LIBRARY
 
 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 
 
 CAPTAIN, THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE REGIMENT
 
 PUBLISHERS. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 LONDON: MACMILLAN &> CO., LIMITED 
 GLASGOW: MACLEHOSE, JACKSON &* CO.
 
 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 
 
 18941916 
 
 A RECORD FOUNDED ON 
 HIS LETTERS 
 
 BY 
 
 ADELA MARION ADAM 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 CAMBRIDGE 
 
 BOWES fc? BOWES 
 
 1920
 
 " A man knows when his composition is inaccurate, 
 and when he thinks fit he'll correct it " (?). 
 
 DR. JOHNSON. 
 
 Motto under which A. LA. sent up his composition for 
 1 Latin Verse J Winchester, 191 1. 
 
 COPYRIGHT.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE extracts from letters in this memoir are given 
 exactly as they stand in the MS. save|for omissions, 
 the occasional substitution of an ordinary English 
 word in place of one belonging to a family vocabulary, 
 and a few transpositions. No attempt has been 
 made to curb the redundancy of the style, which is 
 part and parcel of the writer's youthful exuberance ; 
 but it may be mentioned that the pains he took to 
 prune whatever he wrote in school or college essays 
 show his power to discriminate. From first to last 
 in his letters he had so much to say that he could not 
 stop to condense. The general aim has been to 
 allow the character of Arthur Innes Adam to disclose 
 itself as far as possible by his own words ; and to-day, 
 when novels dealing with public school life are much 
 in vogue, it may possibly interest some who did not 
 know him to read an unvarnished tale of a real boy's 
 school experience, with its glimpses into the tastes 
 and pursuits of his companions, and the relations of 
 masters and boys. Most of the letters are addressed 
 to his mother ; other recipients are indicated, except 
 here and there, where the quotation is very short. 
 The names of school, college, and military authorities, 
 and the presence or absence of titles, are shown in 
 strict accordance with the original text. 
 
 A. M. A. 
 
 October, 1919.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAI-TER PAGE 
 
 I. BEFORE SCHOOL, 1894-1904 .... i 
 
 II. SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 - - - 9 
 
 III. WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 22 
 
 IV. WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 40 
 
 V. BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 75 
 
 VI. BALLIOL: SECOND YEAR 114 
 
 VII. MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND - - 128 
 
 VIII. FRANCE: JUNE OCTOBER, 1915 - - - 146 
 
 IX. FRANCE: OCTOBER, 1915 JULY, 1916 - - 186 
 
 X. FRANCE : JULY SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 - - 221 
 
 NOTE 248 
 
 INDEX 250
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 A. I. ADAM, MAY 1915 Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 AGED \\ YEARS - 
 
 AGED 18 YEARS 74 
 
 AT O.T.C. CAVALRY CAMP, 1914 - 124 
 
 AT BOYS' CLUB CAMP, 1914- 134 
 
 AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS' CAMP, SEPTEMBER 1914 - 142
 
 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 
 
 (in p\am memoriam) 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 BEFORE SCHOOL, 1894-1904 
 
 ARTHUR INNES ADAM was born on April 25, 1894. 
 Throughout the twenty-two years of his life his 
 home was at Cambridge. On the side of his father, 1 
 James Adam, Fellow and Senior Tutor of Emmanuel, 
 he came from a purely Aberdeenshire stock, to which 
 was added through his mother's family a variety of 
 elements, English, North Irish, Channel Island ; 
 together with a strain of French Huguenot ancestry. 
 He was the second in a family of three, having a 
 brother two and a half years older than himself, and 
 a sister three years younger. The singularly fair 
 hair and complexion of his childhood remained 
 scarcely altered as he grew up, and similarly the 
 features of his developed mind and character revealed 
 themselves in his earliest years. The little boy, who 
 when four years old used to read Job and Jeremiah 
 
 1 For James Adam see the Memoir prefixed to J. Adam, 
 The Religious Teachers of Greece, Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark, 
 1908. 
 
 A
 
 2 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1894 
 
 to himself 1 on the nursery sofa with a sure instinct 
 for the sublime and beautiful, was the forerunner of 
 the soldier who in 1915 took for his library to the 
 front the Greek Testament, the Iliad, Virgil, the 
 Republic of Plato, and the Shaving of Shagpat, and 
 was affectionately called Parson Snowy by his men, 
 on account of his exhortations and his flaxen head. 
 Side by side with a perfectly natural and childlike 
 delight in great literature, there grew and flourished 
 in him the sunniest sense of humour. He learnt to 
 read out of Lear's Nonsense Songs and Stories, and 
 would recite the Duck and the Kangaroo, or the poems 
 out of Struwelpeter or what not with inimitable relish ; 
 the next minute he might dash into the Charge of the 
 Light Brigade, using a rhetorical delivery that would 
 have been suspected of malicious mockery had he 
 been older, but was really the outcome of nothing but 
 high spirits. A friend recollects him at a party before 
 he was five getting hold of a story-book and keeping 
 the other children in a fascinated group round him, 
 while he read aloud. At the age of five his eyes were 
 one day being tested. The doctor asked dubiously 
 whether he could read ; almost before an answer 
 could be given Arthur seized the testing-card and 
 plunged headlong into a small-print extract from 
 Pickwick, with so absurdly apt an appreciation of 
 
 1 His aunt. Miss Kensington, remembers him sitting barricaded 
 in his high chair, pouring out Jeremiah for his own edification, 
 with enthusiastic brandishing of th.e book,
 
 BEFORE SCHOOL, 1894-1904 8 
 
 its dramatic possibilities that the doctor had to look 
 hastily the other way to hide his laughter, and years 
 afterwards the incident was fresh in his memory. Not 
 even influenza could damp Arthur's spirits ; a letter 
 from his nurse in 1899 describes him as lying on the 
 sofa in the convalescent stage, " singing his loudest." 
 The following is one of his earliest essays (the 
 document is headed by me " 1900 aged nearly 6 ") : 
 " Once Jephthah went to fight against the children 
 of Ammon, and he won the battle which he fought, 
 and before he fought the battle he said unto the 
 Lord : if I win the battle which I shall fight I offer 
 unto you any thing which comes out of my house to 
 meet me. As he won the battle he went home and 
 his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels 
 and dances and Jephthah said, Alas my daughter, 
 because he was so sorry he had got to sacrifice her 
 to the Lord and she said unto Jephthah may I go to 
 the mountains and mourn over my distress for 2 
 months and her father said Go and she went and came 
 back in 2 month's time and she was sacrificed." 
 The rapid style of this composition, with its odd 
 mixture of a colon, a stop not often used by authors 
 of kindergarten age, and subsequent parsimony in 
 punctuation, is very characteristic. It is difficult 
 to describe the white heat of Arthur's childish energy 
 and enthusiasm without seeming to exaggerate, but 
 it is literally true of him that whatever his hand 
 found to do, he did it with his might, indoors and
 
 4 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1900 
 
 out, at lessons and at play, in company with children 
 or elders and by himself. Whether it was playing 
 patience on the nursery floor at 7.30 a.m. or a visit 
 to a cathedral, fancy needlework, long tramps and 
 swims, declamations of " Now the day is over " 
 before he got up in the morning, quartet-playing 
 (we had a party of string players, three of whom were 
 aged n), dancing or listening to sermons, he did it 
 all with fervour. He loved open-air life, but was 
 never good at organised games, though he tried hard 
 by zeal to make up for his lack of aptitude. 
 
 In 1901, he and his brother, on their way to Scot- 
 land for the first time, and travelling by night, 
 begged me to wake them up at the Forth Bridge. 
 I did so, and their instantaneous remarks showed 
 clearly the bent of their respective minds. " Oh ! 
 what a pretty view ! " exclaimed Arthur, while the 
 elder boy, Neil, hurriedly poked his head up through 
 the window to examine cantilevers. So too, when 
 we took a short journey to Normandy, just before 
 Arthur's ninth birthday, a judicious blend had to be 
 made of architectural sightseeing and trips in electric 
 trams (then met with for the first time) to gratify the 
 tastes of both boys. Common ground was found 
 however when we were all convulsed by the humours 
 of the Bayeux tapestry, and in digging on the sand 
 at Mont St. Michel and Arromanches, where we 
 digested our study of French churches. The follow- 
 ing passage from Arthur's diary shows him to be a
 
 igo 4 BEFORE SCHOOL, 1894-1904 5 
 
 keen observer : " We went on to Saint L6 where we 
 need not have stoped [sic] but we did because we 
 wanted to see the cathedral which is very curious 
 and is very crooked and is much narrower at one end 
 than at the other and has got no capitals to the pillars 
 in the choir. " In a letter at this time I wrote : ' ' Arthur 
 makes wild hay of his genders, but begins to develop 
 his usual style in French." He was always ready to 
 talk to anyone who would talk to him, at home or 
 abroad. Arguments would be carried on with zest. 
 There was once a discussion, begun between him 
 and his nurse, on the question whether a pair of 
 twins meant two or four persons. The debate spread 
 from the nursery to the dining-room, and thence to 
 the college Combination Room, where it raged among 
 the Fellows. The problem is still unsolved. 
 
 On Feb. 3, 1904, his grandmother, Mrs. Kensing- 
 ton, aged 80, wrote to her sister-in-law, Mrs. Fenton, 
 aged 92 : " Arthur Adam is of a more strictly literary 
 turn " [as distinguished from his brother] " and 
 musical. He has discovered for himself the beauty 
 of the poetry of Lycidas discrimination one does 
 not expect to find in a boy of 9 years old. You will 
 think I am become a doting grandmother, but cut 
 off as you and I are from active participation in life, 
 there is much to give one a warm interest, in watch- 
 ing the development of the rising generation. Adela's 
 boy Neil goes to the same school as Mrs. Butler's 
 (Miss Ramsay's) boys, and the other boys hold lively
 
 6 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1904 
 
 discussions as to which mother is the best preparatory 
 teacher." Two months later she wrote, this time 
 to her sister, Mrs. Henderson : " April 4th, 1904. 
 We have Arthur Adam here, a most wonderful 
 specimen of a boy, who reads Moli6re with such a 
 lively appreciation of the humours that I am used 
 up with laughter, and the same when Shakespeare is 
 the book. His spirits and shrill voice are almost too 
 much for me, while his flow of language is astonish- 
 ing. I thought Frances and some of my other 
 children gifted enough in that way, but I think he is 
 surpassing." The day after this letter was written 
 Arthur'smuch-loved grandmamma was taken seriously 
 ill and died in less than a week. He remained with 
 her for two or three days, writing that he was " very 
 busy taking messages " for his aunt, who, when she 
 sent him home, said that he had been " as good as 
 gold." This was his first contact with sorrow. 
 
 Later in 1904 we find Arthur appointing himself 
 assistant tutor to his little sister : on July 4 he wrote : 
 " We are going to the Batesons to tea to-day .... 
 I hope the baby will not be out of long clothes .... 
 Barbara is getting on well with her Two Scale 
 Studies. She plays the first one quite nicely but 
 she does not play the second so well. I am wonder- 
 ing what I can do about practising my song as you 
 are not here to play the accompaniment. Miss 
 Pinwill said that she would want to hear it next 
 time very well sung. I am going to sing ' The
 
 i 9 o 4 BEFORE SCHOOL, 1894-1904 7 
 
 evening star' 1 at her concert on Saturday." In 
 August, 1904, he assumed charge of his sister's 
 historical studies and refers to them more than once : 
 " We are doing William and Mary now in our history. 
 Sometimes Barbara forgets the most important 
 things and remembers the things of lesser importance. 
 But that is by no means always the case. In fact, 
 I think she is making a lot of progress and I am quite 
 satisfied with her." Barbara remembers vividly 
 the pains he took to teach her the big towns of Eng- 
 land on the nursery floor, which was the scene of 
 most indoor occupations. He used to play duets 
 with her by the hour. 
 
 The " cut finger " referred to in the following 
 letter to an aunt was caused by a nasty accident. 
 Arthur caught his finger in the cogs of the gear wheel, 
 while cleaning his bicycle, and nearly took the top 
 off. Surgical treatment under an anaesthetic was 
 applied. " Sept. 18, 1904. We came home yester- 
 day after a very nice time at Holme .... The day 
 on which I cut my finger we went to Lynn. We 
 went all the way there and back by train. It is a 
 very interesting place. There are some nice public 
 walks in the middle of which there is a very curious 
 thing called the Mount chapel. It is a thing with 
 8 sides, with 3 stories, the crypt and a lower and 
 upper story. It is a most extraordinary thing. It 
 says in our guide-book that that chapel is the only 
 
 1 Schumann.
 
 8 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1904 
 
 one of its kind in England, but there is one of the same 
 sort at Amboise 1 in the south of France. Pilgrims 
 used to rest at that place on their way to Walsingham 
 where there was a very famous image of Our Lady. 
 After seeing the Mount we had dinner on one of the 
 seats in the public walks. I forgot to tell you that 
 before going to see the Mount we saw Greyfriars 
 Tower which is a very lovely tower indeed. After 
 dinner we went to see St. Margaret's Church which 
 is most magnificent. It is mostly perpendicular but 
 there are a few Norman arches in it. The pillar of 
 one of those Norman arches is sloping most enor- 
 mously and looks as though it must fall soon. After 
 that we saw St. Nicholas' church which is not quite 
 so nice as St. Margaret's. Afterwards we went and 
 saw the docks, in which there was a Russian ship 
 a Danish ship and a Dutch ship and a Norwegian 
 ship [and] a French ship. They were all sailing ships. 
 Afterwards we had tea and came home and then I 
 cut my finger. 
 
 " One day we went to Castle Rising where there is 
 a castle and a church with a most lovely West front. 
 
 " There [is] a very nice little puppy at Holme who 
 is very mischievous. I am reading the ' Faerie 
 Queen ' 2 and I like it very much. To-morrow I am 
 GOING TO SCHOOL ! ! ! We have been sailing 
 several times but net among rocks as you go." 
 
 1 On the Loire, not in the South ; visited by Arthur in 1905. 
 * He read it all through at this time.
 
 AGED l YEARS.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 
 
 UNTIL Arthur was ten and a half lessons had been 
 carried on in an easy-going manner at home, without 
 professional help, except for two hours a week of 
 good French lessons, and some skilled violin teaching. 
 Arthur showed musical taste, and began to learn the 
 violin shortly before he was eight, at the same time 
 amusing himself by a good deal of adventurous 
 exploration in piano music, without scrupulous 
 attention to technique. Some little drawing-classes 
 were attended, but not with very fruitful results. 
 Dancing-classes on the other hand were a source of 
 great enjoyment. During the year 1903-4 he used 
 to go out riding regularly with a master two afternoons 
 a week, and all through his school years he had a 
 certain amount of riding in holiday-time, enough to 
 give him the rudiments of horsemanship. This 
 practice was started in the first instance with a view 
 to strengthening his physique after an attack of 
 pleurisy in the summer of 1903, the only serious 
 
 9
 
 10 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1904 
 
 illness that he ever had. While he was ill, the doctors 
 drew off a quantity of the pleural fluid ; and this 
 made him feel very grand, for, as he wrote after- 
 wards to his grandmamma, " this is what was done 
 to the late Pope." Happily the operation was more 
 successful than in the case of Leo XIII., in whose 
 last days he had taken much interest, as well as in 
 the election of Pius X . ; and Arthur recovered without 
 drawbacks. 
 
 Further outdoor exercise was secured by going 
 daily to share in the games at Mr. Goodchild's school, 
 St. Faith's, Cambridge, for a year before he joined 
 the school altogether as a day-boy, in September, 
 1904. As the letter in the last chapter shows, he 
 was very much impressed by the importance of this 
 epoch in his career, and although he was thoroughly 
 at home with Mr. Goodchild and the school through 
 his game-playing, he insisted on being conducted 
 on the first day by his mother, holding that otherwise 
 parental duty would be neglected. He threw himself 
 into things with his usual ardour. At the end of 
 the first term everyone gave him a very good report, 
 and the headmaster wrote : " Grammar is rather 
 weak ; an enthusiastic worker, with much originality 
 which generally leads him to his goal. In games or 
 elsewhere he is very keen, but as yet his methods 
 are hardly scientific. I am very anxious he should 
 not neglect this side of school life." The initial 
 energy was kept up without flagging ; a year later,
 
 1904 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 11 
 
 for instance, we read : " Mathematics : Most satis- 
 factory. The work has been rather difficult and 
 his progress in it very pleasing. He has a great 
 liking for the subject which he makes a vain effort 
 to conceal." Again, from a classical master : "He 
 takes a pride in his work and is in consequence 
 making very decided progress." Accuracy in acci- 
 dence was, and was destined to remain, a stone of 
 stumbling, owing largely to the extreme eagerness 
 of his temperament, but nevertheless Mr. Goodchild 
 wrote in July, 1906 : " His strength lies in all-round 
 excellence," and on several other occasions to much 
 the same effect. Finally we may quote his last 
 mathematical report, in July, 1907, when he was 
 about to leave for Winchester : " His work has reached 
 the same high standard as hitherto. His keenness 
 and interest in his work, and the good spirit he has 
 displayed all through his career in every department 
 of school life cannot be too highly praised. He has 
 the goodwill of all." He certainly had the goodwill 
 of the other boys, as was patent to anyone who passed 
 the school and saw him coming out, the most chatter- 
 ing of a chattering group. It is not surprising that 
 one master's report accuses him of being " inclined 
 to be talkative." His chief friend was Nevile Butler, 
 son of the Master of Trinity. 
 
 Out of school these years from 1904-1907 were full 
 of very happy and vigorous family life. Music 
 prospered, though there was not a great deal of time
 
 12 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1904 
 
 for violin practice. Good concerts were a delight, 
 and whenever possible he eagerly followed concerted 
 music in score. Sometimes I used to try to extract 
 approval from him for some second-rate and 
 popular item in a programme, saying : " Don't 
 you think that pretty ? " but I never succeeded. 
 Once I thought that his taste had gone astray. A 
 handsome lady sang " Nymphs and shepherds " in 
 a competent and entirely unpoetical manner. Arthur 
 applauded with all his might, and then remarked : 
 " Now I know the difference between a singer who 
 is truly great, and one who is not so great, when I 
 remember the singer that I last heard here." I 
 thought that he had been dazzled by the white satin 
 and spangles, and answered : " Oh, but that other 
 one was much more artistic." ' Yes," he said, 
 " that's what I mean." Beautiful clothes undoubt- 
 edly did appeal to him, and he would wish that he 
 had lived in the sixteenth century, that he might 
 have worn velvet doublets and lace ruffles. If there 
 was an occasional dinner-party at home, he would 
 steal into the ladies' cloak-room, to imagine what 
 costumes might suitably go with the wraps lying 
 there. His aesthetic instinct was probably respon- 
 sible for his early hatred of Oliver Cromwell. " I'm 
 going to be a Laudish Archbishop," he exclaimed in 
 the train in 1905, while reading Morley's Cromwell, 
 which he had just won for a history prize at school. 
 At other times his choice of a future career ranged
 
 igo 5 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 13 
 
 over a wide field ; "a cabinet minister or a curate " 
 was an alliterative alternative, and even after he 
 got to Winchester, he was half seriously disconcerted 
 by the difficulty of combining the profession of 
 chef-de-cuisine with a university course. 1 As a cook, 
 his specialties were cheese-straws, and iced birthday 
 cakes ; his own he liked to adorn with a Latin 
 inscription. On Sunday afternoons there was an in- 
 stitution of reading Shakespeare aloud. Arthur would 
 have liked to be the reader himself, but generally had 
 to yield to his brother who preferred me to fill that 
 office. Both boyspainted meanwhile, and later Arthur 
 took to making large maps, formed by pasting several 
 sheets of foolscap together. He bought Stieler's 
 Hand- Atlas for this purpose, and always chose 
 distant parts of the world, such as Java and Borneo, 
 as being the more exciting to the imagination. 
 
 In the spring of 1905 there was another journey 
 to France. The party was large and cheerful, con- 
 sisting of two ladies, one gentleman (his father) , and 
 four boys, two of whom were Arthur's cousins. This 
 time the chateau country of the Loire was visited. 
 Arthur's diary is very full, and impartial in its 
 descriptions of history, architecture, scenery, and 
 incidents. Here is a characteristic passage : " One 
 of the most striking rooms [at Cheverny] was called 
 
 1 Writing from Winchester in January, 1909, after teing taken 
 to the Trocadero Restaurant for a meal on his way back to 
 school, he said: "We could see the chef; I should like to be 
 one very much indeed. It was very grand."
 
 14 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1905 
 
 the salle des gardes. It had got a very fine piece of 
 tapestry at the end of it and is very noble. The room 
 where Henri IV. slept was also very lovely. The 
 bed was the most beautiful thing in the room. It 
 had the most lovely old tapestry. There was a trunk 
 there left by Margeret [sic] de Vaiois, who was 
 Henri IV.'s wife. Then we came home amid a 
 lovely forest, armed with a huge number of cowslips." 
 Of course he left the Legend of Montrose, which he 
 was reading, behind at the start, " so we had to buy 
 a little 6d. one at the bookstall." A Romanesque 
 church at Loches was particularly interesting with its 
 primitive attempts at vaulting. The family had a 
 mania for climbing church towers and counting the 
 steps. Tours had more than Bayeux (visited two years 
 before). " The latter had 355 whilst this had 366. 
 It has always been my ambition to meet with such 
 a tower," but Tours was eclipsed by Rouen cathedral 
 which had 799. At Azay-le-Rideau we beguiled a 
 long wait at a station " by balancing umbrellas, 
 climbing on rails, and jumping." 
 
 Meanwhile Arthur was making progress in the 
 classics. In July, 1905, when he was n, his father 
 wrote : " Arthur did his Medea nobly, with a fine 
 rush of enthusiasm at the tragic pieces, and lofty 
 contempt for
 
 i9o6 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 15 
 
 And again later in the same year : "I suggested 
 the sixth Iliad to Mr. Goodchild. Arthur's delight 
 at the Hector and Andromache scene would be 
 worth seeing." The book was chosen and begun 
 that day ; before the letter ends we read : "I have 
 done Arthur's Homer with him : of course he takes 
 to it like a duck to water, and rolls out the best lines 
 with many compliments to the poet." 
 
 The summer holidays of 1906 were spent at War- 
 barrow Bay, in Dorsetshire, a place of which Arthur 
 wrote when he revisited it with the Balliol Boys' 
 Club camp in 1914, " I still believe that the world 
 has no more beautiful spot than this." His energy 
 in walking and swimming was only equalled by his 
 remarkable incapacity for diving head first. Try as 
 he would, he always came down flat or feet foremost. 
 This year was the last when we had our family party 
 complete. 
 
 At Christmas, 1906, he was taken by two aunts, 
 together with the same two cousins who had been to 
 France in the spring, for a memorable voyage to the 
 coast of Morocco on the s.s. Zweena of the Forwood 
 Line. This steamer, while engaged in regular trading 
 business, used to carry some holiday passengers, 
 and gave them excellent opportunities for sight- 
 seeing. Arthur wrote as follows : " Dec. 25, 1906. 
 Just past Cape St. Vincent .... I have made 
 friends with the Captain, who is very kind to me 
 and every day at noon I go up to the bridge and he
 
 16 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1906 
 
 marks our position on Aunt Juliet's big chart. We 
 have most beautiful sunny weather, yesterday and 
 to-day. The stars were lovely last night, and Sinus 
 was most glorious, as also was Orion and all the rest 
 of them. I saw the Great Nebula in Orion and 
 Fomalhaut, which was a nice star. You cannot see 
 it in England at this tune, can you ? There was no 
 doubt that it was that star. We could just see one 
 of Jupiter's moons. I have got my panama hat on. 
 It is quite hot, and very difficult to believe that it is 
 Christmas day." .... The dirt and smells of the 
 towns, and the wild market scene at Casablanca, 
 " with Moors shouting like anything " were very 
 impressive. The country was much disturbed, and 
 the army referred to in the following was setting out 
 to quell one of Raisuli's constantly recurring up- 
 risings : " Dec. 31, 1906. These Eastern towns are 
 most unusually dirty. At Mazagan this morning 
 we saw ever so many camels and we went for a long 
 ride on the top of one round the town, through some 
 desert roads. Camels look very nice against the 
 sky line. At Tangier we saw a magnificent army 
 all going out on horseback to, according to the 
 guide, ' keep country quiet.' It was a very imposing 
 sight. There was one very grand and hugely fat 
 man, with very short legs, who looked an awful 
 swell. Mazagan was, perhaps, rather cleaner than 
 the other places." The hugely fat man was the 
 Moroccan War Minister ; we thought it a very judi-
 
 1907 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 17 
 
 cious plan that he should share the risks with his 
 troops. 
 
 The climax of the journey was reached at Mogador : 
 " Jan. 2, 1907. When I got up in the morning I was 
 much surprised and pleased to see wonderful sand- 
 dunes stretching along for a great long way, looking 
 exactly like the picture of Sahara in the big geography 
 
 book At about a quarter to twelve we got 
 
 ready to start for the ride to the Palm Tree Hotel. 
 The road lay across the sand, and then over the hills 
 
 behind them When we had got out of the 
 
 gates of the town we could go along all right, and the 
 negro boy who took care of my animal got up behind 
 me, and we had some magnificent gallops over the 
 sand at a tremendous pace. I had a very good mule 
 who managed to go very fast and keep near the front. 
 Though rather apt to shake us up it was very great 
 fun. After some time we stopped under a tall hedge 
 of white broom where there was some shade and 
 rested, then went on again. After some more gallop- 
 ing we began to go over the hills. At last we ceased 
 to see the sea, and soon reached the hotel, much 
 exhausted by our ride in the hot sun. There we had 
 a very moderately good kind of lunch, and stayed 
 there some time. It was very nice there, and there 
 was a very pretty courtyard in the middle with nice 
 flowers. We, after lunch, went up on the roof and 
 saw a perfectly magnificent view. It was a very clear 
 day indeed. On one side there was the blue, blue,
 
 18 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1907 
 
 sea, looking so peaceful ; and on the other side we 
 could see some fairly high hills and lo ! peeping their 
 magnificent white heads over the tops of the hills 
 were the great Atlas Mountains, their heads all 
 covered with beautiful white snow, very high indeed 
 a long way off. It really was perfectly beautiful. 
 Soon we went back again to Mogador .... In the 
 evening when the sun set the town turned a delicate 
 red colour, and then a ghostly white." 
 
 This was Arthur's first sight of a snow mountain. 
 After so eventful a day it is small wonder that he 
 found it " somewhat difficult " to be up for his bath 
 at 6.30 next morning. The contrast of blonde and 
 black between him and his negro muleteer must have 
 been striking as they rode across the desert. 
 
 Other points of great interest were " the way they 
 have their things from Manchester, and to hear them 
 talking about it," and a potter who " turned some- 
 thing with his foot and shaped the things out of clay 
 very neatly indeed." Every night he noted the 
 changing position of the stars and found it "very 
 complicated." The Great Bear went nearly below 
 the horizon, but on the other hand " you can see the 
 whole of Canis Major." The return journey was 
 made by way of Madeira and the Canaries, but no 
 letters were written, as the travellers would have 
 outstripped the mails. 
 
 In the following July, 1907, he went up to Win- 
 chester, to try for a scholarship, being two months past
 
 1 9o 7 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 19 
 
 his thirteenth birthday. As his brother had already 
 been in College for two years, the ordeal of the exami- 
 nation was mitigated by the pleasure of seeing him 
 and his friends. It is customary to retain only a 
 small number of the stronger candidates for the 
 viva-voce on the last day. Arthur's name was found 
 overnight to be on the list of those wanted, so he 
 made a most careful toilet in the morning. He brushed 
 his hair to a dazzling smoothness, his Eton collar 
 and handkerchief were immaculate, and new laces 
 were in his boots. A divinity paper is always set, and 
 while it is being done, the candidates are called out in 
 batches for their viva. Just before Arthur's turn, 
 the boy next him upset an inkpot (no malice sus- 
 pected) , and the ink spurted over the beautiful white 
 collar, and I fancy the white hair as well. Here was 
 a tragedy indeed, as it was understood that one of 
 the main objects of a viva was to see whether you 
 were presentable. His mind was perturbed, but he 
 managed to conceal his emotion. We stayed in 
 Winchester till the result came out two days later. 
 It was ready somewhat earlier than was expected, and 
 we were returning from a walk along the river in a very 
 leisurely manner when Neil's and afterwards Arthur's 
 friend, Spencer Leeson, 1 came tearing wildly down 
 College Street towards us shouting : " He's Senior ; 
 he's Senior." Spencer Leeson writes : " The out- 
 
 1 Lieut. S. S. G. Leeson, afterwards Lieut. R.N.V.R., Scholar 
 of New College, Oxford.
 
 20 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1907 
 
 standing qualities in Arthur were simplicity and 
 enthusiasm. He was essentially Candida anima. 
 He was ready to do anything ; and this came not so 
 much from confidence in his powers, as from a kind 
 of unconscious readiness to let them have free play. 
 There was not a trace of conceit in him, or of the 
 scholar's arrogance of temper. I think he was often 
 amazed at his success though nobody else was. 
 I remember the look of almost horrified astonishment 
 that came over his face when he heard he was first 
 on the roll to College." 
 
 The following report was sent on his work to Mr. 
 Goodchild : " Adam showed remarkable classical 
 ability : Latin Translation and Greek Translation 
 were excellent, Scripture, Latin Prose and Latin 
 Verse very good. History, Geography and French 
 all satisfactory, French indeed very good. He did 
 a good first paper in Mathematics ; the second was 
 not so strong. He had no reaDy weak papers." 
 
 Soon after this he went to visit an uncle at Malvern, 
 where he found a typewriter a very attractive new 
 toy. He sent all his letters home in type, and did 
 reduplications for his uncle, who was " much pleased 
 and called me a very good boy." Naturally the hills 
 and ecclesiastical architecture of Malvern (carefully 
 compared with Winchester) receive high approval, 
 and one letter runs thus : " July 24, 1907. This 
 morning I went to a very small pit, and found some 
 small fossils. The rock is one which I have not seen
 
 SCHOOL AT CAMBRIDGE, 1904-1907 21 
 
 before. It is Silurian, which seems to be one of the 
 most ancient rocks which has fossils. The way the 
 strata lie in that pit is very interesting. They used 
 to be flat, but then the igneous rocks rose from below, 
 and tilted these rocks right up, and they are tilted 
 extremely regularly at a very big angle. I have 
 never seen them tilted nearly so regularly before. 
 We got a few shells which are fairly nice. The pig 
 and the small pony Tommy share a field on a ' box 
 and cox' arrangement as Uncle Theodore calls it. 
 The pig lives in the field by day and the pony by 
 night. The pony and the pig cannot live in the field 
 together, as the pony will kick the pig. There are 
 very beautiful flowers in the garden and a great 
 many roses and fox-gloves and lark-spurs. In the 
 mornings after breakfast we go and give the horse a 
 lump of sugar, and then I go and give myself a feast 
 of raspberries, which I pick off the trees, and which 
 are very good. There are lovely artichokes growing 
 here the sort with green leaves. To-day Uncle 
 Theodore and I eat a whole artichoke between us at 
 lunch. There are also grapes and melons growing 
 in the hot-house, and cucumbers and tomatoes. 
 There is a beautiful pond here which is all full of 
 tadpoles and there are a great many frogs about the 
 
 place Uncle Theodore is going to be a J.P. 
 
 soon and then it will be very dangerous to come and 
 see him, as he will put me in prison."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 
 
 FOR a considerable time past it had been clear that 
 Arthur's father was much out of health, but the real 
 cause was not discovered until August, 1907, when 
 it was found that an immediate operation was 
 necessary. This was performed in Aberdeen, on 
 August 3Oth, but proved too severe for the patient's 
 strength, and he died a few hours later. The children, 
 who loved their father very dearly, were in North 
 Wales at the time. They were all old enough to 
 realise the greatness of their loss, and Arthur, whose 
 tenderness of heart was very marked, and whose 
 buoyancy of spirits had never failed to meet with 
 a response from his father, had a hard trial to undergo 
 in leaving home for the first time to enter a big school 
 three weeks after so deep a wound. 
 
 On September 19, he began his Winchester life, 
 meeting with the utmost kindness from everyone. 
 As a Scholar, he had to go for admission to the Head- 
 master, Dr. Burge, who at once made him laugh 
 and put him completely at his ease by remarking : 
 
 22
 
 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 23 
 
 " the last time I saw you, you had an inky collar." 
 He was placed high, in Senior Part, Junior Division, 
 but he immediately climbed to the top and stayed 
 there. " Enthusiastic," " most promising start," 
 " better as a scholar than I thought," " has a large 
 measure of freshness and ingenuousness," " full of 
 good sense and bright promise," " carries his enthu- 
 siasm untarnished by school life : it is pleasant to 
 see a child so full of intellectual spirits and not a bit 
 of a prig " all these are quotations from the reports 
 of his first half. In music too he was declared to be 
 " the possessor of more than usual ability ; at present 
 his fingers are physically weak " (the family, taking 
 after their mother's side of the house, could not be 
 induced by any training to grow strong muscles). 
 Throughout his time he continued to win golden 
 opinions for everything except his remarkable and 
 never lost talent for making " howlers," or what 
 Mr. Kendall, then Second, afterwards Headmaster, 
 at a later stage called " the fashionable demon of 
 inaccuracy." It is pleasant to read the constantly 
 expressed anxiety of the Headmaster that " he must 
 not be pressed in any way but allowed to be as free 
 and light-hearted as possible " ; such wishes for the 
 avoidance of " driving " and preservation of "all 
 his freshness and spring," are found in almost every 
 term's report. 
 
 It may now be seen from Arthur's letters how he 
 responded to all this wise and appreciative care.
 
 24 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1907 
 
 " Sept. 29, 1907. Neil and I went out to the 
 
 Hotel to dinner. . . . The people gave us claret to 
 drink, which was hateful. Yesterday we went to 
 
 breakfast with and had a most superior meal. 
 
 Science is very boo. 1 The first time, he illustrated 
 a chemical change by pouring some stuff into some 
 dark-red liquid, and turning it white, and then 
 making it its original colour again. He also showed 
 that sugar was made of charcoal and water. In 
 Demosthenes we are doing the first 'OXwdtaKos 
 [accent sic] which is very hard. In the Livy it is 
 very amusing about the elephants at the battle of 
 Zama. Since I began to write this I have been to 
 chapel and also practised the fiddle. I found it very 
 difficult to get an empty room, as there were so many 
 
 people practising The rooms in Music-school 
 
 are very nice. If you go to the door of one in which 
 someone is practising you can see that he is playing, 
 but you can't hear anything at all. ... We have 
 had one gymna lesson in which I performed very 
 badly .... Oct. 20. The prefects in our shop have 
 just been discussing the dates of kings, and they could 
 not remember the date of Henry V., and I had a 
 temness [i.e., inclination] to tell them, but I was 
 good and did not." 
 
 " Oct. 6. I was only continent [i.e., in Sickhouse] 
 with my foot for one night. I think I sprained it a 
 little, only it was not at all bad. It was rather nice, 
 
 1 A family word of commendation, in constant use.
 
 i 9 o 7 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 25 
 
 as a matter of fact, as I was not allowed to watch out, 
 play football or go to gymna on Thursday, so I had 
 a whole afternoon to myself which was very boo. 
 I went and read Paradise Lost in Mob. Lib. and then 
 went to a practice of Glee Club. We are doing an 
 exceedingly lovely thing in it, the second act of 
 Orpheus, Gluck's opera. It has got a magnificent 
 unison chorus at the beginning of it, and some other 
 very fine tunes. I sing alto. It is not at all hard, 
 which is a good thing. 
 
 " I cannot get into orchestra this year, as it is 
 
 quite full up Last Sunday Dr. Burge took the 
 
 service in chantry, 1 and gave us a very fine sermon. 
 On Friday evening Davies came into this shop, and 
 talked to Asquith 2 about the quantity of 'Apr^ap^ 
 in the Persae. I think they must be doing the Persae 
 as they quoted from it. It was amusing to hear 
 
 them Our Demosthenes is very hateful, as 
 
 it does not possess either an introduction or notes. 
 However Mr. Hewett has told us something of the 
 history. I think the Bacchae is rather beautiful, but 
 I don't think I altogether appreciate it. ... The 
 
 choruses are very pretty. did not pass his notion 
 
 examina. Virgil IV. is a most beautiful book. 
 I have done it before, but I think I like it better this 
 time than ever. We have begun fires upstairs now, 
 
 1 Where the J uniors, for whom there is no room in Chapel, 
 attend service. 
 
 * Captain C. Asquith, son of the Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith : now 
 Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
 
 26 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1907 
 
 and I have to light a bundle of sticks in the morning 
 for the prefects to warm themselves after their 
 baths. Prefects are very luxurious people. I do 
 not like football very much as it is extremely 
 exhausting, and the game [i.e., the Winchester 
 variety] does not seem very interesting at first." 
 
 " Nov. 17. It must have been fun to see the Ger- 
 man Emperor. I hope that it did not offend him 
 that he was not cheered as much as the Prince and 
 Princess of Wales. Perhaps he did not notice it, 
 though I expect he did, as he usually does notice 
 such things. Was the Empress's hat very ugly ? " 
 
 "Jan. 26, 1908. I have been out with Tayler x . . . 
 to get fossils. . . . Tayler knows quite a lot, and is 
 very keen on the subject." 
 
 Arthur " raised his remove " as the head of the 
 division, at Christmas and again at Easter, and re- 
 turned in the summer term, or Cloister Time, to Senior 
 Part, Senior Division, when he had just turned fourteen. 
 
 " May 3, 1908. I am in nth, Neil's shop, as we 
 expected. I had a lovely time in London, and we 
 did a great deal of sight-seeing in the short time we 
 had to spare. We started out at about half-past two 
 I should say, and went to the National Gallery in 
 tubes. We saw a great many pictures I liked. I 
 thought the Dutch ones were very well painted, but 
 I could not say I liked the very fat and ugly ladies 
 very much, but they were rather amusing. The 
 
 1 znd Lieut. J. G. Tayler, Scholar of New College, Oxford; 
 killed in action, 1915.
 
 i 9 o8 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 27 
 
 Italian pictures some of them at least were much 
 more beautiful. I liked especially of the pictures I 
 saw, the portrait of the old Doge of Venice by Titian, 
 I think, also the one of the Pope Jules II., ' plus 
 guerrier que pape,' as the French history says. 
 Another very beautiful one was Bacchus and Ariadne 
 (I have forgotten who painted it), with Bacchus 
 falling down on Ariadne. We also saw some lovely 
 Turners which I liked very much. I had seen a great 
 many of the pictures in Museum [at Winchester] 
 and I liked seeing the colours, which you do not get 
 in the pictures in Museum. Some of the pictures by 
 Botticelli were very fine especially one of Madonna, 
 with a most beautiful blue colour on it. I believe 
 we have got a photograph of it somewhere in our 
 house. After we had been there some time we went 
 out and walked down Whitehall [and] saw the place 
 where the hateful dummies beheaded Charles I., the 
 Privy Council Office, the Board of Education Office, 
 the new War Office, the Home Office, the Colonial 
 Office, the Treasury, etc., etc. We went down 
 Downing Street and saw No. 10, which is a most 
 hatefully ugly and insignificant-looking place. There 
 was a very small brass plate on the door, with ' First 
 Lord of the Treasury ' on it. I do think such a 
 distinguished personage ought to have a little better 
 house than that. We walked on, took a bus at 
 Westminster Abbey, and went on to the Roman 
 Catholic Cathedral, where we stayed a little time.
 
 28 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1908 
 
 It is getting on quite well now, I think, and there was 
 a good deal more decoration about it than when we 
 saw it before. If, however, as they say, they are 
 going to cover it all with marble, it will take a very 
 long time to finish it. We debated whether we would 
 take this walk or go and see the Turner water colours, 
 but I thought I had seen nearly enough pictures 
 by that time. We came home from Westminster 
 Cathedral in a bus, and had an excellent meal at 
 Gloucester Terrace about half past five, consisting 
 of a beef-steak pie, and a Swiss roll, besides tea and 
 cakes and good things of that sort. We got to Water- 
 loo quite early, and succeeded in getting two corner 
 seats, which was very nice. The train was extremely 
 full of Wykehamists . . . We are doing very tuddla- 
 mish [i.e. peculiar] books . . . Tacitus, Histories 
 Bk. I, Thucydides I, Lucan, Pharsalia Book 3 ; and 
 the Persae, which I have done before, as you know. 
 
 " I have been reading a little of Plutarch's life of 
 Sulla to-day, which is very interesting, more so than 
 I expected. I have, I believe, read it before, but 
 I did not take it in at all well. We are going [to do] 
 some Gibbon for our history, which I expect I shall 
 like very much : anyhow, it will be preferable to 
 that hateful book of Liddell " 
 
 " May 24. I don't believe I have told you about 
 the doings of the ' Officers' Training Corps ' (no 
 longer the Winchester College Rifle Corps) this half. 
 .... Instead of a parade, we had a kind of a lecture
 
 i9o8 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 29 
 
 from two people, Lord Lovat, and some one else, 
 about Mr. Haldane's army scheme, and what it is, 
 and what the officers' training corps is. They, of 
 course, talked about the inefficiency of the army in 
 the South African War and things of that kind. It 
 appears however chiefly to rest on the assumption 
 that people will be very eager to join the volunteers 
 which I should think is doubtful. 
 
 " I went for a short bicycle ride on Tuesday, which 
 was a gloriously fine and warm day, to a chalk pit 
 with Don, 1 who seems rather great on fossils. His 
 brother a in Mr. Blore's house is one of the greatest 
 authorities on geology in the school, I should think, 
 and has a very good collection of fossils that he has 
 found. Don found one or two rather nice things, 
 amongst them two very small sea-urchins. I did 
 not find anything in particular, as I felt distinctly 
 lazy owing to the heat, and it was very trying to my 
 eyes looking at the chalk which was glaring horribly 
 in the sun. There was a pretty wood in the bottom 
 with lovely trees and some nice flowers, chiefly 
 buttercups, of which I picked a good many. My 
 brain is no longer troubled with speeches of Thucy- 
 dides, and I don't think it will be any more for some 
 time now, as we have come to a long stretch of 
 remarkably easy narrative, but the Lucan is hateful. 
 
 1 Lieut. R. M. Don, Scholar of New College, Oxford : missing 
 on Salonika front, 1917. 
 
 2 Lieut. A. W. R. Don, Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge : 
 died of illness at Salonika, 1916.
 
 30 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1908 
 
 I like the Persae even more than I did the other time 
 I read it : the long words and fine metaphors are so 
 lovely. It is rather like the prophet Amos in some 
 ways, who is splendid stuff. . . . My poor dear 
 gip [i.e. china pig] is smashed into little bits, as the 
 people in our shop play tennis over garden chairs, 
 and the balls are rather apt to come into my toys, 1 
 so when I came in on Friday, I discovered small bits 
 of it all about. Medley was the person who smashed 
 it, and he wants me very much to get another out of 
 him, and I think I will accept his offer. I wonder 
 if you could get me one from Matthew's." 
 
 On the advice of Dr. Sweeting, chief music master, 
 Arthur had begun about this time to practise the 
 viola, in order to play that instrument in the orchestra, 
 as soon as there should be a vacancy. 
 
 " May 31. Mr. Jervis Read has just given me the 
 Merry Peasant to play on the viola. It sounds very 
 tuddlamish and abeille [i.e. horrid] on the viola. 
 I played it with Neil yesterday and he played the 
 piano tune a good deal better, I think, than I played 
 my part. Another of those Schumanns I also play, 
 but one that I didn't know. I play easy studies 
 chiefly at present, but I shall do harder things soon 
 I think. On Wednesday we had an extra half-rem, 2 
 and I went out on my bicycle, and saw two very 
 nice churches." One, Easton, a Norman church, 
 
 * Wykehamist word for a kind of desk. 
 
