Monday 24th
January 1927
Bussed
back into town and to Betjeman's rooms in St Aldates — a v.
beautiful panelled room looking across to the side of the House. found myself pitchforked into a galaxy of
super-undergraduates, including Sparrow of the Nonesuch Press. The only others I remember
are Harwood of the House (no relation) and an absolutely silent
and astonishingly ugly person called McNeice, of whom Betjeman said afterwards
"He doesn't say much but he is a great poet". It reminded me of the man in Boswell "who
was always thinking of Locke and Newton ". his silent bard comes from Belfast or rather Carrickfergus. The conversation was chiefly about lace curtains,
arts-and-crafts (wh. they all dislike}, china ornaments, silver versus
earthen teapots, architecture, and the strange habits of "Hearties".
The best thing was Betjeman's v. curious
collection of books.
Came away with him and
back to College to pull him along thro' Wulfstan till dinner
time. In spite of all his rattle he is
really just as ignorant and stupid as Valentin.
C.S. Lewis
All My Road Before Me (1991)
[Image : Louis Macneice at Oxford]
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