Our Family Affairs, 1867-1896

by E. F. Benson

“Your father passed over quite peacefully this morning,” it said. “Can you come with Maggie?”

I did not comprehend at first what it meant. My father was a very bad sailor, and it was quite possible that Mrs. Gladstone had merely telegraphed the little news that he was comfortably back in England. For one or two or three long seconds which seemed like hours, I tried to think that this was what she meant. But then my father had crossed not “this morning” but on Friday: and why should I “come with Maggie”? I suppose that the comprehension of the real meaning of this message was only a matter of a moment, and I think the envelope of the telegram was scarcely crumpled up in my hand before I knew. Just then, Beth, having seen my entry from the window of her room, came down to tell me that she had got tea ready. And she saw that something had happened, for her hands made a quivering motion, and then were clasped.

“Is there any trouble?” she asked.

I could get up to London that night, but not to Chester. I slept in the Euston Hotel and went on by an early train next morning.

My father and mother had arrived at Hawarden on Saturday: he was very well and in tremendously good spirits, and sat up late that night talking with Mr. Gladstone. They had all gone to early communion on Sunday morning, returned for breakfast, and walked again to church for the eleven o’clock service. Mrs. Gladstone and they were in a pew together, and during the Confession, my father sank back from his upright kneeling, and did no more than sigh.... He bowed himself before his Lord, as he met Him face to face....

INDEX

[A], [B], [C], [D], [E], [F], [G], [H], [I], [J], [K], [L], [M], [N], [O], [P], [R], [S], [T], [W], [Z]

