The Henson Journals

[112]

Thursday, July 3rd, 1930.

Lord Hartington said that his own children were completely colour–blind: and none the less had a keen appreciation of flowers.

Lord Buckmaster spoke with vehemence of the pig–headedness, and lack of sympathy which marked the attitude of the mine–owners: and declared that, with infinite reluctance, he was himself being driven to accept the necessity of nationalising the mines.

Buckmaster is an able and eloquent man, full of sympathy for the poor, and of a generous & ardent temperament: but there is a strain of wildness & over–emphasis in him which makes me doubt his judgement. He was very insistent that the ancient society, as disclosed by the classical literature must have been morally superior to the society of today. The greater works were almost wholly free from obscenity, whereas today, even with the assistance of law & censorship, fashionable literature is extraordinarily unclear. I urged that we might not safely judge the ancient world by the surviving masterpieces [113] of literature: that we were comparing aristocratic society, based on slavery, with a high standard of taste, with a vast democracy with no standard of taste, except what was fashioned by 'snippet journalism' and 'the pictures'. He agreed that the cinema was mainly an injurious influence.

After breakfast I walked to the Athenaeum and found to my alarm that it took me 45 minutes. This would mean a full hour to Lambeth which is inconveniently long. I went to the hair–dresser & was shampooed. Then I visited the booksellers, and bought a pamphlet on 'Christianity and Sex' by Christopher Dawson. He is a Papist, but he writes uncommonly well and mainly I hold with him. I returned to Neville Terrace for lunch, and afterwards Fearne accompanied me to the Albert Hall where I delivered my address on Church and State in England to a great audience. I spoke for just 40 minutes. Old Lord Halifax proposed a vote of thanks, and that brought the business to an end.

[114]

Wouldst fashion for thyself a seemly life?

Then fret not over what is past and gone;

And spite of all thou mayst have lost behind,

Yet act as if thy life were just begun.

What each day wills, enough for thee to know;

What each day wills, the day itself will tell.

Do thine own task, & be therewith content;

What others do, that shalt thou fairly judge;

Be sure that thou no other mortal hate,

Then all besides leave to the Master Power.

[From Goethe's Sprüche, quoted in Morley's Studies in Literature p 37.]

Miss Scott–Thompson who has charge of the Duke of Bedford's library & is about to publish a history of the Russell family based on the documents which it contains, entertained Fearne and me at dinner in her pleasant flat in Carlisle Mansions, and afterwards took us to the Opera in Covent Garden, where she had the use of the Duke's private box. We saw very comfortably the brilliant but rather lengthy Rigalletto.

---