Cecil Sharp Diary 1918

Media

 

Document date

Monday 7th of January 1918

Transcription Notes

Snow storm came to an end about 3 a.m., 13_ inches fell, about 1/3 of the usual yearly amount, of course a record! We always seem to run into records in this country. In the morning we walked round to the Baskervill’s to borrow Lady Gomme’s two volumes — it was difficult to get there1. I have never seen such snow. There were 5 or 6 inches on the ground when the storm began, and the second lot has drifted and lies in places like small mountains in all sorts of queer shapes moulded by the wind. Mrs B[askervill] is nice but most provocative, a very fair sample of the American woman at her best and at her worst. She talked in a very superior way about the war, as though we were all very naughty children in Europe and ought to know better and in fact would do so were we animated by the American democratic spirit! She spoke patronizingly of Lloyd Georges fine speech about the war aims and Peace Terms — said it sounded very pretty but she had no faith in it — insinuating that she had no faith in England’s protestations. She is not pro-German so much as anti- English. Her husband came in after a while. He remarked upon the horrible snobbishness — more marked at Oxford than at Cambridge — shown by the "capping" of dons by the undergraduates. He seemed very surprised when I defended it on the grounds that it was so good for the undergrad[uates] to recognize superiority! Worked all the afternoon after my rest and then after dinner went to the monthly meeting of the E.F.D.S.centre when I taught a dance and read out Miss Daking’s two letters. A very nice woman, a Mrs Moore, spoke to me afterwards and told me how interested she was in my work & views. Said that they wanted me to lecture and hold some classes at her school a large Physical, Normal School in Wabash Avenue. I liked her and hope that something may come of her project. The classes we hoped to start at Miss Oliver’s Studio do not seem likely to come off.

Location

USA : Illinois : Chicago [41.8781136,-87.6297982]

Read about these diaries, including a note about historical racism