Addington, Easter holidays at, [179]
last family gathering at, [321]
liberty and leisure at, [251]
non-ecclesiastical ritual at, [102]
Sunday routine at, [183]
Aix-les-Bains, Maggie Benson at, [321]
Algeria, a tour in, [276]
Algiers, visits to, [254], [276]
“American nouns” and how played, [93]
Anderson, Mary, a tribute to, [235]
author’s meeting with, [235]
Archæological researches in Greece and Egypt, et seq., [286]
studies at Cambridge, [255]
Athens, a representation of the Duchess of Bayswater at, [301]
author in, [279], [303]
royalty at a theatrical performance in, [304].
Athleticism, benefits of, [149]
Babe, B.A., The, [301], [302]
Bambridge, Mr., as pianist, [145]
his part in a performance of Haydn’s Toy Symphony, [201]
Beaconsfield, Lord, offers Bishopric of Truro to author’s father, [62]
Beesly, A. H., classics master at Marlborough, [155]
obiter dicta of, [160]
Benson, Arthur Christopher, (brother), [22]
a mystical “Chapter” and its warden, [99]
a nursery reminiscence of, [25]
and his brother Hugh, [128]
as actor: a hilarious kitchen-maid, [177]
as author, [178], [320]
as butterfly collector, [95]
at Eton, [87], [123], [251]
contributes a poem to Cambridge Fortnightly, [231]
gains an Eton scholarship at King’s, [126]
holiday activities of, [92]
house-master at Eton, [318]
piscatorial exploits of, [54]
schooldays at East Sheen, [30]
Benson, E. F., a fellowship examination at Eton, [114]
a first in the Classical Tripos, [245]
a fit of demoniacal possession, [59]
a (neglected) untrained faculty for visualizing, [143]
a ride with Gladstone, [271]
a squirrel at prayers, [23]
a trip to Switzerland, [129]
an attack of jaundice, [209]
an instance of his fatal habit of inversion, [28]
and his brother Hugh, [128]
and the food question at school, [83]
applies for post in Education Office, [319]
archæological studies at Cambridge: an inspiring tutor, [255]
at Marlborough, [137], [196]
attends children’s parties at White Lodge, Richmond Park, [86]
“Benson’s lies,” 86 et seq.
“Beth” on his want of tact, [107]
birth of, [13]
birthday celebrations at Rugby, [32]
Bishop Wordsworth’s gift to, [52]
boredom of Sundays at Addington, [183]
botanical studies in Cornwall, [64]
butterfly and moth collecting, [146]
Chester, archæological exploration at, [266]
childhood days: impressions of, 13 et seq.
climbs the Matterhorn, [241]
compulsory study in Switzerland, [135]
conducts Haydn’s Toy Symphony, [201]
confirmation at Marlborough, [163]
Cornwall, a new home in, 62 et seq.
curricula at Lincoln, [40]
cycles with “O. B.,” [222]
death of his brother Martin, [78]
death of his sister Nellie, [252]
disquieting letters from his mother, [252], [317]
Dodo, publication of, [292]
edits The Marlburian, [194]
Empress Frederick and, [284]
enjoyments during a foggy Christmas, [175]
excavations at Megalopolis, [288]
fails in a scholarship examination, [125]
father appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, [163]
first view of the Parthenon, [279]
first visit to Crystal Palace, [111]
friendship with Regie Lister, 305 et seq.
games and school matches at Marlborough, [203]
Greece, the spell of, [308]
hide-and-seek at Lincoln, [35]
his father, [13], [42], [62], 102 (see also Benson, Edward White)
his mother, 18 et seq., [27], [29], [40], [58], [61], [102], 106 (see also Benson, Mrs.)
holidays in the Lake District, [209]
hoop-bowling at Marlborough, [200]
in Algiers, [254], [276], [277]
in Athens, 279 et seq., 303 et seq.
in Egypt, [254]
influence of A. H. Beesly on, 155 et seq.
journeys to Truro for opening of Cathedral, [235]
lacks effective ambition, [123]
Lambeth and Addington, 163 et seq.
lean years at school, 108 et seq.
learns to swim, [56]
liberty and leisure at Addington, [251]
Lincoln, reminiscences of, 52 et seq.
love of music, [58], [68], [112], [152]
lure of the mountains, [130]
meets Mary Anderson, [235]
Mrs. Gladstone’s telegram announcing death of his father, [322]
natural history studies of, [65], [66], [96]
parental encouragement of hobbies, [57]
poetical efforts of, [93], [121]
Pontresina, a trip to, and his brother Hugh, [263]
private schooldays, and holidays, 80 et seq.
Reeve, the Rev. J. A., a pen picture of, [73]
revisits Marlborough, [235]
Rubicon, The, published, and adverse critiques, 296 et seq.
scholarships at King’s, [230], [263]
schooldays at East Sheen, [80], [108], [114]
schoolfellows expelled, [89]
“Sieges—the most dangerous game since the world began,” [39]
Sketches from Marlborough, publication of, [232]
Sundays at Lincoln and at Addington, [46], [183]
