April 1.—We spent a week at Malvern, in company with the Walter Hobhouses, and then went on to Denton Manor,[95] where a company of the wise, including Ray Lankester, Professors Poulton and Shadworth Hodgson, and Mr. Sully, were. Also others, including Lady Cecil Scott Montagu, who walked abroad with a divining rod, a real act of courage considering who were among the party.
At Malvern Mr. Romanes wrote a sonnet which, in the light of after years, was a sad prophecy.
MALVERN 1892
'To doze upon a sunny hill in June,
And hear the lullaby that Nature lends;
To drink the cup that sweet contentment blends
With sweetlier love of those whose hearts shall soon
Reverberate with joy, as they attune
Their praise to praises that achievement sends:
This is to feel that bounteous Nature bends