1909] A Belated Valentine 245 



include a life of Seyyid Jemal ed Din, as to whom I have promised 

 to write a monograph. We had several clever young men at dinner, one 

 of them, Mozley, a young Don, Editor of the ' Cambridge Review,' and 

 Somerset, Editor of the ' Granta,' also Cockerell and his wife, and 

 Angela Mackail ; also another interesting young man, Malory, and 

 Haddon, the anthropologist. Browne is, of course, in despair at the 

 Russian march on Tabriz, and believes the English Government has the 

 idea of partitioning the Ottoman Empire as well as Persia. 



" 2nd May. — Spent the day with Cockerell, going with him to 

 the Fitzwilliam Museum where he showed me Rossetti's MS. of 

 the ' House of Life.' He has asked me for a MS., if I have got one, 

 of 'Esther.' 



" yd May.— Back to Chapel Street. 



" yth May. — All the past week has been glorious at Newbuildings 

 which is in full Spring beauty. On looking into the bathroom yester- 

 day I heard a twittering and there were three of the swallows hatched 

 there last year, siting together in last year's nest. They must have 

 been the same, as they were not frightened at my coming in, and the 

 fact of there being three of them also shows it, for if they had been 

 strangers looking for a place to build there would not have been more 

 of them than a pair. 



' Yesterday I watched for an hour the throwing of an oak, one of 

 seven old ones they are cutting at the end of Newbuildings Wood. I 

 wonder whether oaks have any sense of pain, perhaps a little, but it 

 must be very little, just when the sap is rising. Woodcraft is the most 

 fascinating of all rural work. 



" 14th May. — I have written a valentine for Nellie Hozier : 



An Out-of-Date Valentine 



New is the morning, child, 



Sunrise for thy heart. 

 Evening, how near its close, 



Sunset for my heart. 

 Life in its fulness yours, 



Mine but an ending. 

 Loyal we yet may be 



Love's cause defending. 

 I have my wisdom, child, 



You your youth's glory. 

 Each shall find wealth in each, 



In each a story. 

 High be our fortune's aim, 



He who would win it 

 Offerings large must bring 



To Fate each minute. 