Swiss mountain-climbing, 41 et seq.
the charm of the sea, [56]
the passing-bell at Marlborough, [209]
the tragedy of a stickleback, [67]
tours Normandy and Brittany, [244]
Turkish delight, midnight revels, and the sequel, 115 et seq.
Wellington and the beginning, 13 et seq.
widening horizons of, 147 et seq.
wins a foundation scholarship, [145]
Benson, Edward White (father), a wet holiday in the Lake District, [209]
accompanies author to Marlborough, [137]
Algerian tours of, [254], [276], [277]
and his son Hugh, [127]
and Robert Browning, [237]
and the erection of Truro Cathedral, [101]
and the Lincoln judgment, [250], [253]
appointed Bishop of Truro, [62]
as picture-hanger, [25]
becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, [163]
Chancellor of Lincoln, [32]
death of his eldest son, [78]
dinner parties at Lambeth Palace, [237]
Easter visits to Florence, [181]
frequent fits of depression, [103], [105], [180]
headmaster of Wellington College, [13]
his death at Hawarden Church, [322]
his dislike of tobacco, [238]
his sternness, and the cause, [103]
holiday “leisure” of, [132], [133], [210], [278]
last farewell to his children, [321]
love of the classics, [181]
Press reviews of The Rubicon, and, [300]
Queen Victoria and, [277]
relentless Sundays of, [183]
tour through Ireland, [321]
visits Carthage, [278]
Benson, Maggie (sister), [22], [25], [54], [127], [178], [275]
conducts excavations of a Karnak temple, [312], [315]
develops congestion of the lungs in Egypt, [317]
guinea-pig rearing by, [93]
her Venture of Rational Faith, [314]
ill-health of, [312]
in Athens, [303]
prizes at Truro High School, [127]
publishes Subject to Vanity, [314]
researches in Chemistry, [94]
trips to Algiers and to Egypt, [254], [276]
Benson, Martin (brother), [22], [23], [25], [30]
at Winchester, [124]
death of, [78]
precocity of, [75]
Benson, Mrs. (mother), a stanza by, [94]
and her children, [40], [106], [167]
at Addington, [179]
death of, [254]
death of her daughter Nellie, [252]
fear as her enemy, [173], [318]
friendship with Mr. Gladstone, [165]
her subscriptions as “honorary member,” [99], [100]
how she whiled away a wet afternoon, [212]
informs author of the Dodo “boom,” [294]
letters to “Beth” on illness and death of her son Martin, [76], [77]
religious instincts of, [78], [102], [168], [175]
smokes a pipe on the Alps, [240]
Benson, Nellie (sister), [22], [65], [98], [99], [251]
an article in Temple Bar by, [177]
an attack of pleurodynia, [209]
and her father, [105]
ascends the Zienal Rothhorn, [243]
at Truro High School, [126]
Bishop Wordsworth and, [52]
death of, [252]
distributes prizes at Marlborough, [206]
Benson, Robert Hugh (brother), a mountain climb—and the sequel, [264]
a play by, [177]
as henchman to a mystical “Chapter,” [99]
as preacher, [320]
at Cambridge, [250]
attached to Eton Mission, Hackney Wick, [318]
“Beth” and, [211]
childish piety of, [101]
early journalistic efforts of, [93]
family caricatures by, [210]
his father and, [127]
joins the Roman church, [102], [319]
lays a stone for erection of Truro Cathedral, [101]
propagandist novels by, [320]
skating in a fog, [176]
studies at Llandaff, [318]
takes orders, [102]
wins a scholarship at Eton, [210]
Berne, a day and night at, [129]
“Beth” (see Cooper, Elizabeth)
Bird’s-nesting in Cornwall, [65]
Biskra, a Royal bereavement: news received at, [277]
Bosanquet, R. Carr, [226]
Bramston, Miss, as authoress, [41], [42]
in Cornwall, [76]
Braun, Miss, [75]
“Brewing” at Marlborough: function described, [140]
Browning, Oscar, [45], 221 et seq.
contributes a poem to Cambridge Fortnightly, [231]
his At-Homes at Cambridge, [224]
Browning, Robert, author’s meeting with, [237]
Bubb, Mr., Clerk of Works of Truro Cathedral, [101]
Burton, Willie, [60], [61]
Butterflies and moths, holiday collection of, [95], [146]
Calverley, Charles Stuart, [259]
Cambridge Fortnightly, the, [232]
Cambridge University: author at, 213 et seq.
King’s College, [213]
Canterbury, Archbishop of (see Benson, Edward White)
Capri, a visit to, [321]
Carter, Mrs., organist of Kenwyn Church: a boyish romance, [68]
Carthage, a visit to, [278]
Cathedral, the first post-Reformation, [100]
“Chapter,” a mystical, [99]
Chemistry, holiday researches in, [94]
Chester, archæological researches at, [267]
“Chitchat” literary society, [226]
Clarence, Duke of, and “O. B.,” death of, [222], [276]
Constantine, Crown Prince of Greece (afterwards King “Tino”), [283]
Cooper, Elizabeth (“Beth”), [15], [18], [22], [33], [36], [38], [42], [74], [96], [107], [128], [321], [322]
