I  hurried  back  here  to  write  this  little  letter  to  you
lest  I  should  miss  the  country  post.  Lady  O'Conor's
last  word  was,  "Mind  you  congratulate  dear  Mrs.  Brent
from  me,  and  say  how  much  I  liked  getting  her  letters
(I  shall  never  write  like  that  if  I  am  ever  eighty-five)
and  how  glad  I  am  to  hear  she  is  getting  quite  well  again.  "


John  Ayscough's  Letters  to  his  Mother         8i

Authors'  Club,  2  Whitehall  Court,  SJF

December  3,  1914

I  HAVE  been  dashing  about  all  day.
1.  To  the  War  Office,  where  one  had  to  wait  ages  before
seeing  anyone.
2.  To  Vandyck  to  be  photographed:  he  kept  me  an
hour  trying  all  sorts  of  positions.
3.  To  see  the  Cardinal  again  at  Archbishop's  House
by  appointment.
4.  To  get  luncheon.
5.  To  see  the  Editor  of  the  Times,  by  appointment,  in
the  far  wilds  of  the  City.
6.  Back  to  the  far  west  to  see  Bimbo  Tennant  —
who  was  in  his  bath,  just  come  off  parade,  etc.  —  he
came  down  to  the  hall  in  his  dressing-gown  and  we  had
a  long  chat  there:  he  is  not  a  bit  the  Guardsman,  but
just  the  same  delightful  boy  as  ever.
I  gave  him  a  German  bayonet  and  he  was  delighted
with  it.
Lady  Glenconner  telegraphed  from  Wilsford  to  ask
me  to  move  to  their  house,  but  I  told  Bimbo  I  was  going
down  to  Winterbourne  to-morrow  and  should  not  leave
my  present  quarters  for  the  one  night.  I  am  just  off  to
see  Mrs.  Drummond  by  appointment.
To-morrow  I  have  to  go  and  face  two  more  photog-
raphers, and  see  the  Cardinal  again.  I  hope  to  catch
the  3.30  and  to  reach  Salisbury  at  5:  which  would  bring
me  to  Winterbourne  at  5.30  about.
