1906] "Astarte" 125 



All the same I don't expect to see any very revolutionary legislation. 

 They will probably get into difficulties before long over South Africa 

 or Foreign policy, and Redmond will get his chance of upsetting them 

 as he upset Balfour. Arthur Balfour is to have a seat in the city. 

 Anne writes from Sheykh Obeyd that she is selling those acres of land 

 near the Railway station for £300 an acre. [This was the beginning of 

 the great land boom in Egypt when extravagant prices were realized, 

 only to go down as rapidly.] 



" $oth Jan. — King Christian of Denmark is dead, an old man. I 

 remember him in 1862 when he came to Frankfort with his two 

 daughters, Alexandra and Olga, and they had luncheon at the English 

 Legation. They were very unimportant personages then, the girls badly 

 dressed, and their father quiet and unobtrusive. I was a little hurt in 

 my feelings, as the spoiled child of the house, when Lady Malet asked 

 me to give up my place in her carriage to the Danish Prince when we 

 were going to some review. Now he dies senior monarch of Europe 

 and progenitor of our Queen and of half the royal and Imperial 

 houses. 



" 8th Feb. — George Wyndham has been to see me and we talked of 

 ' Astarte ' which I had lent him to read. He has done this carefully, 

 and criticized it with his usual insight. There is no doubt it is a very 

 original piece of prose, almost a work of genius, but singularly ill- 

 arranged as an argument. Moreover the diatribe against the Mur- 

 rays turns out to be entirely without justification. Murray has pub- 

 lished in a monthly review a dignified answer in which he shows not 

 merely that all Ralph says in his preface about his dealings lately with 

 himself over the new edition of Byron is incorrect, but he also quotes 

 letters from him acknowledging the kindness of the Murrays for 

 three generations to his family. 



" gth Feb. — Frederic Harrison was here in the afternoon. He still 

 has hopes of his Byzantine play, ' Theophano,' being acted in London, 

 but I doubt any manager taking it as it is purely spectacular, and could 

 not be put on the stage without great expense. The managers tell 

 him it is superb, but so far have refused it. He talked of ' Astarte,' 

 refusing still to believe the main fact. 



" There are strange tales current of the goings on at C , where 



ladies were invited by the hostess, with express designs upon their 

 virtue. They were invited without their husbands, and given rooms 

 near those of their intended lovers, and if they locked their doors at 

 night the other ladies staying in the house would refuse to speak to 

 them. I daresay there are pretty free doings at C , but the boy- 

 cotting of the virtuous ladies next morning does not sound to me as 

 according with the ways of society, even in the most advanced set. 



" 10th Feb. — There is an article in to-day's ' Tribune,' by Principal 



