“Birkenhead has always been a puzzle to me because he was cynical and worldly ambitious, and yet, it must be confessed, overfond of his liquor. One expects such a weakness only from a poet or one who has the poetical imagination.”
A comparison being made between certain types of Russian and English characters, Chesterton went on to say,
“The Russians in their writings are always brooding over fate or some silly thing. For the most part the English gentry are fine, sensible fellows, although, of course, there are some bounders amongst them. You will now find not a few Catholics among them, although for many years the only Catholics were either English aristocrats or Irish paupers.”
Asked if he found the Americans all very mad in the pursuit of money, he shook his head with a smile,
“Quite the contrary, I find the Americans less worshipful of money than my fellow English. However, I do prefer even our English gentry although mad about money, to some of your vulgar and blatant millionaires.”
During a discussion of the Church and State, Chesterton remarked,
“I read the other day of a western magistrate who sentenced a woman to go to Church for the next fifty Sundays. I wondered at the time whether that was consistent with the American doctrine of the separation of Church and State. Even though we have a state church in England, I do not think that an English judge would have given such a sentence.”
In autographing a book just before the party broke up, Chesterton threw a lot of ink on the floor, but merely remarked,
“I’m always cluttering up people’s carpets.”
His hostess rather prim and proper, kept shoving ash-trays at him which he completely ignored and continued dropping ashes from his cigarettes all over the floor. But no one minded this little thoughtlessness of genius.