1894] The Asquith Wedding 14 1 



company he is interested in. Milner admitted he was an old rogue. 

 Afterwards in private Loulou told me that his father would probably 

 retire from public life at the end of the present Parliament. He him- 

 self intends to do so as soon as the Budget is through. 



" 10th May. — Margot's wedding day, showery and cold, but with 

 occasional gleams of sunshine. St. George's crammed to the ceiling 

 with the gayest world of the gay. It is the only church in London I 

 have the smallest romance about, but to me it is interesting and touch- 

 ing from the vast number of marriages it has seen (including my own). 

 It is old-fashioned, with nice comfortable pews, and none of the tawdry 

 Gothic rubbish they are fond of elsewhere. De Staal was there in the 

 same pew with us, and there were Rosebery and I believe all the 

 Ministers, and Gladstone, who came in late and was cheered outside, 

 and Arthur Balfour. Margot was pale, very pale, but firm and de- 

 cided, Asquith much smartened up. A great crush in the Tennant 

 house afterwards in Grosvenor Square, Margot surrounded by a crowd 

 of women friends. She drove away in a slatey-blue dress, an apple- 

 green straw hat and dark-blue flowers. 



" 18^ May. — In consequence of a talk I have had with Lady Lytton 

 I have written to Arthur Ellis on the subject of the Khedive's intended 

 visit to England. In it I said : ' When I was leaving Egypt the other 

 day the Khedive, whom I went to take my leave of, spoke to me of his 

 proposed visit to Europe, which was then not quite decided on, and 

 asked me to find out for him confidentially whether if he came to Eng- 

 land, his reception would be a really cordial one. By this he meant not 

 so much whether there would be the usual official reception, whatever 

 that might be, due to his rank, as whether he might count upon the 

 kindly feeling of the Court and especially of the Prince of Wales to- 

 wards him. From what I know of him I feel sure that it is more in 

 the power of the Prince of Wales than of Lord Rosebery or of any 

 of the officials to place things in Egypt, as far as the Khedive is con- 

 cerned, on a more satisfactory footing than they have lately been. The 

 Khedive is very suspicious of Lord Cromer, not as I think entirely 

 without reason, for the quarrel between them is no doubt largely a 

 personal one, and I think that, if it could be conveyed to him that he 

 could count at least on a friendly reception at Marlborough House, he 

 would be less likely to listen to the advances which are pretty sure to 

 be made to him in Paris on his way through. In my opinion large 

 political interests are involved in the issue of this visit.' 



" To-day the tenantry of Crabbet presented Judith with a silver cup 

 on her coming of age. They were most hearty, and recalled the fact 

 of most of them holding their farms from father to son for generations. 

 Judith made an admirable speech in reply, delivered in a clear voice 

 and with a charming manner. Then I showed them some of the family 



