A dream

Saturday, January 3rd., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

Neuralgia has stopped me working for two days but I resumed this morning.

Woke with a dream clear in my head, which is unusual for me. I wasn't actively involved in the dream, just a sort of observer, but I could talk to others, though they only seemed to see me if I spoke to them. We were in a large house in a town, more like a hospital or school or some institution in fact. Men and women were living there and they never went outside. They were not prisoners exactly but just discouraged from exiting. They cooked for themselves, communally or singly, and stores were 'magically' replenished between times, so they had no need to go out. Anyway two or three of the men became discontented and decided to go into the town which was easily done as there were no guards, just by forcing an external door. I followed them into the town where they sort of wandered about, staying together, just looking round. There were some street entertainers, but not very interesting. After quite a short time one of them said: "Shall we go home?" and the others readily agreed. They went in as they had left and secured the door behind them, breathing a collective sigh of relief. That was all. I suppose the message to me is to be content with what I have, which is in fact a great deal.

The Spences came over to dinner on Thursday night from the Grand Hotel at Frinton. Spence is the dramatic critic of the Westminster Gazette. He said that, concerning the Maybrick affair which is nearly 30 years ago now, Mrs. Maybrick was understood to be guilty, and that she had confessed to wardresses immediately after sentence It was said that she had arsenic in the pocket of her peignoir and administered it by means of a handkerchief pressed to Maybrick's mouth when he complained of dry lips, or something of that kind. But Spence could not explain why Charles Russell remained always persuaded of her innocence. Apparently Mrs. Maybrick is still alive having had her sentence commuted, and subsequently reduced. Maybrick seems to have been a rather horrible individual.

A local man, schoolteacher, has been showing me his collection of stone age 'tools'. Just small pieces of flint in the main which you wouldn't notice unless you were looking out. But he showed me how they had been deliberately shaped for various purpose such as hammering, scraping and cutting. Some are very sharp and would certainly be effective. He also had a couple of arrow heads, very finely crafted, which must have taken a great deal of work. I had no idea about such things, and was much impressed. He seemed to think they might be more than 10,000 years old. Amazing to hold something that old in your hand and to think of the connection with the person who made it.

Double entendre

Tuesday, December 10th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

I have been having a little fun with E. F. Spence drama critic for the Westminster Gazette. He is excellent at his job, and we have had some correspondence in the past though we have never met. Clearly a man of discernment as he has expressed publicly his admiration for my work. Anyway, I think I have caught him out in saying that 'double entendre' as spoken by Miss Jean Aylwyn in defence of the farce "Who's the Lady" at the Garrick Theatre is a mistake in French. I think not.

If it is bad French, which it may be, then I argue that the phrase has become English, and rendered righteous by use, like blancmange and connoisseur, words incorrect in French but which Spence would no doubt permit himself to employ. I suppose that most languages enrich themselves by these transfers from other languages. Custom, and not logic, is the main factor in the growth of the language, and quite right to; a language is a living thing and those of us who love and use words should enjoy that fact.

I have in fact seen Miss Aylwyn in the farce. She plays the part of a cocotte and I can attest from personal experience that she is credible in the role. I hear that the Lord Chamberlain has observed her occasional state of undress in the play with some dismay. To his credit, Spence does not think the play obscene; nor do I. Miss Aylwyn is a rather attractive young woman with particularly good legs, shown to advantage at times during the play. I wouldn't mind going to see it again! What Miss Aylwyn apparently said was: "There are people who are ready to see a double entendre in everything". She is right about that as well. I am one of them!

Time for a change

Thursday, March 17th., Royal York Hotel, Brighton.

Impossible to finish the second part of "Clayhanger". If I had finished it I should have spoilt it. I got up to within a few hundred words of 80,000 but the second part will exceed the advertised length by 5 or 6,000. Moreover I was frightened by a lot of the extraordinary praise of "The Old Wives' Tale" that I have recently had. For example from E.F. Spence, dramatic critic of the Westminster Gazette. I was afraid that "Clayhanger" was miles inferior to it, and that by going on blindly I might lose a chance of bucking it up in Switzerland ..... Neuralgia gradually getting better. 

Tomorrow we go to Paris via Newhaven. Our stay here on the whole has been a very great success. We have both enjoyed it. I have written over 100,000 words and Marguerite three short stories. But I doubt if the climate continues to suit us now that we are duly braced up. I have a feeling against it. Certainly I need less sleep. But smoking seems to affect me more and I have had neuralgia and headaches. Largely of course due to my book. I am inclined to think that the tension I have felt is because I have put so much of myself into the character of Edwin Clayhanger. As I write it is as if I am living Edwin's experiences. For example the scene between Edwin and Darius over money and marriage took a lot out of me. In fact most of the dramatic scenes have. I cannot be sufficiently objective to know if this is a good thing or not as far as the quality of the writing is concerned; I hope it will be.