The Henson Journals

[79]

Tuesday, June 17th, 1930.

I began the day by visiting the tailor, and ordering clothes. Then I looked in on the Academy and saw my portrait. It is not particularly well placed, but does not look insignificant. Then I went to the Church House, & spent the morning in the Assembly. I made two short speeches, neither of which was adequate. After lunching in Jerusalem Chamber, I returned to the Assembly, & there remained until 4 p.m. when I walked to the Athenaeum, & had tea. About 6 p.m. there was a violent thunderstorm accompanied by deluges of rain, which flooded the basement of the Athenaeum.

I dined with 'The Club' at the Café Royal.

There were 10 members present viz:

Earl of Crawford & Balcarres	Bishop Gore
Ld Hugh Cecil	Bishop of Oxford
Sir Charles Oman	Bishop of Durham
Sir Frederick Kenyon
Sir Henry Newbolt
George Trevelyan O.M.
Neville Chamberlain

A very pleasant evening, & much good talk.

[80]

[symbol]

Ld Crawford spoke freely about Mussolini, whose government was both tyrannous and uncertain. The Vatican was fomenting the trouble in Malta. Once result of the Treaty with the Pope was an outbreak of anti–clerical feeling in Italy. He spoke of the reckless freedom with which, in mixed companies H.M. speaks of men and things: much mischief was caused in this way.

[symbol] Trevelyan maintained that the reign of Edward VI was unduly depreciated. At least no one was put to death on account of his religious opinions, and the Prayer Book was compiled.

Oman told me that All Souls was now so rich that an increase of its members was necessary. A proposal to include a scientific fellow had been happily defeated.

I received a letter from Malden definitely declining my offer of Sedgefield. So I wrote [symbol] to Lord Thurlow, offering the living to him. He will almost certainly decline it, but it is worth while making the venture.

[81]

[symbol]

Both Newbolt and Oman knew that the survival of Joan of Arc had been asserted shortly after her alleged execution, but neither had read the articles on the subject which have appeared recently in the Manchester Guardian, & both were disposed to dismiss the assertion as belonging to a familiar category. But they had clearly no acquaintance with some of the evidence.

[symbol] Oman told me that another volume of Sir Christopher Wren's drawings had been discovered in the library at All Souls College.

[symbol] The Archdeacon of the East Riding (Lambert) delighted the Assembly by describing me as adopting the model of Jeremiah when indulging the prophetic vein: but Micaiah the son of Imlah would be a closer parallel. At least his role seems to have been curiously like mine. In spite of the facts, which they are not able to deny, and of the inferences from them which they cannot dispute, everybody continues to repeat the old exhausted shibboleths, and to urge the old futile procedures. Meanwhile, as a church, we are marching to disaster, and when the fact discloses itself irresistibly, we shall be quite unprepared.

---