 1 Rem =Remiday ; a Wykehamist word for a holiday.
 
 i9o8 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 81 
 
 was " very pretty on the outside, . . . but inside it 
 was horribly decorated and painted in the chancel, 
 which spoilt it. After looking at this one, I went on 
 for a few miles along rather a dull road, till I came 
 to another village called Stoke Charity. The church 
 there was in a field with no road leading to the 
 churchyard, which was surrounded by a railing to 
 keep out the cows who were feeding in the field. 
 This church looked quite uninteresting on the outside, 
 and before I went in I couldn't understand why in 
 that paper it should be put in thick type. . . . When 
 I went in, however, I found it was a very interesting 
 church altogether, considering how very small it 
 was. Thursday was Ascension Day, and a perfectly 
 glorious day. In the morning (it was a whole rem., 
 of course) I went up on to Hills and read some of the 
 Mill on the Floss. ... In the afternoon I played in 
 rather a nice game of cricket, and after tea I went 
 out to a field a little way past Easton where I had 
 been the day before, to pick some marsh marigolds, 
 which I had seen, but I had no time to stop and pick 
 them. It was a lovely evening, and I enjoyed it very 
 much. I found the field absolutely covered with 
 the most beautiful and huge marsh-marigolds quite 
 some of the finest I have ever seen. I picked a big 
 bunch, and got back on my bicycle in good time. 
 
 " My pig came this morning, and Medley handed 
 me over is. 6d., in the shape of a postal order which 
 he happened to have. I am sitting in cloisters at
 
 32 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1908 
 
 present, and it is perfectly lovely, except that some 
 commoners have been trying with singularly little 
 success to play hymns on the organ in Chantry, and 
 made a very ugly noise. They seem to have stopped 
 now however." 
 
 " July 19. I have got through quite a lot of 
 mugging this week. A good deal of it has been 
 divinity, which is the first paper we have to-morrow 
 morning. We have done two prophets, Amos and 
 Micah, and about a dozen selected Psalms. It has 
 been extremely interesting work, especially the 
 Psalms, on which I found an interesting and fairly 
 short commentary in Mob. Lib. by Dean Perowne. . . 
 There was a gymna exhibition by a team of Swedish 
 officers here on Friday afternoon. I did not go to 
 it as I had a fiddle lesson, but afterwards they were 
 conducted in here (yth) by Mr. Kendall and seemed 
 very much interested in it. I endeavoured to look 
 studious, as Mr. Kendall solemnly announced that 
 this is where ' the boys prepare their lessons, and some 
 of them are preparing them now ! ' which was a great 
 copitie [i.e. fib] as far as I was concerned, as I had 
 finished mine, and was wandering about the shop 
 looking at the paper. I opened the Persae and 
 pretended to be mugging it, and then some of them 
 came up and became very interested in the fact that 
 I ' read Greek ' and asked me how many hours' 
 mugging we did a day here, and questions of that 
 kind. They could not talk English very well, and
 
 i 9 o8 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 33 
 
 were very proud of showing off their knowledge of 
 the language. Another saw the photograph of 
 Barbara I have on my toys, and got very interested 
 in it, and asked me if that was my sister in a very 
 tuddlamish [i.e. odd] manner." 
 
 The mugging resulted in his raising the Holgate 
 Divinity Prize (for which Dr. Burge wrote that his 
 work was " quite excellent ") and a Senior Part 
 Prize. He also qualified for a remove, for the third 
 time in the year. Two " men " below him were 
 promoted, but it was thought better that he should 
 wait a while before entering Sixth Book. During 
 the summer holidays in Scotland he distinguished 
 himself by swimming in the ice-cold waters of 
 Loch Builg, and he made some attractive water- 
 colour sketches. 
 
 " Nov. 19. I play football quite often now-a-days, 
 usually twice a week, and sometimes 3 or 4 times, 
 and that takes up most of the afternoon. . . . 
 The orchestra part of Judas Maccabaeus, which we 
 are doing, is very nice indeed. It is quite easy, and 
 has got some lovely tunes. I enjoy playing a low 
 part very much indeed, more, I think than I should 
 if I played violin. I feel more important, especially 
 as there are only two of us. I think in some ways 
 I keep better time than my fellow- viola (praise-self). 
 I have been looking at the stars a good deal lately, and 
 it would please me rather to have my star- Atlas . . . 
 as there are some stars I can't make out."
 
 84 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1908 
 
 " Nov. 8. When you come down for confirmation, 
 on the Sunday, you will, I think, have the pleasure 
 (or otherwise) of hearing orchestra perform in Music- 
 school, in the afternoon, the slow movement of the 
 Surprise Symphony, and a movement of a Mozart 
 piano concerto which is very beautiful indeed. 
 Bewley plays the piano solo. . . . Thank you very 
 much for the star-book : I have not made much use 
 of it yet, as it has been rather cloudy lately in the 
 evenings, and there is a very bright moon : it is full 
 to-night, I think. Each night when I go to bed, 
 as I walk across chamber-court, I see the Pleiades 
 very conspicuously in front of me. 
 
 " I had a very nice talk about confirmation with 
 Dr; Burge the other day. He talked very nicely 
 about dear Father, and was very kind to me." 
 
 In another letter he spoke of the special brightness 
 of the stars just then, and at bedtime " I always see 
 a very bright Saturn appearing over College tower. . . 
 It is just below Pegasus." 
 
 " Nov. 21. We had ' Sleepers Wake ' as the anthem 
 in chapel to-night : it was magnificent, and they did 
 sing it so well. I remember very well this time last 
 year hearing them practising it at choir practice, and 
 I wished very much that I might have been able to 
 hear it ! They sang the solo which I used to sing 
 sometimes, and the chorale at the end which was 
 magnificent." 
 
 At Christmas he was head of his division (with
 
 1909 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 35 
 
 two prizes), and allowed to move up into the Junior 
 Division of Sixth Book, being now aged 14! . 
 
 " Feb. 21, 1909. [To his sister.] I am now a most 
 praise-self and superior yeyob [i.e. boy] with a viola 
 of my own, which, if it is at all possible for me to 
 convey a fiddle, viola, and bag to the station you may 
 have the pleasure of hearing me play, next holidays, 
 only I really think you will have to come down here 
 the day before to assist in carrying it, as how it is 
 to be done I can't say. . . . You appear to be 
 becoming an advanced scholar in the Greek tongue, 
 as you quote Greek in your letter to Mother which 
 I saw yesterday : still I have no doubt you are 
 yet ignorant of when you may use os, and when 
 os n and when 6 or 6 re as a relative in Homer, 
 which interesting facts are to be discovered in my notes 
 on Homeric Grammar taken from the information 
 imparted to me by Frank Carter Esq. M.A. I should 
 also think you may be unaware of the principles of 
 Stem Variation and Root Gradation and do not 
 know which is more regular Ti-eTroi&os [sic] or 
 7r7ri0i>ra or how the less regular one has become 
 irregular etc. Aren't I praise-self over my newly 
 acquired knowledge ? " 
 
 " May 23. I have been taught a lot of ' butter- 
 flology ' . . . lately, as once or twice I have been out 
 with Underbill when he was catching them ; . . . 
 it is nice going out when he is doing that, as you can 
 take a book and enjoy the fresh air, or else run about
 
 36 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1909 
 
 and be energetic and assist in finding and catching 
 them." 
 
 " June 20. There has been an unusual event in 
 the shape of another of our pseudo field-days, which 
 we are having instead of dull parades this half. 
 .... We had to send out a lot of pickets of sentries 
 (or rather three) to look out on the hills in front for 
 any signs of the enemy. . . . After we were all 
 ready, Mr. Bell 1 who commands the company went 
 out in front to choose suitable places for us to hide 
 in and look out, and then signalled for the group to 
 come out and be put there. I went out with one of 
 the commoners and sat behind a very small fir tree 
 and looked out round the corner. ... I didn't see 
 any foeman, because there weren't any to see. Soon 
 I was relieved and went and lay down in the sun and 
 was very comfy for a good long time. After a while 
 the enemy appeared round a corner and .... grad- 
 ually advanced till the end of the operations. Then 
 we had another hot march back again and arrived 
 very weary at about i. It was a very good field-day, 
 but perhaps a little too strenuous to be entirely 
 pleasant. In the afternoon I went up Hills and lay 
 on the grass reading Bacon's Essays, which are very 
 nice to read, especially when he proceeds to describe 
 an ideal palace, and when he says that the smell of the 
 servants' dinner, if they have it below will come up as 
 in a ' Tunnell,' so they ought to have it upstairs." 
 
 1 Major G. M. Bell, killed in action, 1917.
 
 i 9 o9 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 87 
 
 In the midsummer examinations he came out 
 second in the Division, very greatly to his surprise, 
 and brought home a more advanced Holgate Divinity 
 Prize, and the Junior Kenneth Freeman Prize for 
 archaeology. Once more he had to be kept down, 
 as he was over young for the work and responsibilities 
 of the highest division in the school. This year the 
 whole family went with the kind aunts, often men- 
 tioned before, to a beautiful place in the Styrian Alps, 
 where they were summer boarders in the chalet of a 
 cultivated Hanoverian lady, who was much surprised 
 at finding an English schoolboy of 15 able to play 
 Mozart and Beethoven violin sonatas in a manner 
 that gave her real pleasure. She and some Prussian 
 ladies who were also guests at the chalet, were full 
 of curiosity about the customs of English schools ; 
 but their orderly German minds were at a loss to 
 understand how promotion could be possible at odd 
 times of the year. " Surely," they said, " that would 
 upset the plan of studies." 
 
 One of Count Zeppelin's earlier efforts at airships 
 was rousing the enthusiasm of these ladies by its 
 successful flights at this time, and our national vanity 
 was mortified by the well-deserved contempt poured 
 by a Styrian shoemaker on the soles of ammunition 
 boots, as supplied to the Winchester College O.T.C. 
 
 Arthur's delight in the mountains was of course 
 unbounded, notwithstanding the torment of devas- 
 tating ambitions for impossible peaks. One or two
 
 88 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1909 
 
 long excursions were taken in the company of some 
 particularly agreeable Austrian boys. 
 
 During these holidays Arthur expressed some envy 
 of those boys who through illness have to spend a 
 term at home. Thinking that it might be well if 
 he could have a little time off, I reported this to Dr. 
 Burge, and presently received a message that the 
 Headmaster wanted to see me the next time I came 
 down. Dr. Burge said that he had had the same 
 idea, and that after Christmas he proposed to give 
 Arthur a term's leave ; the arrangement would be 
 perfectly elastic, and if to stay at home did not suit 
 him, he could be sent back. 
 
 " Nov. 28. I am, I believe, going to come home all 
 right for next half at least the Headmaster thinks 
 I am, as he made some remarks about it to me to-day, 
 happening to meet me whilst he was on his way in 
 to Chapel. . . . That man, I do love him : he is 
 so kind to everyone in the school, and is, I am sure, 
 a most excellent person to be Headmaster." 
 
 This unusual privilege of leave of absence proved 
 an unqualified success. Arthur, head of " Junior 
 Div." by Christmas, 1909, could hardly be kept down 
 any longer. If he had remained at school, the Head- 
 master said that he would have taken him out of 
 class-room routine and sent him to read by himself 
 in the library. As it was, however, he probably 
 gained even more by the freedom to read at home in 
 his own way and at his own pace for three months.
 
 WINCHESTER, 1907-1910 89 
 
 He covered a good deal of ground in the classics, 
 and found plenty of opportunity for gymnastics and 
 other pursuits, such as playing in the University 
 orchestra. He hoped that the proctors would accuse 
 him of being a gownless undergraduate after dark, 
 but they failed to oblige, though once their hesitation 
 was obvious ; his height was sufficiently deceptive, 
 and his youthful appearance might escape notice 
 in a dim light. Among other things he made his 
 first acquaintance with Pindar, about whom he wrote 
 to his aunt : " finally as a climax came Pindar, which 
 was splendid and energetic stuff, frequently incom- 
 prehensible or nearly so, but when made out, which 
 it took some time to do, quite magnificent. I read 
 it with Gildersleeve's notes, which are written in 
 American, which is often about as hard to translate 
 into English as the Pindar."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 
 
 AFTER his return to Winchester Arthur's days were 
 more full than ever. Henceforward his letters, 
 while losing none of their eagerness, begin to take on 
 a less boyish character, as becomes a member of the 
 Headmaster's Division. Their volume, and the 
 diversity of topics over which they range, make it 
 hard to choose what may best show his rapid ripening 
 towards manhood. All the old interests are there, 
 and the passion for country expeditions in quest of 
 architecture or wild flowers, or as companion to 
 butterfly and fossil hunters, is, if anything, increased ; 
 his bicycle rides when at home extended to the Wash; 
 at Winchester, to Salisbury and back in the day. 
 After Arthur's obituary notice appeared in the Times, 
 Captain Malcolm Robertson wrote : "I put off 
 writing till now in hopes that there would be other 
 news. I knew him well as 'Archaeologist,' l German 
 scholar and O. T. C. enthusiast, in fact I taught him 
 
 1 Member of the Winchester College Archaeological Society. 
 4
 
 igio WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 41 
 
 his first soldiering and some of his early German. 
 I remember reading Keller's ' Romeo und Juliet 
 auf dem Dorfe," or the early part of it, with him, and 
 his delight when the two fathers came to a deadlock 
 calling each other ' Lumpenhund ' and 'Galgenhund.' 
 It is tragic to think of his frail but energetic body 
 coming to an unknown end like that, yet the cause 
 
 and the effort he made were worthy of him 
 
 I remember so well Arthur's paper on the Cambridge- 
 shire churches (I should like to see it again some day 
 if it is preserved) and his enjoyment of our many 
 Hampshire rambles with Humphry Hollins, Eugene 
 Crombie, Edward Paton, and many others who are 
 all killed." To this period also belong the following 
 words of Spencer Leeson, his senior in College by 
 two years : " His enthusiasm was the counterpart 
 of his simplicity. He would declaim choruses from 
 the Agamemnon on the top of Hills, would shout for 
 College at Sixes 1 like a man possessed, would rave 
 about Bach and Beethoven in fact he would throw 
 his whole self into everything. I do not ever remem- 
 ber hearing a word from him of really serious dis- 
 paragement of anything or anybody, although often 
 enough he would pour a torrent of hilarious criticism 
 on a bad argument or a poor piece of playing. He 
 had the scholar's whole-hearted joy in all beauty, 
 whether of nature, literature or art, although I think 
 he was less interested in the minutiae of scholarship 
 
 1 The leading football matches of the year.
 
 42 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1910 
 
 than in the matters of wider interest rising out of the 
 study of the classics. ' ' At the same time new develop- 
 ments were taking place in him. Politics began to 
 take up much room in his mind. He had always 
 been keenly alive to public events, but his attitude 
 now became more critical. Probably any party in 
 power would have come under his lash ; as it 
 happened, the Liberals, owing to their long tenure of 
 office from 1906 onwards, bore most of the brunt. 
 Arthur's temperament, however, was eminently that 
 of the reformer, and a desire to bring the best things in 
 life within the reach of all soon grew hot within him. 
 
 His school work naturally was becoming concen- 
 trated on the humanities, including some parts of 
 modern history that are perhaps not often much 
 studied at school, such as the American Constitution, 
 the Metternich and the 1848 period, the unification 
 of Italy and of Germany. He parted from mathe- 
 matics with regret after his first term in " Senior 
 Div.," and the elementary chemistry and physics that 
 had provided him with vast pleasure and several 
 very good reports, had to go when he left the Junior 
 Division of Sixth Book. Living as he did in Cam- 
 bridge he felt to the full the magnitude of the field 
 open to scientific workers, but wistful glances did 
 not prevent him from knowing that his own path lay 
 in a different direction. 
 
 " May 22, 1910. I have been reading Jane Eyre 
 furiously to-day, and several other days this week.
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 48 
 
 When I first began it, it quite depressed me : the 
 world seems to have been full of nothing but squashed 
 ladies and worse than ever, squashed little Ihims 
 [i.e. little girls], as Jane was herself : and all 
 through the book. There seems to be nobody who 
 is not full of melancholiness of some sort or other. 
 It is however extremely interesting and very fine, 
 but I get disgusted with everybody in the book : 
 they seem to be incapable of having any peace of 
 mind, but must always be restless about something 
 or other." 
 
 The usual family party went in the summer of 
 1910 to Brehat, a Brittany island, opposite Paimpol, 
 where real pecheurs d'Islande ships could be seen any 
 day in the harbour, looking battered after their 
 arctic labours. At Bre"hat the main diversions were 
 swimming and sailing in the intricate channels of 
 the rock-bound coast. In place of mountains the un- 
 attainable that this year wrecked Arthur's peace of 
 mind was the Rochers Douvres, the scene of the fight 
 with the pieuvre, in Victor Hugo's Travailleurs de la 
 Mer, which had just taken Arthur by storm. The 
 lighthouse could be seen on very clear days far out 
 to sea, but the expedition was too precarious to be 
 undertaken in the fishing boats that were the only 
 means of transport. Pieuvres in the shape of normal- 
 sized octopuses were to be found in abundance all 
 around us, and if you turned up an isolated stone 
 in the middle of a tidal rivulet on the sand, you might
 
 44 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1910 
 
 be startled by a gruesome creature making a back- 
 ward dart of many feet in the water, with all its 
 tentacles tapering in a bunch like the tail of an 
 aeroplane. On one occasion there was a notable 
 lantern raid on sand-eels, that took place from 12 to 
 3 a.m., in a spot where we had been sailing during 
 the day with 30 feet of water below us. The landlord 
 of the inn, with his young fishing-mate, was guide, 
 and among the party were the femme-de-chambre 
 and some members of the French army from the 
 neighbouring barracks ; the incident might have 
 come out of a comic opera for its picturesqueness 
 and incongruity. 
 
 The following term, in a letter containing out- 
 pourings about Portuguese affairs, payment of 
 M.P.'s, the Osborne judgment, a cotton-trade dis- 
 pute, etc., we read : " There is one very real advan- 
 tage in being a prefect in this place, and that is that 
 I can always read the Times, and I cannot stand any 
 other morning paper beyond a certain point. The 
 consequence is that I read the paper much more than 
 I used to." 
 
 " Oct. 30, 1910. [To his sister.] I am doing very 
 nice books, but I am afraid you would not understand 
 them all, being a little Ihim ! Certainly you would 
 not very well the Phaedo, the middle part, that is to 
 say, but you probably would quite as well as I shall 
 when we get to the hardest parts. We are also doing 
 some Lucretius, which is all a lot of bad logic about
 
 ig to WINCHESTER, 191O-1912 45 
 
 atoms, for which he has about 6 different words, 
 so as to be able to write his lines nice and easily ; 
 which tumble about and join together, and make 
 things : you have great big heavy ones which 
 tumble to the bottom, and make a big fat clumsy 
 pancake which they call the earth, and then you 
 have nice little flighty ones which make air and ether 
 and that kind of thing. The most ridiculous thing 
 is when he says that the earth turns round and round 
 on two pivots, just as if you took a plate in your hand, 
 and gompretzed [i.e. compressed] it in between the 
 palms of your two paws and twiddled it round (don't 
 try that, or else you will drop it and either kill Di 
 [a dog] or else have the Pie [the family nurse] down 
 on you with ' carelessness '), only instead of two 
 paws as pivots you have two airs and a third air to 
 push it round and round ! It is however very nice 
 despite its dummifiedness, and is not all quite as 
 
 bad as that I hope you are not terribly 
 
 oppressed by that high and mighty undergraduate 
 of Trinity College l always coming in to your residence : 
 but he will no doubt shortly either fall off his traction 
 engine, or else drive it into a ditch, or else try to build 
 a bridge and fail and so be drowned, before very long." 
 In less whimsical moments he wrote : "I have 
 not for a long time read such fine stuff as Lucretius 
 
 1 His brother, now a freshman.who as a member of the R.E. Coy. 
 in the Cambridge O.T.C., helped to work " Emma," the Coy.'s 
 tractor.
 
 46 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1910 
 
 can be if he likes. ... If there is any hour that I 
 enjoy it is the Lucretius hour." 
 
 " Oct. 23. [After a leave-out day in London.] 
 The Chinese pictures [at the British Museum] were 
 some of them very nice, but others not so nice, 
 because I couldn't understand what they were 
 driving at. There was one of a tiger which was quite 
 magnificent and one of a little bear digging honey 
 out of a tree, a dear little Chinese bear, looking up 
 very frightened because a big fierce eagle was just 
 above him, glaring at him from the branch of a tree 
 .... but the one which was said by the gentleman 
 in the Times to be so fine, to be hi fact one of the 
 great religious pictures of the world, of two fat white 
 geese and nothing more, was entirely lost upon me. 
 They were very fat and very sleepy, but that seemed 
 about all. In the afternoon we went off to the Tate 
 
 Gallery, to look at Turners I always like the 
 
 calm ones much more than the furious ones, which 
 always seem rather violent and sometimes almost 
 
 too muddled up the Minotaur [of Watts] 
 
 I was careful only to look at out of the corners of my 
 eyes: it is most awful and horrible to look upon. . . . 
 The first tune I saw it I well remember how frightened 
 I felt." 
 
 " Dec. i. [After a leave-out day at Portsmouth.] 
 I went off to the dockyard, where I was conducted 
 
 over by a policeman I came to the conclusion 
 
 that the British Navy is much too formidable an
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 47 
 
 object for my taste though I have no doubt it 
 ought to be more so than it is. . . I went on board 
 the Shannon . . . the latest non-Dreadnought 
 cruiser. It looked singularly uncomfortable, and 
 I should imagine that it would be anything but a 
 pleasant form of existence to be on one of those 
 animals when the sea is rather rough. They are so 
 full of apparatus for the destruction of the human 
 race that there is not much room for anything 
 else. . . . We were after about 10 minutes or more 
 removed hence by an overpoweringly polite young 
 officer, who in effect told us to get out, because the 
 Admiral was expected on board. . . . We finally 
 got to H.M.S. Neptune, the newest Dreadnought, 
 which is even more horrible than most, as it has two 
 guns one above the other sticking out their enormous 
 noses at the end of the ship, in a way which other 
 ships do not. . . . H.M.S. Orion is having her 
 armour stuck on, which consists of enormous plates 
 of metal, some n inches thick, with others on top of 
 them, which they stick on all over her sides. The 
 Government are evidently in a mighty hurry to get 
 her done, as they are doing it unusually quickly, 
 and have got noo workmen for that one creature. 
 We also went into one or two shops, and saw them 
 testing chains ... in the Smithy. ... I hope the 
 British workman who lives in such a place for 8| 
 hours every day likes it a little better than I did : 
 the noise was something appalling and the biggest
 
 48 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1910 
 
 of the steam hammers wasn't working. ... I had 
 asked my policeman in the morning a few questions 
 about politics ; he objected to the liberal candidate, 
 because as he said he never could find any politics 
 in his speeches, it was all personal abuse : too true, 
 and too common in these wild days. I enquired 
 whether, what seems quite a disputable point, 
 Admiral Beresford was going to get in again : but 
 the only reply which was vouchsafed to me was : 
 ' We shall PUT him in, Sir ' : so that his politics 
 were no longer doubtful." 
 
 Arthur was now beginning to take a prominent 
 part in the Debating Society. 
 
 " Nov. 20. The motion is ' that in the opinion of 
 this House the Puritan Revolution of the iyth 
 century was beneficial to England.' It was found 
 extremely difficult to find anyone to oppose this, 
 so I said I would : I don't myself think my case a 
 strong one, and I have grave doubts as to whether 
 I shall not be committing the unpardonable crime 
 of speaking against my convictions. My hatred of 
 Oliver Cromwell 1 has died away to a large extent 
 as a matter of fact, but is going to have its last dying 
 flicker before it goes out to-morrow. I intend to 
 indulge in a scurrilous and demagogical attack 
 (a la Demosthenes and Aeschines) upon that man, 
 and to point out what a villain he was, a cruel and 
 tyrannical despot, etc., etc., and that his wickedness 
 
 1 See p. 12.
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 49 
 
 had a very bad effect on England. . . . This will 
 be much more alarming than the last debate, as it is 
 not at all confined to new speakers ; also my know- 
 ledge of the history of England in the I7th century 
 is small and negligible : whereas, the Seconder who 
 will speak after me is no less a person than Brabant, 1 
 who knows more history than most people, and will 
 absolutely squash everything I let fall from my 
 unwary lips." 
 
 " Nov. 27. I am getting very much interested in 
 the history of the Renaissance times in Italy, which 
 we are doing. They were very strange days of wild 
 and furious energy, more often in doing evil than 
 good. We are now reading Machiavelli's Prince 
 (translated) which is an extraordinarily acute book, 
 but it never seems to have occurred to him that it 
 might conceivably be at some time a bad thing to 
 kill everyone who did not quite like your domination. 
 Also I am engaged in learning on my fiddle a most 
 beautiful sonata of Veracini, which is hard though not 
 impossible, and not objectionable to practise." 
 
 In music he had been working at Brahms' sonata 
 in G, and playing a good deal of chamber music 
 informally with other " men in the school." He 
 was tolerably at ease in the Schumann quintet by 
 this time, and had tackled the Brahms' pianoforte 
 quintet during his term at home, with surprisingly 
 good results. On Sept. 25, 1910, he wrote : " I am 
 
 1 Scholar of Balliol College, Oxford ; now Fellow of Wadham.
 
 50 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1910 
 
 for the present playing first fiddle in orchestra as 
 there is a dearth of fiddles, and the violas would 
 otherwise be too strong ! That is a funny state of 
 affairs, but very pleasant for me. ... I don't think the 
 viola will suffer from a complete instead of partial 
 rest . . . especially as Dr. Sweeting says he will 
 probably give me some quartet playing as viola." 
 
 " Mar. 12, 1911. Talking of Bach, there are few 
 things that seem finer than to go after the service 
 on a Cathedral Sunday, as to-day was, right down 
 to the end of the nave, where it is quite dark and 
 most impressive, and to hear a Bach fugue come 
 rolling down the roof all the way from half way up 
 the choir : you don't really hear the notes properly 
 but the sound echoes round everywhere in a most 
 splendid and confused way. It is of course a hopeless 
 way to follow the ins and outs of the fugue, but it is 
 very fine indeed." 
 
 After Christmas Arthur was busy with " Medal 
 Tasks," i.e. compositions for the chief prizes in the 
 school. " Latin Verse " is always given for an 
 original Latin poem ; in 1911 the subject was : 
 " Telemachus patris in Atlanteo pelago mortui 
 nuntium accipit." Arthur wrote : " Feb. 5. I have 
 completed my Latin Verses and given them up 
 to-day : they are eminently second-rate, particularly 
 the last part of them." On Feb. 19 he was astonished 
 that he had contrived to remain in with the last six, 
 " which is the more remarkable as it is in writing
 
 i 9 i i WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 51 
 
 Latin hexameters that I have always especially failed 
 in times past." " Feb. 26. Having been congrat- 
 ulated by you on remaining in to the last in our Latin 
 Verse, I now wish for many more, as I have raised it, 
 which is very strange, and not due to a complete 
 absence of howlers at all." The verses were pub- 
 lished in the Wykehamist of March 17. 
 
 " Jan. 29. I am ploughing ahead slowly with my 
 English Lit. books. ... I have now read most of 
 the Faery Queene which we have got to do [i.e. most 
 of the selected portion] ; and I like it very much, 
 but I doubt whether I could emulate my achievement 
 in reading the whole thing straight through again 
 with great pleasure." l " Feb. 5. I have got a serious 
 job for you to do in the course of next week, and that 
 is to supply me with material for a great and con- 
 vincing oration on the subject of Woman Suffrage 
 for debating society." This debate was adjourned, 
 " owing to the number of speakers and the interest 
 thereof, which is a thing that I have not known 
 happen before." At another debate (when Arthur 
 was the opener on what he called a " most question- 
 able motion," in favour of temperance legislation), 
 according to the Wykehamist report, the speaker 
 said : " There was no need for alcohol as a stimulant : 
 the instinct which demanded it was a vicious one. 
 He concluded by drinking a glass of water." 
 
 " Feb. 19. I am becoming much amazed at my 
 
 See. 8.
 
 52 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 191 1 
 
 zeal for physical exercise now-a-days which has gone 
 so far as actually to make me run for many miles 
 o'er hill and dale in a paper chase, which is a form of 
 amusement sometimes imposed upon College, but in 
 which, needless to say, prefects need not take part, 
 and for the most part don't. I don't find running 
 peculiarly objectionable, but rather amusing, and 
 I was not by any means among the last to come in, 
 but about 8th I suppose." He was also playing 
 ' ' soccer, " and " I still go and do my gymna when there 
 is nothing better to be done." 
 
 Another Medal Task was the Latin Essay on the 
 subject " quaeritur qua in civitatis forma plurimum 
 floreant artes," " the kind of subject I have not the 
 least desire to write about." In it he made " lament- 
 able attempts to explain away facts by the very 
 flimsiest argument, which it is very easy to pick holes 
 in." He thought the essay " singularly dull and 
 uninteresting," but nevertheless, in spite of an attack 
 of " aggressive howlerism," he was proxime. The 
 medal was won by one of his seniors in College. 
 
 " April g. On the first day of the holidays Leeson, 
 Brabant and I had a day's jaunt in London. . . . We 
 went into a Court of Appeal, and several King's 
 Bench Courts, and listened to the cases. Then we 
 went and had lunch at a restaurant, and then, 
 after being made by Leeson to walk round St. 
 James' Square in the snow, in order that we might 
 be shown the residences of the great much against
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 53 
 
 our will, we repaired to the Houses of Parliament, 
 where however we could not get in for a long time, 
 as Leeson's friend was not in the House, nor was 
 Brabant's ; but eventually I was very wicked and 
 applied to Sir Joseph Larmor, 1 who soon came out, 
 and produced one ticket which I took, and went up 
 into the gallery. He was very affable, and thought I 
 was Neil, as I expected he would, and remarked that 
 they met in the Mediterranean. The debate . . . was 
 not very interesting. . . . Leeson and Brabant had 
 been meanwhile in the House of Lords, where they had 
 gone by permission of the Warden [of Winchester] 
 soon after I had disappeared into my House." 
 
 At the end of these Easter holidays there was 
 gnashing of teeth at the announcement that the 
 Headmaster had been made Bishop of Southwark. 
 Dr. Burge had been absent under doctor's orders 
 since the previous summer, and the disappointment 
 was severe that he should come to say good-bye, at 
 the very moment when his return to take up his 
 school work again had been joyfully anticipated. 
 Mr. Kendall's appointment as Headmaster secured 
 a continuity of friendship that was very welcome to 
 Arthur. His affection also was quickly won by the 
 new Second Master, Mr. Fort, who succeeded Mr. 
 Rendall in the charge of College, as the Scholars 
 are collectively called. 
 
 1 M.P. for Cambridge University : he probably knew nothing 
 of Arthur, but had met his brother Neil on board a steamer.
 
 54 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 19" 
 
 " May 7. Dr. Burge has now bade us good-bye : 
 he preached a most impressive sermon to-night in 
 Chapel, and is going I believe on Tuesday. I am 
 very sad at his departure in this sudden fashion, 
 and I think everyone seems to feel the same. It is 
 quite extraordinary how much beloved he was by 
 every one in the school, and they all seem to have 
 known him and he them quite well." The leave- 
 taking with all the school prefects was of a very 
 moving character. 
 
 The order of the classical boys near the top of the 
 school is annually determined by the examination 
 for " Goddard," a leaving scholarship tenable at the 
 university, and the blue ribbon for Wykehamist 
 classics. It was Arthur's aim to make a reasonably 
 good appearance in Goddard this year, and to put 
 his main energy into the comprehensive course 
 required for the Moore-Stevens Divinity Prize. He 
 won the latter and surprised himself by coming out 
 third in Goddard. The King's Silver Medals are 
 given for Latin and English oratorical recitation, 
 commonly called Latin Speech and English Speech. 
 The prize " Medal Tasks," and these speeches are 
 declaimed by the winners at " Medal Speaking " on 
 Domum Day, at the end of the school year. To this 
 ceremony the following refers : 
 
 " July 23. I shall be very shy on Domum 
 Day, as you will have to listen to me not once, but 
 twice, as they have given me . . . Latin Speech. . . .
 
 WINCHESTER, 191O-1912 55 
 
 I made a great row ; school when empty is a lovely 
 place to shout in. ... The piece is a lovely one, 
 and very vigorous and violent out of the Verres 
 speeches V. 61. . . . I also went in for the reading 
 prize, but read remarkably badly, as not only I but 
 Mr. Kendall thought." The Times of August 2 
 described Arthur as " a most fiery and eloquent 
 orator." 
 
 Politics, domestic and foreign, continued to absorb 
 more and more attention. The following may be 
 quoted : " July 16. I have been reading this week 
 with immense interest Germany's tortuous ways in 
 Morocco. I believe they have been a bit foolish in 
 so obviously showing what they were driving at so 
 soon, because it seems clear that England and France 
 won't under any circumstances let Germany have any 
 land at all in that country. The poor country itself 
 doesn't get a chance to say anything for itself. I 
 like the way the Germans say that the sending of a 
 ship to Morocco was necessary to protect the inter- 
 ests of German merchants at and in the neighbour- 
 hood of Agadir, because these people clearly don't 
 exist at all. N.B. Agadir has got (i) immense 
 possibilities as a naval base : (2) a very rich and 
 fertile " Hinterland." Bismarck's policy has not 
 yet departed from Germany, but I think they will 
 be scored off this time. They can't go to war against 
 England and France and probably Russia, on such 
 an excuse as that. I expect they thought the
 
 56 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 19 n 
 
 English would be frightened and give way, but after 
 what Mr. Asquith said I am afraid they are mistaken." 
 " J*dy 23. I should like to relieve my feelings by 
 talking about Germany, which is the one thing that 
 interests me besides Goddard much at present, but 
 in view of the facts (a) that I did not do my other 
 Moore-Stevens papers very well, (b) that the diffi- 
 culties of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians are quite 
 endless, and I don't know them, and finally that the 
 paper is to-morrow I must reserve my remarks, but 
 (a) Germany fortified Flushing, (b) both France and 
 England are in a political muddle (peers J are coming 
 on Tuesday or so !) and (c) Spain is insulting French 
 officers, . . . probably there is an alliance between 
 Germany and Spain, (d) Baron von Aehrenthal who 
 rules Austria is eminently a follower of Bismarck if 
 not something worse : and in view of those facts if a 
 European war did take place I shouldn't be much 
 amazed : yet perhaps we only know half the truth ; 
 perhaps Germany's demands are only one side of a 
 bargain of which the other side has not appeared, 
 and probably Germany only wants to see how strong 
 the Entente Cordiale really is." 
 
 In the autumn of 1911 it was decided that Arthur 
 should try his fortune for a scholarship at Balliol 
 College, Oxford. It was rather a new departure 
 for the son of a Cambridge resident to go to Oxford, 
 but ever since he was a very small boy he had shown 
 
 1 The Parliament Bill.
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 57 
 
 the type of mind that seemed likely to be exactly 
 suited by the course for Oxford Greats. His acti- 
 vities before the Balliol examination, which was due 
 early in December, were superabundant. He was 
 now Prefect of Moberly Library, one of the five 
 " officers " in College ; this post (held also by his 
 brother) involves a good deal of work ; he wrote for 
 Archaeological Society an elaborate paper (finished 
 as the hour struck for reading it) on " The Churches of 
 Cambridgeshire " ; x for this purpose he had scoured 
 the county at the end of the summer holidays, taking 
 photographs ; he opened and opposed debates on the 
 Italians in Tripoli and Mr. Balfour's retirement, 
 and was secretary to the society ; he was playing 
 exacting works like Cesar Franck's sonata, and was 
 aghast at being commanded on Nov. 26 to play a 
 violin solo at the School Concert in December ; he 
 took leading parts at S. R. 0. G. U. S. (the Shake- 
 speare Reading Society) ; in the O. T. C. he became 
 a corporal and obtained Certificate A ; and his social 
 engagements were very numerous, including a leave- 
 out day to London, and a hugely-enjoyed breakfast 
 party given by the Lord Chief Justice to a few 
 prominent members of the school, whom he enter- 
 tained with good stories. In his classical reading 
 
 1 See Mr. Robertson's letter, p. 40. In the Wykehamist it is 
 stated that " The paper was received with enthusiasm by the 
 Society, displaying as it did deep general knowledge, combined 
 with considerable personal research."
 
 58 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 191 1 
 
 he was judiciously accorded a Montessorian inde- 
 pendence, seldom appearing " up to books," save for 
 the hours allotted to the subject (remote for Balliol 
 purposes) of the Reformation in Europe. The follow- 
 ing was written the day before the examination began ; 
 it seems rather late for discovering what he had to do : 
 
 " Dec. 4. I have got a time-table of my doings 
 and find to my mortification they don't set a general 
 paper, but a History paper, meaning, I suppose, all 
 history of all time, which I shall be quite unable to 
 do. I am going off soon. There is also a critical 
 paper which will be impossible, so my outlook is not 
 a bright one." On arrival, the other 30 or 40 
 classical candidates looked " laden with the weight of 
 much learning." The provision of tea at the afternoon 
 papers, so that " you do your verses and have tea 
 at the same tune" was an unexpected luxury ; but 
 he suffered a shock through having failed to realise 
 earlier that the external aspect of Balliol is mostly 
 not antique. 
 
 " Dec. 8. I am staying here till Monday, the papers 
 going on till Saturday evening. I am very naughty 
 in not writing more, but entertainments are numer- 
 ous. I had a horrid Latin Prose, broken by a viva 
 in which I floundered horribly over Thucydides. 
 They were neither complimentary except that I 
 did a fairly good question on Sophocles nor the 
 reverse. The History paper was to my disgust 
 nearly all ancient, except for one question which I
 
 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 59 
 
 spent nearly the whole morning doing a life of 
 Bismarck. The Essay was nice ' The influence of 
 power on character ' in which I talked about 
 Verres, Woman Suffrage, Parliamentary Government, 
 Alexander the Great, Luther, Savonarola, Electors 
 of Saxony, Bismarck, Gladstone, Mr. Balfour, etc., 
 etc., etc." 
 
 " Dec. 10. If the truth will out, the reason why 
 my letter was not written on Friday, was because 
 my services were wanted and granted with the 
 utmost willingness for the purpose of playing nap, 
 and advertisement snap, which is typical of my 
 evening entertainments, which have been as follows : 
 (i) on Monday a call on the Master of Balliol : (2) on 
 Tuesday a meeting of Leeson's club, in Balliol, with 
 colonials and others, at which we had the most 
 vigorous political arguments : on Wednesday ama- 
 teur theatricals ... (4) Leeson and Brabant 1 to 
 dinner on Thursday after which we shouted Gilbert 
 and Sullivan at the piano : (5) on Friday as above : 
 (6) on Saturday after the end of all a dance ! . . . 
 It was quite fun, only I knew no one, and every one 
 else knew every one more or less, and there were 
 more men than ladies. ... I have enjoyed myself 
 tremendously all the week." 
 
 The result of this dizzy week was that he was 
 awarded the Senior Classical Scholarship. Arthur 
 
 1 These Wykehamist friends were now at New College and Balliol 
 respectively ; Arthur was staying with F. H. Brabant's parents.
 
 60 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1911 
 
 wrote from Winchester : " Dec. 12. I am so pleased 
 and equally surprised." 
 
 As he was only seventeen, Arthur had the right to 
 remain at Winchester till July, 1913, but it was 
 thought best that he should not put off going to 
 Oxford. Accordingly October, 1912, was the time 
 definitely fixed for beginning residence at Balliol. 
 
 The next enterprise was voluntary the writing 
 during the Christmas holidays of a large-scale essay 
 on " Peter the Great," for the Duncan Historical 
 Prize. In undertaking the reading for this, Arthur 
 was impelled partly by restless energy, and partly 
 by a mischievous desire to snatch the fruits of 
 victory from his friend B. H. Sumner, 1 who had just 
 won a history scholarship at Balliol, and for whom 
 he had high respect, as is shown by the following, 
 dated Oct. 29, 1911 : " XVI. Club also has had a 
 meeting. A paper was read by Sumner about the 
 position of Turkey which incidentally I had refused 
 to read, because I couldn't possibly manage it and 
 it was, as should be expected of that man, very good, 
 full of most extraordinary knowledge, and written in 
 a most interesting style." When the essay went up, 
 he wrote : "I am afraid the authorities may decline 
 to read more than half of it, but by all accounts the 
 others are nearly not quite as long." After some 
 six weeks' interval it was announced that the prize 
 
 1 Captain B. H. Sumner, now Fellow of All Souls College, 
 Oxford.
 
 igi2 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 61 
 
 had gone to Sumner. The Headmaster " said it was 
 very difficult to decide, as they were so good, and he 
 is going to give me a consolation prize, I regret to 
 say." 
 
 In " Medal Tasks " this year, 1912, Arthur gained 
 the Greek Prose and Latin Essay prizes and the King's 
 Gold Medal for an English Essay on " The decline of 
 patriotism : its causes and extent." Of the Latin 
 Essay he wrote : "I have just delivered into the 
 hands of the authorities a lamentable Latin Essay on 
 Indian affairs, in which I found a most egregious 
 number of howlers, so I presume there are a good 
 many more still lurking undiscovered. It consists 
 chiefly in saying the same thing over and over again 
 in slightly varying forms of words." When the essay 
 returned to him, successful, " despite," as he said, 
 " a number of what Mr. Kendall calls ' blatant mis- 
 takes,' " his opinion of it was unchanged : " My 
 Latin Essay is very poor stuff ; it doesn't look any 
 better at this stage than it did when I sent it up." 
 
 Meanwhile life was full of interesting episodes, 
 such as a week-end visit to the Winchester Mission 
 at Portsmouth, where there was much of grave and 
 gay to be learnt. A naval surgeon invited Arthur 
 and his companion E. O. Coote, to visit the Argyll, 
 one of the escorting ships of the Medina which had 
 brought the King and Queen back from India the 
 day before. The Argyll was lying at Spithead : 
 " Feb. 5, 1912. We also had an exciting not to say
 
 62 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 health-affecting voyage, both in and out from the 
 Argyll. Our vessel was a little sort of steam-launch, 
 managed by a moderately expert midshipman, with 
 a defective engine, and a choppy sea, which usually 
 covered the boat each time. We got there almost 
 without mishap, except once the engine stopped for 
 a minute or two only about 100 yards from our 
 destination, but fortunately started again : on the 
 way home it stopped twice in mid-ocean, so we rolled 
 helplessly and most vigorously, to the detriment of 
 my comfort as well as Coote's. However we got 
 over our difficulties all right, and had a very amusing 
 time." 
 
 The next letter describes a trial at Winchester : 
 " Feb. ii. I did go and listen to the German spy, 
 only I did not arrive at the beginning, and could not 
 stay to the end : however it was very amusing and 
 great fun. I heard most of the case for the spy, 
 who was in the witness-box when I went. He was 
 a very stolid German and very fat, but spoke English 
 quite well. His defence was that he was enquiring 
 about coal for some enterprising commercial people 
 who wanted to supply the English admiralty and 
 merchant service cheap in case of a strike but it 
 wouldn't do. He himself admitted that he threw 
 his code, and an important letter, overboard. When 
 I went away the Attorney-General was endeavouring 
 to translate a German letter, but was utterly defeated 
 by it. There was a long silence, and then he began
 
 i 9 i2 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 63 
 
 very slowly, but soon had to give it up, and an official 
 translation was read : why he hadn't contented 
 himself with that from the beginning did not appear. 
 As soon as the man was arrested the German agents 
 gave him up, and even grumbled at giving him 80 
 for his defence : they said that it was no good him 
 troubling to defend himself, as in any case the jury 
 would be determined to convict him which is about 
 true, I should think." 
 