and Hugh Benson, [18], [127]
and the Archbishop, [221]
games at Addington, [251]
her love for Mrs. Benson, [211]
Mrs. Benson’s letter announcing illness and death of Martin, [77], [78]
Copeland, May, [60]
Cornwall, the charms of, [62]
Crawford, Lady, entertains Archbishop and Mrs. Benson, [180]
Crystal Palace, the, first visit to, [111]
Cunningham, Dr., a story of, [228]
Daily Chronicle, the, an unfavourable review of The Rubicon in, [299]
Decemviri Debating Society, the, [229]
Deir-el-Bahari, archæological explorations at, [310], [314]
Delphi, French excavations at, [289]
Dickinson, G. Lowes, [231]
Dodo, Lucas Malet’s frank letters on, [291]
publication of, [292]
read by Mrs. Benson and by Henry James, [272]
the infancy of, [178]
Dörpfeld, Dr., and Miss Maggie Benson, [303]
and the fourth century Greek theatres, [288]
Duchess of Bayswater, a representation of, in Athens, [304]
Easedale Rectory, a wet holiday in, [209]
East Sheen, author’s schooldays at, 80 et seq.
Edgar, Mr., headmaster of Temple Grove School, [114]
a bad report from, [117]
Edhem Pasha, [281]
Egerton, Sir Edwin, [285]
and Miss Maggie Benson, [303]
as host, [308]
Egypt, visits to, [254], [308]
Epidaurus, a visit to, [289]
Eton, a second failure for scholarship at, [125]
Arthur Benson at, [87], [124], [250], [318]
Etretat, holidays at, [86]
Fal, the, bathing in, [100]
Ford, Lionel, headmaster of Harrow, [226]
Frederick, Empress, and author, [284]
Friendships of schoolboys, how made and how retained, [151]
Fry, Roger, and the Cambridge Fortnightly, [231]
Geoghehan, Mr., fourth form master at East Sheen school, [83]
George V (then Duke of York) dines at Lambeth Palace, [238]
(then Prince of Wales) and the death of the Duke of Clarence, [277]
George, King of Greece, [281]
an audience with, [282]
and his sister’s hat, [288]
George, Prince (of Greece), [284]
Germany, Crown Princess of, and Oscar Browning, [222]
Giles, Mrs., her day-school and the scholars, [41], [60]
Gimmelwald, arrival at, [133]
Gladstone, Mrs., a fateful telegram from, [322]
Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E., a dissertation on blotting-paper squeezes, [267]
and the Chester archæological researches, [261]
friendship with Mrs. Benson, [166]
Golf on the snow and in a fog, [176]
Goodhart, Arthur, at King’s College, [226]
Greece, the Court of, [283]
author in, 286 et seq.
the spell of, [308]
Greek theatres, German theory regarding, [286]
Guinea-pigs reared by Maggie Benson, [93], [94]
Halsbury, Lord, at Lambeth Palace, [167]
Handel Festival at Crystal Palace, [110], [113]
Hare, Thomas, [86]
Harrison, Mrs. (“Lucas Malet”), reads Dodo, [290]
Hatasoo, Queen, and Sen-mut, [316]
Hawarden, author interviews Mr. Gladstone at, [267]
Gladstone’s tribute to Mrs. Benson at, [166]
Hawarden Church, tragic death of the Archbishop in, [323]
Headlam, Walter, at King’s College, [226]
Henry VI, and King’s College, Cambridge, [213]
Hobbies as a preservative of youth, [58]
Image in the Sand, The, [311]
Irish tour of the Archbishop and Mrs. Benson, [321]
Irving, Harry, recitations at Marlborough Penny Readings, [202]
James, Henry, earlier and later works of, [272]
reads Dodo, [272]
James, Monty, Provost of Eton, as mimic, [226], [229]
readings from Dickens by, [229]
Jungfrau, the, an ascent of, in thick snow, [249]
first glimpse of, [130]
Karnak, excavations in the temple of Mut, [312]
Kenwyn Church and its organist, [72]
Kenwyn Vicarage, [63]
King, Dr., Bishop of Lincoln, trial of, [250]
King’s College, Cambridge, a notable life-fellow of, [221]
eccentric, Fellows of, 214 et seq.
glee-singing at, [217]
life at, 226 et seq.
the chapel, [233]
Lake district, the, a wet holiday in, [209]
Lambeth Palace, dinner parties at, [237]
Mrs. Benson as hostess at, [164]
Leigh, Augustus Austen, Vice-Provost of King’s, [216]
Lincoln and early emotions, 32 et seq.
and demoniacal possession, 52 et seq.
Sundays at, [45]
the Cathedral, 45 et seq.
trial, the, Archbishop Benson and, [249], [253]
Lister, Regie, and a theatrical performance in Athens, [304]
author and, [306]
his genius for friendship, [305]
Llandaff, Hugh Benson at, [318]
Luxor, a stay at, [310]
Lyttelton, Alfred, the secret of his popularity, [305]
“Malet, Lucas” (see Harrison, Mrs.)
Mann, Dr., [234]
Marie, Princess (of Greece), [284]
Markham, Admiral, and a theatrical performance in Athens, [304]
Marlborough College, an indulgent house-master, [194]
author at, [137]
author promoted to sixth form, [190]
life at, [138]
Penny Readings at, [201]
the racket-court, [158]
unsuccessful scholarship examination at, [125]
