th, 1925.

Now, who shall arbitrate?

Ten men love what I hate,

Shun what I follow, slight what I receive;

Ten, who in ears and eyes

Match me: we all surmise,

They this thing, & I that; whom shall

my soul believe?

Not on the vulgar mass

Called "work", must sentence pass.

Things done, that took the eye & had the price:

O'er which, from level stand

The low world laid its hand,

Found straightway to its mind, could

Value in a trice;

But all, the world's coarse Thumb

And fingers failed to plumb,

So passed in making up the main account;

All instincts immature,

All purposes unsure,

That weighed not as his work, yet swelled

the man's account.

[183]

Thoughts hardly to be packed

Into a narrow act,

Fancies that broke through language & escaped,

All I could never be,

All, men ignored in me,

This, I was work to God, whose wheel

the pitcher shaped.

Browning. Rabbi ben Ezra.

The Acting Editor of "John O'London's Weekly" writes to suggest that I should write an article of about 3000 words on the lines of my 'Tennessee' Article, and offers an honorarium of fifty guineas. The money is tempting, & would pay half the year's college expenses of J.D. I yielded to the sordid temptation, & wrote to accept the proposal, promising to send the article by September 12th at the latest.

Having done one rash thing, I proceeded to keep on Ossa by doing another – I wrote to the Archbishop about his letter to the President of the E.C.U. Fawkes read my letter, & approved it hugely, but his judgement is as dubious as his sympathies are apparent!

Fawkes went off by the noon–tide train. By my advice he offered Barnes his controversial assistance.

[184]

I picked up two miners from Ferryhill, & walked them round the bowling green. Then I called two young airmen – their names were Bate & Stephenson, & both belonged to Bishop Auckland – & showed them the garden, as we were going into the Castle, General & Mrs Dudgeon arrived, and joined us. When they had gone off an Ordination candidate named arrived. He did not altogether please me, but I could see no ground for rejecting him.

Duncan & his wife came to lunch. I offered him the living of Dawdon in succession to Graham White, & bade him talk it over with his wife, & let me know his decision. If he accepts, this batch of vacancies will have been filled viz;

Annfield Plain Dick replaces Talbot

Monkwearmouth Hawke " Canon Brown

Monkheseldon Little " Bell

Hutton Henry Dobson

Blackhalls Heap

Colonel Burdon writes to say that he has at last found a clergyman who will accept Castle Eden. Bearpark vacated by Hawke is in the gift of the Dean & Chapter: and Willington vacated by Duncan is in the gift of the Rector of Brancpeth.

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