 Another visit to Oxford had to be paid for the 
 purpose of wrestling with Smalls. The next week's 
 letter says : " Mar. 24. I am in a bad way ; English 
 Lit. is in full swing, Lamb unread, Wordsworth only 
 half-read : Woman Suffrage to-morrow night, and 
 as yet I have very little idea what line to take out of so 
 many. Also dread anxiety about Smalls not smus 
 [i.e. sums] which were very easy, and of which I 
 got nearly all right, but Latin Grammar, of which 
 I got nearly all wrong. I shall hear my fate on 
 Tuesday, and shall not telegraph. . . . My doings 
 in Oxford were very funny. The first evening I was 
 took out, not I am glad to say to the New Tory Club, 
 but to an ordinary restaurant. . . . We were strangely 
 uproarious, and the room was soon without any 
 diners but ourselves I know not whether to connect 
 the two circumstances. . . . Then we repaired to 
 Mrs. Brabant's and sang (?) Gilbert and Sullivan 
 and of course some items of the Messiah. Next 
 morning I went to breakfast in Leeson's rooms with
 
 64 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 Brabant and Sumner, also uproarious but of a more 
 subdued kind. The result was that Latin Grammar 
 was too much for me afterwards. I won't mention 
 any of my .errors ; they will not bear the light. 
 Leeson and Brabant then departed a la bicyclette 
 to Twickenham, and the rest of my time had elements 
 of peace. . . . We played our quintet without a 
 single rehearsal except to-day in the morning for 
 about f of an hour. It went quite moderately well 
 . . . Browning is a great poet, and I have at least 
 got some profit from doing him for English Lit. We 
 had the paper yesterday. That is what always 
 happens : the existence of the examinations makes 
 one do the things one wants to do, but otherwise 
 would not." Two days later a satisfactory post- 
 card announced : " I have past [sic] Smalls and raised 
 Latin Essay." 
 
 " Mar. 28. [To his sister, on her confirmation.] 
 I wish I could be at home at this time with you, 
 instead of in this place, only able to write. Still, the 
 half is nearly done, and it will indeed be a joy on 
 Easter morning to have an Ihim to come to church 
 with us, and share the thoughts of that time but 
 I cannot talk about these things." 
 
 An " Archaeological" expedition to Sherborne in 
 May, after having been shown round by " a very 
 superior [not ironical] youth in the school, who 
 seemed to know all about everything I am quite 
 sure I shouldn't be such an efficient guide at Win-
 
 i9i 2 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 65 
 
 Chester," found itself at Eastleigh Junction on its way 
 home, with 45 minutes to wait for the connecting 
 train. " Wherefore," Arthur wrote, " being in high 
 spirits, I let fall the suggestion that we should walk 
 home, which we did, or most of us, at a phenomenal 
 pace, to get back in time : 7^ miles (on dit, but I 
 don't believe it's as much) in 90 minutes arriving 
 with hour to spare ! We quarrelled violently 
 on the way as to the best road, with the result 
 that we did our best to lose ourselves, but suc- 
 ceeded eventually in getting home." The " mad 
 scheme " left him " rather aghast " at his powers 
 of walking. 
 
 " May 26. This is a peculiarly uneventful place 
 nothing in fact happens remarkable but at this 
 point I was fetched to play the quartet : 1 which we 
 did with much vigour, M. Gray z being most efficient 
 with the fiddle. The quartet was a great deal too 
 hard, but we were rather successful with the last 
 movement. The viola part had a nasty way of 
 soaring into high treble clef, or, what was worse, 
 illegible ledger lines in the alto clef : wherefore I 
 either did nothing, or played egregiously out of tune. 
 We played the first [movement], the second (half of 
 it is slow with the tune in the 'cello miles up in 6 
 flats . . .) and the last : then adjourned for lunch, 
 
 1 Dvorak's Pianoforte Quartet. 
 
 * Captain M. Gray, an old Wykehamist, of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge, son of Dr. Alan Gray, of Cambridge ; killed in action, 
 1918. 
 
 E
 
 66 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 when we resumed, played the last again, and the 
 scherzo. . . . M. Gray kept things going in a splendid 
 way, on my fiddle, which he admired greatly." 
 
 He was reading, among other things, Juvenal, 
 and took to " that strange being " at once, although 
 he found him " gloomy enough." Presently he 
 wrote : " Juvenal is so boo : and I am getting more 
 and more certain that the Latins did these things 
 (i.e., wrote poetry), not so profusely, but a good deal 
 more successfully than the Greeks." 
 
 " May 12. I was sufficiently misguided to read 
 ' Justice ' by Mr. Galsworthy this afternoon, which 
 is all very well but I wish it didn't sound so ob- 
 viously true as it does. That is the sort of thing 
 which makes me doubt whether the bar is a proper 
 profession for anybody with any scruples at all ; 
 and I do doubt it very much sometimes. ... I hope 
 you have observed the German Emperor's latest 
 utterance, that he will take away the constitution 
 of Alsace at once if they don't behave. The Reichs- 
 tag got terribly excited and upset at the thought. 
 I am sure they would all be much happier if Alsace 
 belonged to France." 
 
 " June 30. Mr. Hardy is about to make me a 
 present of the Poetical Works of Publius Vergilius 
 Maro, printed by the Riccardi Press. ... I chose 
 the poet as being very nearly the greatest and 
 certainly (except possibly Homer and just con- 
 ceivably Pindar) my favourite poet among the
 
 igi2 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 67 
 
 ancients. It seems to be my vocation in life to 
 defend abused poets. Last half I went about 
 extolling Wordsworth, while all the rest of College 
 were abusing him and the Headmaster for making 
 us read him for English Lit. in no measured terms ; 
 and I regret to say I have to do the same for Virgil. 
 They call him common-place, obvious and dull 
 
 this includes intellectual people like - - and 
 
 and - - : and seem quite blind to the fact that 
 he writes in perhaps the most perfect metres and 
 rhythms ever invented. It is the modern craving 
 for sensation the same spirit that makes even you 
 ascend to the tower and eat your good grub there, 
 when aeroplanists are about." 1 
 
 A paper was required for the essay society called 
 the XVI. Club. Arthur's first thought for a subject 
 was " Cardinal Newman and his friends " ; his final 
 choice was characteristically divergent the Insur- 
 ance Act. This measure was filling his mind in a high 
 degree, and formed great slices of his letters. Return- 
 ing from an Archaeological excursion to Christchurch, 
 Hants, Arthur, in the middle of " a violent discussion 
 of the Insurance Act with Mr. Robinson," got into 
 the train with " three most vehement and unshaven 
 gentlemen, who called themselves auctioneer's assist- 
 ants," and they joined in. ..." They were furious 
 with it : they were all quite certain that they would 
 
 1 Cambridge was visited for the first time in June 1912 by an 
 airman, on tour for the Daily Mail.
 
 68 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 be insured persons," quoting experts. " I stoutly 
 maintained that they were exempt : and I questioned 
 them very closely as to their occupations, and 
 discovered to my delight that they were ' agents 
 paid by commission or fees or a share in the profits, 
 or partly in one and partly in another such ways, 
 where the person so employed is ordinarily employed 
 as such agent by more than one employer, and his 
 employment under no one of such employers is that 
 on which he is mainly dependent for his livelihood.' 
 This class of people are specially exempt from insur- 
 ance (Schedule I., Part II. e) and there could be no 
 doubt whatever that they belonged to the class. 
 I could not convince them of the truth, and I was not 
 quite certain of it, as I had not the act with me. 
 But it is beyond doubt so : ... One of them, it 
 appeared, would under the Government scheme get 
 very much less than he was already getting from a 
 perfectly solvent Society one that paid 273. in the 
 according to the last valuation so he at least had 
 reason to grumble. They had not the faintest 
 notion who was to pay their employer's contribution, 
 though apparently they knew a good deal about the 
 Act. ... It is a wonderful muddle. 
 
 "You shall have the summary back to-morrow, 
 when I can get an envelope big enough to put it in. 
 I think if you don't much mind I should like to keep 
 the ipsissima verba myself." 
 
 "June 23. My paper for XVI. Club is now more
 
 i 9 i2 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 69 
 
 than half written. I am finding no end of things 
 to say, for the most part rather cutting. . . . It is 
 I think quite tolerably interesting. . . . Yesterday 
 was quite one of the hottest of days, and in the even- 
 ing I sat in Chamber Court from 10 p.m. to n p.m. 
 quite warm, writing my paper, with a light brought 
 through the window." In the end the paper, 
 " though I expect very dull to unpolitical gentlemen, 
 was sufficient to excite a great deal of interesting 
 discussion." The Wykehamist report says : " The 
 scope of the paper was immense. . . . Adam must 
 be congratulated on the grasp of this exceedingly 
 difficult and intricate subject, which he displayed in 
 his able paper." 
 
 He was invited by Mrs. Fort to supper, " especially 
 to talk French to a man who cannot speak English. 
 I protested mildly, but to no purpose." He then 
 wrote : " My French party was very comic : the 
 gentleman was a musician, and played the piano in 
 a unique style (chiefly la musique moderne, by 
 himself and Debussy). ... At supper Miss Fort 
 talked French very nicely ; and I made myself 
 understood all right in vile grammar. He talked 
 disparagingly of ' les suffragettes,' so I immediately 
 started an argument on the subject : of course he 
 was a desperate anti, and talked about the women's 
 business to keep the house nette et propre and so on. 
 But it was funny." Militant suffragists were the 
 worst of all thorns in Arthur's side. His epistolary
 
 70 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 diatribes against them exceed even the space occupied 
 by the Insurance Act. 
 
 Two events made the last month of Arthur's 
 Winchester career unusually strenuous, namely, a 
 visit from the King and Queen, who came to Win- 
 chester to celebrate the completion of the renewal 
 work done to the foundations of the cathedral, and 
 a Homeric struggle for Goddard, which Arthur really 
 wished to win this year, as, through leaving early, 
 he would not have the chance of achieving it in 1913. 
 J. E. Stephenson, 1 who belonged to the year above 
 him, was the senior prefect in the school ; to him 
 therefore would fall the duty of welcoming the King 
 and Queen "ad portas " with a Latin speech. 
 Arthur, with his love of pomp and circumstance on 
 occasion due, was in an ecstasy of envy, especially 
 as his friend, Nevile Butler, had just been receiving 
 Their Majesties at Harrow. Here is his confession : 
 " June 17. I am in a wild state. The King and 
 Queen have graciously consented to be received 
 ad portas, on July 15, 4 p.m. and that wretch 
 Stephenson will do it, I suppose." " June 23. The 
 health of Stephenson seems entirely immaculate and 
 likely to remain so ; which is very sad." ' July 8. 
 [To his sister.] I don't suppose you will look at this 
 epistle, seeing that it is written on a small sheet of 
 paper ; but the fact is that that bad man Thucydides 
 
 1 Captain J. E. Stephenson, Scholar of New College, Oxford ; 
 now Home Civil Service.
 
 WINCHESTER, 191(^-1912 71 
 
 prolonged the fourth book of his history of the Pelo- 
 ponnesian war to a rather greater extent than is 
 usual with him : so that his claims on my attention 
 are correspondingly increased. Also I have got to 
 study minutely the works of Juvenal ; of Theocritus ; 
 of one who is not St. Paul, but who wrote an epistle, of 
 greater length and much less lucidity than this, once 
 on a day to the Hebrews ; of Mr. J. E. Stephenson, 
 whose ad portas speech it is requested that I should 
 learn by heart, in case he should be too badly afflicted 
 with ill-health or trembles to deliver it ; of Dr. 
 Moberly, who drew up a set of rules for Mob. Lib. 
 which I consider thoroughly bad of which I propose 
 to draft a radically emended version to submit to 
 the Headmaster, to Mr. Hardy, and, if it commends 
 itself after much persuasion to them, to the Warden 
 and Fellows ; also of one or two other people. 
 The King is ... to be treated to properly dressed 
 young gentlemen : which means that they may not 
 wear turned up trousers. Now my trousers are made 
 so that they won't turn down : moreover I have 
 almost come to an end of my respectable bags, having 
 one really respectable pair which won't turn down : 
 further to get a new pair would be a waste of money, 
 as I shan't want this sort of bags after I depart from 
 this place : so what am I to do ! Possibly dress 
 bags : which however are black, and should be in 
 some way striped. It is a very serious question. . . . 
 To have my respectable pair turned down would
 
 72 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 involve a good deal of labour, and mean wearing 
 meanwhile a less respectable pair. But I suppose 
 that is what I shall do. ... I shall have tea with 
 Their Majesties in Hall, together with 34 other College 
 men, and 35 Commoners, the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury, the Bishop of Winchester and a few others 
 of the kind. So I shall move in the very highest 
 circles. 
 
 " Last night we behaved very badly by playing 
 trios on Mr. Kerridge's balcony, the piano being just 
 inside the window. What his neighbours can have 
 thought I don't know. 
 
 " I have omitted to condole with you in your bed 
 [his sister had met with an accident], which I now 
 do. I shall feel much offended if you finish the Ring 
 and the Book before me, but I have no time to catch 
 you up now," 
 
 " J u ty ii- Stephenson had a bad cold last night 
 unfortunately much better to-day." " July 14. 
 Stephenson' s cold is better no hope, unless his 
 trembles are too big. The speech is a+ as far as 
 its Latin goes. . . . Seventh Chamber is going to 
 look very beautiful flowers are being provided by 
 the Second Master for me to arrange. Leeson is 
 here, which is nice and in excellent spirits. God- 
 dard's institutions are also here, which are neither 
 nice nor in good spirits. I have been very lazy till 
 this last week when I have put on the pace. There 
 is even now a little time to mug not much. . . .
 
 i 9 i2 WINCHESTER, 1910-1912 73 
 
 My trousers are successfully cleaned and turned 
 down." 
 
 " ]uly 16. N.B. Read the Times and look at the 
 pictures in the Daily Graphic ; and you will know 
 all about T. M.'s visit. . . . The climax came in 
 Vllth and I take all credit. I suggested to M. J. R. 
 having people here, and he jumped at it : so we all 
 sat in our toys, pretending to mug, and jumped up 
 when they came. MY floral decoration of the cham- 
 ber admired by both. They were so affable and 
 talked to several members of the chamber hard, 
 not me, I was too much in a corner. I had a long 
 talk with Lady Eva Dugdale and Randall Cantuar. 
 . . . Stephenson said his speech exceedingly well. 
 It was great fun. The tea in Hall was very vivacious. 
 I slept in Chamber Court last night ; the heat is 
 appalling." 
 
 ' July 21. 3 papers are behind, all very unpleas- 
 ant, all done badly. . . . The examiner appears to 
 have been told that we were doing European History 
 from 1789-1799 : whereas I and everybody else 
 thought it was the French Revolution, about which 
 I knew nearly everything there is to be known (that 
 is untrue). Most of the paper was about Partitions 
 of Poland, the effect of treaties I had never heard of 
 on Prussia : and so on. So I shan't get many marks 
 there: nor will the others." " July 23. I have done 
 6 hours of the worst papers to-day the most abomin- 
 able general paper ever seen. My brain is in a bad
 
 74 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 state. ... I have got nothing to say this docu- 
 ment is simply a means of expressing my particularly 
 foolish and imbecile and angered frame of mind." 
 ' J u fy 26. Feelings better to-night. 3 good papers 
 at least comparatively." 
 
 Arthur was elected Goddard Scholar and gained in 
 addition the Senior Kenneth Freeman Prize for 
 Archaeology. So ended his happy years at Win- 
 chester. 
 
 In his letter of farewell the Headmaster wrote : 
 " Arthur's career has been one of bright promise 
 fulfilled, both in mind and character. . . . He has 
 been a most sunny and helpful friend, and I shall miss 
 him much. . . . May he rise to real distinction and 
 carry on his early torch ! His pure and ingenuous 
 spirit has done us all much good." And the Second 
 Master : "He has good sense, keen interest, power 
 of expression, and the humility without which great 
 tasks are not carried through. He has added greatly 
 to the common life here and to my own happiness 
 during the past year." Two months later Mr. Fort 
 wrote further : "I always think that Arthur and 
 I understood each other . . . and I loved to see his 
 intense though quiet energy in so many fields of 
 thought and in other fields."
 
 AGED 1 8.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 
 
 THE exertions and excitements of the last few weeks 
 at Winchester left Arthur in a somewhat exhausted 
 condition, and it was perhaps as well for him that 
 a widespread epidemic of mumps caused the school's 
 attendance at the annual O.T.C. camp, to which he 
 used to go regularly, to be cancelled. The summer 
 holidays were spent at Totland Bay, in the Isle of 
 Wight, in order to take part in a large gathering of 
 uncles, aunts, and cousins from various parts of the 
 world. The place was too suburban and conventional 
 in its external aspect to be altogether to Arthur's 
 taste, but he soon found hills to walk and sit upon, 
 and canoeing in a bathing-dress was an attractive 
 amusement. The house, moreover, offered solid 
 advantages in the shape of a tennis-lawn, and a very 
 respectable piano, which was worked hard, in con- 
 junction with the violin. 
 
 " Totland Bay. Aug. I, 1912. This is a very windy 
 place, rainy and windy and bomble [i.e. abominable]. 
 
 75
 
 76 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 The house is painted gaudy hues, the door being 
 grey-green with vieux-rose panels, and the counter- 
 panes in one bedroom mustard colour rather decayed. 
 The place itself on a very cursory inspection 
 seems a little bit like Cranmer Road, which is a 
 pity. But that is only on the very short walk up 
 to the house from the pier : I have not investigated 
 further. ... I have got an awful lot of luggage, 
 so that I feel ashamed of myself, but I succeeded in 
 packing it up tolerably successfully. I said good-bye 
 to the Headmaster yesterday morning, and he was 
 very affectionate. I got most of my packing done 
 over night, which was convenient, as it left time for 
 paying a few calls the next morning. . . . The next 
 door house has got red brick walls and other coloured 
 red geraniums against them, which is unpleasant. . . . 
 I have read Mr. Hatch on ' Greek Ideas and Christian 
 Usages,' a very interesting book, but horribly incom- 
 prehensible in places. I am feeling almost inclined 
 to get Harnack's ' Dogmengeschichte ' (translated 
 in 3 vols.) for part of my Kenneth Freeman [Prize]." 
 On our return home Arthur and I went on a recon- 
 noitring expedition to Balliol, where Mr. Pusey, the 
 college butler, gave sage counsel towards caution in 
 expenditure, " for," he said, " it is so easy to travel 
 in the direction of pounds." He went up on October 
 10, and on the same evening wrote : " I have bought 
 (i) a bath, 8s. 6d., (2) academical dress. . . . I am too 
 sleepy to write a long brief [i.e. letter]. ... I have
 
 i 9 i2 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 77 
 
 rashly said I will row, which I should like to do. 
 I have not yet been badgered by the O.T.C., but it 
 will, I suppose, come. I doubt the cavalry at any 
 rate this term, as I expect I shall have more than 
 enough with rowing : conceivably I won't join at all 
 till next term. It is too puzzling to make up my 
 mind yet. 
 
 " I have had a meal lunch tres bien also 
 hall. . . . This place is a bit alarming, but I think 
 rather boo." 
 
 " Oct. 12. I am beginning to grasp the nature of 
 things : though there are yet enigmas to be solved, 
 such as the whereabouts of the bathrooms. . . . 
 Meals appear to be simple enough ; only my scout 
 has had to be severely reprimanded for giving me 
 too much to eat at breakfast. . . . The next thing 
 to be done is to interview Mr. Pusey with fear and 
 trembling, to ask leave to spend pounds, or rather 
 travel in that direction, in order to buy a hanging 
 bookcase, without which life will not be endurable. 
 ... At this point I was interrupted by the arrival 
 of my first visitor to a meal namely, tea which 
 I conducted quite successfully, without any difficulty 
 in providing TO. Secn-ru. 
 
 " I have had an interesting discussion with Mr. 
 Bailey concerning Mods, about which I have pro- 
 visionally decided my programme. ... I have just 
 got invitations to join (a) the Musical Club, (b) the 
 Musical Union. . . . Both sound attractive, but both
 
 78 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 meet once a week. ... I very much doubt if I shall 
 join either. What with Balliol concerts, which look 
 most superior in their programmes, and the usual 
 public concerts, I shall have a great deal more than 
 enough of such things. . . . 
 
 " I am going to take the cavalry riding test in any 
 case, whether I join or not. . . . My bath is very 
 superior, and is quite easy to get into. . . . The 
 thing that is not clear is when, if ever, one does any 
 mugging." 
 
 " Oct. 19. I could write quite as long a letter as 
 last week about this place, but I have my doubts 
 whether I shall. One thing is clear, that it is an 
 exceedingly great place, and one that it is in every 
 way desirable to be in. ... I went to lunch with 
 Cyril l on Friday, and a bicycle ride after it. Like 
 me, he seems to like riding down green lanes and 
 impassable footpaths : and it would be difficult to 
 count the number of stiles we carried our bicycles 
 over. The country seems perfectly lovely all the 
 trees were most wonderful colours, and there are far 
 more of them than in that town of Cambridge." 
 
 On Oct. 27 he begins to feel seriously oppressed 
 by the multiplicity of occupations crowding upon 
 him, and makes the following first mention of the 
 interest which was shortly to overshadow all the 
 rest. " There is also a Balliol College Club for 
 working boys, which is open every evening, and needs 
 
 1 Mr. C. Bailey, M.B.E., Fellow of Balliol.
 
 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 79 
 
 about 8 people each night to keep it going. ... It 
 seems a sound and sensible institution, and I shall 
 do my best to go occasionally at least." 
 
 In the same letter he wrote : " My cavalry amuse- 
 ments have begun." After passing a simple test, 
 two riding-lessons were required. At the first 
 Arthur's horse refused a jump, until " the riding- 
 master with the whip came to the rescue, with the 
 result that after sundry strange gyrations the animal 
 made its way swiftly to the other end of the school, 
 where it x arose on its hind-legs and remained there 
 for a short space strangely enough, I remained 
 there too." Eventually amid threats and " futile 
 exhortations it went over in a sort of way. . . . The 
 animal itself was a funny one, coloured in lurid hues 
 of black and white in large patches of each. . . . The 
 Balliol concert last week was splendid, consisting of 
 a Beethoven string quartet, an early one in A, very 
 charming but above all, the Cesar Franck piano 
 quintet which if you haven't heard, come to Oxford 
 on Thursday the 3ist of this month and listen to it. 
 It is absolutely magnificent ; I think the finest of 
 his works that I know ; grand if anything ever was. 
 . . . Gilbert Murray's lecture on ' Three Stages of 
 Greek Religion ' was wonderful this week : we had 
 splendid eloquence over the nobility of the bull, and 
 he shivered all over at the terrible thought of drinking 
 
 1 Tt is sad that Arthur, by habitually using the neuter pronoun, 
 should betray the slenderness of his equestrian culture.
 
 80 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 bull's blood. I began to think we might have seen 
 a Bacchic dance, had there been a mountain handy. 
 . . . Rowing still goes on. ... I am getting worse, 
 not better, at the art, also lighter, not heavier, in 
 weight." 
 
 With regard to these two new features which now 
 become prominent in Arthur's life, his work at the 
 Balliol Club and his cavalry experiences, Spencer 
 Leeson writes : "There was," in him, "a total absence 
 of what is called ' dignified reserve ' (which is usually 
 another name for conceit) . It was not condescension 
 that made him so popular at the Balliol Boys Club 
 it was his complete forgetfulness of himself. At 
 Winchester and Oxford he was absolutely without 
 that nervous introspectiveness with which especially 
 thoughtful people are sometimes afflicted. If anyone 
 had hinted that he was ' lowering ' himself by playing 
 leap-frog with Club boys, I do not think he would 
 have understood what they meant. In the same 
 way he would sometimes do things which filled his 
 friends with utter amazement, for instance when he 
 joined the cavalry contingent of the O.T.C. at 
 Oxford. 1 Not only had he done little riding, but it 
 also meant associating with a type of man quite 
 different from his own circle. But nothing daunted 
 him ; and he used to retail to us with tremendous 
 
 1 Mr. Fort wrote : "I should as soon have thought of his 
 going out to kill dragons . . . but I feel sure that, if he is minded 
 to join the O.T.C. cavalry, he will do that exceedingly well."
 
 igi2 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 81 
 
 glee the taunts of Sergeant-Majors and others at the 
 riding-school. This absence of self must have made 
 him a fearless soldier." 
 
 Before he left school a strong desire was growing 
 in Arthur to help in some way towards making the 
 world a better place for his fellow-creatures to live in. 
 Thoughts of becoming an elementary schoolmaster 
 flitted through his mind, but it is not very likely 
 that these would have been translated into action. 
 For the moment the Club, and kindred organisations 
 such as the Oxford and Bermondsey Mission, supplied 
 the outlet needed. Socialist schemes of betterment 
 of course presented themselves to him as soon as he 
 reached Oxford, but met with somewhat severe 
 criticism in his talk and letters, although he would 
 be sympathetic to their general aims. 
 
 " Nov. 3. Life here has been more strenuous than 
 ever this week the most violent day having been 
 Friday. In the morning I did some mugging, after 
 which I went out to lunch with Urquhart * . . . thence 
 at 2 p.m. I rushed off to a mounted parade, which 
 was a form of concentrated mental and physical 
 tension only to be realised by those who have tried, 
 lasting i\ hours no joke at all. We . . . went to an 
 enormous meadow called Port Meadow, much of 
 which was under water : in the dryer parts of it we 
 performed. To make a horse stand still in a proper 
 straight line in the proper place is inconceivably 
 
 1 Mr. F. F. Urquhart, Fellow of Balliol. 
 F
 
 82 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 hard ; my horse, partly owing to my incapacity, 
 partly to the animal's nature, had the strongest 
 objections to behaving ; it always got out of time, 
 which troubled the officers not a little. Eventually 
 I changed to another beast, which, though it always 
 cantered instead of trotting, and usually walked in 
 a series of little jumps, at least stood in its place. 
 The worst was that most of the others present were 
 more or less of experts at the game, which I certainly 
 was not. However we hope for improvement in 
 future. ... I rushed home, changed and fled to ... 
 a rehearsal of a very amusing suffrage play. ... It 
 won't take a very long time, even though I am taking 
 the principal man's part. . . . After this rehearsal 
 I went off to fill up a quartet at the Mus. Union. . . . 
 I sped forth to dinner with Mr. Hartley. 1 . . . Thence 
 finally to a meeting of Leeson's imperial club (with 
 Mr. Hartley, whom I introduced as a visitor), which 
 was talked to by Mr. Amery, M.P., who was extremely 
 wise and clear. He knew perfectly what he wanted, 
 and said it very well, about federation and Home 
 Rule all round and so on." 
 
 All the other days of that week rivalled the con- 
 gestion of the one described, and justified the remark : 
 " This place does live in a whirl." Among other 
 things Arthur made his debut at the Union, speaking 
 against socialism. A week later he had another 
 mounted parade. In spite of starting off " with a 
 
 i Brigadier-General H. B. Hartley, C.B.E., M.C., Fellow of Balliol.
 
 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 83 
 
 particularly ferocious creature," he found his " fears 
 becoming much less." The second and last riding- 
 lesson on Nov. 9 was " tolerably peaceful, except 
 when we were bidden to turn round and face the 
 horse's tail without getting off not easy to do at all. 
 As a matter of fact I managed it, without sliding off, 
 tolerably successfully ; and it was a very amusing 
 sight to see people tentatively balancing themselves 
 on the top of the gee's back in their efforts to get 
 round. If, of course, on the way back you happen 
 to kick the beast on the head, he will probably arise 
 and move on, in which case you have no chance of 
 sticking on. However it didn't happen. . . . My 
 dinner-party at New College was great fun and 
 Professor Cook Wilson was a dear." At the third 
 cavalry parade Arthur had " a most obliging and 
 tolerant beast," with enjoyment to correspond; 
 but in the freshers' fours Arthur's boat lost the 
 first heat, and that concluded his career as an 
 oarsman. 
 
 " Nov. 5. [To his sister.] I am now beginning to 
 realise the force of Professor Cook Wilson's remark 
 in a post-card to me, in which he congratulated me 
 on still finding the ratio of things I ought to do to 
 things I do as low as 2 : I ; and as a matter of fact it 
 is much higher. The place [the Union] whence I am 
 writing this epistle is very noble and it will be 
 stamped free of charge. ... I am becoming a 
 terribly athletic person since I always row with
 
 84 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 vigour, and sometimes ride too with tremendous 
 vigour, but absolutely no peace of mind or success. 
 It is a truly unpleasant proceeding, and should not 
 be allowed. If I hadn't paid my subscription and 
 signed a document promising to continue the tortures 
 for at least a year I might have been a coward and 
 removed myself. Camp it seems to me will be highly 
 unpleasant. However it makes me feel a nut. One 
 of the great difficulties of life here is to remember 
 engagements : as I nearly always go out to at least 
 one meal per diem it becomes very acute. It is all 
 right if I remember to put them down in a small 
 book I keep for the purpose, but if I don't it becomes 
 very difficult. . . . Another ... is that there are 
 all manner of people I ought to call on, but they all 
 live miles away in very dull houses to which the 
 route is dull, that it becomes an act of supreme virtue 
 to go to them. Imagine two . . . Grange Roads, 
 each a good two miles long or nearly so, branching 
 off like the sides of an angle with Cranmer Roads 
 on each side of them at fairly short intervals all the 
 way along, and you will know what the streets of 
 Oxford where people live are like : you will also know 
 what I think of them : and everybody lives there 
 except a very select few who live nearer at hand, 
 and a tiresome set of people [only tiresome geo- 
 graphically] who live about two miles away at the 
 other end on the top of a hill corresponding to 
 Shelford only nearer, but quite far enough away
 
 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 85 
 
 to make nobody want to go anywhere else, when 
 they have paid a call there. Last Sunday I meant 
 to be energetic and go up there and also elsewhere, 
 but as the Regius Professor of Greek . . . insisted 
 on making me go for a walk with him because I 
 made myself so charming at lunch, it knocked that 
 on the head." 
 
 " Nov. 24. [To his aunt.] I am getting mixed up 
 with a Boys' Club run by Balliol undergraduates to 
 afford amusement chiefly, and incidentally instruc- 
 tion, to Oxford boys every evening : I think it is a 
 good thing, though of course they come there instead 
 of going home. ... I have . . . created for myself 
 a great reputation chiefly as being the worst 
 player of draughts known. One night I went down, 
 and shortly after discovered a beautiful legend which 
 had been stuck up : 
 
 SCARECROW 
 
 THE CHAMPION 
 
 DRAUGHTS 
 
 PLAYER 
 
 followed by a very badly drawn picture of myself 
 the badness of which I proceeded to point out, and 
 a drawing competition was instituted, when I was 
 drawn by numerous youths : the competition 
 produced at least one quite tolerable portrait of me : 
 it was judged by the model. After which incidents 
 I have become immensely popular my appearance
 
 86 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 being greeted with cries, some highly ironical per- 
 haps, of ' 'E's a good 'un.' They are very amusing 
 to talk to, when you can understand what they say 
 and their power of repartee is such that it becomes 
 very hard work : but they like really being scored off . " 
 
 Sermons by distinguished preachers are a subject 
 of nearly regular weekly comment, and many pages 
 are covered with accounts of classical work and 
 English essay-writing, though where these pursuits 
 can have been squeezed in it is difficult to see. Time 
 was also found for much miscellaneous music, heard 
 and performed ; Frank Brabant has a vivid memory 
 of Arthur's keenness in the suffrage play (" How the 
 vote was won "), which was successfully given twice 
 before public audiences ; and the term was expected 
 to end with a first attempt at the Ireland examina- 
 tion, but it suddenly occurred to the Balliol authori- 
 ties that Arthur was eligible for the vacant Warner 
 Exhibition, to be awarded with the college entrance 
 scholarships. The examination for these, which 
 clashed with the Ireland, beginning a day or two 
 earlier, had already been about half-an-hour in 
 progress, when Arthur was driven into the fray, at 
 less than no notice, in the following manner : 
 
 " Dec. 3. Really this place is too absurd ! At 
 about 10.15 this morning Mr. Pickard-Cambridge 
 rushed in and told me to come and do the first paper 
 in the entrance scholarship examination, since there 
 is a thing called the Warner Exhibition which comes
 
 i 9 i2 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 87 
 
 vacant once in 4 years for sons of Scotch fathers. . . . 
 Candidates must be of scholarship age." Some 
 scruples were felt in the family whether Arthur was 
 a suitable candidate for an emolument of this kind, 
 but the college maintained that he was, and said 
 that if successful he would be given the title of 
 Honorary Scholar and Warner Exhibitioner. On 
 Dec. 6 he wrote : "I know this exhibition is al- 
 together immoral and bad and wicked, but I had no 
 time to protest, as I was hauled off before I could 
 utter a word. . . . Still I don't think I am doing . . . 
 nearly well enough to get any kind of exhibition. 
 It will be a beautiful proof of the folly of examina- 
 tions ... if I do the papers in such a way that I 
 wouldn't get a scholarship at all this year. . . . 
 Papers are beginning to bore me very much, and I 
 can't do them any longer : however there are only 
 two more, which is a comfort. . . . My lunch with 
 Capt. J. J. Pearce l was wonderful. He lives in an 
 enormous house, and his entertainment was . . . 
 exceedingly good, the conversation ' horsey ' in the 
 extreme, and very amusing to one so ignorant as 
 myself. Also he lived next door to Sir Arthur Evans, 
 on whom I called afterwards and found him at home 
 alone. ... He presented me with a paper of his in 
 the current Journal of Hellenic Studies proving that 
 Homer is not Greek but Minoan, all of which I 
 brought in, in my general paper." 
 
 1 Commanding Officer of the O.T.C. Cavalry Squadron.
 
 88 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1912 
 
 Arthur wound up with a dance, returned home 
 decidedly weary after his breathless first term's life 
 at Oxford, and was presently congratulated by Mr. 
 Bailey on winning the Warner, and holding his own 
 among a very good set of entrance candidates. 
 Among former holders of the Exhibition were Mr. 
 Strachan-Davidson, Master of Balliol ; Professor 
 J. A. Smith, and Mr. J. W. Mackail. 
 
 It was clear that Arthur would have to moderate 
 his pace, if his strength was to hold out for four 
 undergraduate years. He found a distinct easing 
 off of things after Christmas, " not so many or nearly 
 so many entertainments at meals and so on," which 
 he felt to be a relief. Also ' ' now of course that there is 
 no more rowing, things have much more leisure about 
 them the drawback being that some form of violent 
 exercise of the kind would sometimes be welcome, 
 beyond walks and bicycles varied by occasional 
 cavalry : such things however as fives would seem 
 to be almost non-existent in this university, other- 
 wise I might be able to find others bad enough to 
 play, without difficulty." Mr. Bailey "is beginning 
 to make me more interested in my mugging 
 than I have been for a long time Lucretius being 
 the subject a great poet and philosopher ; and 
 Cyril being a very good lecturer thereon. Also the 
 Homeric Archaeology [with Professor J. L. Myres] 1 
 is going to be the greatest fun in the world, and has 
 
 1 Lieut.-Commander J. L. Myres, R.N.V.R.
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 89 
 
 the advantage of being moderately scientific : I 
 want some exact or exactish science. ... I have 
 bought a map of the neighbourhood the first step 
 to systematic exploration only the county councils 
 seem so utterly destitute, that even the main roads 
 are almost in some parts unrideable-on on a bicycle, 
 and some are flooded." 
 
 " Jan. 26, 1913. I have been spending a very dis- 
 sipated week, owing to the temptations put before me 
 by certain gentlemen called Messrs. Sydney Acott & 
 Co., who supply this town with concerts in absurd 
 numbers. First there was one of the most thoroughly 
 and entirely lovely concerts I have ever been 
 to, in Balliol on Sunday, when a lady called Fraiilein 
 Helga Petri . . . sang Pergolesi and pretty things 
 like that, including some lovely English i8th century 
 songs, all full of turns and twiddles but lovely all the 
 same. . . . Then on Monday I went to one Mr. 
 Louis Edger for the sake of the Hammerclavier 1 
 Sonata, which he played bang through technically 
 very well, but thumpingly. It is a noble object ; 
 but only about 70 people came to listen. Also on 
 Friday there was Mr. Harold Bauer, to whom I 
 had to go, as he was playing not only Beethoven 
 op. no, but also the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, 2 
 than which nothing whatever could be more magni- 
 ficent and it was well played. He also played 
 Schumann's ' Papillons,' which I enjoyed in a mild 
 
 1 Beethoven, op. 106. ' Cesar Franck.
 
 90 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 way, a Bach English Suite, which was good, and some 
 
 of that very second-rate writer whom adores 
 
 Chopin. ... On Friday I went out cavalrying for 
 the first time this term : we went on to the top of 
 Shotover and careered across country : I had a horse, 
 Barmaid, which is pale greyish-purple in hue, but 
 very peaceful, and will go, if you apply the spurs, 
 at no small speed. I had ridden it before. . . . One 
 of the papers the best one is tolerably compli- 
 mentary so I am told ; I haven't read it to my 
 performance at the Union. 1 . . . Yesterday I had an 
 alarming game to perform, as I had to take charge of 
 proceedings at the Boys' Club, instead of being a 
 mere irresponsible member of the College. . . . This 
 duty implies being on the club's committee, which is 
 interesting as giving an opportunity to see the ways 
 of the thing, and of social reformers in general. It 
 won't mean much time, which is a comfort : though 
 I do not know why they should have selected me 
 for the job : I could mention at least two people much 
 more competent." 
 
 The map of the country was used for Sunday 
 bicycle rides, whenever the " evil but well-intentioned 
 habit " of invitations to lunch on Sunday permitted. 
 To begin with, these expeditions, lasting usually from 
 about 10 or n to 4.30, were taken on the fasting 
 system, but after family remonstrances and des- 
 patches of Plasmon chocolate, a modicum of food was 
 
 1 Against the Insurance Act.
 
 i9i 3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 91 
 
 tolerated. On one of these occasions Arthur wrote : 
 " Again I have been having an energetic day, having 
 bicycled approximately 48 miles, in lovely weather, 
 also paid two calls. We went out to the Cotswold 
 region. . . . We met Cyril as we were starting, who 
 said we should be home on Tuesday ; wherein of 
 course he was much mistaken. Last Sunday I heard 
 a very great sermon, from the Dean of St. Paul's, 
 who talked more concentrated sense, and interesting 
 sense, about more or less ordinary subjects such as 
 asceticism, than I have ever heard. . . . To-day I 
 have heard Canon Scott-Holland in our chapel. . . . 
 On Thursday I went to a very delightful entertain- 
 ment a concert at Heyford, a village about 12 
 miles from Oxford. ... I played viola in the 
 Haydn ' Emperor ' variations, which are very hard 
 to play, incidentally, at all well, and a Bach 
 Concerto for 2 pianos, and very bad pianos but 
 good players. . . . The audience was very big and 
 appreciative." 
 
 " Feb. 16. There are a great many pianists in this 
 university, who come and desire to play Beethoven 
 Sonatas and others with me, which is fun, but not 
 always possible from the point of view of time : at 
 least 5 I can think of. One of them has a fiancee 
 who plays them with him, so he will probably be 
 very good at them." " Mar. 2. The great event of 
 this week has been, as so often, a concert, this time 
 the Brussels String Quartet, who played a Schubert
 
 92 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 Quartet, to which I didn't listen very hard, being 
 sleepy as might be expected at 2.30 p.m., and 
 Beethoven in F minor . . . and what thoroughly 
 woke me up, Neil's friend the Debussy one. . . 
 I never heard anything so entirely lovely as 
 that work, and the way they played it : when 
 I heard it at Winchester I was not sure whether 
 I liked it, but they [not the Brussels Quartet] 
 played it poorly, and this time I thought it perfectly 
 wonderful." 
 
 At the Union Arthur spoke during this term in 
 favour of Women's Suffrage, as well as on the Insur- 
 ance Act. He wrote afterwards : "My remarks . . . 
 on the Suffrage are tolerably kindly treated by the 
 ' press,' but I don't think I am amusing or interesting 
 enough in my manner of orating to please the place : 
 you have to be either quite remarkably eloquent, 
 or gifted with some peculiarity of some kind." On 
 the Suffrage debate the Oxford Magazine observed 
 that Mr. A. I. Adam made " a keenly critical analysis 
 of speeches of Anti-Suffragists," and with regard 
 to the Insurance speech said : " Mr. Adam should 
 persevere." 
 
 Evenings at the Boys' Club did not always run 
 smoothly. In the letter written on Feb. 10 we read 
 of difficulties, when the Secretary and Vice-Presi- 
 dent were at hand to deal with them. The next 
 week Arthur wrote of " a noisy evening under my 
 guidance, which culminated in much disturbance,
 
 i9i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 93 
 
 which I failed badly to quell : the story is a long and 
 not intelligible one to those who don't know the 
 place : but however the President assures me that 
 this sort of thing is quite as it should be, or rather not 
 indicative of any peculiar incapacity in me which 
 I should be inclined to doubt." Means were soon 
 found by Arthur to reduce turbulency. He inaugu- 
 rated a musical society, for singing " songs of the 
 Gaudeamus sort," and this " pleased the company 
 very much," although it was not an entirely easy 
 enterprise to manage, as there was " no room with 
 a piano in it except the big hall, which is generally 
 full of people running about, wherefore the attention 
 of the performers becomes distracted and nothing 
 happens : but it is none the less quite amusing." 
 The Oxford Magazine of Nov. 2, 1917, in the obituary 
 notice of Arthur, referred to this song singing thus : 
 " He was devoted to the Boys' Club and enthusiastic 
 about the friends whom he made there. Possibly 
 music was his strongest passion, and though he had 
 himself a fastidious taste, it was characteristic that 
 he was often to be found at the piano in the Boys' 
 Club joining in their own popular songs and getting 
 them to join, as best they might, in choruses from 
 ' Gaudeamus.' ' 
 
 Towards the end of the term Arthur's soul rebelled 
 against what he considered a superfluous college 
 examination (of the sort styled a " collection"), in 
 the Private Orations of Demosthenes, and he also
 
 94 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 had to undergo " Divvers," l about which he wrote 
 on Feb. 23 : " Divvers is getting alarmingly near ; 
 Wednesday week ; and so far nothing has been done 
 by me. I hope to pass, but the hope is diffident." 
 Fortunately on March 9 he was able to write : " But 
 rejoice with me I have passed divvers I had my 
 viva yesterday morning, being an A, 2 and they asked 
 me three questions : a. Name any parties among 
 the Jews. Ans. Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians. 
 b. When did the Herodians attack Jesus ? Answer 
 unknown, c. What sort of people were the Herod- 
 ians ? answered I have forgotten how after which 
 I fled. That is the sort of farce for which many 
 people will have to come up next Saturday and for 
 all I know later still. I have got to wag my head in 
 a pulpit to-night down at the Boys' Club and I 
 shall be very glad when it is over : the number of 
 boys who attend is happily generally very small. . . . 
 I am pleased term is done." 
 
 Part of the vacation was spent on a reading-party 
 at Porlock, in Somersetshire, in the company of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bailey and some half-dozen Balliol men. 
 This was described as " an extremely satisfying form 
 of existence, and for mugging wonderful. Cyril 
 walks round and hauls out oversleepers, the only 
 
 1 The Examination in Holy Scripture, constituting together 
 with Honour Moderations the First Public Examination for 
 classical undergraduates. 
 
 1 Candidates are summoned in alphabetical order for the viva 
 voce, and may have to return to Oxford on purpose for it.
 
 i9i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 95 
 
 sinners so far having been myself and Brabant this 
 morning." 
 
 " April 6. [To his aunt.] I have indeed been to 
 Cloutisham Ball, one of the first places we visited, 
 and eke to Dunkery Beacon, Luccombe, Dunster, 
 Badgworthy Water, Culbone, and divers other places, 
 which are one and all wonderful and beautiful. The 
 villages have mostly got lovely churches, and what 
 is better are the moors, the woods and the streams : 
 in Badgworthy Water, where we went on a more or 
 less whole-day excursion to-day, two of us, myself 
 one, bathed in a rock pool above a cascade about 
 6 inches down (this inserted so as not to give a false 
 idea of our heroism). It was cold, but fresh and 
 vigorous. This was partly the result of a solemn 
 reading by Cyril to the assembled company of that 
 delightful work, the Bothie of somewhere or other 
 (Clough) : which suits this party very well. We are 
 strangely diverse, but very harmonious ; among us 
 is a philosopher who tumbles into ant-heaps and 
 gets lost on the hill-side, 1 thereby delaying our 
 progress in the true philosophic manner : by whom 
 and Brabant the universe is dissected in long con- 
 fabulations : a Roman Catholic who is also an 
 Ireland Scholar to be and a hockey blue, 2 who gets 
 up at 6.15 on Sunday morning and bicycles 6 hilly 
 
 1 Captain M. H. Carre, M.C. 
 
 1 Lieut. S. H. P. Hewett, Scholar of Balliol ; Ireland, Craven, 
 and Hertford Scholar ; missing, 1916.
 
 96 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 miles to a place of worship, and others. We do a 
 surprisingly large amount of work, and some read 
 much other literature besides, and talk learnedly 
 about still more in which discussions I find it 
 difficult to join, and for the most part hold my 
 peace. . . . The sea sometimes turns bright blue, 
 but is usually muddy." " April 6. There are many 
 deer and stray ponies, and lots of wonderful rivers 
 and streams, in one of which Hewett and I bathed 
 to-day, whilst Cyril looked on, and said he would, 
 but didn't." 
 