Marlburian, the, [199]
Mary, Princess, Duchess of Teck, a children’s party at White Lodge, [86]
Matterhorn, ascent of: a perilous descent, [241]
Megalopolis, archæological excavations at, [288]
Middleton, Professor, and his love of archæology, 255 et seq.
Miles, Eustace, a hoop-bowling run with author, [200]
a unique alliance with author, [196]
his aptitude for study, [243]
Mill, John Stuart, [86]
Mommsen, Professor, and the Chester archæological researches, [267]
Mountain-climbing, [131], 241 et seq.
Murren, lawn tennis at, [134]
Mycenæ, a visit to, [289]
Myers, F. W., an original verse by—and a parody, [261]
Naville, M., his explorations at Deir-el-Bahari, [313]
Newberry, Mr., and the Karnak excavations, [313]
Nicholas, Prince (of Greece), [284]
Nixon, J. E., Latin prose lecturer, [216], 231 et seq.
Nocton expeditions to, [55]
“O. B.” (see Browning, Oscar)
Okes, Dr., Provost of King’s, [216]
Olga, Queen, [283]
and Dodo, [304]
Olympia visited by author, [289]
Pain, Barry, his parody in Cambridge Fortnightly, [231]
Pall Mall Gazette reviews author’s Rubicon, [297]
Pan-Anglican conference at Lambeth: a story of, [239]
Parker, butler at Truro, [127]
Parody and parodists, [260]
Penny Readings at Marlborough, [201]
Perran, picnics at, [100]
Petrie, Professor, visits to, [314]
Pharsala, battle of: Edhem Pasha’s epigram of, [281]
Photography, first efforts at, [95]
“Pirates”—the game described, [96]
Pitt Club, Cambridge University, [226]
Piz Palu, a horrible experience on the, [263]
Poetry, author’s early efforts in, [93], [121]
“Poetry games,” [93]
Pontresina, an unpleasant adventure at, [263]
Press-cuttings, unfavourable, [297]
Printing press, a primitive, [94]
Prior, Mr., of East Sheen school, [83]
Racket Court, Marlborough College, [161]
Rawlings, Mr., first form teacher at East Sheen school, [83]
Reeve, Rev. J. A., reminiscences of, [73]
Riffel-Alp, climbing: a perilous descent, [241]
Riseholme, enjoyable days at, [53]
Rotten Row, exercise in, [164]
Rubicon, The, publication of: Press reviews, [296]
Russell, Mrs., author’s music-teacher, and a tribute to, [80], [111]
St. James’s Budget and The Rubicon, [299]
St. Mary’s Church, Truro, [100]
St. Paul’s Cathedral, Passion music at, [112]
Saturday Magazine, the, [56], [92], [176]
a Swiss edition of, [243]
Savernake Forest, butterfly collecting in, [146]
Schilthorn, the ascent of, [134]
Sen-mut, Egyptian architect, [316]
Sermon paper, a new use for, [92], [177]
Sharpe, Mr., objects to hoop-bowling, [200]
Sidgwick, Arthur (uncle), [30]
Sidgwick, Henry (uncle), an astronomical poem by, [93]
visits Wellington, [30]
Sidgwick, Mrs., [18], [30]
Sidgwick, William (uncle), [30]
Skating under difficulties, [176]
Skegness, a visit to, [56]
Standard the, a review of author’s Rubicon, [297]
Staunton Prize, the, conditions of, [146]
Stephen, J. K., as parodist, [257]
death of, [263]
inaugurates the “T. A. F.,” [328]
personality of, [259]
Sundays at Addington, [183]
at Lincoln, [44]
Switzerland, holidays in, [129]
“T. A. F.,” the, at Cambridge, [229]
Tait, Lucy, a tour in Algeria, [276]
her devotion to Mrs. Benson, [254]
Teck, Duchess of (see Mary, Princess)
Teck, Duke of, a cigar and a squib, [86]
Temple, Bishop (afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury), [56]
Tennant, Miss Margot, [266]
Tennyson, Alfred Lord, at Lambeth Palace, [238]
Thothmes, King, and the temple hieroglyphic inscriptions, [316]
Thun, lake of, [130]
Tobogganing under difficulties, [175]
Torquay, summer holidays at, [56]
Toswill, Mr., a zealous Alpinist, [240]
“Trojan Queen’s Revenge, The,” and its author, [156]
Truro, author’s father appointed Bishop of, [62]
erection of the Cathedral at, [100]
Truro Cathedral, opening of, [235]
Tuck, Mrs., [75]
Vanity Fair reviews The Rubicon, [297]
Vaughan, Dean, of Llandaff, [318]
Victoria, Queen, and the Archbishop’s Algerian tour, [277]
and the see of Truro, [62]
Vintage, The, how and where written, [311]
Voltaire, M., French master at East Sheen, [80], [83]
Waldstein, Dr., [255]
Waterfield, Ottiwell, and his private school at East Sheen, 80 et seq.
as elocutionist, [80], [109]
Waterfield, Mrs., [110], [111]
Wellington College, and its headmaster, [13]
the dining-room, [23]
Westminster, Duke of, an interview with, [266]
White Lodge, Richmond Park, children’s parties at, [86]
Wilde, Oscar, a tale of, [300]
Wordsworth, Bishop, of Lincoln, [52]
Wordsworth, Mrs., and family, [52]
Wordsworth, William, Jim Stephen’s parodies of, [260]
World, The, on The Rubicon, [307]
Zienal Rothhorn, the, author’s ascent of, [243]