Astonished

Monday, March 2nd., R.M.S. Anselm, at sea.

I can positively say that we are at sea. I cannot say where at sea we are. Somewhere in or near the Irish Sea it seems. The coastline to starboard may be Wales! Expecting to be in the Mersey on Wednesday.

All sorts of problems before we left. Originally it was to have been a February 24th. departure but owing to quarantine delays in Brazil it was changed to the 28th. Then reports came that she had made up time, but they proved unfounded as she was again delayed by gales and 'bad coal' and hadn't reached Lisbon on the 27th. Eventually we left Oporto at 8.32 a.m. yesterday.

Just as I was sending off a Marconi to advise people back home of the situation, to my great astonishment, I received a Marconi. My first ever. I thought it might be that there had been an earthquake at Thorpe, or an armed rising in Burslem! But it was a message offering me £530 a week and expenses to go to Russia to interview Lenin and report generally on the beauties and defects of Soviet Government. I wirelessed back that I would go if the American newspaper syndicate making the offer would send with me a courier who knew Russia and who could attend to all formalities and despatching of cables etc. I am equivocal about going. A unique experience, but a month of my valuable time and the likelihood of discomfort.

This holiday in Portugal with Swinnerton has been excellent. He was quite right to say that I needed to get away from domestic anxieties. I have only had one indisposition which kept me in bed for nearly a full day. We have been out most nights, music mainly, and I have done ten watercolours. Swinnerton particularly liked one I did of the lighthouse south of Cape Raso.
 

It is a great change from the Portuguese coast to the Welsh coast. Yesterday wandering on deck with no overcoat in blazing sun. Today, sun but two overcoats. Well, "San Ferry Ann" as my Uncle Fred used to say.

War news

Friday, February 12th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

I think that the war is now drawing to a close and I should be rather surprised if it didn't end this year. The whole thing has been a sheer madness in my opinion.  But when you see the newspapers more occupied with the social and political news of the war and not the military news of the war you may bet a great change has come over the scene. And not before time because the food situation here is grave. In Germany and Austria it is, I understand, appalling. The recent strikes in Germany and Austria were very real and alarming, and all this is to the good. The only potential problem I see is that if social unrest gets completely out of hand then there may occur something similar to what has happened in Russia. It depends on whether or not there are sufficiently charismatic agitators to lead a revolution.

As I see it, it would be sufficient for us for Austria to cave in. If Austria did then Germany would have to. As Austria is easily the weaker of the two, the most interesting thing is what is happening in Austria, and yet people seem always more interested in what is happening in Germany. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link and Austria is the weakest link. I don't count Turkey and Bulgaria. 

The U.S.A. have now 400,000 men in France, and the number is increasing all the time. Up to the present however the U.S.A. haven't displayed much talent for turning men into an coherent fighting machine. They are not conceited and they admit this. So far, they are far inferior to us in this respect. I have this on good authority because I see a great many people of all sorts who are in a position to know the facts and who talk freely to me.

Russian news is scarce and much of it is censored. An English manufacturer in Russia who has escaped told a friend of mine, who told me, that he was tried for his life by his own workmen, and got off by a majority of two.Also that he himself saw people being burned alive in barrels of kerosene in the Nevsky Prospect, the principal street of Petrograd, and that nobody seemed to be particularly upset by it. Except those being incinerated of course! Hugh Walpole has spent most of the war in Petrograd and has the most astounding stories to tell of robbery and violence and so on. Some interesting material for his use when this is all over.

I have just now finished "The Pretty Lady" but it doesn't leave me much freer as I am always worried with articles and oddments for this tedious war

Bathing in ideas

Monday, April 30th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

Today, in accordance with time-table, I finished my novel "The Roll Call" at 4 p.m. 114,000 words. It is goodish I think, but that is it for the Clayhangers, unless I go further with my idea of writing an alternative ending to "Clayhanger" itself. It has been in my mind for a few days now and would be interesting to do. I don't think it's been done before and would generate some interest I think. And make a few bob! Probably write to Pinker about it.

I went to the Russian Exhibition today, not for pleasure but to put the sacred autograph into books and to answer questions by Lady Muriel P. and other toffs about how to make these enterprises hum. It is in aid of the Anglo-Russian Hospital.  The Russian theatre in the basement of the Grafton Galleries is most excellent. Plays by Tolstoy and Tchekoff. To see a play with ideas in it was like having a bath. It made me want to sit down and write more plays at once. The Russian pictures were terrible. It would have been better to have had none. I haven't tried the Russian restaurant, but I shall.

 

Something wrong with the world

Saturday, March 31st., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

I came home yesterday morning. Beautiful day. Snowfall and a lot of rain in the morning. As soon as the rain ceased at noon, the whole landscape began to steam, even before the sun had got fairly out. I find myself admiring the natural world, and then it comes back to me that only just across the sea, men are crouching in trenches, exposed to the elements I am admiring, and being shot at. There is something wrong with the world! I have read accounts of people with mental disorder who have a sort of 'split' in their personality, and that is how the world is at present, from my point of view anyway.

For example we were at the theatre in London the other night laughing and enjoying ourselves. It was the best evening I have had at the theatre for I don't know how long. Then you come out with nothing on your mind except the play you have seen, and maybe there is an air raid; immediately you must switch to a different state of mind. All this must be having a tremendous impact on the nerves of the public. 

The play was Pierre Veber's "Gonzague", a common farce of intrigue, but ingeniously constructed. There is nobody in England (whether or not as bereft of genius as Veber is) who could construct a little farce so well. Nothing to it but very agreeable to witness. Excellently produced and excellently played.

As regards the war, Donald said that the Russians would make no offensive this year, and that had it not been for the Revolution they would have made peace. He also said that he was getting some men to write messages to Russia for cabling, but that he had to obtain Lloyd George's approval first. During the afternoon he sent me up a note to say that he had obtained the approval and would I send in 500 word message quickly.