 " Mar. 30. Propertius is a good author : much 
 better than I expected, but corrupt poets are a trial 
 to read . . . and when they are mentally as morbid 
 as this fellow it doesn't really please me much. . . . 
 Last night we took a nominal night off, and played 
 two of the most exhausting and violent games ever 
 known ; " one was a joint-stock poetical competition ; 
 " the other is too terrible ; it consists in composing 
 a sentence, every man adding a word in turn, and 
 always repeating the whole sentence : the sense 
 must never be completed, and as the human race 
 has a tolerably long memory, the result is too un- 
 speakable for mention. No wonder I overslept 
 to-day the second time." 
 
 On his way home he spent a short time at the 
 Oxford and Bermondsey Mission, in the East End 
 of London. To his aunt he wrote : " Apr. n. The 
 Mission seems to be an enlightened body. ... I
 
 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 97 
 
 spent the evenings in visiting their very numerous 
 clubs and things. ... I attached myself tem- 
 porarily to the Labour Exchange, and went and 
 visited a few people to discover how their daughters 
 were getting on in their work. . . . Thence I came 
 home yesterday, and to-night we are going to have 
 a performance of a Dvorak quintet here, which will 
 be exciting though very difficult : fortunately I am 
 to play second fiddle, so it won't be so bad." 
 
 At the beginning of the Easter term a tramway 
 strike, and a contest for opening divinity degrees to 
 a wider circle were alike disturbing to Arthur's peace 
 of mind. He was entirely on the side of the pro- 
 gressives in the latter question, and took their defeat, 
 and the tone of the preceding debate, seriously to 
 heart. It grieved him to see " every single indi- 
 vidual of light and leading go out in a small body 
 through the placet door," while the non-placets 
 flocked in masses to the other. The strike tore him 
 two ways. He was always anxious to improve 
 labour conditions, but felt this mode of procedure 
 to be mistaken, and suspected claptrap in the speeches 
 of strike leaders. " May 4. Cole's pamphlet on the 
 tramway strike has come out, and has been dissemi- 
 nated through nearly all the university except myself, 
 I being I suppose a bigoted Tory. . . . There has 
 been a beautiful new university Liberal Club opened 
 this term whither I was taken to dine by Macmillan 1 
 
 1 Captain Harold Macmillan, A.D.C. to the Duke of Devonshire. 
 
 G
 
 98 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 yesterday ; as the subscription is small, the furniture 
 very comfortable, and the periodicals much more 
 interesting than in most places, don't be surprised 
 if I become a convert to ' Liberalism.' I read the 
 New Statesman . . . which was interesting, and 
 Votes for Women, which was appalling." "May u. 
 The proctors have been terribly overworked fining 
 undergraduates for assisting to stop trams and upset 
 law and order ; one morning they had about 100 to 
 fine ; and apparently they are being very unmerci- 
 ful. There was a rumour of Ben Tillett to-day, but 
 I believe he is not coming, which is as well ; and for 
 the most part the soul-stirring orations which are 
 delivered nightly seem to fall flat ; there is no special 
 keenness to upset trams. Only vast crowds inter- 
 spersed with the police parade the streets most 
 nights." On May 18, the strike seemed to be 
 " fizzling out." 
 
 " May 4. My happiness is being marred by the 
 terrible fever of public spirit which has attacked 
 my friends; ... it of course generates a corre- 
 sponding degree of laziness in me, which is apt 
 to have bad results, as I don't do the necessary 
 things. But I am beginning to feel quite sure that 
 people in this place are much too afraid of failing 
 to do their duty by their fellow-creatures ; and 
 organisations, like the Christian Union and the 
 rest, don't I believe do much besides overworking 
 their officials."
 
 BALLIOL: FIRST YEAR 99 
 
 " May ii. I have been reading a peculiarly vulgar 
 work, but so amusing as to be quite worth while, 
 that is the works of Petronius, the middle part about 
 Trimalchio's dinner-party, which is tolerably proper 
 and extremely good reading, utterly unlike anything 
 else in Latin, and full of the queerest grammar and 
 words. When you feel inclined you had better read 
 it if you never have. Also if you want to be made 
 for the most part miserable in the extreme, but every 
 now and then quite happy, read the poetical works 
 of W. W. Gibson ; . . . they are more like Words- 
 worth's poems about Matthew and Margaret and 
 those people than anything else, and in small doses 
 I think them quite remarkably good." " May 9. 
 [To his aunt.] . . . the lectures I have got are all 
 great fun. The best is Mr. J. L. Myres' archaeology 
 class ; we all go and sit in his room and argue with 
 him, while he tells us all sorts of interesting things, 
 often quite irrelevant, but none the less interesting ; 
 for instance last time someone enquired what aA.o/ 
 (a threshing floor or an orchard) meant in the Iliad : 
 so we proceeded to discuss elaborately most of the 
 passages in which the word came ; and incidentally 
 we had a long discussion on the geography of Attica, 
 since Herodotus uses the word youvos (so in Homer 
 yowy aXw^s) of some part of Attica. . . . Next 
 week I am going to have a fight with him about the 
 Oupr}, which of course is a perennial bone of con- 
 tention : he believes it wasn't worn, and cuts out the
 
 100 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 places where it comes ; which I decline with em- 
 phasis to do." 
 
 The controversy about the 6^p^ raged for some 
 weeks. A concordance to Homer had to be procured 
 to provide munitions for its conduct, and elaborate 
 notes on the evidence are extant . Eventually Arthur 
 wrote on May 25 : " Myres now admits the 0uy;, 
 and more or less agrees with me about it." 
 
 " May 9. Last Sunday I was mighty proud, as 
 I had to perform in the Balliol concert. I played 
 a second fiddle part in a Corelli sonata for two fiddles, 
 which we had only rehearsed for about half-an-hour ; 
 but fortunately it was quite simple." " May n. 
 The most alarming thing that has happened this week 
 is that the authorities would have me be secretary of 
 the Balliol College musical club next year and arrange 
 all the concerts not getting the performers (that is 
 done for me), but all the seating and that sort of 
 thing ; ... as the request came from Pickard- 
 Cambridge, who is above all others, except Cyril, 
 aware of the situation of my mugging, I suppose it 
 shall be accepted in fact it has been." " June 18. 
 [To his sister.] I am feeling very praise-self as I have 
 already begun to act as Secretary of the Balliol 
 College Musical Society, the past secretary having 
 gone down early, and I have started by writing a 
 
 furious and fulminating epistle to 1 ... I have 
 
 to present cheques to all the distinguished people 
 
 1 A musician, who had neglected to cash a cheque.
 
 i9i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 101 
 
 who come and play to us, and to keep alarmingly 
 large accounts which I shall infallibly get muddled, 
 having nearly done so already, but not quite. I 
 suppose I shall have to cultivate tidiness : which 
 will be a mighty burden." 
 
 " May 25. I have been leading an altogether 
 immoral life this week, as far as mugging and virtue 
 generally is concerned, for I have been to a dance, 
 to the theatre, and read my paper about miracles, 
 and also been inspected. The most energetically 
 dissipated day was Friday, when I behaved altogether 
 badly, and was inspected from 1.30-6.30, danced 
 from 7.45-11.45, and mugged from 12-1, which was 
 strenuous enough. The inspection was boring, 
 especially as I had a peculiarly unpleasant gee 
 tractable enough on the whole, but quite uniquely 
 plebian, and destitute of all finer feelings. ... It 
 was a strange shaggy creature, more like a Shetland 
 pony than anything else, and very averse to standing 
 still. The general was tremendously complimentary 
 to our riding : we did a gallop past which was quite 
 good, and I don't think anyone was run away with. 
 ... It was very amusing ... to listen to the 
 
 general's speech, as evidently like he had just 
 
 discovered the existence of educated socialists and 
 had been talking to a well-educated man, who asked 
 what difference it made, whether he served under 
 the French, the German or the English flag ; which 
 of course had much horrified him, and it was for us
 
 102 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 to combat it, etc. Then came Lady Mary's dance, 
 which was quite delightful. Earlier in the week I 
 read my paper about miracles before an alarmingly 
 distinguished audience . . . Neville Talbot 1 and one 
 or two other clerics ; Mr. J. M. Thompson was asked 
 but couldn't come, which was perhaps as well. The 
 high people are very conciliatory and complimentary, 
 and the most interesting thing of all was when Neville 
 arose and talked about the pig-headed conservatism 
 of a section of the church. ... I had a long talk 
 with him on theological subjects the other day. . . . 
 The discussion we had after the paper was tremen- 
 dously vigorous, and had to be hastily switched off 
 at 11.50, to let people get home ; and even though 
 it was in Eights week we had a large company." 
 
 In a reminiscence of this paper F. H. Brabant 
 wrote from France : " Frank and open ! I think 
 these were the words I associate most with him. 
 He was so sincere, so opposed to all humbug and 
 pretence. One was sure all he said was what he felt. 
 ... In his work too he was so alive, a real scholar, 
 without being in the least scrap a pedant, always 
 getting at the real thing. In life too he was so young, 
 throwing himself about with those long legs of his, 
 open in what he liked and what he did not like. 
 We differed tremendously on many points (especially 
 theological), but I don't ever remember it being the 
 cause of anything bitter. If he did not agree, one was 
 
 1 The Rev. N. S. Talbot, M.C., C.F.
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 103 
 
 sure he would say so, and why ; and if he was puzzled 
 he would bury his head in his hands and crumple his 
 hair and admit it." 
 
 " June i. All I have done this week has been to 
 explore strange tributaries of the Thames in canoes 
 and bathe and also, which is unusual, play the viola 
 a lot for the first time this term, in a string quintet 
 by Mozart which was performed ... at the O.U.M.U. 
 on Friday, with me as second viola. It is a perfectly 
 lovely object and our performance thereof was very 
 good, I think." 
 
 In the Hertford Scholarship examination life at 
 Oxford is never free from these trials Arthur did 
 not do as well as he thought the College authorities 
 had a right to expect, either in this year or the follow- 
 ing one. The type of scholarship required was not 
 really congenial, and as the first papers were the least 
 suited to him, the later ones, in which he probably 
 did himself more justice, were not looked at. But he 
 liked the reading entailed by the Hertford ; just 
 before the examination he wrote : "I am beginning 
 to feel that I really do know a little about the Latin 
 language and its ways now and it is very much 
 worth knowing, especially the obscurer writers 
 therein, e.g. Apuleius and Plautus and that sort." 
 
 Immediately after term there followed the cavalry 
 O.T.C. camp at Mytchett, near Farnborough. Arthur 
 rejoiced at securing his favourite horse Belinda. 
 With her he expected to be " tolerably happy. The
 
 104 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 main requisite of life in the place seems to be ability 
 to tie a clove-hitch, which I can do ; which is quite 
 necessary, as otherwise your horse will as likely as 
 not feel moved to depart, which would be a pity." 
 
 " Camp, June 22. ... The work is becoming 
 quite amusing much more so than infantry, and I 
 am beginning to get a little less obviously bad at it. 
 It is not easy to do well, especially on a vast horse 
 like Belinda, who is getting very pleasant to ride when 
 on, but takes a lot of climbing, during which operation 
 she never stands still. Yesterday we had an inter- 
 troop competition . . . which our troop won, con- 
 sisting of Balliol and New College ; that being 
 creditable. To-morrow we issue forth at 2 p.m. and 
 return at the following 2 p.m., bivouacking some- 
 where, but more probably we shall be being attacked 
 pretty well all night long which will be energetic. 
 We have had several field-days of amusement, one 
 especially, when we fought the 5th Dragoon Guards 
 the best cavalry going and got charged and all 
 slain after 5 minutes ; when after a quarter of an 
 hour of enforced inaction we were resurrected, and 
 the same thing more or less happened again, and so 
 on. It is very alarming being charged by violent 
 men on horseback ; but performing the operation 
 itself is splendid fun, only the country is full of holes 
 and ditches, and you may at any moment come down, 
 and go over the horse's head, breaking your and its 
 neck. Belinda however is intelligent, and being a
 
 i9i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 105 
 
 capable jumper she surmounts the obstacles; one 
 day she soared over a very, very small fir-tree, just 
 starting life, as if it was a five-barred gate. . . . The 
 country hereabouts is wonderful pretty, but an 
 inefficient horseman like me has very little time to 
 admire. But I think that this place is making a 
 good deal of difference to my power of managing at 
 any rate this particular beast. I have decided not 
 to adopt the groom's profession, the proceeding being 
 horrid. My beast has not developed a sore back 
 like many, which is well. It is hard to saddle as ... 
 the girth only just goes round ; also it hates having 
 it pulled up, and tries to bite. One day my saddle 
 slipped round, but this was at the very beginning 
 we draw a veil I slid off, and did it up tighter. . . . 
 I shall not be sorry to go hence, but it is fun all the 
 same, and I don't think I will give it up [i.e. the 
 O.T.C.], as I now may, and had thought at one time 
 of doing. Cleaning saddles takes hours and is very 
 unpleasant still more so bridles. Now it is time to 
 go and feed my beast it has a voracious appetite. 
 What will happen on this bivouack I know not 
 tying up the horses will be a nuisance." 
 
 Close upon this camp followed another, with the 
 boys of the Balliol Club, at Bembridge, in the Isle 
 of Wight. Arthur's tent companions were not 
 obstreperous, though one night they " were afflicted 
 by a constant desire to talk, which began at about 
 4 a.m., and I was too sleepy to stop them with any
 
 106 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 vigour ; however these things don't go on always. 
 . . . The actual camp is in a field a little way from 
 the sea, quite pretty. The journey down was the 
 most strenuous part of the business, especially at 
 Portsmouth, where we had to wait a good time, and 
 so went for a bit of a stroll in the town ; where- 
 upon the whole company or a large part thereof 
 rushed off in different directions, and there seemed 
 not the slightest prospect that they would be back 
 in time for the train ; which was of course serious 
 but fortunately and most surprisingly they all turned 
 up a few at the very, very last minute. One of 
 them had occupied his time in eating a crab in a 
 fish shop. But they seem to find much joy in such 
 things. ... It is now raining appallingly, and the 
 whole company of my tent have shut themselves 
 up therein, so that the atmosphere is becoming 
 strangely hot. I am not there but in the dining- 
 room (i.e. a large marquee) and am soon going for 
 a walk in the D.B. ulster. ... I forgot to post this 
 last night. STILL POURING with rain. S> Ze." 
 
 At the end of July he went to Capel Curig in 
 North Wales (taking Winchester on the way to help 
 with Concert), to join a reading-party to which he 
 had been invited by several second year Balliol men. 
 
 "Capel Curig, Aug. 2. We are mugging very hard, 
 and have not yet visited the country to any large 
 extent, but it is lovely, big mountains and big lakes 
 and all manner of rocks and heathers ; the sun is
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 107 
 
 also kind enough to shine. The best thing of all is 
 
 the pool outside the house wherein we bathe 
 
 The only trouble is that Cicero is long-winded, and 
 has to be tackled then Demosthenes, who probably 
 won't be much better." "Aug. 6. The fact is, 
 as you may have divined from a telegram, that my 
 spectacles are not ; wherefore this is writ with toil 
 without them . 1 I was bathing, and in an unexplained 
 fashion they came off when I dived, and sank swiftly 
 in 9 feet or more of water ; whence our best efforts 
 have not recovered them. I know it was foolish 
 and all that to bathe in them but the view in the 
 water is so pretty that I did it several times I won't 
 again, and I am silly. ... As I cannot see to mug 
 properly, I have spent the day in ascending Carnedd 
 Llewelyn and Carnedd Daefydd . . . armed with 
 strong field glasses to survey views and avoid preci- 
 pices, while the rest mugged. ... I did not come to 
 grief, though there are precipices which if I had been 
 quite blind I should have descended suddenly. . . . 
 I am beginning a series of oral Italian lessons from 
 Greene, 2 who is satisfied with my progress, and, there 
 being four of us, have been taught to play bridge 
 only allowed seldom as a treat which is a very good 
 game." " Aug. 8. We have ascended Snowdon this 
 afternoon and have seen no view of any sort or kind 
 . . . the lower parts were extraordinarily beautiful 
 
 1 From early childhood he had been extremely short-sighted. 
 * Wm. C. Greene, a Harvard Rhodes Scholar.
 
 108 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 with strange coloured light, and the mists were 
 strange and floaty. The new spectacles have arrived. 
 ... I shall come home on the igth unless it rains 
 much all the intervening time : as I must (i) see 
 Snowdon's view (2) go up the Glydders and (3) follow 
 a certain footpath in the more remote parts of 
 Snowdon which we saw to-day and looks delightful ; 
 all of which require fine weather, which we now have 
 not. So if I stay another day or two will you forgive 
 me?" 
 
 " Aug. 10. [To his sister.] Being the Sabbath day 
 we do no work and propose to go for an expedition 
 up the famed Glydders mountains, about which the 
 guide-book says that if the Cyclops had taken it into 
 his head to upset one of his own walls the assault 
 would be like the top of these mountains : which 
 explanation should give you a lucid picture of the 
 appearance of the objects, as it does to me. The 
 trouble about this company is that they are not fired 
 with quite the proper zeal for exploration (i.e. 20-30 
 mile walks) and they take some egging on, being 
 lazy ; and when they get out they like to stop and 
 admire views for so long that we don't get on : 
 however it doesn't matter seriously because I can 
 always proceed seul ; not without idle protestations. 
 .... The vicar is getting up a GRAND EVENING 
 CONCERT (vide posters everywhere) in which he 
 implores me to perform. Now I have a viola, which 
 is not much of a solo instrument, and no music :
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 109 
 
 but in response to his urgent invitation I wrote to an 
 old Wykehamist, who was playing in Concert at the 
 end of last term and had with him certain old French 
 dances for viola ; and knowing no other solo music 
 for the instrument at all suitable, I wrote to him at 
 the following address : 
 
 Rev. Morgan, 
 
 Curate at 
 Farnham, 
 Surrey. 
 
 which strangely enough reached him, and the things 
 are coming ; if they prove to be fearfully and 
 wonderfully difficult I know not what may happen." 
 "Aug. 16. I managed the Glydders yesterday. . . . 
 I performed my French dances on the viola last night, 
 arriving very late, because our expedition had been 
 long, just in time to interrupt the vicar in the middle 
 of a speech regretting my non-appearance. And 
 Euripides is a great poet, which fact has been proved 
 beyond a doubt by the perusal of the Electra, the 
 Iphigeneia Taurica, the Troades (the best of all), the 
 Heracleidae, and the Hercules Furens. Also my 
 opinion of Demosthenes is changing for the better ; 
 because the False Leg. is in no way dull. The com- 
 pany here threaten to write you a post-card explain- 
 ing peremptorily that they are keeping me till 
 Thursday." 
 
 The rest of the vacation was spent in what proved 
 to be the last of the family journeys with the two
 
 110 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 aunts from London. The tour this year was exten- 
 sive, through the Dolomites down to Venice, and 
 back by way of Verona and the Lake of Garda to the 
 Arlberg Railway. Arthur's mind was at this time 
 in a ferment, which had been gradually working up 
 under the stress of Oxford life. Symptoms of mental 
 conflict were an unusual irritability and a spirit of 
 perverse contradiction. The same kind of mood 
 would show itself when he was a very small boy, when 
 he sometimes had " sixty-five troubles before break- 
 fast." He was acutely feeling social inequalities 
 of opportunity; the misdoings of "idle rich" and 
 the shortcomings of organised labour alike angered 
 him. No political party pleased him, and uncer- 
 tainty about his own choice of a career also weighed 
 on his mind. As we have seen, at one time he 
 thought that he could be of most use by becoming 
 an elementary schoolmaster, but he did not fail to 
 see that a larger sphere would be more suitable. 
 As Frank Brabant writes : " One never knew what 
 new side was going to blossom, and I still feel in 
 thinking of him, that he was more far from ' settled ' 
 than anyone I knew. I have no idea what he might 
 have been or done. ... I am sure he felt to the 
 full the difficulties of the Universe." He did; but 
 I doubt how far he had formulated his difficulties 
 even to himself, and I believe that he was chiefly 
 conscious of an intellectual uneasiness that clashed 
 with his joyful and humorous disposition, and
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL: FIRST YEAR 111 
 
 though, as Spencer Leeson had said, 1 not nervously 
 introspective, he was a stern critic of himself, and 
 troubled by the difficulty of reaching his own 
 standard of religion and conduct. 
 
 The most intimate of all his friends, Maurice Jacks, 8 
 says of him : " He enjoyed life more than anybody 
 I ever knew. There was none of his work that he 
 did not enjoy doing, and to work with him was to 
 find the dullest task pleasant. His enthusiasm was 
 infectious ; it was impossible when with him not to 
 feel that the world was a splendid place. This was 
 particularly the case with the boys at St. Ebbe's ; 
 they all loved him deeply and the reason was 
 chiefly, I think, that by giving himself up to them 
 completely he showed them what joyful things were 
 all round them and within their grasp. He never 
 went to the Boys' Club with the intention of giving 
 the boys a good time but of enjoying life with them ; 
 and I think he enjoyed life more with them than with 
 anyone else. He set his ideals very high ; his friends 
 knew that he attained much nearer to them than they 
 with their much lower standards. He was never 
 satisfied with himself ; and constantly made me 
 ashamed when I thought that I had done a thing 
 well, by showing how much better it might have 
 been done. This again particularly at the Boys' 
 Club ; there was never to be any resting. 
 
 1 See p. 80. 
 
 1 Captain M. L. Jacks of Baltiol College ; now Fellow of Wadham.
 
 112 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 " With this humility he joined an intense admira- 
 tion of others ; to himself he was always the chief 
 of sinners, and others the heroes who were making 
 the world a better place. 
 
 " That was his great ambition ; he wrote to me 
 once : ' There isn't time in the nature of things for 
 warring, when there is so much to do of hard and 
 constructive work.' And he looked forward eagerly 
 to making a new world after the war. 
 
 " He hated all shams and was wonderfully quick 
 to detect them ; and then he poured scorn on them. 
 He always got to the bottom of a thing at once. It 
 was the many hypocrisies of the Army that he found 
 most irksome during the war ; we talked this over 
 when we met at the Front, and in the woods of 
 Hardelot. And he was full of schemes for getting 
 rid of them. 
 
 " He understood people at once ; but his heart 
 was too kind to allow him to see through them. 
 He can hardly have helped doing so, but he resolutely 
 shut his eyes to weakness in others, because he 
 thought he was always so much more weak himself. 
 
 " Above all he inspired in all who knew him the 
 deepest affection : the reason in my own case was 
 because he gave so generously of his own affection ; 
 it must have been so with others. We felt at once 
 that we were loved and just couldn't help loving in 
 return. I never loved any friend so deeply ; and 
 my love goes on. It must have been with something
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL : FIRST YEAR 113 
 
 of the same feeling that the disciples forsook their 
 nets and followed Him." 
 
 It is perhaps not quite correct to say that he shut 
 his eyes to weakness in others, for he was often very 
 outspoken, but such criticism only sharpened his 
 own consciousness of defect. 
 
 During his stay among the mountains Arthur 
 worked off a great deal of inward heat by furious 
 walking, and some climbs that needed professional 
 guides. Even when the train that was to take him 
 back to England was due to start about mid-day 
 from Landeck, he must needs get up early to go up the 
 Venetberg, a considerable hill near thelittletown,while 
 his Companions waited on tenterhooks for him to re- 
 appear, knowing that the time allowed was too 
 scanty for any less impetuosity than his. At Venice 
 he was torn between exquisite enjoyment of the place 
 and the pictures an enjoyment for which Mr. 
 Kendall's lectures at Winchester on Italian artists had 
 done much to prepare the ground and impatience 
 with the ease and luxury of gondolas and lounging 
 in the Piazza di San Marco. Lewis and Short's 
 dictionary went all over the Dolomites in a Gladstone 
 bag, and at odd times a substantial amount of 
 reading for the schools was accomplished.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 BALLIOL: SECOND YEAR 
 
 IN October Arthur migrated to rooms in the newly 
 finished addition to the college ; the freshness of 
 walls and furniture * were a source of much pleasure, 
 and well suited to set off the Venetian photographs 
 that he had brought back. " Everything," he 
 wrote on Oct. 10, " seems to be working as it should ; 
 especially my rooms, which you must come to see as 
 they are so pretty ; the walls are pale blue (plaster) 
 and the carpet a very handsome Turkey carpet red 
 and blue ; the arm-chairs are also very magnificent 
 quite pretty too and most refreshingly clean. The 
 sofa is promised but it hasn't yet arrived. There 
 is not enough room for books of course, but that will 
 be remedied." " Oct. 13. I went into the room of 
 one Pinsent 2 to get a musical society subscription 
 from him . . . and found him engaged in repro- 
 ducing the last room of the Accademia on his walls 
 
 1 At Balliol furniture is supplied by the College. 
 1 and Lieut. R. P. Pinsent, Exhibitioner of Balliol ; killed in 
 action, 1915. 
 
 "4
 
 i 9 i3 BALLIOL: SECOND YEAR 115 
 
 the Bellini room, putting up the pictures in the correct 
 order." 
 
 " Oct. 20. I am grievously sorry that I did not 
 write had you seen my prose about flashing sunlight 
 on mountain tops, and noon-tide rain of gold on hills 
 and woods and rivers and so on ad infinitum by John 
 Ruskin you would have sympathised. The writing 
 of such things I seem to find not so desperately 
 boring as they might be, quite an amusing game in 
 fact : but to read Callimachus without a good com- 
 mentary is exasperating, and not a fearfully improv- 
 ing pursuit. ... If the world goes on busting as 
 it has been last week, I think I shall have to give up 
 reading the papers." The world was " busting " 
 with the Dublin strike under Jim Larkin's leadership, 
 Home Rule and Ulster difficulties, suffragette out- 
 rages, the land question, etc. 
 
 " Oct. 26. My pictures have at last mostly arrived, 
 and the Giorgione looks heavenly over the fire, in 
 a broadish dark oak frame." " Nov. 2. This after- 
 noon I had to play the parson again to the boys 
 club ; which is a bad business, as I always feel as 
 if they ought to be the parsons and I the one har- 
 angued to ; however, it happened, and incidentally 
 I had a compliment, as one of the audience afterwards 
 remarked to Baines 1 as how that chap was a splendid 
 speaker, so I am told. And my feelings are not yet 
 altogether at ease ; as the concert to-night is going 
 
 1 Captain F. J. T. Baines.
 
 116 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 to produce the worst squash ever known, for Miss 
 Fanny Davies is coming and with a very delight- 
 some programme. ... It is now 11.45 p.m. and all 
 my troubles are over ; the concert was heavenly, 
 and the lady very amusing. The seats worked all 
 right, with the assistance of divers dons, who kindly 
 failed to turn up or bring visitors. . . . My other 
 musical entertainment was the funniest I have ever 
 indulged in at Heyford, the musical village . . . 
 where I played before. . . . The train for Heyford 
 left at 3.25 ; and at 2 o'clock we had the only rehear- 
 sal, in Dr. Allen's house ; which was extremely 
 funny. We were very energetic, and managed to 
 rehearse more than half the programme [including 
 Bach concertos for violin, and one for 3 pianos] then 
 we all tumbled into buses and taxis . . . and just 
 caught the train. The concert was to begin at 6.30, 
 the last train back being at 8.30 : Dr. Allen was going 
 to drive himself out ... by motor. 6.45 arrived, 
 and he had not turned up ; so we proceeded with 
 a non-orchestral item, in the middle of which he 
 appeared with a great clatter ; the performance then 
 went quite well, especially the quite unrehearsed 
 mock morris, and we succeeded in catching the train 
 home. . . . Also on Friday I played in a quartet 
 (Haydn) at the O.U.M.U., which I like doing, as it 
 comes quite rarely, and it just makes me able to keep 
 up a little playing here, which otherwise would be 
 quite difficult. Thence I hastily proceeded to the
 
 BALLIOL : SECOND YEAR 117 
 
 Boys' Club, whereat I played a hornpipe, and a 
 member of the club danced it in great style, and great 
 enthusiasm ; also I accompanied an abominable song 
 called the rag-time violin, which I hadn't seen before." 
 " Nov. 9. The only thing of interest I have done this 
 week has been to read to a ... club of Tory poli- 
 ticians ... of which I was made a member through 
 no fault of my own, a paper, composed in about 2 
 hours, though it took f-hour to read, about woman 
 suffrage, to which nearly everyone was opposed. 
 I told the people more or less what I thought of them, 
 and produced a fulminating oration in reply, which 
 lasted about as long as the original paper ; all of 
 which made them much annoyed so I thought ; 
 and I was quite pleased. Also I have discovered 
 a quite new profession which I will enter when every- 
 thing else fails, that of an actor-manager ; owing to 
 the entire lack of others to do it, I am conducting 
 the rehearsals of the play to be performed at the end 
 of the term by members of the Boys' Club ; it is a 
 quite funny farce, and I have succeeded in inspiring 
 the performers with such enthusiasm that they are 
 beginning to clamour for more rehearsals than I can 
 manage ; and also, when I am not there they rehearse 
 by themselves. So they are becoming quite good. 
 . . . This sort of thing is very amusing, and the 
 actors are all very pleasant people." " Nov. 18 
 [To his sister.] I am getting peculiarly good at stage- 
 managing plays ; . . . it is my intention to make them
 
 118 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 act Shakespeare next year, if it can be done, which 
 of course I doubt. The art is a very difficult one, 
 and will become still more so soon, when clothes have 
 to be got hold of, as they must without delay." 
 
 Dresses were provided for the ladies' parts by Mrs. 
 Pickard-Cambridge and Mrs. Bailey, and the play 
 was produced with great eclat. ' ' Next year, ' ' Arthur 
 wrote in the Club Magazine, "the Literary and Drama- 
 tic Society . . . must produce something better 
 than Leave it to me. And the first step is to learn to 
 read in an interesting and dramatic way, because if 
 we can do this we shall find it much easier to act 
 afterwards. But to read well we must understand 
 and be keen about what we read. We must learn 
 to like what is worth liking ; that we can do in many 
 ways ; ... we can come and try to read at the 
 meetings of the Literary and Dramatic Society. . . . 
 I belonged to such a society at school ; we met and 
 read Shakespeare, each taking a separate part, and 
 next to real acting, of course I never enjoyed any- 
 thing more." 
 
 A visit of Mr. Lloyd George to the Union was the 
 only other outstanding event before Christmas, and 
 the next term passed quietly. Arthur had declined 
 some new undertakings in connexion with boy scouts, 
 and much as he would have liked to have a part in 
 the Acharnians of Aristophanes, he and other candi- 
 dates for Mods, were excluded on principle. He 
 keenly enjoyed the excellent performance of the
 
 BALLIOL : SECOND YEAR lid 
 
 play. During the term he played again at a Balliol 
 Sunday concert, in a Handel sonata for two violins, 
 and also at the Musical Union. An equestrian 
 incident may be recorded ; " Feb. 15. I came off my 
 gee on Friday. ... I was engaged in leading 3 
 horses and riding my own, and suddenly 2 of the 
 other 3 went on strike, and declined firmly to 
 budge, so after much fruitless tugging I descended 
 very elegantly and gracefully in the middle, on my 
 feet ; of course I let go of all 4 horses in the process, 
 but they all stood and gazed mockingly at me, 
 without running away. It wasn't a bit alarming." 
 
 In the Easter vacation he and I went on a journey 
 to Greece. Before reaching Corfu we looked with 
 extreme interest at a Greek gunboat, off Santi 
 Quaranta, which was said to be engaged in some 
 semi-warlike operation against Albanians. Greece 
 itself was still full of soldiers in khaki, many of whom 
 had come from America to fight in the Balkan wars, 
 had been wounded, and were proposing shortly to 
 return to America. Sometimes these were met 
 in incongruous places, such as the top of Mt. Ithome, 
 and they were prone to enlarge on the horrors of 
 Bulgarian methods of fighting. School children and 
 others were anxious to look at the map in our 
 Baedeker, to see if it duly showed " New Greece," 
 (the fruits of victory), which, of course, it did not. 
 We arrived at Sparta by the unexpected method of 
 a motor bus, which had just started to run between
 
 120 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1914 
 
 Tripolitza and Sparta, where the novel vehicle was 
 received by the whole population in a vastly excited 
 state. Close to the out-of-the-way temple of Artemis 
 Orthia we fell in with a shepherd, in full Greek 
 costume with white fustanella, who advanced and 
 said, with a strong American accent : " How do you 
 like Greece ? " He was enjoying rusticity before 
 returning to his transatlantic labours. Mr. Dawkins, 1 
 Head of the British School, kindly let us accom- 
 pany him to Crete, where he and two students 
 were going to dig. Stress of weather caused us 
 to shelter under a little island off Candia for 24 
 hours, and the steamer's provisions ran short. Next 
 morning landing was begun, but as a boat was 
 swamped (without serious casualties), the captain 
 forbade further landing, and we were carried on to 
 Souda Bay, whence we had a beautiful three days' 
 ride across Crete to Candia. On returning to Athens 
 we had the pleasant news that Arthur had taken a 
 first in Mods., and that all his friends who had given 
 so much time to the Boys' Club had done so too. 
 We came back to Marseilles in a Messageries boat, 
 the " Portugal," which little more than three months 
 afterwards was shelled by the Goeben at Constanti- 
 nople, and some two years later was sunk, as a Russian 
 hospital ship, by a torpedo in the Black Sea. 
 
 1 Lieut. R. M. Dawkins, R.N.V.R., Fellow of Emmanuel Col- 
 lege; now Professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek at Oxford. 
 One of the students, Mr. Heath, was killed in action.
 
 i9M BALLIOL : SECOND YEAR 121 
 
 Naturally Arthur was intensely interested in his 
 Greek experiences. His diary calls the National 
 Museum at Athens " the most glorious museum ever 
 made." It went hard with him to put up with 
 the pseudo-smartness of an Athens hotel, but he was 
 thoroughly happy at the EevoSoxfioi/ r>?9 wpcuas'EA.e^s 
 at Mycenae, where the landlady's boys invited him 
 to dance after supper, but he declined " on the 
 plea of old age." We found there two Oxford 
 contemporaries 1 in possession, reading over their 
 supper a Pausanias left by a German archaeologist. 
 " He's just like Baedeker," they said. The steamer 
 back from Crete to Athens was full of Cretans 
 armed with pistols and silver-mounted daggers, on 
 their way to fight Albanians in Epirus : " they 
 were highly graphic in their description, delivered 
 mostly by gesture, of what they were going to 
 do with their daggers." We visited Delphi as 
 well as Athens, Crete and a good deal of the Pelo- 
 ponnesus. 
 
 After Easter Arthur started on his new work of 
 reading for Greats. Spencer Leeson writes : " He 
 was looking forward so eagerly to Greats, and he 
 used to say in fun that he knew it would do him 
 good, chastening his extravagances and clearing him 
 of the imputation of being at the mercy of the latest 
 article he had read. He was looking forward to it 
 also as a means of testing by severe intellectual 
 
 1 One killed in action.
 
 122 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 
 
 discipline his religious convictions, which were 
 beginning, I suspect, to cause him trouble. But not 
 all the philosophy in the world could have weighed 
 down his spirit with cynicism or sadness ; and I 
 cannot believe that even the horrors of war robbed 
 him of his magnificent cheerfulness and confidence 
 that all would be well. He would never have been 
 overcome. ' ' The Oxford Magazine biographical notice 
 said that " he showed remarkable promise in his 
 work for Greats." It is pleasant that the knowledge 
 of having made a good impression during his short 
 single term's work reached Arthur ; before he went 
 down he wrote that "Sandy 1 had the impu- 
 dence to say that I would get a first in Greats, at the 
 ceremony in hall, and altogether the authorities were 
 highly flattering." 
 
 " May 10. [To his sister.] I have been commencing 
 the study of such subjects as the foundations of the 
 State, the philosophical basis thereof : on which 
 subject you may find much more or less nonsensical 
 stuff written in the work of Thomas Hobbes called 
 the Leviathan ; which makes me laugh muchly. I 
 have also begun the study of Plato's Republic, at the 
 beginning of which inordinately puzzling work he 
 announces that every art seeks the good of the 
 subject matter of that art ; thus the musician seeks 
 the good of the hearer, the art of the tar/ads the good 
 of the sick and so on ; from which it would I suppose 
 
 1 Lieut.-Colonel A. D. Lindsay, M.B.E., Fellow of Balliol.
 
 i 9 i4 BALLIOL : SECOND YEAR 128 
 
 follow that the art of the boxer seeks the good of the 
 boxed, which would seem to be eminently untrue. 
 However Mr. H. W. B. Joseph seems to think Plato 
 is correct in this statement." Same date. " The 
 pursuit of Lit. Hum. is pleasant I think. ... As 
 time goes on it will have a very deleterious effect upon 
 me, by upsetting all my preconceived ideas and 
 supplying none instead, but it is clearly going to be 
 amusing ; and for the present the necessity of doing 
 Hertfords and so on ... is good, as being more 
 definite and terrestrial occupations." So also to 
 his brother : " When I come home, I shall embark 
 upon the study of philosophy, which seems to be a 
 pursuit merely devised to get people into muddles 
 without giving them any means of getting out 
 of them again : whence arises a wholly sleepy 
 and abstracted frame of mind, which prevents 
 quite effectively the pursuit of anything what- 
 ever." 
 
 Sailing on the river, under the instruction of Miss 
 Bertha Phillpotts, 1 was a new pursuit, occasionally 
 resulting in an involuntary bath. A Bach festival 
 was the climax of the term. Arthur was pleased 
 that Mr. Pickard-Cambridge wanted him to continue 
 the secretaryship of the Balliol concerts at least for 
 another term, " but it is very absurd, because as a 
 matter of fact I make nearly every conceivable 
 muddle." He looked forward to an attractive list of 
 
 1 O.B.E., now Principal of Westfield College, Hampstead.
 
 124 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1914 
 
 books suggested for vacation reading, and " I have 
 promised Toynbee J to devote myself to the study of 
 deutsch, using as a text-book Eduard Meyer on 
 Greek history. Good-night, my dear mother ; this 
 college is a good place." 
 
 So ended his last term as an Oxford undergraduate. 
 There followed as in the previous year the cavalry 
 camp. "June 25. Life will be agreeable ; my tent- 
 comrades are so, my horse also, only it wants to run 
 away quite persistently, so it might kill me that way, 
 but I don't think it will ; if we always have such 
 strenuous labour as to-day, we shall have enough to 
 make the beasts tired soon. It is called ' Shamrock,' 
 and is very small, not huge like Belinda, but very 
 pleasant not sleepy, and on the whole not too much 
 the reverse." " June 28. Camp has been stupen- 
 dously energetic, and to-day we have had our first 
 and welcome interval ; but it has been quite good fun. 
 I could tell many graphic stories, how we drilled with 
 the 5th Dragoon Guards at a tremendous gallop ; or 
 how I was captured whilst careering with a message 
 in the twilight yesterday ; or how I eat tea with 
 Wootton 2 and Ritchie in the Cambridge Sergeants' 
 Mess to-day ; but I haven't got energy to say much 
 more now. I think I shall endure happily now till 
 
 1 Mr. A. J. Toynbee, Fellow of Balliol ; now Professor of Modern 
 Greek at King's College, London. 
 
 2 Captain J. W. Wootton, Scholar of Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge, afterwards husband of Arthur's sister ; died of wounds, 
 1917.
 
 AT O.T.C. CAVALRY CAMP, 1914.
 
 igi4 BALLIOL : SECOND YEAR 125 
 
 the end, but never have I done so much work in a 
 week ; much more than last year." 
 
 Next came the Boys' Club camp, after a few days' 
 interval, spent at Oxford, with an excursion home 
 for one day. From Oxford he wrote, " Fearfully 
 sleepy," after violent cavalry operations which lasted 
 for 24 hours on end : " Observe (i) the glorious 
 outcome of Eton Match (Monday's Times) (2) on the 
 front page, under the leaders, an epigram .... 
 written by myself in the Hertford. Barrington-Ward 1 
 keeps an elder brother on the Times staff . . . and 
 I let out to B. W. junior that I had written such an 
 epigram, so B. W. senior wrote and demanded it." 
 The passage of the Times, June 29, 1914, in question 
 is as follows : 
 
 " A correspondent writes : 
 
 " You may be interested to learn that at the exam- 
 ination for the Hertford Scholarship recently held 
 at Oxford, the thesis set for a Latin epigram was 
 ' The Times for a penny.' I enclose a copy of an 
 epigram written by one of the candidates, who, it 
 will be seen, speaks from a very conservative stand- 
 point. 
 
 1 labuntur mores : gestis denarius olim 
 vix satis : at iam nil Roma nisi asse facit.' " 
 
 The club camp was held this year at Warbarrow 
 Bay in Dorsetshire, a place of which Arthur retained 
 
 1 Captain J. G. Barrington-Ward, Hertford Scholar, 1914; 
 now Tutor of Christchurch.
 
 126 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1914 
 
 the happiest recollection since 1906. He wrote : 
 " This place is simply glorious ; it pours with rain 
 at night, but is fine in the day time. And life is very 
 cheerful, much more so than at last year's camp. . . . 
 The country is as good as ever, simply better than 
 any country in the world. . . . To-morrow I am 
 taking a very select company of the energetic spirits 
 to St. Alban's head. . . . This place suits me very 
 well, as the field is too rough for football and other 
 games, so we have perforce to go for walks, in which 
 I am prepared to compete with anyone here present. 
 I am now being photographed by H. Secretan. 1 . . . 
 That operation is over." 
 
 On July ii he came home. Then followed a stay 
 at Walworth in South London, where Mr. Marsh, 
 whom Arthur had met in November at Oxford, lived 
 and ran " a very tip-top boy scout troop." He 
 wrote (undated) : " Life in this place suits me on the 
 whole very well, with curious ups and downs of 
 feeling how pleasant and then how unpleasant my 
 fellow-creatures are. I am getting a good deal of 
 mugging done. . . . Herodotus goes ahead very 
 slowly, but in other ways this place does much to 
 clarify my ideas. . . . The average population of 
 the neighbourhood is certainly extremely unenlight- 
 ened . . . but most of the boys of the troop are 
 great fun. I think sometimes they are kept in order 
 too much ; but it ... is tremendously efficacious." 
 
 1 O.B.E., Ministry of Shipping.
 
 i9M BALLIOL : SECOND YEAR 127 
 
 Soon the clouds of war began to gather thick. 
 In the anxious days beginning with the ultimatum 
 to Serbia Arthur had the pleasure of a talk with the 
 Bishop of Southwark, his former headmaster, and 
 tried to keep international troubles out of his letters. 
 Finally there came this note, written while peace 
 still hung by a thread : " My address for the week- 
 end will be Boy Scout Camp, Kingstanding Farm, 
 Crowborough, Sussex, and (unless the military have 
 taken over all the trains by then) I shall turn up by 
 the late train on Monday [Aug. 3]. I hope to stay 
 at home through August ; but I am a member of the 
 O.T.C. I don't suppose there is any hope of peace 
 now."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ARTHUR returned home about midnight on Monday, 
 Aug. 3. By the first post on Tuesday, Aug. 4, there 
 arrived a letter from the Officers' Training Corps at 
 Oxford, enquiring whether " in the event of a general 
 mobilization," he would seek a commission in the 
 Regular Army, Special Reserve, or Territorial Force. 
 Immediately after breakfast the letter was answered 
 in the affirmative. Conscious of extreme short 
 sight, Arthur thought that his services were more 
 likely to be acceptable in the Territorial Force than 
 in any other branch. Lord Kitchener's demand for 
 a new army had not yet been promulgated, and there 
 were yet more than twelve hours to run before the 
 expiration of the ultimatum to Berlin. Arthur's 
 decision was taken with no light heart, nor in a spirit 
 of adventure. It meant that he instantaneously 
 gave up all that he held dear. He was not one of 
 those for whom war had an attraction ; yet his chief 
 anxiety was lest he should be left on one side, as 
 
 physically unfit. 
 
