I907] John Sargent's Studio 171 



against liberty in the East. The evening papers give accounts of 

 Cromer's arrival at Victoria Station, a great show of official welcome 

 but no street enthusiasm; the earliest arriver at the station, Moberly 

 Bell! 



" 14th May. — With Meynell to see the Academy pictures. He is an 

 art critic and also has much to tell about the private life of the 

 painters; Sargent is the especial object of his admiration. The ladies 

 he paints, according to Meynell, generally bore him so that he is 

 obliged to retire every now and then behind a screen and refresh him- 

 self by putting his tongue out at them. He has made an exception, 

 however, to this practice in the case of Mrs. Sassoon, of whom there 

 is a really fine portrait by him this year with another almost equally 

 good of a lady in plain white, without jewels, a much prettier woman, 

 but she, too, bored him. He paints nothing but Jews and Jewesses 

 now and says he prefers them, as they have more life and movement 

 than our English women. With the exception of these two portraits 

 I saw little of any great merit in the show, though Meynell tried hard to 

 make me admire some of his favourites. I have an experience now of 

 just fifty years of Royal Academies and find the general level lower 

 than formerly, especially in the matter of colour, but the two Sargents 

 are quite first rate. 



" 20th May. — Bill Gordon came to see me — dying, I fear, poor 

 fellow, of consumption and will hardly see the year out. We had 

 a long talk about Egyptian affairs. Among other interesting things 

 he told me the story of his uncle's first disagreement with Cromer. 

 This was in '78 or '79 when the Khedive, Ismail, had sent for him to 

 Khartoum to confer with Lesseps about his finances. Gordon and 

 Lesseps both advised suspending a half year's coupon which would 

 have enabled Ismail to tide over his difficulties, but Baring opposed it 

 and being supported by the Bond-holding interest prevailed. Baring 

 was new then in Egypt and affected to ignore Gordon's experience and 

 they interchanged words in consequence. Cromer was always from 

 this time opposed to Gordon and continued his ill-will to him, Bill, 

 notably on the occasion of his retirement from the Egyptian service. 

 He spoke strongly of the injustice done to Egypt while reconquering 

 the Soudan, through the work of the Egyptian army, and then annexing 

 half the sovereignty of the country to England, while saddling Egypt 

 with the expense. They had even tried when Khartoum was retaken 

 to charge the cost of the English Union Jacks hoisted there on the 

 Egyptian treasury, and he cited several instances of jobbery in the 

 interests of English firms. He is delighted at Cromer's downfall. 



"21st May. — Called on Mrs. Belloc in their new house at Shipley, 

 of which they have made quite a habitable place. The principal room 

 had been used as a shop, but is now again the parlour, the little 



