“Mrs P. told me she was going to join a league that is being got up to pray for England, & wd I join it? Lane has by no means got to the point of praying for England, & spoke with feeling on the matter. I explained that I didn’t believe in hell, & so didn’t feel the case of the English people so pitiable, as to require us to pray for them, & Mrs P. was much amused.”
NLI Call Number: MS, 3582/35
NLI Catalogue Link can be found here
Date Range of Diary: 29th October 1918 – 11th September 1919
WEEK 58: 5th – 10th November 1918
Tuesday 5th. – I went to the hotel in the evening, & found Marie had the influenza & Sean Lane had had it & was convalescing, sitting by the fire in 6 with Mrs Power. There’s something very pleasant & simple & unaffected about him. He should make a nice husband for one of the girls. Mrs P. told me she was going to join a league that is being got up to pray for England, & wd I join it? Lane has by no means got to the point of praying for England, & spoke with feeling on the matter. I explained that I didn’t believe in hell, & so didn’t feel the case of the English people so pitiable, as to require us to pray for them, & Mrs P. was much amused. She asked did Mamma not believe in hell, & when I said no, she said she didn’t believe it, because Mrs Jacob has a great grip of things. Tash looked in sometimes; Kitty was at Coolayna. I went up to the Fianna
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hall, but found it closed; for the influenza I supposed.
Thursday 7th Nov. – I visited T. & D. in the afternoon, & got old Statesmen with Lynd’s articles on Irish history in them for my essay. They had a life of Carlyle with interesting portraits of him & his wife; she very pretty but hard looking. D. is going to give an evening on them with Janie Bell’s help in the spring.
Friday 8th. – I went to the Tech & found it closed on account of the influenza. There were constant funerals going on all this time.
Saturday 9th. – Mamma & I went to town in the morning & I visited Tash to show her stones for the pendant I am to make for Kitty. She chose the two biggest, a piece of jade & what I think is a chrysoprase; she has a great fancy for size.
Sunday 10th. – Mamma & I had each a letter from Tony, written the same day, but each in a separate envelope, which seemed extravagant. He had influenza
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but not badly, I think. T. & D. came to dinner, and D. told us she had a letter from Ben, saying he is seriously contemplating studying law so as to be a barrister, because barristering gets you easily into public life, which is what he wants. I can’t understand how a Sinn Feinidhe can go in for the law, nor I don’t think it wise to take up a profession for not for its own sake but because of doors it may open to you. Besides, I believe it is all Charlie Murphy’s influence. But they say there is very little scope for advancement in Universities. Professor Henry also advises him towards the law. [Extended blank space] Wylie & Connolly & I have our reports of the Convention at the club in the evening.