 128
 
 igi4 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 129 
 
 Then followed about six weeks of uneasy waiting. 
 In a few days there came a call from the Cambridge 
 O.T.C. for volunteers to guard railway bridges on 
 the Great Eastern line, which it was thought might 
 be endangered by attempts at destruction. This 
 duty was arduous, as the watches of the patrols were 
 of unusual length. While engaged with it Arthur 
 was summoned by telegram to attend a military 
 board at Oxford, and was fetched from his sentry 
 work at Manea bridge by a messenger from the 
 Cambridge headquarters, who conveyed him on the 
 back of a motor-bicycle. Towards the end of August , 
 growing impatient with the delay in obtaining a 
 commission, he took up his quarters at Oxford again, 
 in order to keep the Boys' Club going. Then he 
 joined a camp on Salisbury Plain of public school 
 men who were awaiting commissions. The training 
 he found very good, but he wrote : " The only trouble 
 is that I should like to do twice as much in the day ; 
 others disagree." In the absence of a commission 
 thoughts of enlistment passed through the mind of 
 Arthur and of many others, but on Sep. 6 he wrote : 
 " the War Office have sent a telegram to Aris l 
 advising no one with O.T.C. qualifications to enlist, 
 which is most satisfactory." He had applied for 
 an infantry commission, in any branch of the army. 
 Prudence impelled him to rule out the cavalry, as he 
 foresaw that he might be placed in charge of a troop 
 
 1 Major Aris of the Winchester College O.T.C. 
 f
 
 130 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1914 
 
 of stable boys and jockeys, who would soon see 
 through the thin layer of his experience. Character- 
 istically he remarked that instructions had been 
 given to bring " light bedding " to the camp, as only 
 tent boards were provided ; " which of course I 
 disregarded." He had a feverish desire to get away 
 from creature comforts. 
 
 " Sep. ii. I am now discovering, slowly, that the 
 chances of my getting any sort of post in the army 
 are small. I might, with great luck, get through a 
 K's army medical, but they have ploughed at least 
 one man with short sight considerably less bad than 
 mine, though a mild doctor might let one through. 
 The alternative of Territorials is now getting very 
 remote, as I gather that your only chance of a job is 
 to apply to the colonel of a regiment known to you, 
 and I don't know any such. ... It is sad, as there 
 seem lots of jobs going, and the result of this camp 
 is to make me think I should be quite reasonably 
 useful. . . . And I am now quite able to dig trenches, 
 command a platoon, and do numerous other desirable 
 duties." Next day he wrote that he was " working 
 out elaborate schemes to outwit a medical officer." 
 In the end he found a doctor who examined candi- 
 dates in their spectacles ; as Arthur's glasses enabled 
 him to see perfectly, he passed when a less short- 
 sighted but worse-spectacled candidate failed. He 
 then by a personal visit to the C.O. of the Cambridge- 
 shire Regiment secured the promise of a commission
 
 igi4 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 131 
 
 in the 2-ist Battalion. At the time he would have 
 preferred a commission in the New Army, rather than 
 a second line Territorial Battalion, as " more ex- 
 citing, and also much more useful to my country ; 
 but the trouble is, that though by a great stroke of good 
 fortune, I passed a medical for the New Army, I 
 strongly suspect that when it came to the point the 
 authorities would demur owing to my blindness, and 
 then my position would be very unpleasant ; so I 
 accepted this." 
 
 On Sep. 19 he began work with the battalion, 
 then in a very inchoate state recruits arriving 
 daily, very few uniforms, and equipment practically 
 nil. Its barracks were the Girls' County School in 
 Cambridge, and the girls migrated to some lecture 
 rooms in Emmanuel College. Till December train- 
 ing went on energetically in Cambridge, under 
 Colonel C. T. Heycock, V.D., F.R.S., Fellow of King's 
 College, Cambridge. In November orders to be 
 ready in three hours to entrain for Newcastle were 
 received, but after special trains had been in waiting 
 with steam up for two days, the expectation of 
 invasion passed off, and the battalion resumed its 
 exercises on Parker's Piece. 
 
 A week before Christmas a move was made to 
 Peterborough. Arthur wrote : " The first thing, 
 after an imposing procession to the station at Cam- 
 bridge with a band playing and the route lined with 
 adoring females, was that our stock rascal, the
 
 132 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1914 
 
 youth who declines to do any one thing he should 
 do, held us up by pulling the communication 
 cord, and will be dealt with according. . . . The 
 company parade at a corner of the street, and 
 we stick up orders on a board on the railings 
 outside the company commander's house, which 
 the civilian public all come and admire and 
 drink in as they should. So we have amusement 
 enough." 
 
 " Dec. 24. It is a melancholic way of spending 
 Christmas, this : but the chances of getting home are 
 nil, so we must put up with it. ... Well, this is 
 the second Christmas I have spent away from home ; 
 the other time I was off Cape St. Vincent in different 
 circumstances. 1 I shall be remarkably glad when 
 wars are over. Our battalion were told by the 
 general that we are by far the best lot here, as far 
 as he has seen them. ... So that is all right, and 
 I imagine when the raid comes we shall be some 
 of the first to go and repel it ; and taken all 
 round we are not so bad as we might be. I hear 
 the W.O. are refusing men leave to transfer from 
 reserve battalions ; so I stick to this, and trust to 
 luck. I shall never be a good soldier, so perhaps it 
 is as well." 
 
 " Jan. 6. I braved the elements on Sunday, 
 and walked 22 miles, via Crowland and Thorney, both 
 admirable places, through admirable fen country, 
 
 1 Christmas, 1906 ; on the way to Morocco.
 
 i 9 i5 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 133 
 
 and felt much amended in spirits. The days we 
 spend mostly on a larger version of Parker's Piece ; 
 with a so-called Field Day once a week. ... Of 
 course I want to do more work ; but there is little 
 chance of it. . . . A boss from the W.O. gave it as his 
 considered opinion that the war cannot possibly end 
 before spring of 1916, and that every available 
 officer will eventually be needed a grim thought. 
 A good French novel would suit me down to the 
 ground ; modern, but not too long ; can you 
 suggest ? " " Jan. n. I have just signed a docu- 
 ment saying I will serve if wanted anywhere and with 
 any regiment ; this is different from service abroad 
 in the ordinary Territorial sense, as that only binds 
 one to serve with one's own unit ; this involves 
 obligation to serve anywhere, unconditionally. . . . 
 It satisfies my lurking feeling that I ought to be on 
 active service, so meanwhile I stay here contented. 
 . . . We are really not badly off ; only it rains in the 
 most indiscriminate manner, and quite continuously ; 
 I never knew anything like it." 
 
 On Jan. 21 Arthur came home for three days' leave, 
 returning by a late train to Peterborough, on Sunday, 
 Jan. 24. He mentioned that the i-ist Battalion, 
 who were stationed at Bury St. Edmunds, were 
 probably going to France the following week. Next 
 day the following letter was written : " This I am 
 thinking looks a little like business. I got home late, 
 and weary, and this morning heard that the ist
 
 134 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 Battalion had sent for Disney 1 and myself. Why, 
 nobody knows. Disney isn't coming, as he is still 
 likely to go and fly. Seaton 2 is coming instead. 
 Of course (a) I may be ploughed for eyes ; (6) the 
 battalion may not go to France on Thursday. I 
 shall be inoculated post-haste on arrival at Bury, 
 and quite possibly shall come home for a few hours. 
 You see it is none of my doing ; and I have very 
 little choice. I suppose they have a mistaken idea 
 of my efficiency." 
 
 " Bury St. Edmunds, Jan. 25. The battalion is 
 certainly going to France, and that soon. Every 
 officer is being put through a stiff medical, which if 
 I pass I suppose I shall move off to the wars in no 
 long time. It is very odd, and none of my doing. 
 I never was conscious of possessing a reputation for 
 efficiency, except in the eyes of my company com- 
 mander, who knows very little about me ; but he 
 made highly effusive remarks before I left, to the 
 effect that the battalion would be the worse, etc., 
 etc. And if I get a nice lot of men I shall be happy 
 enough. ... I would have been perfectly happy 
 to wait several months, but such is life." 
 
 "Jan. 26. I have been ploughed medically for 
 eyes, and eyes only. I fought, but in vain ; only I 
 
 1 Captain H. A. P. Disney, of Gonville and Caius College, 
 Cambridge; later Lt.-Col., and Staff Officer ist class, R.A.F., 
 Order of the Crown of Italy. 
 
 1 Captain A. A. Seaton, Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge ; 
 died of wounds, Sep. 1915.
 
 i 9 i5 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 135 
 
 am going to stay another day, till the C.O., who is 
 on leave, comes back. I may conceivably get out 
 of it, but it looks like staying for ever with reserves. 
 As a matter of fact, having been ploughed I imme- 
 diately went down to the rifle range and made a 
 possible (5 bulls) at 200 yards, with a 6 inch bull's 
 eye, in a failing light. This fact I shall not fail to 
 make mention of. ... Having made up my mind 
 to it I want to go very much, and shall feel very low 
 if I come back to Peterborough." Later he told us 
 that this shooting was done hi the presence of an 
 admiring ring of sergeants. The brilliancy must 
 have been due to wrath ; he was not usually a good 
 marksman. 
 
 " Peterborough, Jan. 27. Here I am. My feelings 
 may be judged, and can't be enlarged on ... all I 
 can say is that life is feeling unbearably flat. I fear 
 that dishes my chances for ever. Still, what's done 
 is done. I have gained one thing, that being a 
 perfectly easy conscience ; because it wouldn't be 
 possible to get nearer to active service without 
 actually going. . . . Well, had Jan. 26, 1915, been 
 a sunny instead of a cloudy day, I should have seen 
 to read my letters, and probably not have lived 
 through the year. As it is, I may go on for a long 
 time yet. . . . Good-bye from a sad boy." " Jan. 
 27. [To his aunt.] I feel as if I had been ploughed 
 in a tripos or something of the kind." " Jan. 27. 
 [Post-card.] Something must be done to make life
 
 186 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 exciting ; therefore send me a pair of shorts and 
 stockings and one of those thin white jerseys of 
 mine, and I will go for runs before breakfast (by 
 order of Cap'n Hill * ! !) " 
 
 " Feb. 13. Nearly all the officers have either got 
 flu, or are just getting better ; I have had a cold, 
 but have pushed it away by means of much quinine, 
 sitting on wet and frozen ground last night, and run- 
 ning across country this afternoon with Hill, who 
 is a grand person to run with, and cheers me up 
 immensely. ... I still read remarkably few books, 
 but life keeps quite amusing, and the men make me 
 laugh. Well, there isn't anything more to say ; 
 I have got my outfit allowance, 42 los. of it that 
 is, and am incredibly locuplete." 
 
 On Feb. 14 the i-ist Cambs. left for France and the 
 2-ist presently moved into their quarters in Abbey 
 Ruins, Bury St. Edmunds. The change was wel- 
 comed by Arthur ; he wrote : " Feb. 21. Here we 
 are, in this gorgeous place, with the most lovely view 
 from our windows. The mess is in the middle of the 
 ruins, the house being hopelessly ramshackle, but 
 veryschon. . . . I share a room with Hill and Jonas, 2 
 and a more satisfactory arrangement from my point 
 of view could not be devised. . . . And the country, 
 
 1 Major A. V. Hill, O.B.E., F.R.S., Fellow of Trinity, later of 
 King's College, Cambridge; now Professor of Physiology at 
 Manchester. 
 
 1 Captain F. C. Jonas ; killed at St. Julien, July 31, 1917.
 
 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 137 
 
 as I have already said, is beauteous, being hilly, and 
 in places not too cultivated. ... I want to read the 
 classics, so some day you can send the smallest Homer 
 and Sophocles you can find." 
 
 " Mar. ii. I have been working considerable 
 overtime ; it has been quite as much as I can do 
 to get the minimum necessary jobs done during the 
 last week and a half. I expect you know how I 
 went on the jaunt to Oxford, which I found a poor 
 deserted place, but on the whole as cheerful as could 
 be expected, and the Boys' Club flourishes exceed- 
 ingly. The week-end was very agreeable, and I got 
 a glimpse of Maurice Jacks, who was also up for the 
 week-end, he being in a battalion which gives its 
 officers very nearly every week-end off. I had lunch 
 with his pitch-up [Wykehamist word for ' family '] on 
 Shotover, which was schon." 
 
 At this time a third battalion of Cambridgeshires 
 was being formed in Cambridge under the command 
 of Lt.-Col. A. A. Howell, and there was a considerable 
 likelihood that Arthur might be transferred to it. 
 On Mar. 14 he wrote : "I am divided in my mind, 
 but feel on the whole that it would be more useful 
 to stop here, at any rate until some more officers can 
 be found. . . . Fortunately Marr 1 has come back 
 from Bisley, so I have a little less to do, as he does 
 some of the company work ; but we are at present 
 
 1 Captain F. A. Marr, D.S.O., M.C., Exhibitioner of St. John's 
 College, Cambridge.
 
 138 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 scandalously short-handed. . . . The wish of my 
 heart was accomplished, as I went for a very admir- 
 able ride, including a first-rate gallop across fields, 
 on one of the battalion steeds ; in consequence, I 
 am something sore to-night. ... I could hold forth 
 at length on the fatuity of this world ; but it would 
 do no good, and at any rate there is plenty to 
 do. Only wars ought not to be allowed to take so 
 prominent a part in life." 
 
 Word was now beginning to arrive of casualties 
 in the i-ist battalion ; first near Voormezeele, 
 where three years later the battalion stemmed the 
 final German offensive in the trench they had them- 
 selves dug on their first arrival ; and on March 14 
 they suffered some severe losses in a gallant defence 
 of St. Eloi, where they were unexpectedly called on 
 to meet the German attack. In the battalion there 
 were men whom Arthur had helped to train at the 
 beginning ; he felt it deeply when they began to fall. 
 
 Early in April the 2-ist battalion marched in three 
 days from Bury to Norwich ; " the best three days 
 we have had since Cambridge," Arthur wrote, with 
 his usual enthusiasm for a tramp, and full of admira- 
 tion for his men. " It is the opinion of the Brigadier 
 that we shall be here indefinitely, as we are unlikely 
 to be able to go under canvas because there doesn't 
 seem to be any canvas left to go under ; which is 
 sad, as there is nothing I should like so much as to 
 get into camp, as you know ; but nothing is gained
 
 i9i5 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 189 
 
 whatever by looking too much ahead in these blighted 
 times." An opportunity came for a motor drive to 
 Bacton on the Norfolk coast, a place beloved by 
 Arthur in his childish days : " we all went and walked 
 on the beach which was grand, and then proceeded 
 to take tea with Miss Blogg, who seemed alarmed 
 by so tremendous an intrusion, as would any one 
 who had three captains and a subaltern suddenly 
 demanding tea ; but I was recognised, and much 
 complimented upon my stature and appearance. . . . 
 The sea was blue and properly covered with tramp 
 steamers ; whence one can induce the greatness of the 
 Grand Fleet and feel comfortable in one's inside ; and 
 I don't believe there is any spot on earth I love more 
 than that Bacton beach, except perhaps Warbarrow 
 Bay. I properly walked on the high path 1 on the 
 top of the hedge leading down to the beach, and felt 
 real happy ; there were a few, but not too many 
 soldiers about." 
 
 In a fortnight the battalion were back at Peter- 
 borough. " Our last three days at Norwich were 
 an eccentric performance ; alarms and excursions 
 became fast and furious, and we had to stand by 
 for an ' emergency move ' to the coast the old 
 Newcastle story, and with as much result ; in fact 
 it meant nothing more than a day of doing nothing 
 at all for fear of going too far away from headquarters. 
 Then when that ended we moved." 
 
 1 As he had done when three years old and often later.
 
 140 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 On April 25 Arthur passed his twenty-first birth- 
 day. His friends honoured the occasion by a bottle 
 of port, transported with immense care from the 
 place of purchase by the hotel bus, whose driver kept 
 his hand on the neck of the bottle all the way to 
 prevent shaking. 
 
 " May 4. [To Victor Mallet 1 in France.] I have 
 attained my majority, which I celebrated by a 
 
 wonderful cavalcade on horseback, 
 
 and I ; and disappeared into Milton 
 
 Park, and very nearly into his grave; seeing 
 
 that a mild horse called Fleabite on which he sat ran 
 away with him twice, once on the hard high road, 
 which made me laugh muchly, and once in a field 
 
 with sad results collapse of , taken home in a 
 
 cart, followed by a week's holiday on his part. Since 
 then I have been mainly not at Peterborough but 
 Grantham with Jonas, getting men through their 
 musketry on the gigantic range. ... A draft of 100 
 is coming soon [i.e., to France], stout fellows and full 
 of beans. I strongly suspect I shall follow soon 
 after. Rumours and rumours are afloat. ... I 
 have not had much truck with old friends lately ; 
 the voice of Oxford, as is inevitable, grows fainter 
 as the clouds fall deeper. Surely warfare is a damn- 
 able business, and it gets worse ; but even yet I hope, 
 and that firmly, for a return of good times. I sup- 
 
 1 Captain V. A. L. Mallet (Cambs. Regt.), of Winchester and 
 Balliol ; now of the Bntish Legation, Teheran.
 
 i9i5 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 141 
 
 pose you have heard of bombi on Bury ; on the Suffolk 
 [Hotel], on St. Andrew's Hall where rifles, etc. used 
 to live, and even near the Q.M.'s stores in Cemetery 
 Road ; which they failed to hit. The 2-ist Cambs. 
 feel proud of the attention, even though it was after 
 their departure. We are now in New England more 
 or less, with our headquarters in two class-rooms of 
 a gigantic elementary school ; consequently at 
 9 a.m., 12 noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., any visitor is 
 surrounded by a perfect army of infants saluting but 
 undisciplined." 
 
 In the middle of May Arthur was detailed to take a 
 draft to France, but this piece of work was postponed, 
 and never came to pass. On May 16 he wrote : 
 " I think you must have got my post-card saying 
 I was still awaiting orders ; I hope I didn't forget to 
 post it ; and still awaiting orders I am now. The 
 draft was completely ready, down to the last toe-nail, 
 and they are badly wanted I know yet for some 
 reason best known to the authorities they do not 
 yet go : meanwhile they are just wasting here." 
 " May 20. The order for a draft has been tem- 
 porarily at all events washed out, and so I shall not be 
 moving as yet ; and our move Newmarket-wards has 
 been postponed to the end of next week ; so I shall be 
 here a little longer. The worst blow out of a long 
 series is that we are not, as we thought, going into 
 camp under canvas, but instead we are going into 
 billets again because forsooth we are a good
 
 142 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 regiment and the bad ones shall be punished (!) by 
 getting the canvas. It is making me writhe." 
 
 On this same day, May 20, Arthur had a new 
 medical examination. Hearing that eyesight regula- 
 tions were becoming relaxed, he had made an attempt 
 recently, but had been baulked, because he had 
 " not applied through the proper official channel." 
 This time he was merely asked whether he could see 
 satisfactorily in glasses, and on replying " yes," 
 he was passed once again for foreign service. The 
 next day orders came for " France next week," as 
 his telegram said, announcing his return home and 
 coming departure. The i-ist battalion, which had 
 been in the Ypres salient all through the 2nd battle 
 of Ypres, had suffered heavy losses in officers, and 
 several officers from the 2-ist Cambs. had already 
 joined it at the front. Three officers were now 
 wanted. 2nd Lieutenants Crookham, 1 Rowe, 2 and 
 Arthur were chosen ; but though the first orders were 
 for immediate departure, there followed a weary 
 three weeks before the arrival of the final bidding. 
 
 " May 28. Somewhere there is a hitch. We should 
 have had a wire from the War Office, telling us to 
 move, on Wednesday night but it hasn't come. 
 So here we stick, and from what I can make of it we 
 may very well be here still this time next week. 
 
 1 Died of wounds, July, 1915 ; Scholar of Jesus College, Cam- 
 bridge. 
 
 a Afterwards Capt. B. W. Rowe, M.C.; Scholar of Pembroke 
 College, Cambridge.
 
 AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS' CAMP, SEPTEMBER, 1914.
 
 i 9 i5 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 143 
 
 Which uncertainty makes me swear." " June i. 
 We are still under orders to go, and they have not 
 been cancelled ; I don't know what is up, but pending 
 a settlement I am carrying on with ordinary work. 
 It would be agreeable to have the matter settled one 
 way or the other; this is I think intolerable." On 
 June 3 or 4 the battalion moved to Newmarket. 
 ' June 4. Here we are, and probably I shall come to 
 lunch on Sunday, but of course it is uncertain. Pros- 
 pects of going nil. Prospects of successful training 
 here considerable." " June 8. I have a wonderful 
 proposition to make, (a) On Sunday I really think 
 a little quiet snooze on the Devil's Dyke would be 
 v. agreeable, or else the Fleam Dyke, which you 
 like ... (6) I believe it is the duty of every man 
 alive to see the National Sport of racing once in his 
 life. Well now : on Wednesday next a unique event 
 takes place. The Derby will be run at Newmarket. 
 If you would like to observe this classic race from the 
 exalted position of the Jockey Club's own Grand 
 Stand, notify the fact before Saturday. . . .Luncheon 
 would be served in the officers' mess (probably). 
 Don't come if you don't want to. I am told all 
 the blackguards in the three Allied countries have 
 horses entered and that there is a record field." 
 " June 10. My darling mother, I want to come home. 
 ... I am just bored, and am likely to remain so 
 but there is no hope for it ; my degeneracy is such 
 that I want promotion for its own sake."
 
 144 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 His sister and I met him on the Fleam Dyke, 
 marvellously beautiful with summer flowers, on 
 Sunday, June 13. He was proud and happy at his 
 promotion to Tempy. Lieut., which had been 
 gazetted a day or two before. To our great regret, 
 it was not possible to visit the Derby on June 16. 
 That evening a telegram announced to us his sum- 
 mons to report at Southampton on Saturday, June 
 19. He came home early on the I7th, for two days' 
 last leave. The evening of the i8th was spent at 
 the piano, playing chiefly the set of little Bach 
 preludes that he used to practise as a small boy, 
 and in singing old Italian songs. He had developed, 
 particularly since he had begun to issue words of 
 command, a voice that promised to be of fine quality 
 and considerable power, tenor or high baritone, if 
 only the opportunity of training it, for which he 
 longed, could have come. After dark nothing would 
 satisfy him but to put on a white jersey and shorts, 
 and, with his sister accompanying him by request 
 on a bicycle, run like one possessed up the Barton 
 road for a mile or more and back. " Why, it's a 
 runner and his girl," exclaimed an amazed foot 
 passenger, as Arthur's ghostly figure sped by. 
 
 On the igth we took leave of him at Waterloo, 
 where he met his companions, Messrs. Crookham and 
 Rowe. 
 
 After he left Colonel Heycock wrote : " Through- 
 out the whole time he has thrown himself with
 
 i 9 i5 MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND 145 
 
 characteristic energy and ability into the work he 
 had undertaken. The men worshipped him and his 
 brother officers loved him in a way which I have 
 seldom seen equalled. . . . He kept us all alive by 
 his cheery disposition, and when things got a bit 
 dull I could always make them hum by taking him 
 along the path of a science man's impressions of the 
 classics."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 
 
 THE train to Southampton was met as it passed 
 through Winchester by Mr. Kendall, who, as Arthur 
 wrote from Southampton, " promptly invited me to 
 dinner ; which invitation I have accepted, and I am 
 shortly going to wend my way back to Winton. 
 That will be very agreeable, much better than feeding 
 in the South Western Hotel in this poor town. . . . 
 I won't indulge in sentimentality because it wouldn't 
 be good for me or you. Undoubtedly this is a bad 
 business but it might be worse than it is." " June 
 20. In the train. Already I have reached the stage 
 of having nothing better to do than to write letters, 
 and that in a peculiarly jolty train ; so if you can 
 read it you will be quite lucky. Well, we are now in 
 this good but oppressed country. . . . The sea was 
 most agreeable, and I slept I regret to say till some- 
 thing approaching 9 o'clock ; which was silly, as deck 
 was remarkably attractive when I got there. The 
 boat didn't get under way till quite 2.30 a.m., and 
 
 146
 
 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 147 
 
 we got to our ' port of debarkation ' at about 10.30 
 and left it for the next place at about 12.30, so we 
 haven't wasted much tune yet ; half this time being 
 spent in reporting ourselves, and signing our names 
 a quite unnecessary number of times, and half in 
 eating a remarkably good dejeuner with ' cidre 
 compris ' and other luxuries. ... It is good to be 
 in a land where I can talk French without having 
 acute critics l listening at my elbow, as is usually my 
 lot in foreign parts. . . . And it was better still to 
 have two hours in Winchester, which I found in a 
 very cheerful frame of mind considering. . . . The 
 first person I met was Robin Don, whom I haven't 
 seen since war was declared, clad in a splendiferous 
 kilt, and looking very fit. Then we went and 
 wandered round College, saw Miss Stewart, and 
 McDowall, also Robinson, and it so chanced Robert- 
 son too, a captain in the New Army, stationed close 
 to Winchester ; which city is absolutely packed tight 
 with military in huts and camps all round and about. 
 Also there was Joseph of New College ... to be 
 friendly. After dinner (which was v. good) we 
 walked down Meads with the Headmaster ; then I 
 went and saw Mr. Fort. . . . Then I sped back to 
 the station, accompanied by Don, who is now 
 stationed on Salisbury Plain, and belongs to the third 
 army ; also Joseph and Robinson came along too. 
 I got back to Southampton about n and went speedily 
 
 1 His unmerciful family.
 
 J48 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 to bed. I expect we may stay at our destination 
 (a cathedral city with a tall iron spire) a day or two, 
 but we don't know what happens till we get there." 
 
 Mr. Kendall was kind enough to write and tell of 
 his pleasure at seeing Arthur once more. He was 
 much amused at Arthur's military short-cropped 
 hair " quite a la brosse." Winchester was looking 
 its very best that evening ; it is well that the last 
 visit should have given so beautiful a recollection 
 to carry away. On Aug. 29, 1917, after a biographi- 
 cal notice of Arthur had appeared in the Times, 
 Mr. Joseph, an old Wykehamist, and Fellow of New 
 College, Oxford, wrote : " Will you forgive a line of 
 sympathy from a stranger, who didn't know him 
 much, but knew his great promise, and liked him and 
 respected him ? I was with him the night he left 
 Winchester to go across to France. He and Robin 
 Don were dining with the Headmaster, and I hap- 
 pened to be there too. I remember vividly how 
 cheery and high-spirited he was perhaps partly to 
 hide any sorrow at parting ; and I was struck too 
 with the way that his short time in the Army had 
 developed him already. And now both are gone. 
 Robin Don was reported missing on the Salonika 
 Front, and I fear there is practically no hope. They 
 were a delightful pair." 
 
 " June 22. Our orders to move on have not arrived 
 yet, and we are spending a weary time in No. 2 
 Territorial Base Depot Camp, a place populated
 
 i9i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 149 
 
 mainly by derelicts, who have for one reason or 
 another left the fighting line. ... A good many of 
 them belong to Monmouths, which as you know 1 
 have been thoroughly knocked about. My job so 
 far has been marching to and fro enormous fatigue 
 parties to the quai to unload ships crammed with 
 stores for the troops, a job which is not agreeable, 
 and quite wearying, as it is a good four miles of very 
 dusty road into the town. The men wear a most 
 remarkable variety of sloppy hats which make them 
 look very untidy, and of course their clothes are 
 fearfully and wonderfully dirty. In a place like this 
 I wish I were in the ranks ; everybody is continually 
 coming and going and the result is officers and men 
 are very far apart, and you don't get to know at all 
 what they are about, and as usual the men are to me 
 far the most interesting proposition. The place 
 swarms with Y.M.C.A. huts, which I would give 
 pounds to go into and make a noise in them ; con- 
 tinual entertainments take place to keep the men 
 cheerful ; at the moment a Tommy is playing in the 
 distance grandly on a fiddle ; but somehow we don't 
 get our share of this, and I feel quite out of touch 
 with the folk around me." 
 
 " June 21. [To Maurice Jacks.] I rejoiced when 
 I got your last letter. I have only been in this land 
 two days as yet, but God knows how good it is to be 
 
 1 A Welsh Territorial Division, including Monmouths, had been 
 stationed in Cambridge for several months.
 
 150 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 able to think of Oxford days ; I find it acts like a 
 first-rate tonic. I feel ignorant, and destitute of 
 real self-reliance ; but somehow once I get started, 
 I believe all will go well. Only this waiting about 
 will very soon demoralise me. Everyone is very 
 kind, but there are strange things to see even here, 
 and I believe most people who have been here any 
 time are heartily sick of it. Perchance we shall meet 
 before long ; in any case, you are the one person 
 whom I can rely on to send letters, and don't let the 
 chain be broken. I think continually of that week 
 last year, 1 and of those evenings more particularly 
 when we kept silence in our tents it was the best 
 thing the Club ever did. Freddy's last screed to me 
 was grand. 
 
 " Good-bye ; if anything is going to keep me from 
 betraying my trust in this turmoil, it will be the 
 memory of the best year of my life. Only it is a 
 grim prospect going to a battalion I know little or 
 nothing of, which has been here for months ; I feel 
 as if my men will be watching me with a very critical 
 eye, and comparing me with those who have gone 
 before. God grant that I may gain their confidence 
 in some measure. Well, this seems sentimental 
 stuff ; but it doesn't often get to the surface. God be 
 with you : and write." 
 
 "June 25. ist Cambs. Regt. Well, here we are. 
 I could talk for ever about this extraordinary and 
 
 1 At the Boys' Club camp in Warbarrow Bay.
 
 1915 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 151 
 
 quite unbelievable place, where you sit in a comfy 
 house, and go for a stroll into a large and flourishing 
 town, or else into fire trenches, according as you feel 
 inclined. . . . The situation is as follows : we are 
 on a large salient, and therefore no pressure can be 
 
 exerted till progress is made south at , and also 
 
 north, between here and . At any moment the 
 
 Germans could blow the town 1 to bits, but we should 
 probably reply by blowing - to bits, so they don't 
 do it. . . . So nothing happens ; and when they do 
 shell this place (which they haven't done since we 
 have been here) they don't seem to do much harm, 
 as they haven't got any really big guns about. . . . 
 We have just finished our period of rest, and are now 
 going up to start 8 days in fire trenches, and 4 in 
 close support, so you know where I shall be after 
 to-night. I haven't been into trenches yet, but we 
 were going with Saint 2 to have a sort of preliminary 
 look round just now, only at last the rain has come 
 with peculiar violence, so we have postponed our 
 going till the men go at 5, and may look forward to 
 a wet night to start with. . . . Our billet when in rest 
 is in a comfortable house with beds complete. . . . 
 So you may see that so far practically no signs of 
 war have come my way. I shall probably finish 
 this after we get up, when possibly there may be 
 
 1 Armentieres. 
 
 1 Major, afterwards Lieut.-Col. E. T. Saint, D.S.O. ; died of 
 wounds, Aug., 1918.
 
 152 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 something to say. Our journey from Rouen was a 
 slow business ; ... we crawled along in a lazy way, 
 and stopped for hours at various places. . . . How- 
 ever a comfortable first-class carriage with only four 
 occupants was trs agreable ; moreover at Rouen 
 there is an admirable canteen run by English ladies 
 of the very highest social standing. . . . The train was 
 a miscellaneous concern, full of details from almost 
 every regiment under the sun, very shabby, going 
 back to their units from base camps. . . . When we 
 arrived at our detraining station ... we had a cart 
 from the regimental transport to meet us entirely 
 devoid of springs ; ... it was a ten mile drive over 
 very jolty pave roads, and we became greener and 
 greener. There was a good deal of traffic and many 
 farms labelled with familiar legends, such as R.F.A. 
 Headquarters and so forth : also many field telephone 
 wires, and some motor buses splashed with dark grey 
 paint. Having arrived we had tea with the quarter- 
 master and transport officer . . . then we went out 
 at dusk to battalion headquarters, about mile from 
 German trenches in a chateau. 
 
 At this point I stopped and had tea ; then we 
 went up into the trenches, and it is now morning at 
 11.30, and already I am a wiser and I hope a better 
 soldier. I may as well come to the point straight off. 
 They started shelling with 4 inch high explosives 
 the farm just behind our trenches, at about 8 a.m. 
 Saint, Crookham and I went up one end of our
 
 i9i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 153 
 
 trenches, and watched the damage done to the chim- 
 neys ; every now and then one dropped a bit short, 
 i.e., just behind our trenches ; but so far as we could 
 see none fell on them, or near enough to do much 
 harm. And it was only when the shelling was nearly 
 over that we discovered that one had plopped pretty 
 straight into a dug-out, where some machine-gun 
 men were resting knocked the place to bits, killed 
 a lance-corporal (promoted corporal yesterday) out- 
 right, wounded another man in the head, elbow and 
 legs, and also Captain R. E. Sindall, who was walking 
 close by. He was knocked about pretty badly. . . . 
 I won't go into details, but clearing up ... was to 
 say the least disagreeable, and I don't somehow like 
 that sort of thing much. I felt utterly helpless, but 
 I think next time it occurs I shall be more likely to 
 be able to help properly. This was the first time we 
 had had any casualties for at least a fortnight ; I am 
 glad it should have occurred early on, as now I have 
 a little idea what I am in for. The night was quite 
 quiet. ... I shall certainly get unnecessarily fat 
 and lazy on this job. I don't believe it will be a bit 
 nice, but it has got to be done. People all say that 
 you get used to shells, so I expect you do, but the 
 first beginning isn't nice. Our trenches are highly 
 antiquated, having been dug somewhere about 
 September, and they have no attractions ; there is 
 a pond just behind which smells, and hosts innumer- 
 able of flies."
 
 154 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 Other casualties, one fatal, caused by a bullet 
 turned round to expand, others slight, occurred in 
 the next few days, and on June 29 he wrote to his 
 aunt : " The worst of these events is that they reduce 
 the numbers of an already depleted battalion, and 
 even the most slightly wounded man is sure not to 
 come back for at least six weeks, as he is inoculated 
 against tetanus, and sent back to the base and so on. 
 . . . What I chiefly want is an enormous library . . . 
 somehow the want is to have a great variety of 
 literature. But don't send it to me, as it would need 
 carting about. ... At the present moment a sniper 
 is making shots for the place where I am sitting, but 
 as there is an earth bank which is bullet proof behind 
 and my head is beneath they will either go over or 
 hit behind, so I feel secure ; but my nerves at times 
 still go shaky when there is absolutely no reason." 
 A field of waving corn in No Man's Land helped to 
 restore the balance of cheerfulness. It was suspected 
 of harbouring hostile working-parties, and provoked 
 rapid fire one day ; on another " serious consultations 
 were held over telephone with the O.C. who wanted 
 to put the artillery on to some more corn ; all of 
 which adds to the gaiety of life, considerably." 
 
 " June 30. We go into support trenches on Satur- 
 day evening probably ; officers there live in the cellar 
 of a large farm, and a spacious apartment it is too ; 
 there is a lovely garden attached with peonies and 
 huge white lilies ; it is not a place to stroll in, as it
 
 igi5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 155 
 
 is not exactly under cover, but you can make a speedy 
 collection of flowers for your dug-out if you so wish, 
 without much peril. My dug-out is a queer little 
 place, very low ; you have to crawl in ; inside there 
 is a raised bed of sand-bags and earth, which is quite 
 comfy, and a small table which some previous occu- 
 pant has covered with china flower- vases, which are 
 now full of roses, and also horrible picture post-cards 
 . . . which some day I shall destroy. ... It galls 
 me sometimes to think that the men have to do a lot 
 of tiring digging and so on, whilst we merely super- 
 intend. I suppose it is one of the penalties of being 
 an officer, but somehow you feel it more here than at 
 home, which is not what I should have expected. . . . 
 I have a great scheme to annoy the Deutsches in 
 contemplation, i.e., to tie a large alarm clock to the 
 wire in front of their trenches sometime by night, 
 set it to 6 a.m. or some such time. That might 
 persuade them to put their heads over the top. . . . 
 Whether I shall be allowed to carry it out or not I 
 don't know." 
 
 At 1.15 a.m. on July 6th I was rung up by an 
 official telegram saying that Arthur was wounded, 
 " degree not stated." The first post in the morning 
 brought the following happy reassurance from him- 
 self : " July 2. I am in theory and officially speaking 
 wounded and probably you will receive intimation 
 to that effect. But it is neither severe nor dangerous. 
 My right thumb has a small cut (capillary bleeding
 
 156 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 only) and the middle finger an even slighter one. 
 I was helping to construct a sandbag wall in a com- 
 munication trench (by the way I write left-handed). 
 We were on the top layer, and I thought we might 
 just finish it, as there was very little more ; only it 
 meant someone being slightly exposed, and a sniper 
 of peculiarly good eyesight picked off my spade. 
 I went down to the dressing station, got inoculated 
 against tetanus, and managed to over-ride the 
 routine which means going back to Rouen and pro- 
 bably sticking there. So I am back in the trench, 
 but probably for a few days I shall attach myself 
 to the company which happens to be resting, as in 
 case of attack I am going to be worse than useless, 
 as it is my right hand. I was a fool to do what I did : 
 but in a place like this . . . where the enemy is a 
 long way off, it is extremely difficult to judge what 
 risk is justifiable. But I acknowledge the folly of 
 inexperience, and I am only thankful that I paid the 
 penalty myself and did not get one of the men picked 
 off. ... In any case my nerves seem peculiarly 
 unaffected, and I looked quite the wounded hero 
 being carried off in a field ambulance motor. I 
 
 walked back, and the inhabitants of enquired 
 
 tenderly after me." 
 
 A sergeant on leave, visiting one of the officers of 
 the 2-ist battalion, said that Arthur had shown much 
 courage over this mishap, which was less slight than 
 he made out, and that many would have found their
 
 i 9 i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 157 
 
 way back to England for it. In view of Arthur's 
 often expressed distrust of his powers of endurance, 
 the following extract may be quoted from an account 
 of him written by the Vicar in the magazine of Arthur's 
 home parish, where several i-ist Cambs. men lived : 
 " Several testimonies have I heard of his untiring 
 devotion, fearless bravery and constant consideration 
 for his men, while he never needed to enforce his 
 commands by profane language." Various people 
 have spontaneously remarked to me that he seemed 
 peculiarly devoid of nerves, so that he must have 
 managed to repress outward signs of the searchings 
 of heart that vexed him." 
 
 " J u ty 4- My wounds are healing absurdly fast. 
 . . . This is a heavenly spot with an ill-kempt but 
 lovely garden, in which I have spent absolutely 
 peaceful times. Shells go and come, but rarely, 
 and an occasional stray bullet ; one even came in our 
 room last night but did no harm, and one forgets 
 those things. And it has been a good Sunday ; 
 with a church parade which was by no means a farce, 
 but almost reminded me of a boys' club service, and 
 this was followed by communion at bn. headquarters : 
 so we have had many luxuries ; this being the good 
 side of war-making. But the bad side is also in 
 evidence." . . . The bad side this time meant several 
 severe casualties, one of them fatal, among the men, 
 the death of Capt. R. E. Sindall, who was wounded on 
 Arthur's first day in the trenches, and the dangerous
 
 158 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 wounding of Lieut. Crookham, who came out with him. 
 Lieut. Crookham died in hospital a few weeks later. 
 " So the company is getting very much depleted. I 
 wish these spasms of excitement could be avoided, 
 but there is every reason to believe we did at least as 
 much damage ourselves, so possibly it was worth it." 
 " July 8. [To his sister.] The great question is 
 whether we are going to spend the winter here, and 
 I personally should say ' certainly.' The Kaiser 
 however says not, only I doubt if he will be able to 
 choose. There certainly is a humorous side to the 
 performance ; to have an enemy about a mile from 
 your front door continuously for nearly a year is 
 funny enough ; and when you think of the kind of 
 thing it leads to, you think it funnier still : e.g., not 
 far from here there is a train, which managed to get 
 as far as this place, and then got stuck owing to the 
 coming of the Deutsches ; it is still there, and what's 
 more, the guard is still with it ; the reason being that 
 so long as he remains on duty he is able to draw his 
 full pay of 200 frs. a month, but if he goes off he only 
 gets half pay ; so he remains looking after his train, 
 which has now got so rusty that it couldn't finish its 
 journey if it wanted to ; it has been there 12 months 
 now. ... I have asked George Brimley Bowes 1 to 
 present me with a pocket edition of Platonis Respub- 
 
 1 Major G. B. Bowes, T.D., Cambs. Regt., formerly Scholar of 
 Emmanuel College, Cambridge, had invited him to choose a 
 book as a present to take to the front.
 
 igi5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 159 
 
 lica, and I hope it will supply a want ; certainly more 
 or less solid literature is the greatest need. . . . 
 Well, one thing is quite clear ; war is a ridiculous 
 waste of time, and I don't like it. ... I feel some- 
 times quite like a new man at a public school, and 
 quite homesick ; this however not so much in the 
 trenches, where there is almost enough to do to keep 
 the mind occupied ; here there is nil. The next 
 time there is a big war I shall join the gunners, as 
 they have more material to use the wits on, and on 
 the whole less of the mess to clear up." 
 
 " July 10. There is a shop in where French 
 
 novels may be bought, and superior ones too, which 
 gets my patronage ; and I hope the Deutsches won't 
 drop a shell into it ; for my next trench spell I have 
 got ' Pecheurs d'Islande,' and one or two others 
 belonging to Saint ; also Homer and Virgil, which 
 are standing dishes, and the latter especially very 
 comforting ; to them I think I shall soon have to get 
 Shakespeare added. . . . We had a wonderful 
 sing-song in our back-garden last night, without the 
 slightest shadow of a musical instrument ; but some- 
 how it was remarkably good, and the men seemed to 
 have no difficulty in pitching their voices at all." 
 
 " July 12. Well, here I am again in the same old 
 trench, messing about in the same old way. My 
 finger, having healed in a way that the M.O.'s call 
 extravagant, is practically fit for duty. ... I am 
 now on full duty again, which is a great relief, as I
 
 160 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 find more work to do as I get to know my way about 
 the place better. ... I think the only principle to 
 go on in this job is to tell you all that happens as it 
 is, in no way mincing matters as I am too apt to do : 
 so you can picture an N.C.O. and five men with 
 myself as sort of foreman putting up a new wire 
 entanglement in front of our trench about 10.30 last 
 night, when by some cunning of the nether regions 
 the foemen spotted us, owing I think mainly to tin 
 pots which some one kicked and caused to rattle. 
 Whereupon at least one machine gun started full tilt. 
 Flop we all went, and stayed whilst the bullets 
 plopped about roughly in our direction ; one man 
 being hit rather unpleasantly in the leg ; soon they 
 stopped, and with one accord we began a retreat, 
 rather undignified I fear. They soon started again 
 and we flopped ; this time nothing happened amiss, 
 and they were as I expected content with what they 
 had done. ... Of course it was a small matter, only 
 50 yards to go, with one wire fence to negotiate, 
 but ... as a matter of fact I was considerably 
 frightened. Well, I don't keep a diary, and these 
 things have to go down on paper, or I forget them ; 
 so you will have to excuse them, as I couldn't write 
 them to anyone else, unless it be Maurice Jacks. 
 
 "As to that interpretership, 1 of course in a way 
 anything would be attractive which would mean more 
 
 1 It had been suggested that he might apply for one in Modern 
 Greek.
 
 i9i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 161 
 
 of the humorous and less of the wearing side of 
 warfare. All the same (i) the Cambs. regiment is 
 very short of officers ; (2) if the standard required of 
 interpreters in Greek is anything like that required 
 in French I should be quite useless ; (3) is it not true 
 that difficilior potior not lectio this time, but life, 
 and difficilior to be rendered ' uncongenial.' After 
 all I think that what brought me here was a desire 
 to become a little less irresolute, and a hope that I 
 might be more useful to the world hereafter. . . . 
 I seem to be getting very sententious, and it seems 
 absurd to say these things to you, because I believe 
 you can always guess what I am thinking of ; but I 
 must say it to some one." 
 
 " July 13. [To his aunt.] There is plenty to do 
 now. There are only two of us. I find myself on 
 duty from 12-3 a.m. regularly, and quite like this 
 arrangement ; . . . about 3 I become quite vivacious. 
 ... As for Sir John French's despatch, it openeth 
 the eyes, and the eyes not merely of those who were, 
 like myself, in England, but of those who, like our 
 battalion, were absolutely in the thick of it ; why the 
 Germans didn't go right through isn't clear. I hope 
 you observe the paragraph about two officers and 
 an N.C.O. of the Cambridgeshires, Hopkinson to 
 wit and Gill ; x . . . that feat certainly takes some 
 
 1 Lieut. E. H. Hopkinson, M.C., Scholar of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge ; wounded and missing, June, 1915. Lieut., afterwards 
 Capt. K. C. Gill, M.C., St. Catharine's College, Cambridge; wounded 
 same time as Lieut. Hopkinson ; killed while flying, 1918. 
 
 L
 
 162 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 beating, and I only wish they had known when to 
 stop. ... A very welcome gift . . . for my platoon 
 would be some half-dozen mouth-organs. They once 
 had some, but they are lost, and they need a release 
 from monotony. . . . Not more than is. each is the 
 proper price, and it used to be the case that 6d. ones 
 were better than shilling ones in the hands of com- 
 petent performers. ... A maxim nearly slaughtered 
 five of us putting up some wire outside the trench a 
 few nights back ; but only one man actually got 
 hit, and the next two nights we have been on the 
 same job and have now finished it satisfactorily." 
 
 " July 16. A letter has come from Cyril describing 
 the boys' club camp to which he went. . . . We 
 have been relieved by a K's army battalion, good but 
 blatantly inexperienced, and have shifted to a farm 
 the other side of the town, where we form divisional 
 reserve, and are living in five very schon fields, cover 
 being provided by waterproof sheets and tarpaulins 
 stuck upon sticks ; an absolutely heavenly arrange- 
 ment, and even the impending heavy rain I look 
 
 forward to with equanimity. The river is 
 
 within a few yards of us, and I had a glorious bathe 
 before breakfast. If all war was like this, I should 
 have nothing to complain about." " July 16. [To 
 his brother.] My main grumble with life is that too 
 much energy is spent in making officers comfortable 
 and too little in making men ; I can never see why 
 officers should have a dug-out each, and men one
 
 igi5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 163 
 
 between about four ; and personally I should find 
 it far easier and also more healthy to dig and mend 
 myself than to act as a sort of perennial foreman of 
 operations, at which I am very bad, being something 
 lacking in mechanical ingenuity as you may guess. 
 ... If you will invent a rifle grenade which will 
 carry more than 200 yards (the Bosches have) you 
 will earn my gratitude." "July 21. [To Capt. 
 A. V. Hill.] I think the most urgent need in this land 
 is bombs ; hosts of them, of all shapes and sizes, 
 and among them rifle grenades which will carry 500 
 yards like the German, instead of only 250 ; and if 
 you will set your mind to the construction of such 
 things it will be a lot of use. . . . Telescopic sights 
 . . . are most to be desired ; there was one at our 
 sniper's post in our first trench, which we made good 
 use of, but there don't seem to be any here." 
 
 ' July 18. Back to trenches again to-morrow after 
 4 days of heaven in the field, which would have been 
 better still, if it hadn't been for much rain, and violent 
 wind. . . . Yesterday afternoon I went for a ride 
 on a gee . . . and had a bathe which was remarkable 
 cold, as it had been vigorously raining most of the 
 day. . . . Certainly there doesn't seem the least 
 reason in the nature of things why the war should 
 ever stop ; but I suppose it will. . . . Church parade 
 is imminent, which is pleasant." 
 
 " J u ty I 9- [To Maurice Jacks.] I imagine by this 
 time that you are either in or about to enter this
 
 164 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 strange existence, whether it be here or in the 
 Dardanelles. ... It is an extraordinary business, 
 this. Our regiment are at a quiet spot, by no means 
 far from where J. S. Mann and Meyrick 1 are, I 
 gather. ... I find it a very strange feeling, living 
 always as it might be in the presence of death ; quiet 
 though this part is, there is always a leakage, both 
 of officers and men, and the strain in the trenches is 
 continuous. It is sometimes a little overpowering 
 to think that a small mistake on your part may mean 
 several lives lost. . . . But the training is wonderful. 
 I don't care if I never see a big attack ; the ordinary 
 uneventful trench work is full enough of incident, 
 and requires continual use of the wits, and I suppose 
 by degrees my innate cowardice will wear off. We 
 have some splendid men in the regiment, and by 
 degrees I am getting to know them. ... I see R. 
 Poulton 2 has left 50 to the club, which is good ; 
 what will happen next term ? I imagine financially 
 it could continue to exist ; but who is to run it is the 
 point I don't see daylight in. ... I think the lapsing 
 of works of this kind is the saddest thing of all in this 
 loathsome business ; there isn't time in the nature 
 of things for warring, when there is so much to do 
 of hard and constructive work. It sickens me to 
 
 1 Capt. J. S. Mann, Croix de guerre, Scholar of Balliol ; Capt. 
 M. H. Carr6, M.C., of Balliol College ; serving together. 
 
 1 Lieut. R. W. Poulton-Palmer, of Balliol College ; killed in 
 action.
 
 i9i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 165 
 
 see houses being knocked to pieces in a hopelessly 
 fatuous manner ; and I can't bear to think of the 
 ingenuity we put into this work of indiscriminate 
 demolition. My chief personal wish is that a/xws ye irws 
 I may live to see the end of it. Then indeed will 
 come a splendid time of real hard work, and more 
 
 Congenial work tOO. But Qsuv eV yovvao-i /carat. I 
 
 carry always a Virgil, Homer, and the Greek Testa- 
 ment, and intend to add the Republic ; this suffices, 
 with a sprinkling of novels picked up by the wayside." 
 ' July 21. Here we are in our new line of trenches. 
 ... I wish we could take over the piece permanently, 
 as it is interesting enough and the trenches, in 
 pleasant contrast to our last, are very well made. 
 The only other news is very sad in that yesterday 
 Capt. Keenlyside, O.C. D Coy., was killed by a shell, 
 
 whilst walking in the street of ; this was an 
 
 extraordinary stroke of bad luck, as they very seldom 
 shell that particular part, and that they should pick 
 off one of our very best officers seems cruel. . . . 
 Keenlyside was an Oxford man, and a most charming 
 person. . . . Our rest back in that field was great ; 
 I spent the enormous sum of 23 francs on a Rugby 
 football for the use of the company, and we played the 
 most violent game ; which we followed up with a 
 magnificent sing-song, attended by practically the 
 whole battalion ; this was a great success ; the men 
 wrote home next day that it was the best day they 
 had spent since they came out. . . . Then our march
 
 166 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 here was good we had a band of three mouth-organs 
 and a biscuit tin as drum, which created great excite- 
 ment. It was a heavenly evening, and with the ripening 
 corn all round us I think it was about as lovely a 
 walk as you could want." " July 24. [To his aunt.] 
 We never see a German ; by day they are much too 
 sensible to put their heads up, and probably mostly 
 go to sleep ; but we can see their parapet of sandbags, 
 which is rather pretty, as many of the bags are of a 
 pale blue colour. I believe I shall end my days by 
 taking a walk across, just to have a look out of mere 
 curiosity." " Aug. 3. The best of a three mile walk 
 to the trenches is the inevitability of exercise. We 
 are going on the bust to-night. I have arranged with 
 the Madame of the farm (I do it as the French scholar 
 par excellence] for a poulet with new potatoes, and in 
 addition a sweet she calls creme de Rome which she 
 waxes glowing in describing ; which, plus a bottle 
 of champagne presented to the company by the 
 C.O. 1 in honour of his promotion to the rank of 
 Lt.-Colonel, will be a wondrous meal ; the whole to 
 conclude with gallons of cafe au lait. I saw in the 
 paper that poulets in France now cost nothing less 
 than 8 or 9 frs. This one will be 3.50, and the lady 
 says she would be content with 3." "Aug. 6. I 
 sleep attired in blue silk on a mattress on the floor. 
 And incidentally, the dinner provided by Madame 
 the other night was wonderful, potatoes and beans all 
 
 1 Lieut. -Col. G. L. Archer, T.D.
 
 i 9 i5 FRANCE : JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 167 
 
 buttery and Frenchified and good. ... I am going 
 to try and get into touch with Marsh's boy scouts, 
 and find out what has become of them, they being 
 some of the best boys I ever struck anywhere. . . . 
 Shakespeare has discovered the only condition on 
 which England can be beaten, and very likely will. 
 Read the last speech in King John, and think of 
 coal-miners." 
 
 "Aug. 6. [To his aunt.] I don't believe I ever 
 expressed the thanks of a gratified company for the 
 mouth-organs. . . . The only drawback was the 
 infinite diversity of keys, but most men are unmusical. 
 ... I am in ' rest ' still ... a poor show, with 
 fatigue parties to find for digging purposes each 
 night, and a good hour's walk to the scene of action. 
 I had to spend 24 hours in a support trench also, 
 where to stand upright was undesirable, and dug-outs 
 non-existent. But it didn't rain, and I was very 
 comfortable, reading ' King John ' and ' Richard 
 the Second,' good, because they awaken dormant 
 ' patriotisms.' . . . Strenuosity is indeed lacking 
 and the result is unlocked for even I am getting fat. 
 Believe it or not, it is true. In a few months more I 
 shall perish of apoplexy. ... I believe . . . when 
 I do ask for books it will be ' Everyman's.' . . . Best 
 of all would be a quartet to play Beethoven and 
 Brahms to me." 
 
 " Aug. 6. [To his sister.] It is about my turn to 
 send a parcel, which I herewith do, being something
 
 168 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 trh chic, 1 as the (very charming) young lady from 
 whom I bought it said. The men send souvenirs, 
 why shouldn't I ? Inside is a card, scented, mark I ; 
 ... I chose the colour with great care. I think it 
 was the brightest of all. . . . We go up to trenches 
 to-morrow which will be good. ... I am embark- 
 ing on a thorough study of the doctrine of Holy Paul 
 a difficult art, with the bare text. Please send by 
 return a translation of I Cor. 4-6." 
 
 " Aug. 18. I don't a bit like recent performances 
 up Hooge way as apparently the battalions which 
 suffered most were the 8th and gth Rifle Brigade, 
 which are both full of Oxford men, and there is a 
 most egregious number of names well-known to me 
 in the lists, including of course Neville Talbot's 
 brother Gilbert. The country is full of New Army 
 folk, and Maurice Jacks is among them. He wrote 
 and demanded I should come and see him as he was 
 
 in , so I went thither yesterday, only to find his 
 
 battalion had left that morning, which was most 
 aggravating. . . . This battalion has got the most 
 magnificent collection of men in it, far better than the 
 majority of regulars one sees about. ... I have had 
 a most splendiferous copy of the Republic from Major 
 Bowes, which is lovely, with highly ornate inscrip- 
 tions about ' et in arte et in Marte,' and so forth ; 
 so with Pauline epistles, Virgil, Shakespeare, Homer 
 and Matthew Arnold, I am well supplied." 
 
 1 An orange silk handkerchief, embroidered with allied flags.
 
 i9i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 169 
 
 " Aug. 19. Let no man speak to me of an effete 
 British Army he shall be slaughtered and condemned 
 and killed and damaged in any way you like no 
 other body in the world except the German would 
 know what was good for the souls of the men do you 
 know what is happening well, a brass and wind 
 [? wood-wind] band has appeared in our field, calling 
 itself by the unemotional name of the 27th Divisional 
 Band, and starts with Mozart, played in a manner 
 heavenly ; now we have the very best and not the 
 worst of dance music. I suppose this would leave me 
 cold and critical in England but not so here never 
 did anything make me feel so much at peace with the 
 world. And before this I read the Republic in a mild 
 sort of way ; then last night I collected about 400 
 people in a circle, and we sang lustily, and very well 
 for a splendid half hour. The peace is perfectly 
 wonderful, and it wouldn't be as good as it is, were 
 it not for the presence of war ; which is, it is needless 
 to say, a parable, since no peace would be as good as 
 it is, if there were no strife about ; only strife should 
 not be so aggressively physical as it is in these parts ; 
 still it is good, very good for mind, body and soul ; 
 and I wish we could avoid the accidents which make 
 things feel horrid at times. 
 
 " I have started a slow but complete perusal of the 
 Republic, which suits amazingly. I wonder whether 
 (enter the mail with a ... letter from you . . .) 
 that great and wonderful work has often been made to
 
 170 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 stand the test of warfare, when all but the very best 
 
 seems bosh. How can read Tennyson these 
 
 days I don't precisely see. Your letter makes me 
 think it is nearly time for me to go hence ; poor 
 Balliol is having a horrid time, and the boys' club 
 the worst. I hadn't seen the news of Keith Rae's 1 
 mishap, and it is bad news indeed. Arthur had heard 
 that soldiering had no attractions for him, which 
 makes it sadder. I suppose you had heard me speak 
 of him ; he was a wonderful man, with an extra- 
 ordinary force of personality. I never met a man 
 who was more obviously and inevitably meant as a 
 leader of all sorts and conditions of men ; you could 
 no more avoid doing what he really wanted than 
 you could walk into a German trench in broad day- 
 light. He ran the club more or less single-handed 
 for two years or more, and I believe went thither 
 every night of term during the time. . . . 
 
 " The band plays still, but I question if it is now 
 as good as at first now it has stopped and the world 
 begins to grow less exalted but the evening is really 
 good and later on I shall bathe, which will make it 
 better. 
 
 " Man is a strange and perverse animal, yet I am not 
 sorry that I have been able to see something of this 
 most extraordinary perversion of all. It is a perver- 
 sion, but comes very near to being the opposite at times. 
 . . . Such sentimentalities must out now and again." 
 
 1 and Lieut. T. Keith Rae, of Balliol College ; killed in action.
 
 i9i5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 171 
 
 " Aug. 21. I saw yesterday that J. S. Mann is now 
 wounded, but I don't know yet to what extent the 
 damage comes. I am told it is necessary to keep 
 one's moral high for the efficient prosecution of war- 
 fare ; but it seems that there is singularly little to be 
 cheerful about, especially as they seem again to be 
 held up in the Dardanelles ; . . . anyhow moralizings 
 on such topics are out of place when writing a letter 
 that might conceivably fall into the hands of a censor. 
 . . . We had a very good brass band 'almost as 
 good as Christ's Piece' 1 as the men all said in their 
 letters home afterwards ; it exists simply to cheer 
 troops up on rest, being composed of ... men 
 culled from various regiments in the division, and 
 it actually played some quite respectable music. . . . 
 I have for my sins to-night got to play football for 
 the officers against the N.C.O.'s, an operation which 
 can only have one result, and not the one which is 
 best for discipline also it is bound to be exceedingly 
 painful such are the horrors of war. I have got 
 very much less unfit for service lately, what with 
 swimming, and a short run and physical drill before 
 breakfast insomuch that I feel quite reinvigorated, 
 to use long words. The state of my bank book it is 
 beyond my power to explain. I can't think the 
 standard ... is likely to be kept up as a monthly 
 income if so, it is a scandal. I have an uneasy 
 feeling that the overpayment of people like myself 
 
 1 An open space in Cambridge, where bands used to play.
 
 172 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 will be the ruin of the British Empire but it won't 
 be my fault." "Aug. 26. The last (at this point 
 the band starts, and we again begin to imitate Christ's 
 Piece) few days ... I have been a little out of sorts, 
 and have not enjoyed life at its full extent ; but that 
 is entirely a thing of the past ; . . . a long swim has 
 made me feel at peace with everything. . . . Also 
 I make an appointment to meet Meyrick Carre in 
 
 on Sunday, before we go back trenchwards, 
 
 which will be very good, and we will pretend we are 
 at Balliol. ... I still read St. Paul much ; he was a 
 remarkably efficient person, and we badly want 
 some one with his strength of mind about here." 
 "Aug. 29. To-day has been unsatisfactory ; (a) the 
 fine weather has at last thoroughly broken up, 
 
 (b) I walked into to look for Meyrick Carre, and 
 
 found instead a messenger to say he was unexpectedly 
 on duty, and could not be seen this being the second 
 time this has happened. I have also had a very 
 pleasant though something illegible (which was 
 unusual) letter from the Ihim [his sister] ; and I have 
 been making vain efforts to understand the second 
 epistle to the Corinthians, which is a good deal worse 
 than illegible. . . . Wood 1 has been made a captain 
 he is taking Saint's place as O.C. B Coy. Saint is on 
 leave, and I believe likely to stay in England ; Wood 
 is one of the very best." 
 
 1 Capt. E. R. Wood. M.C. and bar ; Scholar of St. Catharine's 
 College, Cambridge ; now I.C.S.
 
 i 9 i5 FRANCE : JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 173 
 
 " Sep. 4. Seaton was to-night mortally wounded 
 by a shell. This is grievous bad luck, and means not 
 only a captain but a splendid man, because one of the 
 most upright on earth, lost." " Sep. 6. I attended 
 Seaton's funeral to-day, which was very impressive, 
 and did me much good which may sound a strange 
 thing to say, but 'twas so." 
 
 " Sep. 10. My leave is due roughly in three weeks. . . . 
 It is obviously wrong that one like myself should get 
 leave so soon whilst many of the men who have been 
 out since February are still without it ; for all that I 
 shan't refuse it." " Sep. 12. Don't expect me home 
 ... till you see me. Much water has to flow under 
 the bridges ere then. Moreover there is every reason 
 to believe that we shall shortly indulge in a change of 
 scene quite a complete change. Were I the Pythia 
 I might be able to convey more information than I 
 can. . . . There will be a harbinger of the dawn 
 to wit, 2nd Lieut. G. A. Herman, 1 who will come first 
 and you may begin to expect me soon after he gets 
 back hither." 
 
 " Sep. 15. We are going on trek to quite another 
 part of the line (I don't yet know where, but it isn't 
 as far as I know a noisy part)." 
 
 " Sep. 17. We are in a farm some long way back 
 from the line. . . . This is a heavenly spot, the first 
 clean farm I have met in France. And the country 
 
 1 Of Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge, and aCambridge 
 resident ; missing, July, 1916. They arrived on leave together.
 
 174 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 is trh joli." " Sep. 18. The weather is absolutely 
 gorgeous, and we have had for two days nothing 
 whatever to do, so that the fields are asking to be sat 
 in, and . . . Plato to be read. You will see much in 
 French's last communique about artillery activity 
 
 S. of 1 which was exactly our neighbourhood, but 
 
 nothing damaged us. ... I went for a walk with 
 Lang just for pleasure one evening and got nicely 
 in between the two sets of guns quite safe as they all 
 fired over our heads, but noisy." " Sep. 22. We 
 have now waited about two days in this absolutely 
 gorgeous spot. I wish I could tell you exactly where, 
 but I musn't, and to-day we are going up nearer 
 probably it will be trenches in a day or two. I spent 
 a good day yesterday : after some very peace-timish 
 parades in the morning to fill up time, I got hold of a 
 funny rickety old boat and paddled about backwaters 
 of the river large marshy ponds and so forth with 
 big trees about them it must I think be rather like 
 the broads, being flat and sunny, except that the 
 valley has very definite ends to it, and there are big 
 rolling hills on each side, with enormous views, and 
 much chalk. The river in question is a famous one, 
 but I won't tell you its name. . . . The trenches I 
 understand are reasonably good, except for an un- 
 pleasant habit of mining, indulged in very vigorously 
 by both sides ; but for some strange reason the mines 
 usually fail to do very much harm when they are let 
 1 Armentifcres.
 
 i 9 i5 FRANCE : JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 175 
 
 off. ... I ended up yesterday . . . with a moon- 
 light bathe. . . . With me in the boat I took a 
 fishing rod with a worm on the end but never 
 anything more, which fact . . . didn't bother me 
 in the least. All of which is a very pleasant way of 
 spending one's time were it not that more and more 
 I want to get back to peace-time ways of life, with 
 plenty of books, and no ' station ' to keep up. It is 
 now almost exactly a year since I joined the regiment : 
 and I often think of the days when I used to turn out 
 for physical drill at early hours of the morning ; we 
 did some here yesterday, and I enjoyed it very much." 
 
 The ' ' famous ' ' river was the Somme. The division 
 was the first to take over this part of the line from the 
 French. 
 
 " Sep. 23 [To his aunt.] We have now moved away 
 from the region of ponds and fishing to a point much 
 nearer the trenches in a more or less deserted village, 
 which is much poverty-stricken, and very picturesque, 
 but, what is I fear more important, extremely dirty 
 having been left in a great mess by the last occupants. 
 . . . Last night I had a strenuous time ; the company 
 marched 8 miles in a very hot sun to arrive at these 
 billets, which we got to about 5.30 p.m., then at 7 I 
 had to take them up digging, and didn't get back 
 till about 2.30 a.m., which was hard work indeed. 
 The j ob we were on was an urgent one to wit, making 
 a trench habitable, in case the front trench is blown 
 sky-high, which seems likely. We are living a much
 
 176 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 less luxurious life than heretofore as (i) billets are 
 very dirty, (2) water is very scarce as we are up a hill, 
 and I believe in the trenches a wash is almost 
 impossible, (3) no shops to buy luxuries exist so we 
 live on Government supplies, and as usual in remote 
 parts these supplies are much less good than those 
 you get in more accessible places. Personally I don't 
 mind how much bully we have to eat, but the trouble 
 is that the men have an extraordinary prejudice 
 against it, and would rather have nothing at all. So 
 they will have to go hungry, and grumble corres- 
 pondingly, until they learn better. It is all to the 
 good that the possibility of over-eating is removed, 
 so I don't mind it a bit." 
 
 " Sep. 25. [To his aunt.] It is a horribly wet day, 
 and we are in a horrible billet just behind the trenches 
 a chateau that once was lovely, but now is in a hope- 
 less state of mess and decay, having had several shells 
 through it in its time. But the main horror is the 
 weather, and the strange muddle that seems to have 
 overcome the higher staffs ; whence it arises that we 
 cannot get settled down in trenches nor can we be 
 allowed to stay out of them in comfort : e.g., yesterday 
 I had two platoons to take up into first the support 
 trench, then this was cancelled in favour of the fire 
 trench, then this again was cancelled, and by about 
 tea-time we were out of the trenches altogether. 
 Now in this place there is only room for one company, 
 where two have to be, so some men are in impossible
 
 igi5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 177 
 
 sort of contraptions in the open air fortunately 
 however there are heaps of bits of galvanised iron 
 about, so most of them are in more or less watertight 
 homes. Heavy curtains and tapestry still exist in 
 the rooms, with splendid engravings in gold frames, 
 and the dullest part of what may once have been a 
 fine library ; and the whole has a quite incredible air 
 of frowstiness about it. The outside is very beautiful 
 and old, though not really ancient. Our guns are very 
 busy all round, but the Huns have so far submitted 
 meekly, and haven't replied ; if and when they 
 do, we shall know all about it, as it would take very 
 little now to knock down the remains of this place. 
 Such of the trenches as I have seen are interesting 
 and very well made quite unlike anything where 
 we have been, as this is an easy country to dig in, 
 and you dig down instead of building up so you have 
 dug-outs 20 feet under ground, mostly with brass 
 bedsteads in them and clocks ! Such is the luxury 
 of a certain nation. Only they don't get cleaned 
 every day. They are . . . most elaborate, only they 
 don't in all points coincide with our ideas about 
 things, but could easily be adapted and are certainly 
 safer than anything I have yet seen. ... It is quite 
 amusing to get into a country where conditions of 
 trench life are so very different to what we are used 
 to, and I don't believe it is any more perilous than 
 aforetime. It seems almost impossible to believe 
 that two armies should have sat within some ten or 
 
 M
 
 178 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 50 yards of one another for so long, but then every- 
 thing in this war is unbelievably strange. . . . One 
 badly needs more towns hereabouts ; there is an air 
 of poverty, ... as often in gorgeous scenery, and 
 great difficulty in buying anything at all." 
 
 " Sep. 27. Rain and nothing but rain. . . . But a 
 drying station for the men's clothes has just been 
 started, which is an improvement. . . . Winter 
 issues of clothing are urgently required also more 
 and more quinine. The men are beginning to go 
 down I fear with standing about continuously in pools 
 of water but this process of acclimatization will I 
 expect take place and probably the next spell of 
 weather won't be as bad. ... It made me laugh to 
 think of the Times' Military Correspondent . . . 
 saying that ' they say ' that it is raining I should 
 think it is. Four or five days now in continuous 
 succession. They still send us most admirable news. 1 
 . . . We may even have enough to ... occupy our 
 time pretty fully soon. ... I never expected such 
 really cheerful news ; and I seem quite ready to face 
 any number of casualties, if things really are going 
 to wake up, and the Hun is going to be made a bit 
 uncomfortable. ... I am becoming more and 
 more of a ' socialist ' although there is no chance of 
 displaying it here. But wait till we get home." 
 
 His " socialism " was not political, but part of his 
 anti-luxury campaign. 
 
 1 Concerning the Loos and Champagne offensive.
 
 i9i 5 FRANCE : JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 179 
 
 " Sep. 28. [To his sister.] Nowadays we have to 
 get our washing done, ourselves, as we are beyond 
 the region of mesdames ; my servant did a large 
 quantity for me about a week ago, but it has rained 
 ever since, so it hasn't got dry yet ; and fires are only 
 allowed with all sorts of restrictions round them, 
 owing to the undue proximity of the Hun, who isn't 
 supposed to know that this chateau is occupied, as 
 if he did he might feel inclined to knock it down, 
 which he has done, partially, already. And that 
 might be a bit of a nuisance. . . . Behold now the 
 papers arrive, and apparently the great push is known 
 ... so I may break silence. . . . We are, as you 
 will perceive, in the middle, between the two excitable 
 spots ; and I suppose the time may come when we 
 have to 'conform' till then we sit tight. In fact 
 that is the only point which sometimes entre nous 
 makes me think that it would be as well if we didn't 
 get on too well ! The men are all writing . . . that 
 they expect to be home by Christmas ; let them 
 write as it cheers them up." 
 
 " Oct. i. Weather improved. . . . We still . . . 
 await developments. I can't see how we can avoid 
 fighting, if it goes on properly, and being a patriotic 
 Briton I hope we shan't. One hears however that 
 we go into brigade rest very shortly, which the men 
 need, but by no means the officers, who are getting 
 quite demoralized for lack of work. The war is too 
 lazy a life altogether. I spent most of yesterday
 
 180 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 investigating the remains of the library of this place ; 
 which is not particularly interesting, being mainly 
 eighteenth century theology ; but I have found (and 
 looted) a very attractive Latin Grammar ; with 
 truly choice gender rhymes and so on, peculiarly bad 
 rhymes too, all in French. This shall come home with 
 me, if I ever get leave. ... Of course you realise the 
 heinous nature of my crime. There is also a dull 
 work on constitutional history in the days of Riche- 
 lieu, which was given as a prize for mathematics at 
 the Lycee Imperial d' Amiens in the year 1850 some- 
 thing. And works of people like Bossuet ; but no 
 modern literature at all. ... If ever it comes to open 
 fighting in these parts it will be quite good fun, as 
 there are heaps of hills and woods to make use of. 
 And there are more rats about them than in any other 
 spot on earth especially in the trenches. I went 
 yesterday to an extraordinary spot to wit an enor- 
 mous sugar refinery just behind the trenches, standing 
 by itself on the top of a hill. The sight of vast 
 quantities of most elaborate machinery all knocked 
 about and riddled with bullets was very comic and 
 you could even find papers lying about with lists of 
 ' amendes ' to be paid by employes who had come 
 late also heaps of coal, which is slowly being used 
 up by cold military gentlemen unfortunately you 
 can't go to it very comfortably by day, as you may 
 be spotted (although you do and we did). The place 
 is so big and solid that it would take a very heavy
 
 i 9 i5 FRANCE : JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 181 
 
 bombardment to knock it altogether down, but it is 
 now a pitiable sight. The mails have been a bit 
 muddled (because of lines blocked with excess of 
 Hunnish prisoners). ... If they leave us in our 
 chateau unshelled we will be very happy, but one 
 shell through the roof might at any time altogether 
 alter the complexion of things still, it doesn't 
 happen. Bossuet writes balderdash. Bonsoir." 
 
 " Oct. 2. The wars seem to progress pretty well, 
 but there are rumours of fabulous casualty lists, 
 probably true. Hereabouts they blow up mines in 
 a disconcerting way, but otherwise things are reason- 
 ably peaceful. . . . Assheton 1 and I have quite 
 decided to take this place after the war, resuscitate 
 the garden and then fit it up as a board-residence for 
 parties who would be viewing the battle-field a 
 fortune to be gained, especially if they do some straf- 
 ing here, as presumably they must some tune. You 
 
 and the Ihim will come, and to take her rambles, 
 
 which may be quite indefinitely prolonged, as the 
 country is wunderschon. It is proposed to make 
 ourselves a fire to-night, -with coal pinched from the 
 factory I was talking about ; there is a vast heap 
 of coal outside, asking to be taken away, only by day 
 the Hun is liable to look at you while you do it, which 
 is clearly to be avoided." " Oct. 3. My latest find 
 is Sully's Me'moires, ... it is great entertainment." 
 
 1 Lieut. R. T. Assheton, of Trinity College, Cambridge : after- 
 wards Major in the M.G.C.
 
 182 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1913 
 
 " Oct. 5. [To his nurse.] We have shifted to-day, a 
 ten-mile march, back to rest. . . . There has been 
 a tremendous argufying going on in here as we 
 shifted the one and only bed, and generally turned the 
 place a bit upside down ; so Madame came in, in a 
 fearful state of mind, complaining that the rooms 
 had been so admirably arranged before, and why had 
 we come along and upset them all, and so on, and so on, 
 nothing would calm her till at last she fetched the 
 interpreter along, who explained to her that all we 
 had done was to turn a bed the other way round and 
 shift a basin, and that we would put it all straight 
 again before we left ; so I think she was a little pacified 
 by this, and I hope she will put up with us she hasn't 
 spoken to us to-day yet however. The trouble is 
 that she keeps the house most fearfully clean and tidy ; 
 so she is fearfully particular ; however, being used 
 to getting into rows with tidy people, and being bullied 
 out of my life, I wasn't much worried thereby so 
 there, old woman : ever your loving but bad boy." 
 
 " Oct. 8. I have . . . done at least one good day's 
 work : having had to take a working party an eight 
 miles' march and then superintend their work under 
 an R.E. officer ... for 4 hours, and then march 
 home again time from 3 p.m. to i a.m. However 
 by some strange chance I managed to keep the men 
 cheerful, or rather they kept themselves cheer- 
 ful. ... I walked up a hill to-day behind the 
 village, which I hadn't been up before ; and the view
 
 igi5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 183 
 
 was absolutely wonderful, for miles and miles across 
 the hills with a winding river at the bottom and 
 yellow trees each side. It is quite one of the best 
 pieces of country I have ever seen I think. To- 
 morrow I hear we have a fumigation parade for the 
 destruction of lice. ... I fully expect to have 
 another all night trip to-morrow night this you must 
 understand is ' rest ' and as usual more strenuous 
 than ' work.' " 
 
 " Oct. ii. Behold me now in a bell-tent, and there- 
 fore very happy in the flats by the river ; for some 
 unknown reason they shifted us in the middle of our 
 so-called rest, yesterday afternoon, to a spot 7 miles 
 off, and a great deal nearer the place where we do 
 most of our work. . . . They are supposed now to 
 be busy painting our tents a beautiful grass green ; 
 but so far nothing has happened, and fortunately I 
 haven't any responsibility for the job ; so for the 
 present if the Hunnish aeroplanes chance to come this 
 way, they will find a very pretty target to point out 
 to their gunners, and we shall have to bunk. There 
 was a time when such things as tents wouldn't have 
 been allowed as close up as this, but we are in hilly 
 country, and by getting the right side of the hills you 
 can keep safe and happy enough. Another cheering 
 piece of news is that leave has started again, so with 
 any luck I may be home in under three weeks ... I 
 bathed in the pond one day . . . before breakfast, 
 
 V 
 
 very cold, and as it happened, I lost both my shoes
 
 184 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 in a bog on the way down ; wherefore, not again." 
 " Oct. 13. You may expect me home . . . quite soon. 
 ... I shall want to go to Newmarket certainly l . . . 
 It would be nice also to go to Oxford, but extravagant 
 of time, I think ; about 5 days clear it will be at 
 home. There is no news except of a censorable 
 nature, concerning a lecture by the very excellent 
 Major-General 2 who commands our division, to our 
 officers." Later we heard that the lecturer had given 
 very high commendation to the Cambs., and assigned 
 them instructional duties to troops more recently sent 
 out from England. 
 
 " Oct. 15. I leave at a sinfully early hour to-morrow 
 morning. This is so lovely I won't expatiate there- 
 upon." 
 
 Somehow Arthur and George Herman managed 
 to reach Cambridge about 11.30 on the night of 
 Oct. 16. The spending of the precious week was 
 eagerly planned. Newmarket was visited, and a warm 
 welcome from Colonel Heycock found there, but 
 Arthur could not get to Oxford, because a troublesome 
 boil on the foot necessitated complete rest for a couple 
 of days. He was, however, able to see his brother's 
 place of work at Kingsnorth Airship Station, before 
 returning to France from Victoria on the 23rd. His 
 sister, who had just entered Girt on College, was able to 
 
 1 To see the 2-ist Cambs. 
 
 2 Major-General G. F. Milne, afterwards Lieut.-General 
 Milne, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., D.S.O. ; G.O.C., Salonika Expeditionary 
 Force.
 
 iQi5 FRANCE: JUNE-OCTOBER, 1915 185 
 
 be with him every day, and one day he had with her 
 what he afterwards described in a letter as " that lovely 
 afternoon at Girton," in close companionship. In 
 London he saw Spencer Leeson, now working at the 
 Admiralty, after service at Gibraltar and at Ypres, 
 and Hubert Secretan of Balliol also at the Admiralty 
 who was unremitting in his exertions to keep the 
 Boys' Club going all through the war. Music filled 
 up every spare hour, culminating in an evening when 
 the Dvorak, Brahms and Schumann quintets were 
 played. 
 
 Among those who saw Arthur off was Jack Wootton, 
 two years later to be the husband of Barbara Adam. 
 This was their last meeting.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 FRANCE, OCTOBER 1915 JULY 1916 
 
 ON Oct. 24 Arthur wrote : "I write this in a large 
 cathedral city. 1 We have missed our connexion . . . 
 and consequently have to spend the whole day here ; 
 which is all right for me, but for the poor men a bad 
 fate, as there seems no good chance of their getting 
 anything to eat between now and about to-morrow 
 afternoon, and every chance of their having any 
 number of miles to march. ... I think the week 
 has been about the best I ever spent it was so 
 extraordinarily good to get right back into peace and 
 quiet again just for a little while, and I do hope you 
 liked it as much it was just lovely. I hope I didn't 
 spoil it by being grumpy and irritable ; I have a sort 
 of feeling that I did once or twice and there is no 
 excuse for it except the horrible topsy-turviness of 
 everything, which gets less and less tolerable as time 
 goes on. 
 
 " Don't let yourself worry I know you don't, 
 but the getting started again isn't pleasant. I will 
 
 1 Amiens. 
 1 86
 
 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1913-JULY 1916 187 
 
 try and write lots of letters, and if we have as little 
 to do as usual it will be easy meanwhile there is 
 always something to look back to when we were 
 playing those quintets it felt as though one could go 
 on playing them over and over again without ever 
 stopping ; without thinking of wars at all ; at times 
 like that we can think of people and feel that it 
 doesn't much matter if they are alive or not they 
 are still present with us. 1 
 
 " But you know what I mean, and it doesn't bear 
 writing down ; so I won't say any more, but when we 
 get back I will write another letter more for public 
 circulation, and let you know what our new trenches 
 are like. They turned out every single light on board 
 the boat when we started, so there wasn't anything 
 to do but to sleep." 
 
 In the course of the summer months Arthur had en- 
 dured the loss of very many school and college contem- 
 poraries, but what was uppermost in his mind when 
 writing this letter at Amiens was doubtless the death 
 of Capt. C. H. Sorley, 2 which had cast a shadow over 
 his leave. Charles Hamilton Sorley, son of Professor 
 Sorley of Cambridge, should have gone in 1914 to 
 Oxford, where Arthur hoped for fresh opportunities 
 of friendship. A year's difference in age, and 
 
 1 Cp. a letter written the day after Christmas, 1915 : "I ... 
 went to a communion service . . . and it made me feel very 
 much as though space didn't really separate." 
 
 1 Scholar-elect of University College, Oxford ; killed at Loos, 
 Oct. 13, 1915 ; author of "Marlborough and other Poems."
 
 188 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 a busy life at different schools had prevented 
 them from coming together as closely as they must 
 surely have done, had they not been torn asunder 
 at the moment when the community of their tastes 
 and aspirations was likely to find free play. 
 
 On leaving Amiens, Arthur and George Herman 
 " wandered for two days all over the countryside 
 looking for the regiment ; having found the same we 
 proceeded to march with it for three days westwards ; 
 i.e. away from Germany. Why, we don't quite 
 know ; but we thought for a while that we might be 
 going to the very latest in theatres of war l . . . That 
 however seems to be washed out, and according to 
 present rumour we seem to be sticking here for a long 
 while, as about 30 per cent, of this division got frost- 
 bite last winter, having come straight out from India, 
 and it is a disease that recurs easily ; whence it seems 
 quite conceivable that we are going to hibernate like 
 Caesar to sit in winter quarters whilst more recent 
 formations do the work." 
 
 " Nov. 2. [To his sister, after saying that for the 
 last two years he had had ' a kind of hope in him ' 
 that some day they might be able to work together 
 towards lessening the misery caused by wrong- 
 doing.] I think you know that I want some day 
 to go and live in a poor part of London, and see 
 what it is all really like ; and I have prayed that 
 it might happen, and that you would possibly be 
 
 1 Salonika.
 
 i9i5 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 189 
 
 able to come too ; and if this war ever stops 
 whilst I am alive (which I have come to doubt 
 very much), perhaps it may yet ; but at least, if 
 I am killed, I will now have mentioned the idea 
 to you. . . . Don't forget that at college by far the 
 most important thing is to do one's mugging, because 
 one is not after all old enough to do anything else 
 properly, and if you lose this opportunity of finding 
 out what other kinds of people are like by reading, 
 very likely another won't come, so you will be all the 
 less fitted to work well when the time comes. That 
 is what many ... at Oxford have not managed, 
 I think, to realise ; and don't make their mistake." 
 
 While the regiment was waiting to know its next 
 move, Arthur was detailed to attend a course of 
 instruction in bombs and bomb-throwing. It pleased 
 him to secure exercise by going 5 miles each way to 
 the class, and to learn the making and ways of bombs, 
 but, as he expected, an hereditary lack of aptitude for 
 throwing " inexplicable but I fear ineradicable . . . 
 a cricket ball always used to defeat me, and practice 
 doesn't improve " prevented him from becoming a 
 bomb-thrower ; " not surprising, but a bit mortify- 
 ing." 
 
 " Nov. 8. Woe is me though you won't be sorry ; 
 but the trouble is, that whereas the division is flitting 
 to a really new quarter vous savez it is only going 
 as four-battalion brigades consequently we are 
 dumped. . , . Personally I would have loved a jaunt
 
 190 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 to furrin' parts, because if you are going to make war, 
 you may as well make it. ... Please observe that 
 I don't mention either the name of my regiment, or 
 of the division. ... At present I mainly read, 
 re-read, and read again the Egoist, which is incredibly 
 fine stuff, and grows on you as you go on with it." 
 
 " Nov. 14. Futility truly the army is capable of 
 much ; but our present occupation appears to be one 
 of the worst, seeing that poor old A company is now 
 some 10 miles away from the rest of the battalion, 
 being detailed to ' pitch, dry and park ' (i.e. pack up) 
 200 tents, which have been put away by some one 
 in a wet condition and are therefore liable to rot, so 
 they have to be put up and then trust to luck that the 
 sun will come out and dry them ; which of course it 
 doesn't do, as for the last week and more it has rained 
 more or less continuously ; meanwhile we sit still and 
 look at the tents, hoping some day they will conde- 
 scend to dry ; . . . they are assuredly now a good 
 deal wetter than when we first started. . . . We have 
 had . . . the G.O.C. our division . . . round to say 
 good-bye to us before his departure to other lands . . . 
 and complimentary remarks were showered upon 
 us. ... Two battalions of our brigade are said to 
 have fought a pitched battle, because one was sorry 
 and the other glad at our departing from them. . . . 
 My platoon are living in a class-room of the village 
 school, and on each side of them at the proper times 
 the youth of the land carry on their studies rather
 
 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 191 
 
 disturbed I am afraid. I had last night an amusing 
 talk to my landlady (. . . she gives me a bed with 
 sheets) who was talking to two young men who had 
 been wounded very early on at the battle of the Marne ; 
 they abused their army's ways . . . just ... as we 
 do, and quite as vigorously probably also with about 
 as little foundation." " Nov. 16. We of A company 
 are still sitting here, in the vain hope of getting those 
 tents dry ; which is the last thing that is now likely 
 to happen, as it has taken to snowing with vigour ; 
 . . . meanwhile the regiment is getting further and 
 further away, and we are cut off, without mails 
 in or out. . . . News comes not but I am told 
 someone has got hold of a Daily Mail. . . . We are 
 going to try and persuade some A.S.C. folk to send 
 this off." The men kept warm with snowballing, 
 but Arthur was seized with a bad chill, and took to 
 his " admirable bed in the billiard room of a cafe*," 
 where he lay " reading the Republic hard, and deriving 
 therefrom much edification." By Nov. 20 A Coy. 
 had rejoined the battalion. The tents were left to 
 their fate, getting wetter and wetter with the snow ; 
 "so we got tired of looking at them, and some one 
 else wanted our billets, so off we went, and I shouldn't 
 be surprised if they are still standing there " (Nov. 
 25). Arthur was in a weak state, but soon recovered, 
 under the care of the regimental doctor. The ground 
 was covered with semi-melted snow, and Arthur 
 found that his usual passion for cold and discomfort 

 
 192 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 had largely vanished. " There are many French 
 soldiers about, who also look a bit cold and miserable ; 
 but on the whole both kinds seem very cheerful, and 
 our men have superb fluffy white coats. ... I am 
 suffering from bad boots, as much marching has 
 caused both pairs to go at once ; but ordnance shall 
 remedy that quick enough : ordnance shall also supply 
 coats fur and so forth, so there won't be any need to 
 be cold ; and your muffler is gorgeous. . . . We are 
 living ... in a house with an alarmingly querulous 
 old dame, whom we have conquered to become quite 
 pleasant, by means of deputing me to talk agreeably 
 to her, which I did with infinite tact for about an 
 hour, at the end of which we had got the room with 
 the fire-place which we wanted." 
 
 " Nov. 25. We have had a very amusing entertain- 
 ment, which served to cheer everyone up an ' entente 
 cordiale ' sing-song with a company of French en- 
 gineers, very lively folk, who are close by us : . . .it 
 was an extraordinary mixture of very well sung, but 
 poor and I think highly improper songs, sungby French 
 Tommies ; and English songs usually better, but 
 much less well performed. I got up and sang one 
 of the old friends, about the Dutch company, and it 
 seemed like old times. But the climax . . . was the 
 speech in which the Colonel brought the proceedings 
 to a close half in English and half in French . . . 
 amid vociferous applause." Here also was the great 
 pleasure of a visit from Victor Mallet, at this time an
 
 igi5 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 193 
 
 A.D.C., with much talk of " men and days that existed 
 before the war." " His job seems a very agreeable 
 one, though not for me, I am quite certain. Much 
 trouble is caused by generals who like and who do 
 not like cloves in their apple-tarts, and problems of 
 that order. ... I find that Hartley, the science 
 tutor and Junior Bursar of Balliol ... is in these 
 parts, being chemical expert to our army ; i.e. 
 manufacturer-in-chief of gases poison. . . . We are 
 leaving ... to go to a mysterious place called the 
 Third Army School. . . . Anything more distant 
 from warfare I can't imagine, and some of the brighter 
 sparks among our officers are beginning to try the old 
 game of applying for 'transfers' and so on but 7ra0ei 
 fj.d6os, and I have learnt to take things as they come, 
 and I don't think I am stagnating at all badly." 
 
 " Nov. 28. [To his sister.] You talk of courage 
 well, we had a violent discussion about many things 
 
 in this mess the other night. and , 
 
 if they get really roused, all maintain that it is the 
 natural thing and more particularly the manly thing 
 to go for your opponent which I vigorously denied, 
 but I think the main root unavowed of course of 
 my argument was an inborn fear of fisticuffs. . . . 
 Whence you arrive at ... a mighty truth ; to wit, 
 that a man's theories, even about such fundamental 
 things as what is right and what is wrong, are con- 
 ditioned in an enormous degree to put it at the 
 lowest by his general capacities physical and mental.
 
 194 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 To a weakling ... it is often extremely convenient 
 not to stick up for his rights and even more con- 
 venient, may be, to find comfort in the thought that 
 what is really due to his own weakness may also be 
 without much trouble attributed to a desire to con- 
 form to a Christian standard of moral conduct. 
 
 " All of which is cynical in appearance, but true 
 for all that and there is another commonplace, 
 whose truth I am beginning to learn by degrees to 
 wit how great is the gulf fixed between the experience 
 of one and another man. ... I never want to get 
 drunk for instance. . . . Yet heaps of people do find 
 it quite otherwise and contra, were peppermint 
 creams intoxicating, I should probably be a most 
 bibulous individual, whence it may be I think con- 
 cluded that my gross intemperance in the matter of 
 
 peppermint creams is just as bad morally as 's 
 
 lapses in the matter of liquor, which is a curious fact. 
 
 " So we come back to the circumstance that this 
 is a most remarkable world, made as a matter of fact 
 rather roseate from my point of view by the sudden 
 interposition of Maurice Jacks, billeted in a neigh- 
 bouring village ; who came with much news of the 
 ' chaps '* and made life very cheerful. It is ex- 
 tremely cold, but as I have now returned to a normal 
 state of health, I enjoy it and there is nothing what- 
 ever for me to do except to eat and sleep and keep 
 warm, and try not to afflict myself with the thought 
 
 1 Members of the Boys' Club.
 
 i9i5 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 195 
 
 of the extraordinary comfort we enjoy in comparison 
 with the men, who get about half as much to eat, as 
 they are far more dependent on rations and have to 
 sleep in very leaky barns. ... I read the Republic 
 when the noise in our mess-room is not too great, 
 and this may be some excuse for the nature of this 
 letter, which should just as well remain unread, if 
 you have sense in you and enough strength of the 
 mind." " Nov. 28. It is Advent Sunday but it is 
 difficult to realise it still my walk with Maurice has 
 made it different to most days." 
 
 " Dec. 2. This is indeed a funny war ; that is, I 
 suppose it is war ; but it isn't like any other I ever 
 came across. We have now arrived at the Third 
 Army training school. . . . Our life here promises 
 to be moderately strenuous but exceedingly com- 
 fortable strenuous, as they appear to be going to 
 put us through a good old peace time course of train- 
 ing, with physical drill before breakfast and all the 
 rest of it. But we are billeted on a cure . . . and we 
 have a large sitting-room, complete with electric light, 
 table cloths, napkins and a carpet, and every modern 
 convenience. It seems that we shall be here most 
 of the winter. . . . We have to supply orderlies and 
 fatigue parties and so on to help the school. . . . We 
 came here in motor buses, an enormous string of 
 them, not on our ten toes. I came on separately, 
 as I was left behind to settle claims for damages by 
 the troops in our last village : this was an amusing
 
 196 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 job with furious old women, trying to claim hope- 
 lessly large sums : it had been very cold ... so there 
 had been a good deal of wood burnt by the shivering 
 soldiery, which had to be paid for in some cases. . . . 
 I saw Maurice Jacks on three days ; ... we had 
 great talks of things new and old. I suppose we shall 
 go back to the wars some day . . . meanwhile we 
 vegetate and enjoy life ; we don't deserve such a 
 good fate, but somehow or another I am getting 
 selfish enough not to mind it much though it makes 
 me wonder sometimes if we are exerting ourselves in 
 this war as we ought. Good-night . . . these be 
 funny times for the likes of us." 
 
 " Dec. 10. We have been kept at it pretty hard, 
 with parades morning and afternoon too most days, 
 and lectures at the school, which we can attend in 
 the evening : they usually last more nearly two hours 
 than one, and there are often two, one before and one 
 after dinner. They are however extraordinarily inter- 
 esting, and most excellent as a means of keeping the 
 mind going ; e.g. we had four on the recent ' push ' 
 in September, two from infantry officers who were 
 there at different parts, one from an R.E., one from 
 an artilleryman : this with questions lasted two hours 
 and ten minutes." 
 
 " Dec. ii. Next week there is another course start- 
 ing, to which Fletcher 1 among others is going, so 
 
 1 Captain A. B. Fletcher, Exhibitioner of Gonville and Caius 
 College, Cambridge ; transferred to Indian Army, Jan. 1916.
 
 i 9 i5 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 197 
 
 I shall probably be left in charge of the company. 
 ... I rather hoped to go myself, but no such 
 luck." 
 
 " Dec. 16. I rather think this will reach you on 
 Christmas day ; so I am writing on that assumption. 
 I have no news, only a great desire to come home and 
 stop the war, and stay at home ; which becomes 
 particularly strong at times like these ; but a heap 
 of love to everybody has to make a poor substi- 
 tute. Wherefore I send the same, and won't 
 deprive the postman of his due. Good-bye from 
 your very loving yeyob [i.e. boy] who wants to 
 come home." 
 
 " Dec. 22. In the morning a French officer turned 
 up, who was in charge of some horses, passing through 
 here ; ... he has had lunch, tea and dinner chez 
 nous, and I have had to use my very best French for 
 a very long time ; . . . which has been a strain, but 
 he was very agreeable, and has gone to bed very 
 early. . . . One of our servants, being possessed of 
 a ready wit and a French dictionary, has a habit of 
 concocting an elaborate menu every evening for 
 dinner, in which he makes the plainest fare appear 
 magnificent ; whereat my French friend was quite 
 immensely pleased and complimentary." 
 
 From the middle of December, when Captain 
 Fletcher entered on the course of instruction at the 
 school, Arthur had the command of A company, at 
 first as a temporary measure, but as events turned
 
 198 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1915 
 
 out this was to be his permanent post. His mind 
 alternated between satisfaction at the increase of 
 work and initiative thereby demanded of him, and 
 attacks of diffidence at the thought of the responsi- 
 bility involved, should he retain the command after 
 the battalion should leave the haven of the Third 
 Army School. It is, however, clear that any feeling 
 of reluctance was mainly a more or less unconscious 
 insurance against disappointment, in case he should 
 have to hand over the charge of the company that 
 he loved so well to one of the senior officers who 
 seemed likely to return from England. The lectures 
 at the School continued to be a source of much 
 interest, especially when he found it " a very agree- 
 able sensation " to be gassed " by a Fellow and Tutor 
 of my own college, complete with latest pattern 
 helmets, . . . now O.C. gas and smells for the Third 
 Army." Arthur also revived his boys' club calling 
 of stage manager, and produced " The Area Belle " : 
 ' ' the policeman that is therein is dressed in the uniform 
 of the beadle of the local church, borrowed for the 
 occasion, with an immense cocked hat ; and all the 
 ladies of the place have been pressed into the service " 
 (as lenders of costumes) . At the second performance 
 " the policeman went sick, so I had to take the part 
 at mighty short notice ; I contrived to eat two full 
 tins of bully beef, and to upset the table on to the 
 footlights . . . which has caused some strafing from 
 the bosses, but not much." It is a matter for
 
 i9i6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 199 
 
 speculation how Arthur's figure accommodated 
 itself to the uniform of the Flixecourt beadle. 
 
 " Jan. 16. I have long talks with mine host (of 
 my bedroom, not of the mess-room of which the cure 
 is the owner . . .), who is the village schoolmaster ; 
 we discuss politics English and French, and every 
 other subject ; and I think the French are a good 
 deal better than we are at advertising their schemes ; 
 they had very attractive posters at the time of their 
 big loan splendid pictures of the civil holding out 
 a helping hand to the poilu ; and now my host has 
 given me some wonderful ' tracts for the times ' by 
 people like Ernest Lavisse, Emile Durkheim, Henri 
 Bergson and so on, which seem very good, well put, 
 and suitable for the democracy. . . . This village 
 contains an enormous factory, which belongs to 
 some folk . . . who make sandbags, woollen stuffs 
 and so on, and are fabulously rich, so everyone says ; 
 consequently they have built themselves every man 
 his chateau on the hills round the village, five in 
 number, all enormous, all ugly, and mostly very 
 much too big for their tiny gardens, one for each 
 member of the family. ... I am thinking of starting 
 a French class (by request) for my sergeants ; wanted 
 a French grammar, s'il vous plait. It will do me 
 good, if not them." 
 
 " Jan. 22. There is a faint possibility that I shall 
 be posted to the company ; I hope not, as the job 
 which is excellent in a place like this is too responsible
 
 200 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 when it comes to strafing as it will do, and I am quite 
 egregiously unfitted for it. I am now getting a good 
 deal of alarm out of my subalterns, as two South 
 African stalwarts from the 3-ist have come to the 
 company ; and they frighten me considerably." 
 
 [To his godson, aged 4.] "At present the Kaiser is 
 so silly that he won't let me come and see you, so I 
 hope you will be able to read this (can you read, by 
 the way ?). . . . My advice to you is ; don't grow 
 up till the war is over." 
 
 [To his nurse, about Feb. i.] "I am very sorry to 
 hear that your father is ill. He must be getting 
 very old I suppose ; and after all I am beginning to 
 think that not much is to be gained by long life in 
 these miserable days : it is very difficult to keep 
 cheerful somehow." 
 
 " Jan. 26. [To his sister.] I am getting very lazy 
 . . . and shall quite miss these days, when I become 
 a subaltern again and have to ride on my ten toes, 
 instead of having a very superior horse to carry me. 
 We had a funny performance on Sunday afternoon 
 in the shape of a sort of riding-school for company 
 officers which included going over some quite wild 
 jumps. . . . My pony is a particularly attractive 
 beast, even though it looks more like a donkey than 
 a respectable gee-gee. . . . Sometimes I have a long 
 argument with my host . . . about the end of the 
 war usually he is one of those rather hopeless 
 people who think that the Germans will have to pay
 
 i9i 6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 201 
 
 at the end for everything they have knocked to 
 pieces ; but he gets cornered, when you ask him the 
 price of Arras cathedral and Rheims cathedral and 
 the cloth hall at Ypres, besides the whole of the 
 towns. ... I found, like you, that after the first 
 term a college becomes a much more satisfying 
 thing ; and after the first year is finished even more 
 so. But I still, though reluctantly, believe that 
 young women are on the whole a stupid race so 
 are young men, but in a different way." 
 
 Arthur had perhaps for some time past been 
 conscious of a slight emptiness of heart. Though 
 he was never shy with girls of his own age, and very 
 sociable with young or old of both sexes, I doubt 
 whether he ever met with anyone whom he would 
 be likely to think of as a future wife. Once when 
 home on leave from Peterborough, he remarked on 
 the number of his contemporaries who were becoming 
 engaged, and declared that he was being left high 
 and dry. He commissioned his sister and myself 
 to provide him with a suitable young lady. The 
 chief requisites, in addition to graces and virtues in 
 general, were that she should be a good classic and 
 a good musician. 
 
 " Feb. 7. Much excitement has occurred, owing 
 to the vicious doings of the Hun at Frise ; which 
 is of course where we were at the time I was on leave, 
 and though I was never actually in them it seems that 
 the trenches taken are the same ones which this
 
 202 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 company then held. And further south where they 
 made another big attack, it was just . . . where the 
 chateau is, which I was going to take after the war ; 
 I am afraid that chateau has now ceased to exist, 
 and I am very glad the Latin Grammar was safely 
 rescued." * When Arthur met the 27th division 
 coming out of the trenches on his return from leave 
 in Oct. 1915, the French took over that piece of 
 line again. In the spring of 1917 the British held 
 it once more, and ousted the Germans from the 
 marshes of Frise ; they in turn were driven back 
 during the German offensive of March, 1918. All 
 regrets that Arthur had felt at remaining behind on 
 the western front vanished, when he found that 
 instead of advancing into Serbia the division settled 
 down into a prolonged residence in the neighbourhood 
 of Salonika. 
 
 Part of the work of the battalion at the Third 
 Army School was to give demonstrations of attacks. 
 On these occasions they seem to have acquitted 
 themselves very well. Once he wrote: "the generals 
 were very prominent features of the audience, and 
 I expect they will say that if the Cambridgeshires 
 can do a sham attack so well they ought to be able 
 to do a real one, and will act accordingly." And 
 again, a month later : " We had last week a busy 
 time, which ended in a great trench-to-trench attack, 
 attended by about 50 generals, who poured compli- 
 
 1 See pp. 176 ff.
 
 i9i6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 208 
 
 ments on our heads. We stay here another month, 
 then go back to the trenches, and I understand that 
 there is some competition among general officers to 
 get us into their formations, which is attractive." 
 Arthur's company specialised in showing, first, how 
 an attack should not be made and, secondly, how 
 it should. On Feb. 14 the anniversary of the regi- 
 ment's departure from England was celebrated, but 
 the regimental sports were literally washed out by 
 heavy rain. 
 
 " Feb. 19. I am beginning to love the company 
 very much, and I think they mostly reciprocate the 
 feeling at least they appear to. Only I am quite 
 certain they are much too intelligent not to find me 
 out in the trenches. My subalterns (it makes me 
 laugh to hear them referred to as such) are respec- 
 tively in order of seniority 27, 26, and 38. So I feel 
 juvenile. . . . They . . . seem to tolerate me sur- 
 prisingly. And the ancient . . . who was in the 
 Royal Marines and fought in the Boer war, and knows 
 all about soldiering he is most fatherly to me, and 
 . . . strafed me so horribly the other day, because 
 he said that his men were prepared to make the 
 greatest sacrifice of all for their country, and that 
 an ungrateful government had failed to provide them 
 with new boots, that I seized my hat and ran 20 
 minutes to the quartermaster with no result at all." 
 
 A few days later the battalion was on the 
 move to " quite another part of France . . .
 
 204 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 where hills don't exist," whither they had " a most 
 unpleasant march through snow and slush, after a 
 bad train journey." Arthur's leave was due ; and 
 again he was torn between desire for it and dislike 
 of privilege when " there are still quite a lot of men 
 in the battalion who have been out a year without 
 any leave at aD." " Is the riddle in working order ? 
 And has the Cesar Franck been obtained ? " he 
 enquired anxiously one day, following this up by the 
 announcement of his certain appearance in a day or 
 two, " unless the wind blows so hard that I can't 
 get across the channel." But the four other players 
 in the projected performance of the Cesar Franck 
 Quintet l had some five weeks longer for the study of 
 their parts, owing to the opening of the attack on 
 Verdun. The following was written about Feb. 26 : 
 " I haven't arrived all leave being cancelled ; the 
 reason will be discovered by careful perusal of the 
 papers ; suffice it to say that the Hun is a violent 
 and inconsiderate person." " Feb. 29 first fine 
 day for a fortnight. I am afraid my leave won't 
 come off just yet things is too lively. And so we 
 must take the best of it. ... We are very close to 
 the place where the regiment first made acquaintance 
 with France ; which pleases the men, though their 
 quarters are singularly dingy. . . . The C.O. told 
 me yesterday that I am going to stay in command, 
 and my captaincy will go through as soon as possible ; 
 
 1 See p. 79.
 
 igi6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 205 
 
 but don't address me as such till it happens." After 
 this we only hear of wishes " to remain a subaltern 
 a bit longer," or rather to return to being a subaltern, 
 when things had been difficult in the trenches. 
 
 " Mar. 3. [To his aunt.] I wonder if it snowed in 
 England on Friday, the day of our shift ; we had so 
 much that it seemed at one time doubtful if our 
 transport would cover the six miles to the station ; 
 but we got there, spent a miserable night in that 
 slowest moving of vehicles, a troop-train, and marched 
 another 10 or 12 miles the next day. I was glad, 
 as it was a change to have something not all beer and 
 skittles to do, and good for everyone ; in fact what 
 we really want now is a hard month in bad and lively 
 trenches, but it is long in coming." 
 
 " Mar. 5. [To his sister.] We had a communion 
 service for the first time since Christmas, which made 
 me feel comparatively pleased with life. I have 
 nearly, though not yet quite, ran out of good litera- 
 ture ; and I have just begun to want some more or 
 less serious work, preferably of a military kind, but 
 it is very difficult to say what at the moment. Good 
 books on military history are plentiful enough, but 
 all so big as to be unmanageable in this country ; 
 but if you happen to know any work on Napoleon's 
 campaigns, or some particular campaign of that 
 gentleman, which is of more or less portable dimen- 
 sions, it would be pleasant to have it. Or is the life 
 of Stonewall Jackson published in a smaller form
 
 206 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 than the usual enormous volume ? ... It is anyhow 
 quite time this war ended, if only to allow the British 
 officer to regain his old standard of sense ; in peace 
 time we used to despise the military profession, 
 because it seemed to do so little, and spend so long 
 over it ; but the way it got hold of rather stupid folk 
 and bullied them into becoming most admirable 
 leaders and consequently good men is very extra- 
 ordinary. One can't do it so well now-a-days, 
 because one hasn't the machinery. . . . We are 
 beginning to find ourselves a new home, in a new 
 brigade and new division, just arriving, to which 
 we and some other Territorial veterans are being 
 added." Meanwhile as the fields for miles around 
 were mostly under water, training was rendered 
 difficult, " and as it still rains or snows most days 
 I don't think any immediate improvement seems 
 very likely ; so we have another example of the 
 extraordinary effect of war in inducing compulsory 
 idleness of large bodies of useful citizens. The whole 
 proceeding is desperately negative ; all your work 
 being directed towards destruction, and a large 
 amount of time is spent in doing practically nothing 
 at all. But ... on the whole it is all right, so long 
 as you don't think too much of what one would have 
 been doing in these times, if one was allowed. I 
 suppose Greats ought to be coming off in the summer, 
 and I should know quite a lot of useless things I am 
 never likely now to know ; and perhaps even by this
 
 i9i 6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 207 
 
 time I might have decided on that mysterious 
 thing my ' future career.' ' 
 
 Some Balliol friends were found in the same brigade, 
 and this discovery gave great pleasure. After a long 
 spell of snow every third day, then followed by thaw 
 and a resultant mud " beyond conception horrible," 
 the sun came out, " and one sits out of doors with 
 perfect happiness." " Mar. 18. This week has been 
 mainly noted for an orgy of inspections by generals, 
 from the army commander downwards ; and on every 
 occasion our battalion got all manner of compliments. 
 We are I think becoming an exceedingly fine show ; 
 what exactly has caused it I don't know, but we 
 certainly are very good now-a-days. . . . My third 
 star is to date from January i, and may occur any 
 time now, save that these things of course never hurry 
 themselves." " Mar. 22. The book concerning 
 Napoleon is good and quite interesting as food for 
 the mind ; also we have collected in the brigade a 
 very admirable chaplain, who preaches good sermons, 
 which is also food for the mind. ... I suspect I 
 shall find myself immersed in theological argument 
 before very long. I think I may have told you how 
 the Army Commander inspected us this week 
 perhaps however I had better not say how humorous 
 the proceedings were, because it would be prejudicial 
 to good order and military discipline." 
 
 On the night of March 28-29 Arthur started on 
 leave, but for 12 hours he was held up at Boulogne,
 
 208 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 on account of the renowned blizzard that played such 
 widespread havoc with the trees in England. He 
 arrived unexpectedly in the small hours of Mar. 30, 
 at his aunt's house in London, where his sister and I 
 were at the moment. Some time before coming he 
 had written : "I shall make a try to get to Oxford ; 
 a visit to the boys' club would do me much good, by 
 reviving associations that begin to fade away." 
 And when he had thought that his crossing would be 
 to Southampton, he had hankered after a halt at 
 Winchester ; but neither hope was realised. He 
 sought out the Oxford and Bermondsey Mission, and 
 tried without success to see Mr. Marsh at Walworth 
 (he had gone to the wars), and the Bishop of South- 
 wark ; other friends in London he was more fortunate 
 in finding. The three quintet players in Cambridge 
 from outside the family, who had been warned to 
 hold themselves in readiness for any moment, were 
 summoned by telegram for April I. Arthur wished 
 to go home by an evening train on Mar. 31, but just 
 before the train was due to start, all the station lights 
 went out, and the passengers were ejected, in con- 
 sequence of a Zeppelin warning ; we had to find our 
 way back whence we had come. Arthur's disgust 
 at this interference with his plans was extreme : 
 " I shall go straight back to France," he exclaimed. 
 Early next morning we travelled home without 
 hindrance, and Arthur's brother arrived later in the 
 day on his motor bicycle from the mouth of the
 
 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 209 
 
 Medway, where the fall of Li5 in the sea, and the 
 transference of its crew to Chatham had caused much 
 excitement. Li5 had been one of the Zepps that 
 had thwarted us the night before. 
 
 The Cesar Franck Quintet was a supreme effort ; 
 Arthur, who took second violin, had never seen the 
 music before, but there was a prevailing inspiration 
 in the company, and the result was a concentrated 
 energy and fire that would not have been unworthy 
 of a rehearsed rendering. Two old friends, the 
 Dvorak and part of the Schumann quintet, were also 
 played that evening. During the next two days most 
 of the Beethoven violin sonatas, all those of Brahms 
 (including those originally written for clarionet), 
 I think all the six Bach sonatas with piano, several of 
 Mozart, and the Cesar Franck, Dohnanyi and Lekeu 
 sonatas were played through. Such an orgy of 
 music had never before filled the house. There was 
 also much singing. 
 
 Arthur once again saw the 2-ist Cambs., who were 
 then on the point of quitting Newmarket, to which 
 he travelled on the back of his brother's motor 
 bicycle. On the evening of April 2 another Zeppelin 
 warning roused his wrath ; the custom at Cambridge 
 was to lower the electric light to the glow of a 
 cigarette if there were Zepps anywhere south of 
 Yorkshire, and Arthur, like many others on leave, 
 took these disturbances of his comfort as a personal 
 affront.
 
 210 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 On April 4 return was made to London. The 
 violin went too and was there played for the last 
 time, and Carissimi's " Vittoria " sung with magnifi- 
 cent elan. Next morning about 7.30 the train left 
 Victoria, and so farewell. 
 
 He reached Boulogne at 2, to find that the train 
 for his army " left each day at 12.30 p.m. ; which 
 seems a bright and intelligent way of arranging 
 things." He secured the last bed at the British 
 Officers' Club, had a long walk on the hills, " which 
 made it feel quite like another day's leave," and 
 found a good Ian Hay novel to keep him going. 
 " It makes me feel envious to see the leave-boat 
 departing to-day, and I wanted to get on board ; 
 I have never spent such a real good time in all my 
 life, and I feel as though when I get settled down 
 again it will be possible to go about one's very dull 
 business with a good deal more zest than before. 
 I think probably these next few months are going 
 to be a good deal more strenuous than anything I 
 have yet done ; and it will be a bit anxious work 
 having to run a company with my unwarlike 
 tendencies. . . . But if we manage to get off with- 
 out heavy casualties I shall be happy enough 
 trenches are really very pleasant save for this, which 
 I can't stand. 
 
 " I tried when I was at home to stuff my pow with 
 as much good cisum [family word for ' music '] and 
 good poetry as possible, and it feels as if it would
 
 igi6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 211 
 
 last some time I don't think we wasted much 
 precious time, and the weather did its best to help. 
 I still look forward in a vague way to going back to 
 Oxford and doing my Greats, though I don't suppose 
 for a moment I ever shall ; but then it couldn't have 
 been that I should have spent a week quite like this 
 if the war hadn't happened in about another two 
 days I should have begun to wonder what was hap- 
 pening to my boys (they are mostly my elders, but 
 somehow I feel like the father of a family) so it was 
 perhaps a good thing it didn't last longer. . . . Now 
 I ought to write a birthday letter to the Pie. 1 Had 
 the course of the world been allowed to run differently, 
 I might have written another, to dear Father, 2 
 but it isn't any good to repine." 
 
 Arthur found the battalion being vigorously 
 shelled in trenches " heavies dashing about in fine 
 style." One of them slightly wounded Col. Archer. 
 Soon they moved to "a trench of inconceivable 
 absurdity, in the middle of a swamp, in which you 
 hang on to isolated built-up posts, from which you 
 can't move at all by day ; it is quite amusing, but if 
 one had casualties would be beastly, as you would 
 have to wait till night to evacuate them ; this hasn't 
 yet happened, I am glad to say." 
 
 "Apr. 24. We are now back, having arrived, after 
 relief Easter Sunday night and a very long march, 
 in a charming little village, which we reached about 
 
 1 His nurse. Born April 7, 1860.
 
 212 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 3 a.m. ; we sang Easter hymns on the march, but 
 we had a horrid Easter ; on occasions of this sort a 
 sentimental individual like myself misses the ordinary 
 ceremonies of civilized life. ... I am feeling at 
 present a great . . . satisfaction, as if we really 
 were doing our proper job now, and doing it pretty 
 well." " Apr. 26. I had a very peaceful birthday 
 yesterday, with very little to do ; mainly I spent it 
 lying on my back in the sun, and arguing with the 
 padre on matters connected with his profession. 
 The other good thing is that the authorities have 
 suddenly woken up to the fact that it is a scandal 
 that there should be so many men as there are in our 
 regiment, who have been here 15 months without 
 leave, and they are now sending them all home, by 
 fifties and more per day. And that is the very best 
 thing that conceivably could have happened." 
 
 " Apr. 16. [To his sister.] We sit and sun ourselves 
 in tin hats, which are not the most comfortable head- 
 gear in the world. ... I have been getting a suc- 
 cession of letters just lately from members of the boys' 
 club, which is good for the mind ; but for the first 
 few days after I got back it was peculiarly difficult 
 to persuade myself to do any work, which makes me 
 think that leave must be an evil institution." 
 
 " Apr. 27. [To his sister.] Easter Sunday I spent 
 in a reserve trench, rather miserable ; the sun came 
 out at the end of the day, and I sat on the parapet 
 after dark looking at the moon, which wasn't there.
 
 i9i 6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 213 
 
 . . . Personally I believe we ought to do more than 
 we do, but never mind. ... I think at Easter this 
 year I felt peculiarly lonely, very unable to get into 
 the spirit of the time ; it was a restless time ; and it 
 is on these occasions more particularly that I feel 
 the unnaturalness of this war. But it is perhaps 
 well that it should be so, and it cannot last for ever ; 
 so this shall stop." 
 
 About Apr. 30 he wrote : " To-day we have had 
 an inspection by a new Brigadier . . . and the 
 battalion was thoroughly ' strafed.' . . . The whole 
 proceeding probably did us a lot of good, and I don't 
 think it was badly deserved, though the subjects 
 of the strafe were comparatively trivial." 
 
 " May 6. I am living a very curious existence. . . . 
 Owing to the extraordinary amount of leave we have 
 got just now, to make up for time lost during 14 
 months, we are so short of men that I have had to 
 lend nearly all my men to companies in front, so I 
 sit back in a battered house in a very battered 
 village, and occasionally take walks to go and look 
 at the men up in the trenches. . . . This was a large 
 and very scattered village, and every house had a 
 red roof and multitudinous apple - trees ; but it 
 has been most methodically battered and also 
 fortified, and the consequence is very curieus. 
 There is also a hill here, which is unusual for this part 
 of the world. Our guns are being unduly obstre- 
 perous to-night ; such provocation the Hun won't
 
 214 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 resist much longer, and I shall retire to my home, 
 which is a very comfortable cellar. It is amusing 
 to be a sort of free lance such as I am at the moment. 
 Usually one (the Hun is starting, but quite a long 
 way off) gets a piece of line to look after and you never 
 move more than a yard away from it ; but now I can 
 go everywhere in the battalion line with quite good 
 pretexts." " May 7. This is in the nature of ' just 
 a line to let you know I am in the pink ' ; though a 
 trifle weary as my company is spread over an enor- 
 mous area. . . . Methinks England is awaking out 
 of sleep ; but somehow to get into trenches destroys 
 my confidence in the future, of which I am full when 
 we are out. I suppose we can see the muddles . . . 
 rather too clearly perhaps one couldn't do it better 
 oneself, yet certainly you think all the time you 
 could." ' 
 
 " May 13. I lost a man the other day the first 
 since I have had the company, and I am afraid I have 
 got very soft-hearted ; he was a boy of about 17 
 and one I loved very much. Presumably the war 
 won't last for ever, but av dpurreveiv is a diffi- 
 cult motto. ... As a matter of fact we had rather 
 more than our share of casualties . . . but one must 
 not repine. . . . The ' American ' [by Henry James] 
 has now arrived, and will do excellently well for our 
 next rest the book was very welcome, as I am now 
 short of literature. I find it impossible to read in 
 the trenches much ; there is plenty of work to be
 
 igi6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915- JULY 1916 215 
 
 done, and never any reason for idleness, because if 
 you aren't doing anything else you can keep men's 
 spirits up by talking nonsense to them." 
 
 In the next spell of front line trenches four 
 days Arthur's company had 14 casualties, including 
 a bad wound to one of his officers : " it is not a 
 very fearsome trench, but one where the Hun has 
 got the upper hand, and doesn't like to leave you 
 alone for more than five minutes at a time." After 
 he came out he wrote : "I felt a quite new hatred 
 of war and all its ways, and also an even stronger 
 desire than aforetime to get out of company com- 
 manding." But at the same time he felt that he 
 was gaining the confidence of his men, " and a time 
 like that is I think going to make them understand 
 me, and me them, much better. We stay here for 
 eight days ; . . . the country is beginning to look 
 quite marvellously pretty, and the sun is shining as 
 though it never would stop." 
 
 His mind was exercised at this time whether or 
 no to take a war degree at Oxford. He decided 
 against this course, for " I should like to go back to 
 the place if it were possible some day." Also things 
 military were for the next few weeks relegated to a 
 humble position in Arthur's letters, owing to the 
 vastly interesting event of his brother's engagement 
 and marriage in June, to a lady not previously 
 known to any member of the family. Naturally he 
 yearned to come home for the wedding, but did not
 
 216 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 feel justified in making a serious application for leave. 
 So the wedding-cake was eaten " with due solemnity 
 just before the beginning of the biggest battle I have 
 witnessed. . . . The company mess duly drank the 
 health of the bride and bridegroom in vin ordinaire, 
 but it wasn't like being at home. . . . Last night 
 we were on the edge of a biggish show, and the noise 
 was tremendous, but the result only the dislocation 
 of a few sand-bags, as far as we (A company) were 
 concerned. I got the wedding-cake by the way 
 just as I was issuing orders to some 20 excellent 
 men, which could only have meant their complete 
 destruction and an unpleasant business it was. 
 Anyway the eventuality in which they were to 
 operate did not arise, thank God." Of this incident 
 he also wrote to his sister, in a vein of admiration 
 for the company's exploits : " fortunately we got 
 the order cancelled (a big gun could do the job much 
 better) but not till all arrangements were made 
 and when I told my men it was cancelled they were 
 quite sulky about it." 
 
 " June 2. Verdun seems to get more and more 
 violent, but without much result : I can't help 
 thinking some one must crack soon : the really inter- 
 esting thing about the news from those parts is to 
 read whence they [i.e. the Germans] have drawn 
 the various divisions which are going there ; appar- 
 ently (I may say this, I think, because it has been 
 in the papers) they have taken away quite a number
 
 i9i6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 217 
 
 of troops (one corps in particular) from opposite us, 
 and that I think is by far the most cheerful piece of 
 news I have heard for some time, considering what 
 a healthy respect they undoubtedly have for us." 
 The loss of a good officer lent to him from another 
 company drew from Arthur once more wishes to 
 return to a subaltern's position, but he quickly 
 mastered his depression, and wrote on June n : 
 " We are getting on pretty well now, and people are 
 very kind, lending me officers and so on. . . . The 
 great art now-a-days for a company commander is to 
 manage his specialists I mean you have R.E.'s, 
 machine-gun experts, trench mortar experts, bomb- 
 ing experts, artillery experts, all too anxious to help 
 you ; the only difficulty is the presence of similar 
 experts on the other side of the field. And it requires 
 a good deal of courage I find if you want to strafe 
 the Hun in some special way, because you know it 
 will mean stirring him up, and may mean some one 
 getting blown up, and that some one will probably 
 not be yourself." 
 
 In this letter mention is made of the first appear- 
 ance of a new Commanding Officer. 1 Arthur's 
 respect and admiration were instantly aroused, and 
 his own diffidence led him to expect speedy deposition 
 from the command of A company. But his fears 
 lest he should be unable to reach the required 
 
 1 Lieut. -Col., afterwards Brigadier-General E. P. A. Riddell, 
 C.M.G., D.S.O. and two bars.
 
 218 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 standard proved groundless. The battalion, we now 
 know, was in the region of the La Bassee canal, and 
 anticipating, by " local attacks and so forth," the 
 opening of the Somme offensive further south. 
 Official communiques reported daily-growing activity, 
 and it was not surprising to find Arthur writing in 
 the following strain : " June 27. [To his sister.] 
 You may be guessing by this time that things are 
 not quite ' as you were ' on the Western front, and 
 we are likely to have some strenuous times ere long ; 
 but somehow I am beginning to feel full of a quite 
 extraordinary cheerfulness, and I firmly believe that 
 we shall deal with the Bosche ere long. And it is 
 quite time too. I don't know if you can realise the 
 incredible and grand magnificence of these times ; 
 but at any rate you can guess at it, and probably see 
 it more at least than I can, whose vision gets clouded 
 by the small worries of a moment ; any way it is 
 the only way to keep us going, because you begin 
 then to forget yourself and your own fears in a dream 
 of the future but this kind of thing is not worth 
 putting on paper. To come to earth, I am getting 
 a very great admiration for our C.O. a first-rate 
 soldier and a most excellent man, who inspires an 
 extraordinary confidence. ... I have now got 
 5 other officers and myself the sixth. ... So I am 
 becoming a terribly important personage ; but 
 becoming also comparatively accustomed to my 
 dignity."
 
 igi6 FRANCE : OCTOBER 1915-JULY 1916 219 
 
 " June 30. I am sitting in a dug-out, waiting for 
 the return of my valiant second-in-command, 
 Herman, from a rather tricky scouting expedition. 
 ... As you may guess the war is starting, and the 
 discomfiture of the Hun should proceed apace 
 anyway read the papers. Though we are nowhere 
 near where I conceive the real war to be ... we 
 are living in really interesting times ; the outstand- 
 ing feature is still the extraordinary power and com- 
 petence of the C.O." 
 
 Three days later there came word of a sudden and 
 most unexpected change of scene. " July 3. It is 
 a funny war behold me taking 5 weeks' holiday by 
 the sea in a wonderful chateau 1 by Boulogne I am 
 not sick or sad, but merely at a school the thing 
 in our army which corresponds to our abode during 
 the winter. Why I have been chosen to have this 
 luxurious peace I don't know, but I hope it may be 
 profitable. ... I am out of (i) writing-paper, 
 (2) literature something philosophic-theological 
 for choice, also novels, (3) breeches which I have 
 ordered, (4) boots which I am going to order, (5) I 
 could do here with my slacks you will find I have 
 two pairs, one elegant, one not so send the elegant 
 pair please. . . . Well this is peace indeed there 
 is one representative here from each battalion in the 
 army, nearly all captains ; and the only thing I pray 
 is that the Germans may be kind to my dear company, 
 1 Chateau d'Hardelot.
 
 220 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 which I get to love daily more and more. 1 I expect 
 you will gather that to us is not given the task of 
 pushing as yet we have been taking our full share 
 of the preliminaries, raids and bombardments ; the 
 last few weeks have been strenuous, but it is good to 
 feel a better man than the Bosche. It is a funny war 
 this and you may imagine me for a month, bathing, 
 basking, drilling and peering at England through 
 glasses." 
 
 1 On June .20 he wrote to his brother : " I ache more than 
 usual to come home ; partly because the war is getting too 
 violent, and partly because I want to see the lady ; but if I ever 
 do come home again, I hope I may have the honour ; meanwhile 
 good luck to you, old man ; it is often a wish of mine that you 
 could come and see us here for a bit, and learn how stupid 
 we all undoubtedly are, also incidentally what a grand thing 
 A Company of the Cambridgeshires is."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 
 
 " J u fy 3- I wrote you a hurried letter this morning 
 . . . now for another attempt. This is an absolutely 
 ideal spot for a rest (and I was beginning to feel that 
 I wanted one) our headquarters are in the huge 
 and semi -ancient chateau, and we sleep in now 
 deserted villas around. . . . The piano is good, and 
 we have found some one who can play ; and the com- 
 pany seems of a satisfactorily peace-loving kind. . . . 
 It will be I expect very pleasant only as I say, I 
 wish the men could have the same luxury. Bathing 
 is available by sea and in a lake ; and I hope to 
 renew the past by 20 mile walks on Sundays. . . . 
 The things they are going to teach us are things I am 
 very bad at e.g. bayonet-fighting and so forth. . . . 
 I would like another Henry James to read ; and, 
 as I said, some other literature of a more serious kind 
 I don't care what, but something in keeping with 
 lovely surroundings. Browning would be good, but 
 my edition is too good to dump. . . . One thing
 
 222 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 about this war is good, and that is the way one realises 
 the goodness of good things. I have been sitting 
 about to-day and drinking in the gorgeous sunshine 
 in a country of trees and woods and cows that have 
 not been blown to bits, and the effect is wondrous. 
 
 " Well, they give us rather early morning drill 
 here ; so I will go to bed with heaps of love from a 
 yeyob [family word for ' boy '] enjoying a quite 
 undeserved contentment. . . . I wonder how Maurice 
 Jacks is faring he should be in the very midst of the 
 struggle. You know we are a great nation, and at 
 last we are showing it. I think the way we are 
 gradually working things up . . . is quite splendid." 
 
 " July 5. [To his sister.] I now spend my life form- 
 ing fours, doing bayonet exercise, and physical drill 
 of a most strenuous kind, and in the intervals living 
 in what would be complete luxury, save for the 
 presence of at least 60 of my fellow-creatures, and 
 my inherent unsociability revolts at this. None 
 the less it is a wonderful existence, when one considers 
 what one might be now doing last night I bathed 
 in the sea, to-night in a lake, and I also propose to 
 read the Iliad through. Saturdays and Sundays 
 promise to be days of great happiness, as we then do 
 no work. . . . The actual work we do is as uninspir- 
 ing as most things military ; but it is also unusually 
 strenuous physically ; and of this I am most glad, 
 as I have got quite extraordinarily flabby during the 
 last year. ... By the end of the 5 weeks I may have
 
 igi6 FRANCE: JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 223 
 
 a mens sana in corpore sano again. This by the way 
 is the great doctrine of the modern British military 
 theorist that you fulfil all the conditions of the /caA&s 
 KayaOos, and the best way to do this on the physical 
 side is by Swedish drill and bayonet exercise on 
 Swedish drill they are all going quite cracked, and 
 more so every week. . . . Anyhow next to coming 
 home on leave this is as good a life as is conceivable. 
 I can't myself believe I shall be allowed to stay the 
 whole five weeks or that the first army will remain in 
 comparative inactivity all this time. . . . There is 
 quite a chance that this course might lead to per- 
 manent (i.e. for the duration of the war) employment 
 as an instructor in a school of this kind but I 
 wouldn't accept such a post before the company has 
 been wiped out, or some one else appointed to its 
 command. They have done some things lately that 
 probably every company does, but seem to me so 
 wonderful that I somehow feel myself a traitor to go 
 away even for this time. . . . 
 
 " Some day we shall all go and strafe the Bosches 
 as they do deserve ; and in thinking of that time it is 
 great to know that I have 130 men who with perhaps 
 half-a-dozen exceptions will do anything and go any- 
 where if you go too." 
 
 " July 5. [To his nurse.] To think that that . . . 
 brother of mine should find a young lady and set up 
 with her without first showing her to me ! What 
 with this and the great push here and the weather
 
 224 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 and what I am now doing these are indeed curious 
 times. ... It is quite strenuous . . . but on the 
 whole ... a good deal less strenuous than living 
 in a place where you never know from hour to hour 
 what you are going to be made to do next whether 
 it will be something you know how to do or not, and 
 so on. The trenches are getting everywhere rather 
 lively now-a-days, and though this would be all right 
 if one only had oneself to think about, it is rather a 
 job to have to think about 150 other people, because 
 you feel it is such bad luck on them if they get 
 knocked out through your ignorance. So I am not 
 at all sorry to be having a rest, and a good rest it is 
 in a most lovely country plenty of trees to sit 
 under, a warm sun, sand to dig in (only I haven't 
 got a spade)." 
 
 " J u fy 9- [To his sister.] To feel the wind blowing 
 from the sea ; to be able to walk and run among 
 real villages with decent folk to wish you good- 
 morning ; to sit on the top of a hill and see for miles 
 around the sea on one side and flourishing farmsteads 
 and woodlands on the other to find the old spring 
 returning to my legs and the old joy of solitude and 
 fast walking without any object save to see as much 
 as possible of the beauty of God's world these are 
 what my good fortune brings me to-day ; and this 
 rhapsodical balderdash is only the natural froth of a 
 mind bubbling with the beauty of an extraordinary 
 fine day whose happiness can be enjoyed unlimitedly.
 
 i9i 6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 225 
 
 "It is Sunday ; and there is nothing to bother 
 us no ridiculous military precision to interfere 
 and France is a big country, wherein it is possible 
 even for a soldier to get .far enough away from his 
 kind to be able to unbutton his coat and look untidy. 
 . . . There are times when the deadening nature of 
 the instruction . . . becomes quite appalling. . . . 
 But Saturday and Sunday we have alone : yesterday 
 afternoon I was in Boulogne, whence I walked back 
 with a man called Pearson a master at St. Paul's 
 and a tremendous runner : so we walked as if the 
 world depended thereon . . . partly on the cliff, 
 partly on the wonderful sand, and this after a tea of 
 patisserie, strawberries and ices. Then this morning 
 after a late breakfast I have wandered out alone, 
 with Homer, a novel, a pair of bathing-drawers and 
 a small amount of paper. I have wandered for an 
 hour or two and find myself now not far off Etaples 
 on the top of a rolling hill, whence you see countless 
 other such hills and the sea opposite to them. It is 
 a day when even the ugliest muck-heap would look 
 splendid, and this is a gorgeous country ; I believe 
 one would think so in times even of peace : inland 
 there are woods and flowers, everywhere there is corn, 
 and usually it is filled with the reddest of poppies ; 
 and one can find villages too where the hand of the 
 Englishman has not penetrated with its usually 
 vulgar effect ; the military Englishman I mean. . . . 
 
 " At times I almost wish this spot were not so
 
 226 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 good it gives me a fierce feeling of hatred of the 
 present bondage that is hardly to be borne and 
 there are times on parade when it seems impossible 
 to do what one is told. So probably I shall be badly 
 sat on before long, for general slackness, but . . . 
 sometimes . . . you begin to sympathise with the 
 socialist who wants to revolt against any and 
 every thing. Then too England is so absurdly near, 
 and I long to see Mrs. N. K. Adam, and to bathe with 
 more congenial company than one finds here. 
 
 " But it isn't any good to enlarge on these things, 
 and it is clear that a world so utterly awry as this is 
 but a passing stage of existence ; so one can keep an 
 interest in life ; and I still believe this is to last but 
 for a season. 
 
 " And in my case, while the Battle of the Somme is 
 still going on it is selfish to talk like this at all. That 
 show, as you may guess, has not gone entirely right. 
 . . . None the less . . . one may still hope that 
 Germany will crack before the winter. Then maybe 
 I shall come home, and the true business of life will 
 begin to teach men the beauty of the hill-sides and 
 the loathliness of the body and the lusts thereof. 
 Good-bye ... I do wish you were here." 
 
 " July ii. At last my post has completely arrived. 
 . . . And last night came the books and slacks. 
 The Baron's book 1 shall be returned; it has only 
 one drawback that I haven't the pluck to read it 
 
 1 The Mystical Element in Religion, by Baron von Hiigel.
 
 i9i 6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 227 
 
 in public, and my billet is uncomfy ; however this 
 can be got over in fine weather well enough, and it 
 seems to me exactly what I want, being interesting 
 and not very abstruse. We don't get very much 
 time as a matter of fact for general literature, so don't 
 send any more just yet ; present stocks with what I 
 have bought in Boulogne will just about last me. . . . 
 I must continue to let off steam about the war. . . . 
 I well remember sitting at Fontaine-les-Cappy x and 
 thinking what an extraordinary long way off Peronne 
 seemed to be ; and on another occasion peering in a 
 gingerly fashion over the top of a hill 2 behind the line 
 at Dompierre and the other villages round it. ... 
 Do you read the Times Military Correspondent ? 
 You may remember articles some long time back 
 after Loos, where he said you should go to work 
 slowly, make one short piece good and then start 
 again. ' Break through ' is done with ; we have got 
 to go on shoving, as the Germans went on shoving 
 at Verdun, and I verily believe if we keep it up for 
 three months it will all be over. Casualties are 
 enormous one can see that in Boulogne but some- 
 how that doesn't worry me as it has done in 
 the past. The papers seem to me magnificent 
 reading just because the whole lot of the alh'es 
 are working together. . . . Maurice Jacks is at the 
 base instructing drafts in gas and bombs. . . . 
 
 1 Where the chateau was, described on p. 176. 
 
 2 See p. 182.
 
 228 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 I am writing to him to-night. . . . What of Captain 
 Morgan, and Major Morton P 1 I see their names in 
 the list, and I should much like news of them. 
 
 " Well, I don't know whether it is the beauty of 
 the place that makes me so cheerful ; but somehow 
 I feel we are coming through this time, and nothing 
 more magnificent than the way we have collected 
 the men and the stuff could be imagined. I begin to 
 be really proud of our nation, when I think what the 
 difference is between our position now, and when I 
 first came out." 
 
 " July 12. [To his aunt.] I cannot help thinking 
 that with any luck we may this time thoroughly 
 defeat the Bosche. I may be too sanguine, but I 
 expect not. Anyway the casualties are going, ob- 
 viously, to be tremendous, and it is something of a 
 relief to think of Hugh and Wootton 2 and also Maurice 
 Jacks, who is at the base, as at any rate out of the 
 turmoil. . . . There is only one thing that could 
 conceivably make me feel regret at the end of the 
 war the break-up that is, of that excellent and 
 healthy organization, my company excellent because 
 of the great good feeling that pervades it. But it 
 
 1 Both of the nth Suffolks, a battalion raised in Cambridge- 
 shire; both wounded on July i. Major Morton died of his 
 wounds ; Capt., afterwards Major Morgan, was wounded again 
 very seriously at Vimy, 1917. 
 
 J A cousin in the ist Rifle Brigade, and the future husband of 
 Arthur's sister, in the nth Suffolks ; both wounded in the first 
 few minutes of the attack on July i.
 
 i9i 6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 229 
 
 is worth while indeed to be able at last to feel as I 
 do now absolutely fit. ... When I got here I was 
 really beginning to feel pretty completely weary of 
 life, and efficiency was just beginning to suffer in 
 consequence, so I was in no wise sorry." 
 
 ' July 16. I went to Boulogne yesterday, had my 
 hair cut, a hot bath, and another remarkably good 
 tea. The French nation must be upheld, if only for 
 its power of making little cakes. The place is just 
 packed (a) with drafts, who look extraordinarily 
 much better than the sort of drafts one had six 
 months ago ; and (b) with wounded, who come down 
 in shoals. But the news seems to get better and 
 better." 
 
 The curiosity of Arthur and the other officers under 
 instruction was roused concerning the historical 
 associations of the Chateau d'Hardelot. Arthur, 
 whose genius for mixing up facts was celebrated in 
 the domestic circle, caused much amusement by 
 writing to enquire, with regard to somebody's 
 suggestion that the chateau might have been the 
 scene of the Field of the Cloth of Gold (which it was 
 not), whether he himself was right in maintaining 
 that event to be a battle, and " was it under Henry 
 VII. or Henry VIII., or neither ? " We could not 
 at the tune find any mention of the chateau in 
 histories, gazetteers, guide-books or encyclopaedias 
 but have since learnt that there Cardinal du 
 Bellay was lodged, while conducting abortive peace
 
 230 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 negotiations between Henry VIII. and Francis I. in 
 1544, during the siege of Boulogne. 
 
 Meetings with two friends gave the keenest pleasure 
 to Arthur, while at Hardelot : Capt. H. A. Wootton, 
 brother of Capt. J. W. Wootton who became en- 
 gaged to Barbara Adam in the autumn of IQI6, 1 
 appeared " suddenly, as from nowhere," at the school 
 on a professional visit from England, and two Sundays 
 running, July 23 and 30, were spent with Maurice 
 Jacks. One of these days was " the best of tonics," 
 and the other " a marvellous day at deserted Paris- 
 Plage," where they discussed the problems of life 
 (see p. 112), and feasted royally and very cheaply 
 " at an enormous but almost quite empty hotel " ; 
 " an air of splendid festivity still hangs on the place." 
 
 " J u fy 2 3- [To his sister.] To be afflicted with a 
 sense of your own uselessness on these occasions is 
 not desirable, the assistance one can give to a nation 
 in times like these being governed mainly by con- 
 siderations of circumstance ; moreover the greatest 
 assistance of all from the point of view of people 
 placed as I am is that you should be able to keep 
 something of the arts and graces of peace-time alive. 
 . . . Homer I am reading still, but not quite so 
 much as might be, for the utilitarian reason that I 
 have other (larger) works, which if they are going to 
 
 were married on Sept. 5, 1917. Two days afterwards 
 he left for France, and died on Oct. n, of wounds received on 
 Oct. 9.
 
 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 281 
 
 be read at all must be read here, whereas it being 
 small can wait ; but as war-time literature the Iliad 
 seems extraordinarily satisfying, as it does so exactly 
 represent one's feelings on all occasions, in spite of 
 changes in the fashion of warring book vi. for 
 instance expresses most accurately the feelings of 
 myself at least, and I believe many others, when they 
 go home on leave, and everywhere it is the same ; 
 whence it comes that I get quite a new insight into 
 the gentleman's general greatness and sensibleness." 
 
 Of the Iliad he said again on July 26 : "it does so 
 entirely express the whole feelings of people engaged 
 in making war, and even feelings one would imagine 
 to be solely characteristic of this war ; . . . and 
 unlike other poets who write about war he is without 
 any delusions as to its pleasantness ; which shows 
 that he knew what it was." Also on July 30 (before 
 starting on his 8 mile walk to meet Maurice Jacks) : 
 ' There is a great peace abroad in the world to-day. 
 . . . And if you want to know in all essentials exactly 
 what it feels like to be walking or crawling about 
 between our trenches and the Bosche by night, 
 read the despised tenth book of the Iliad it's no 
 good saying it is bad, and if some of the learned 
 commentators would do some patrolling, they would 
 discover the merits thereof. And as usual he doesn't 
 imagine that it is pleasant ; which it isn't." 
 
 On July 26 he had " a letter from the regiment, 
 not too cheerful, but very enigmatical indeed.
 
 232 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 Apparently Tebbutt is wounded, but of this I am 
 not sure, so don't spread the story. Anyhow he 
 isn't any longer commanding my company." The 
 casualty lists soon showed that Capt. R. J. Tebbutt, 1 
 who had taken charge of the company in Arthur's 
 absence, was wounded. A few hours after this 
 happened there were serious losses in A company 
 and the battalion generally, and amongst others 
 Arthur's 2nd in command, Lieut. G. A. Herman, was 
 reported missing. This bad news caused a struggle 
 in Arthur's mind between distaste at the thought of 
 exchanging his beautiful surroundings for trenches, 
 and desire to have the welfare of the company once 
 more in his hands. On July 31 his time at Hardelot 
 was up. On his return he thought himself " only 
 more unable to live up to a proper standard than ever 
 of old," but he set to work with energy to put much 
 right that he thought was amiss. On Aug. 8 he 
 wrote : " We are still living a life of comparative 
 peace, and at the present moment I am in a reserve 
 trench that I know very well. Life is fairly cheerful. 
 ... I fear letters may get brief and dull for a bit, 
 but as much as in me lieth, they shall be regular." 
 
 This was the first obscure hint that circumstances 
 were about to change for the battalion. Two days 
 later Aug. 10 it was repeated, more emphatically. 
 " This letter is in the nature of a warning (also the fruit 
 of the enforced idleness of reserve lines) : the warning 
 
 1 Of King's College, Cambridge ; killed in action, 1918.
 
 1916 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 1, 1916 288 
 
 being to the effect that brevity of correspondence 
 or even absence thereof for considerable periods may 
 start from to-morrow. As I don't know the reason, 
 or rather the motive for the reason, myself, it would 
 be difficult besides improper to divulge same : but 
 suffice it to say that there is the usual diversity of 
 Rumour's tongue. The last Wykehamist ought to 
 be abolished, containing among other things much 
 too long a casualty list " : here follows a sadly long 
 string of names, including those of Geoffrey Smith, 1 
 and Guy Dickins : * "I am suffering from a bad 
 attack of trench torpor a disease wherein you have 
 very little to do, and a great deal of nothing to bother 
 you, and no energy for aught save sleep. So I will 
 stop . . . there is nothing to get excited or worretted 
 about at present." 
 
 "Aug. 13. We have been living a varied but 
 entirely peaceful existence (from the Hun point of 
 view only) these last days ; and I cannot say a word 
 about it. At the moment we are in a charming spot, 
 being worked fearfully hard, but at any rate regular 
 hours (long) are the rule ; and there are no guns 
 about, pro tern. I have got my work cut out to drill 
 a new ... lot of officers into shape [there were six 
 in all under him]. . . . Well, good-night, from a 
 rather tired boy, tired of the war and the folly of 
 
 1 Capt. G. A. Smith, Fellow ol New College, Oxford ; a dis- 
 tinguished zoologist. 
 
 Capt. G. Dickins, Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford.
 
 234 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 mankind, which one notices rather strongly now-a- 
 days." 
 
 This letter roused a very strong suspicion that the 
 39th division was withdrawn for training, preparatory 
 to being thrown into the fighting in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Somme or the Ancre. The suspicion 
 steadily grew until the last remnant of doubt van- 
 ished a fortnight later. The next letter, dated " Aug. 
 16 (?)," is in a depressed tone : " We are now in a 
 land where nothing is to be obtained, a very beautiful 
 land, but lacking in conveniences " : e.g. the only 
 well where the men could wash had no cord. " Such 
 are the troubles of modern life, and there are many 
 of like character ; but by far the worst " was the 
 difficulty of reconstructing the company. " I hope 
 against hope to set things right ; it has been mildly 
 cheering to hear of pretty things said about me by 
 the army school in their report. . . . But the task 
 is a very uphill one, and I don't feel myself the man 
 for it ; yet I believe an improvement can be seen. 
 At least I hope so." 
 
 " Aug. 21. Life remains pretty strenuous, and we 
 remain in the same place as when I last wrote, not 
 that that will convey much to you. As a matter of 
 fact the life we are now leading is agreeable from my 
 point of view, as it is giving me plenty of opportunity 
 to put into practice what I have been learning, 
 without interference from Bosches at present. We 
 live in an atmosphere of great secrecy, and I can tell
 
 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 285 
 
 you nothing about our movements. ... I am begin- 
 ning now I think to get the company back into con- 
 dition, though there is still a good deal of leeway to 
 make up ; but they are certainly more cheerful than 
 when first I saw them. One very sad thing has 
 happened in the death of Corporal Meyrick, 1 the 
 great classic and equally great soldier who was one 
 of my very best N.C.O.'s. He was never strong, and 
 at the same time so tough that he would never give 
 up, with the result that he died suddenly . . . just 
 before I got back. ... I find very little time or energy 
 to spare. ... A horse is a great boon as I get off half 
 the necessary hard marching by riding it. The men 
 are getting very fit and hard, and I hope proper use 
 will be made of this fact. I had a letter the other 
 day from Leeson, who announced the strange and 
 rather fearsome news that Brabant is now with the 
 B.E.F. as a private soldier or lance-corporal." 
 
 "Aug. 2j. This eminently practical writing-pad 
 having duly arrived, together with a whole budget 
 of letters ... I hasten to celebrate it ; which I 
 made an attempt to do yesterday, while sitting for 
 three hours in a wood, waiting to come to this, which 
 is without exception the most extraordinary spot 
 I have ever discovered ; I should like to tell you all 
 about it, but it must not be. Anyway I am quite 
 seriously beginning to feel sorry for my opponent ; 
 
 1 Of Marlborough College ; Scholar of Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge ; Browne Scholar, 1914.
 
 286 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 and I find it difficult to realise that the British nation 
 is equal to the tremendous strength of punishment 
 it is giving him hereabouts. . . . Anyway the Hun 
 is an extremely brave and enduring individual, and 
 retains an infinite power of hitting back ; but for 
 sheer fatness and beef I never saw the likes of our 
 people in these parts ... At the moment I feel 
 more like Mr. Beach Thomas 1 or one of those folk 
 than anyone else ; my dwelling being on the top of 
 a hill whence I overlook all the land of war I mean 
 of our particular war neighbourhood, and do not 
 imply that this particular spot is one frequented by 
 Mr. B. T. and his friends far from it. Anyway I 
 should probably puzzle you by talking, so good-bye 
 from a frivolous boy writing at 6 a.m." 
 
 " Aug. 30, 3 a.m. The weather is awful, the 
 trenches indescribable, and I think there are some 
 six of my men who are not absolutely soaked through 
 and through by rain. I am not one of the six. In 
 this country it is ' showery ' ; and the showers when 
 they come will in 10 minutes fill a communication 
 trench waist deep in water. I never guessed such 
 weather was possible. Anyhow the guns pound 
 away incessantly, night and day, large and small. 
 At present I feel like a spectator on the edge of the 
 most inconceivably immense drama or cinema show 
 imaginable. I am quite good at imitating Mr. 
 Beach Thomas, and that not without sincerity. But 
 
 1- War correspondent of the Daily Mail.
 
 igi6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 237 
 
 my difference is that this position on the edge involves 
 for my wretched company an inconceivable amount 
 of very trying physical labours ; also the edge is apt 
 to shift. ... I have had a letter from Mrs. Brabant. 
 Lance-corporal B. (such I believe he is) is said to be 
 well. ... I suppose you saw . . . that Stephen 
 Hewett l has gone ; ' missing ' that is, which means 
 killed. . . . Last, if anyone says the great push isn't 
 getting on, don't believe them. If even we don't 
 make ground (which we do) the hammering is such 
 that those who don't get hit must either die of 
 exposure or of lack of food. . . . But I might very 
 well now be asleep ; so I will stop setting down 
 enigmas. Don't worry at all. You can't get beyond 
 fate and we must as you say look forwards and 
 upwards." On the same day he wrote to his nurse : 
 " I am in a new part now, where we have not been 
 before ; and a pretty noisy part of the world it is. 
 That I don't mind, but the rain . . . has now got so 
 bad that even the guns have more or less dried up 
 for a time, as they can't see to shoot. ... It is now 
 quite late and I have no reason for not going to bed ; 
 so to bed, methinks, I will go, or rather to my little 
 heap of sandbags, which, fortunately, is dry, if 
 nothing more. Good-night . . . from a naughty boy." 
 On Sep. 4 the only field post-card sent home by 
 Arthur was despatched. The receipt of this suggested 
 that the battalion had been engaged in some of the 
 
 1 See p. 95.
 
 238 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 heavy fighting announced in the communiques as 
 having taken place on Sep. 3. We know now that 
 the battle took place north of Thiepval, near Hamel 
 on the Ancre. The Cambridgeshires were in reserve : 
 from the purposely vague account written by Arthur 
 and referred to in his letter of Sep. 10 below, and 
 from local newspaper descriptions allowed to be 
 published in 1917, 1918, and 1919, we gather that 
 the attacking battalions were driven back by over- 
 whelming artillery opposition ; that the Command- 
 ing Officer of the Cambs. Regiment realised that the 
 line was in danger of being broken " and without 
 waiting for orders advanced the Cambs. under heavy 
 fire and filled the gap ; order was evolved out of 
 chaos and the situation was saved. The battalion 
 had to stand up to extremely heavy shelling, but 
 was not dislodged " (Camb. Weekly News, Mar. 22, 
 1918). Half of A Company were in the trenches, 
 and half worked " in most cases for 16 hours at least 
 under trying conditions" "as additional stretcher- 
 bearers." " The evening before we were on a hill- 
 side : our officers said there were trenches, but we 
 couldn't see anything but ditches." " Our splendid 
 Commanding Officer " directed operations with one 
 hand and fed " hungry orderlies and subalterns on 
 lime juice and mixed biscuits with the other." " A 
 battle of this nature is bound to test the fighting 
 value of a regiment, and we can rest satisfied with the 
 comments our Brigadier was pleased to make upon
 
 igi6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 239 
 
 our work." These quotations are taken from two 
 contributions made by Arthur to the Cambridgeshire 
 Territorial Gazette, Oct. 1916. 
 
 " Sep. 7. Again we have I hope a few days' repose 
 after a most extraordinarily strenuous fortnight, 
 culminating on the 3rd in a big battle, in which we 
 took part, in the case of my company a rather sub- 
 sidiary part, but quite unpleasant enough. It has 
 been an extremely interesting period, some of it 
 horrible beyond description so I won't describe, some 
 of it rather amusing than otherwise ; and our regi- 
 ment . . . did everything it had to do (which was 
 it is true not a tremendous amount) quite well. I 
 feel greatly tempted to talk more than I should, but 
 mustn't. Anyhow my respect for the Bosche as a 
 sticker and efficient soldier has gone up, but as a 
 gentleman I think less of him than heretofore. Any- 
 way he knows quite well that it is better to kill than 
 to wound ; and maybe he should be respected for it. 
 It was a very enormous battle, but by no means 
 wholly successful, and I suppose probably these 
 shows never are completely so. But the whole 
 business was extremely strange to me, and as a sort 
 of introduction to the business of war as opposed to 
 sitting in trenches . . . quite good; only it didn't 
 make me think the job any less difficult or less un- 
 pleasant than I imagined. . . . We are now in a 
 wood, in tents and huts and at last it isn't raining ; 
 so life is very cheerful ; but it generally does."
 
 240 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 " Sep. 7. [To his sister.] It is time to write you 
 a letter but, though there is much to think about and 
 from time to time much to do, there is not very much 
 to say. We are certainly living an anything but 
 placid existence, and apart from the essential and 
 necessary monotony of a job like this which consists 
 of slaughter and destruction of all sorts, not a mono- 
 tonous life, seeing that we move about with great 
 frequency, work very hard and have startlingly little 
 rest. Rest we are supposed to be having now, but 
 the Bosche willed it otherwise at any rate for a while 
 last night, by shelling or trying to shell our place ; 
 he didn't hit it, but tents are not good shelter and it 
 made us mostly turn out into dug-outs (so-called) 
 close by. This sort of thing naturally does not 
 please ; but these are only minor worries. It is a 
 most unduly strenuous war this, and I don't know 
 whether or no you realise how violent it has just 
 lately become. The worst part thereof undoubtedly 
 is the callousness which you first cultivate in self- 
 defence, and then becomes a habit of mind and 
 develops into a very complete form of selfishness. 
 But September is now well advanced, and the 
 end of October ought to bring more leave. The 
 weather on the other hand becomes bad ; and 
 I have lost my mackintosh in the great war, 
 which is highly inconvenient. A new one has been 
 indented for on Bodger. . . . There is one thing I 
 want most terribly to say, but can't. . . . This is
 
 i9i6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 241 
 
 a most gorgeous countryside, but it wants mending 
 badly." 
 
 " Sep. 10. [To Mrs. Sorley.] I am writing on behalf 
 of a gallant youngster in my company, and I believe 
 known to you. His age is I suspect not more than 
 17 now, and he has been out some while, and though 
 he is an excellently sturdy youngster his nerves are 
 obviously not strong enough for the racket of this 
 existence, which is now-a-days more violent than 
 usual. The point therefore is that his parents or 
 guardian can write and claim him back, by pro- 
 ducing a copy of his birth certificate, only he 
 himself is apparently entirely in the dark as to 
 who his guardian is he has of course no parents. 
 So I wonder if you could make representations 
 in the right quarter and collect a copy of his 
 birth certificate, and get the thing done : he isn't a 
 fellow I want to lose, but I feel it partakes rather 
 of cruelty to animals to keep him out here just at 
 present. I hope all may be going well with you 
 and yours ; personally I am getting very weary 
 of warring." Unhappily this boy was killed 
 almost immediately, before any measures could be 
 taken. 
 
 " Sep. 10, Sunday. This afternoon I have been 
 really virtuous, and have written a tremendous lot 
 of gas for the regimental magazine and sent it off, 
 including in it an account of our last battle, as vague 
 
 as I could make it, and a comparison of this with 
 
 Q
 
 242 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 the Times special correspondent on Sep. 5 may 
 interest you somewhat. We are still in blissful 
 repose, but not for long ; and the weather as well as 
 the Bosche is very gracious unto us, so much so that 
 we have been having football and tugs-of-war and 
 so forth, which are very bon ; and to-night I shall 
 probably spend reading Homer. I am rather badly 
 off for the lighter forms of literature maybe a novel 
 or two would be welcome some time, but it doesn't 
 matter very much, as I can always borrow. We are 
 all feeling rather pleased with ourselves as the result 
 of the war, and I shall go up next tune with a very 
 great confidence in my gallant fellows. And the 
 C.O. is still extraordinarily good, especially in times 
 of war, and becomes more and more a delightful 
 man as the battalion grows more to his liking. I 
 find him always most affable and sympathetic. I 
 have a sort of sneaking idea that leave might start 
 again soon, in which case after another three months 
 I might get home. 
 
 " Your last parcel contained a very good novelty 
 in the shape of a tin of lamb and peas, which on being 
 undone was very good. And not long ago there was 
 some Harrogate toffee, which cheered me up after 
 the war. 
 
 " There is a serious drawback to me as a soldier 
 which has only just transpired, to wit, that spectacles 
 under an anti-gas apparatus become so misty that 
 I can't see a yard. So I was rendered entirely
 
 i 9 i6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 248 
 
 incapable for 3 hours the other night, 1 when our 
 delightful enemy gave us a few thousand of his more 
 poisonous forms of gas shell. That proceeding made 
 me really angry, because, though it did no real harm, 
 it made us feel very uncomfortable, and prevented 
 sleep at a time it was badly wanted. 
 
 " But this war seems always annoying, though at 
 present I feel greatly at peace with the world, so 
 good-bye." 
 
 With these words the letters end. On Sep. 12 
 the battalion went into the line again. On the night 
 of Sep. 15-16 a party from A company were sent to 
 bomb a German post on the left bank of the Ancre. 
 Lieut. Shaw, 2 second in command of the company, 
 was to do the bombing, while Arthur, remaining 
 near the portable bridge which had been thrown 
 across the river, waited with a covering party for his 
 return. Lieut. Shaw and his party were not able 
 to carry out their purpose ; when he came back, 
 Arthur ordered the whole party to retire. The two 
 officers were proceeding towards their own trenches 
 behind the men. What happened next is not clear. 
 Either both officers went to look for a wounded man 
 who was thought to be left behind, or Lieut. Shaw 
 
 1 In the magazine he mentions " the sad predicament of a certain 
 spectacled company commander rendered absolutely blind by 
 the smoke helmet he was wearing, who led his men round and 
 round in circles and finally lost them altogether " ; one of the 
 incidents of warfare that " serve to keep a sense of humour aJive." 
 
 2 Of Fitzwilliam Hall, Cambridge.
 
 244 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 went towards the enemy post again for some other 
 reason, and Arthur followed in search of him. Word 
 came that the two officers had been wounded. 
 Thereupon the Adjutant, Capt. Sir Guy Butlin, went 
 out with a stretcher and bearers to rescue them. 
 He reached Lieut. Shaw, who was lying close under 
 the German wire, about 20 yards behind Arthur, 
 bound up his wounds, sent back one man for more 
 help, and was then hit himself. So likewise was the 
 remaining bearer, who was just able to crawl back. 
 All night long heroic efforts were made to rescue the 
 three officers, especially by Lieut. Bradford, 1 Lewis 
 gun officer, who seems to have kept numbers of the 
 enemy at bay by his individual exertions, but daylight 
 came, and the attempts were perforce abandoned. 
 
 The following letter was received from Colonel 
 Riddell, dated Sep. 22 : " The War Office will have 
 informed you that your son was wounded and cap- 
 tured on the I5th inst. [? i6th]. He was seen by an 
 officer 5 (since wounded and captured), lying on the 
 ground slightly wounded. I do not think he was in 
 a position in which he might have been hit a second 
 time. Every effort was made to bring him in, but 
 no one could reach him. Those who tried were 
 wounded. Under cover of darkness, 3 an attempt 
 
 1 Killed in action, Oct 14, 1916 ; son of the owner of the house 
 where Arthur lived. 
 
 1 Doubtless Capt. Butlin, of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
 8 The next night.
 
 i 9 i6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 245 
 
 was made to reach the spot and bring in- your son 
 and two other officers. On reaching the spot where 
 your son fell, the patrol found that the Germans had 
 removed all the officers on two stretchers, which we 
 had abandoned during the day. 
 
 " I cannot tell you how sorry I am for you, and 
 how much I miss the services of your boy. He placed 
 his duty before all things, and I trust that God has 
 spared him to serve his country in other ways after 
 the war." 
 
 Hopes were high after receiving this letter, especi- 
 ally on account of the words " slightly wounded." 
 Yet from the first there was misgiving lest this con- 
 fidence might not be justified, for how could the 
 extent of Arthur's wounds be known, if no one could 
 reach him ? Stronger hope still was fostered by the 
 news, derived from a captured German officer, which 
 arrived officially some few days later, that Lieut. 
 Shaw was in hospital, seriously wounded, but doing 
 well, at Baumetz near Bapaume. Lieut. Shaw was 
 transferred to Cambrai ; he was allowed to send 
 post-cards, dated Sep. 20 ; but in January, 1917, 
 there came word through the American Embassy at 
 Berlin, and also through a Swiss Enquiry Bureau, 
 that he died at Cambrai on Sep. 27 and was buried 
 there, in the Porte-de-Paris cemetery, grave No. 1103. 
 
 Captain A. V. Hill, who wrote at once : " There is 
 not a man I know I want to see again more than 
 Arthur, or of whom I have higher hopes, or for whom
 
 246 ARTHUR INNES ADAM 1916 
 
 I have a greater regard " ; wrote again on hearing 
 that there were reasons for hope that he had been 
 taken into the German lines : "I suppose his new 
 protectors will put him on to the land to dig potatoes 
 and plough for them. I don't expect he will mind 
 this, as he loves exercise. What he will miss most 
 now will probably be his men especially if you can 
 manage to get letters through to him, and victuals 
 which even at home he seems urgently to require " 
 (the mess at Peterborough used to complain that 
 Arthur's voracity raised their bills unduly). 
 
 Exhaustive enquiries in Germany, and through 
 several neutral countries and America, have failed to 
 discover the least vestige of the fate of Arthur or Sir 
 Guy Butlin. The latter was thought to be more 
 severely wounded than Arthur, and may not have 
 survived to fall into German hands ; but in Arthur's 
 case there is no glimmer to lighten the impenetrable 
 darkness. 
 
 There we leave him, assured of his unquenchable 
 radiance. " Arthur defies description," wrote 
 Spencer Leeson : " one simply has the impression 
 of a very bright light." In 1907 an Emmanuel man, 
 writing from India on the death of Arthur's father, 
 said : "I feel as if a bright light had suddenly been 
 removed from my eyes." It was not without reason 
 that the friends of father and son found the same 
 words wherewith to clothe their thought ; yet the 
 light emanated from two very different personalities.
 
 i9i6 FRANCE : JULY-SEPTEMBER 16, 1916 247 
 
 In the words of Mr. Fort, of Winchester, Arthur 
 " had at once such power of temperance and humility 
 that he would have gone on ripening as a scholar 
 throughout his whole life. Such boys are not born 
 often and they cannot be replaced for us, who knew 
 them, when death takes them from us." Arthur's 
 last letter is indeed himself writ small. His love of 
 natural beauty, and of humanity, whether in books or 
 life ; his strongly-rooted affections and yearning for 
 home ; his admiration for those who excel ; his 
 hatred of a world plunged in strife and discord, 
 though not to bear his part when the call came would 
 have been the worst of misery ; all these appear in 
 the letter, together with his simplicity and the 
 humour that never deserts him. And at the close 
 there is the serenity of a mind attuned to the music 
 of God. If he seemed a bright light, of him 
 it may be said : " The spirit of man is the candle 
 of the Lord." It is idle to enquire what he might 
 have become ; let us sing Laus Deo for what he was. 
 And so we say to him " x a v > farewell, rejoice." 
 
 06T6ON A& 
 
 rdN MOYCIKON 
 
 &} 6TTTOHM6NON 
 
 rrpo'c TO K(\AdN. 
 
 PLOTINUS I. 3, i.
 
 NOTE 
 
 A WORD must be said about the later deeds of the " gallant 
 fellows " in all companies of the battalion, which would have 
 filled Arthur's heart with overflowing pride. Exactly a 
 month after his disappearance, the Cambridgeshires, along 
 with a battalion of the Black Watch, in capturing the 
 Schwaben Redoubt, performed what Sir Douglas Haig 
 called " One of the finest feats of the British Army." At 
 St. Julien on July 31, 1917, and all through the Third Battle 
 of Ypres they played a distinguished part. They fought 
 heavy rearguard actions in the south during the German 
 offensive of March, 1918, and thereafter without a day's 
 rest they checked at Voormezeele from April 25-29 the last 
 rush towards the Channel ports. By that time the 39th 
 Division were too much shattered to be re-formed and the 
 Cambs. were transplanted to the I2th Division. On August 
 8, in " the father and mother of attacks " the attack deemed 
 decisive above all others by General von Ludendorff 
 they captured the high ground west of Morlancourt, and later 
 the village. At Ep6hy in September they had to work 
 their way through the town by some of the hardest fighting 
 that they ever experienced. Finally, on October 12, by 
 taking part of Auby, they made a handsome contribution 
 towards the forcing of the Haute Deule Canal. In the latter 
 part of the war they and the rest of their Brigade, now all 
 
 248
 
 NOTE 249 
 
 East Anglian battalions, earned the highest praise from 
 Marshal Foch in person. From the Haute Deule Canal 
 they moved steadily forward in pursuit, until halted by the 
 Armistice near Bonsecours on the Belgian border. On May 
 21, 1919, the cadre came home to a joyous welcome. In the 
 four years and three months of its service in France 7000 
 men passed through the battalion. Casualties numbered 
 4700, or more than two out of every three men. It is pleas- 
 ant to record in conclusion that the splendid valour of this 
 territorial regiment was recognised by the bestowal of 
 decorations and mentions in the proportion of one to about 
 every twenty-three men. No battalion in the army can 
 have better earned its honours.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Adam, Barbara, i, 6 f., 33, 72, 
 144, 184, 208, 230 ; letters 
 * 35. 44> 64, 70, 83, 100, 
 108, 117, 122, 158, 167, 179, 
 
 l88, 193, 200, 205, 212, 2l6, 
 2l8, 222, 224, 230. 
 
 Adam, James, i, 13 ff., 22, 34, 
 
 211, 246. 
 Adam, Mrs. Neil, 215 f., 220, 
 
 223, 226. 
 Adam, Neil, I, 4 f., 13, 19, 24, 
 
 26, 30, 45, 57, 92, 184, 208 f., 
 
 215 1, 223 f.; letters to, 123, 
 
 162, 220. 
 
 Allen, Dr. H. P., 116. 
 Amiens, 186 ff. 
 Amos, 30, 32. 
 Ancre, the, 234, 238, 243. 
 Archaeological Society, 40, 57, 
 
 64, 67. 
 Archer, Lt.-Col., 166, 192, 204, 
 
 211. 
 
 Aris, Mr., 129. 
 
 Armentieres, 151, 174. 
 
 Asquith, C., 25. 
 
 Assheton, R. T., 181. 
 
 Auby, 248. 
 
 Aunts, 2, 15, 37, 75, no, 208 ; 
 letters to, 7, 39, 85, 95 f., 135, 
 161, 166 f., 175 f., 205, 
 
 228. 
 
 Bacton, 139. 
 
 Bailey, Mr. C., 77 f., 88, 91. 
 94 ff., 100, 162. 
 
 Bailey, Mrs., 94, 118. 
 
 Baines, F. J. T., 115, 150. 
 
 Balliol College, 49, 140, 164, 
 170, 185, 193, 207 ; scholar- 
 ship examination at, 56 ff.; 
 life at, 75-125. 
 
 Balliol concerts, 78 f., 89, 100, 
 115 f., 119, 123. 
 
 Barmaid, 90. 
 
 Barrington-Ward, J. G., 125. 
 
 Beaumetz, 245. 
 
 Belinda, 103 f. 
 
 Bell, Mr., 36. 
 
 Bembridge, 105. 
 
 Blore, Mr., 29. 
 
 Bonsecours, 249. 
 
 Boulogne, 207, 210, 219-232. 
 
 Bowes, Major, 158, 168. 
 
 Boys' Club, Balliol, 78 ff., 85 f., 
 90, 92 ff., 105 f., in, 115, 
 lijt., 120, 125!. ,129, 137, 150, 
 
 164, 170, 185, 194, 2O8, 212. 
 
 Brabant, Frank, 49, 52 f., 59, 
 64, 86, 95, 102, no, 235, 237. 
 
 Brabant, Mrs., 63, 237. 
 
 Bradford, Lieut., 244. 
 
 Brehat, 43 f. 
 
 Burge, Dr., 22 f., 25, 33 f., 38, 
 53 f., 127, 208. 
 
 Bury St. Edmund's, 133 ff., 
 136 ff., 141. 
 
 250
 
 INDEX 
 
 231 
 
 Butler, Mrs., 5. 
 Butler, Nevile, n, 70. 
 Butlin, Sir Guy, 244, 246. 
 
 Cambrai, 245. 
 Cambridge, life at, 1-21. 
 Cambridgeshire Churches, 41, 
 
 57- 
 
 Cambridgeshire Regt., 130-249. 
 Capel Curig, 106 ff . 
 Carr6, Meyrick, 95, 164, 172. 
 Carter, Mr., 35. 
 Cavalry ; see O.T.C., Oxford. 
 Cesar Franck Quintet, 79, 204, 
 
 209. 
 
 Chantry, 25, 32. 
 Confirmation, 34, 64. 
 Cooking, 13. 
 Cook Wilson, Prof., 83. 
 Coote, E. O., 61 f. 
 Cromwell, Oliver, 12, 48. 
 Crookham, Lieut., 142, 144, 
 
 152, 158. 
 
 Davies, D., 25. 
 Dawkins, Prof., 120. 
 Debating Society, Winchester, 
 
 48 f., 51, 57. 
 Derby, the, 143 f. 
 Dickins, Mr. G., 233. 
 Disney, Lt.-Col., 134. 
 Divvers, 94. 
 Dolomites, no, 113. 
 Dompierre, 227. 
 Don, A. W. R., 29. 
 Don, R. M., 29, 147 f. 
 Duncan Historical Essay, 60. 
 
 Eastleigh, 65. 
 Epehy, 248. 
 Etaples, 225. 
 Evans, Sir A., 87. 
 
 Fleabite, 140. 
 Fleam Dyke, 143 f. 
 Fletcher, Capt., 196 f. 
 
 Flixecourt, 193, 199. 
 Fontaine-les-Cappy, 176 ff., 227. 
 Fort, Mr., 53, 72, 74, 80, 147, 
 
 246. r -& 
 
 Fort, Mrs. and Miss, 69. 
 Forth_Bridge, 4. 
 France, journeys in, 4 f., 13 f., 
 
 43 f.; service in, 146-244. 
 Frise, 201. 
 
 German Emperor, 26, 66, 200. 
 German, trial of a, 62 f . 
 Germany and England, 55 f. 
 Gill, Capt., 161. 
 
 Girton College, 184 f., 189, 201. 
 Goddard Scholarship, 54, 70,. 
 
 72 ff. 
 
 Godson, letter to, 200. 
 Goodchild, Mr., 10 f., 20. 
 Grantham, 140. 
 Gray, M., 65 f. 
 Greats, 57, 121 f., 206, 211. 
 Greece, journey in, iigff. 
 Greene, W. C., 107. 
 
 Hamel, 238 ff. 
 Hardelot, 112, 219 ff. 
 Hardy, Mr., 66, 71. 
 Hartley, Mr., 82, 193, 198. 
 Haute Deule Canal, 248 f. 
 Herman, G. A., 173, 188, 219, 
 
 232. 
 Hertford Scholarship, 103, 123, 
 
 125- 
 
 Hewett, Mr., 25. 
 Hewett, Stephen, 95 f., 237. 
 Heycock, Col., 131, 144, 184. 
 Heyford, 91, 116. 
 Hill, Prof. A. V.. 136, 243 ; 
 
 letter to, 163. 
 Holgate Prize, 33, 37. 
 Hooge, 1 68. 
 
 Hopkinson, E. H., 161. 
 Howell, Lt.-Col., 137. 
 
 Insurance Act, 67 ff., 90, 92.
 
 252 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ireland Scholarship, 86, 95. 
 Italy, journey in, no, 113. 
 
 Jacks, Maurice, in, 137, 160, 
 168, 194 ff., 222, 2271,2301. ; 
 letters to, 149, 163. 
 
 Jephthah, essay on, 3. 
 
 Jonas, Capt., 136, 140. 
 
 Joseph, Mr., 123, 147 f. 
 
 Keenlyside, Capt., 165. 
 Kenneth Freeman Prize, 37, 
 
 74. ?6. 
 
 Kensington, Mrs., 5 f., 10. 
 Kensington, Miss, i. 
 Kensington, T., 20 f. 
 Kerridge, Mr., 72. 
 King and Queen, visit of, 70 ff. 
 Kingsnorth, 184, 209. 
 
 La Bassee Canal, 218. 
 
 Lang, Mr., 174. 
 
 Leeson, Spencer, 19, 41, 52, 59, 
 
 63 f., 72, 80, 82, 121, 185, 
 
 235, 246. 
 Loire, the, 13 f. 
 London, sightseeing in, 26 ff., 
 
 46, 52 f. 
 
 Loos, 178, 187, 227. 
 Lynn, King's, 7. 
 
 McDowall, Mr., 147. 
 
 Macmillan, H., 97. 
 
 Mallet, Victor, 140, 192 ; letter 
 
 to, 140. 
 Malvern, 20 f . 
 Mann, J. S., 164, 171. 
 Marr, F. A., 137. 
 Marsh, Mr., 126, 167, 208. 
 Medal Tasks, 50 f ., 54 ff ., 61, 64. 
 Medley, J. D. G., 30 f. 
 Meyrick, E. E., 235. 
 Milne, Sir G. F., 184, 190. 
 Miracles, paper on, 101 f. 
 Moberly Library, 25, 32, 57, 71. 
 Mods., 77, 118, 120. 
 
 Moore-Stevens Divinity Prize, 
 
 54. 56. 
 
 Morgan, Major, 228. . 
 Morlancourt, 248. 
 Morocco, 15 ff., 55, 132. 
 Morton, Major, 228. 
 Murray, Prof., 79, 85. 
 Musical Club, 77. 
 Musical Union, 77, 82, 103, 116, 
 
 119. 
 
 Myres, Prof., 88, 99 f. 
 Mytchett, 103 ff., 124 f. 
 
 Newmarket, 141, 143, 184, 209. 
 Normandy, 4 f. 
 Norwich, 138 f. 
 
 Nurse, the family, 3, 5, 45, 211; 
 letters to, 182, 200, 223, 237. 
 
 O.T.C., Winchester College, 
 28, 36 f., 40, 57, 75, 129 ; 
 Oxford, 77 ff., 87, 90, 101, 
 103 ff., 119, 124 f., 127 ff. 
 
 Oxford, 56 ff., 63, 129, 137, 140, 
 148, 150, 184, 189, 208, 215 ; 
 life at, 76-125. 
 
 Oxford and Bermondsey Mis- 
 sion, 81, 96, 208. 
 
 Oxford Magazine, 92 1, 122. 
 
 Paris-Plage, 230 
 
 Pearce, Capt., 87. 
 
 Pearson, Mr., 225. 
 
 Peronne, 227. 
 
 Peter the Great, essay on, 60 f . 
 
 Peterborough, 131 ff., 135 f., 
 
 139 ff., 201, 246. 
 Phillpotts, Miss, 123. 
 Pickard-Cambridge, Mr. A. W., 
 
 86, loo, 123. 
 
 Pickard-Cambridge, Mrs., 118. 
 Pinsent, R. P., 114. 
 Pope Leo XIII., 10. 
 Porlock, 94 ff. 
 
 Portsmouth, 46 ff., 61 f., 106. 
 Poulton-Palmer, R. W., 164.
 
 INDEX 
 
 253 
 
 Pusey, Mr., 76 f. 
 
 Rae, Keith, 170. 
 Read, Mr. Jervis, 30. 
 Kendall, Mr., 23, 32, 53, 61, 71, 
 
 73 f., 76, 113, 146 ff. 
 Riddell, Lt.-Col., 2175., 238, 
 
 242, 244. 
 
 Ritchie, A. D., 124. 
 Robertson, Mr. M., 40, 57, 147. 
 Robinson, Mr., 67, 147. 
 Rouen, 148 fit., 152, 156. 
 Rowe, Capt., 142, 144. 
 
 S.R.O.G.U.S., 57, 118. 
 
 Saint, Lt.-Col., 151 f., 159, 172. 
 
 St. Eloi, 138. 
 
 St. Julien, 248. 
 
 Schwaben Redoubt, 248. 
 
 Seaton, Capt., 134, 173. 
 
 Secretan, Hubert, 126, 185. 
 
 Shaw, Lieut., 243 ff. 
 
 Sherborne, 64. 
 
 Sindall, Capt. R. E., 153, 157. 
 
 Sixteen Club, 67 ff. 
 
 Smalls, 63 f. 
 
 Smith, Mr. G. A., 233. 
 
 Somme, the, 175 ff.; battle of 
 
 the, 218, 226 ff., 234 ff. 
 Sorley, C. H., 187 f. 
 Sorley, Mrs., letter to, 241. 
 Soxithampton, 144, 146 f., 208. 
 Southwark, Bishop of, see 
 
 Burge, Dr. 
 
 Stars, interest in, 16, 18, 34. 
 Stephenson, J. E., 73 ff. 
 Stewart, Miss, 147. 
 Strike, tramway, 97 f. 
 Styria, 37. 
 
 Suffrage, Women's, 51, 63, 
 
 69 f., 82, 86, 92, 117. 
 Sumner, B. H., 60 f., 64. 
 Swedish officers, 32. 
 Sweeting, Dr., 30, 50. 
 
 Talbot, Gilbert, 168. 
 Talbot, Rev. N. S., 102, 168. 
 Tayler, J. G., 26. 
 Tebbutt, Capt. R. J., 232. 
 Thiepval, 238. 
 
 Third Army School, 193, 195 ff. 
 Totland Bay, 75 f. 
 Toynbee, Prof., 124. 
 
 Union Society, Oxford, 81, 83, 
 
 90, 92, 118. 
 Urquhart, Mr., 81. 
 
 Venice, no, 113. 
 Verdun, 204, 216, 227. 
 Voormezeele, 138, 248. 
 
 Walworth, 126, 208. 
 Warbarrow Bay, 15, 125 f., 
 
 139, ISO- 
 Warner Exhibition, 86 ff. 
 Winchester, 13, 74, 80, 92, 106, 
 113, 173, 208; scholarship 
 examination at, 18 ff. ; life 
 at, 22-74 1 last visit to, 
 146 ff., College Mission, 61 f. 
 Wood, Capt., 172. 
 Wootton, H. A., 230. 
 Wootton, J. W., 124, 185, 228, 
 
 230. 
 
 Wykehamist, The, 51, 57, 69, 
 233- 
 
 Ypres, battles of, 142, 161, 248. 
 
 GLASGOW : PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS BY ROBERT MACLEHO8E AND CO. LTD.
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed.
 
 A 000 634 995 5