Part 43 (1/2)

I do not think if you had ransacked the world you could have found natures so opposite in temper, temperament and outlook as myself and my stepchildren when I first knew them

If there was a difference between the Tennants and Lytteltons of laughter, there was a difference between the Tennants and Asquiths of tears Tennants believed in appealing to the hearts oftheir inive the whole world The Asquiths--without mental flurry and with perfect self- mastery--believed in the free application of intellect to every huhtened expression to their feelings Shy, self-engaged, critical and controversial, nothing surprised the upset them We were as zealous and vital as they were detached and as cocky and passionate as they were modest and eot up when any one came into the roo-gown they would not have observed it and would certainly never have co with joy at the sight of you or thrilled at receiving a friend, their welcome was equally composed They were devoted to one another and never quarrelled; they were seldohty Perfectly self-contained, truthful and deliberate, I never saw them lose themselves in my life and I have hardly ever seen the saint or hero that excited their disinterested ee, the despair, the wild enthusiasms and reckless adventures, the disputes that finished not hts, but with fists in our nursery and schoolroom, I was stunned by the steadiness of the Asquith te them as they now are, or that their attitude towardsin sympathy Blindness of heart does not imply hardness; and expression is a matter of temperament or impulse; hut it was their attitude towards life that was different froe fault, as they were all remarkably clever Hardly any Prime Minister has had famous children, but the Asquiths were all conspicuous in their different ways: Ray, Arthur the most capable, Herbert a poet and Cyril the shyest and the rarest

Cys Asquith, as the youngest of the family, combined as best in all of them morally and intellectually and possessed as finer than brains

He hen his ly little boy with a certain araceless obstinacy, hich both Tennants and Asquiths were equally endowed To the casual observer he would have appeared less like me than any of my step-family, but as a matter of fact he and I had the most in common; we shared a certain spiritual foundation and h life

It is not because I took charge of hie that I say he is h he did not always agree with me, he never misunderstood me He said at Murren one day, when he was seventeen and we had been talking together on life and religion:

”Itat things that ht for a schoolboy When I look at his wonderful face now and think of his appearance at the tie, I am reminded of the Hans Andersen toad with the jewel in its head, but the toad is no longer there

I have a dear friend called Bogie Harris,[Footnote: Mr H Harris, of Bedford Square] who told iven by Con and Hoppy Manners, he had seen a young man whose face had struck him so much that he looked about for so ht when he was a little boy, after I had heard him say his prayers he asked me to read the General Confession out of his Prayer Book to him It was such an unusual request that I said:

”Very well, darling, I will, but first of all I must read you what I love best in the Prayer Book”

To which he answered:

”Oh, do! I should like that”

I put a cushi+on behind hten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord; and by Thy great ht, for the love of Thine only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen”

After this I read hi, ”We have erred and strayed fro, ”that we hteous, and sober life”

When I had finished I said to hi?”

CYS (looking furtively at reen eyes): ”It does not ht pause and then reflectively): ”I should say ”

I told the children one day to collect some of their toys and that I would take theive them away themselves I purposely did not say broken toys; and a few days afterwards I was invited to the nursery On arriving upstairs I saw that Cys's eyes were scarlet; and set out in pathetic array round the rooe family of monkeys christened by him ”the Thumblekins” They hat he loved best in the world I observed that they were the only unbroken toys that were brought to uish in his soul I was so touched that I could hardly speak; and, when I put my arms round his neck, he burst into sobs:

”May I keep one ot? ”

This was thein his soul that has never been closed to e career he was delicate, but since his ht creature of char

My stepdaughter Violet--now Lady Bonhah intensely feminine, would have made a remarkable man I do not believe there is any examination she could not have passed either at a public school or a university Born without shyness or trepidation, from her youth upwards she had perfect self-possession and patience

She loved dialectics and could put her case logically, plausibly and eloquently; and, although quite as unenation In her youth she was delicate, and what the French call tres personelle; and this prevented her going through the mill of rivalry and criticisirlhood

She had the sa sense of humour as her brother Rayift of expression was ahter Elizabeth and she were the only girls except myself that I ever met ere real politicians, not interested merely in the personal side--whether Mr B or C spoke well or was likely to get proislation and adoing on at home and abroad and enjoyed friendshi+ps withand fareat political future in the country if not in the Commons She is a natural speaker, easy, eloquent, witty, short and of i-froid

Life in the House is neither healthy, useful nor appropriate for a woman; and the functions of a mother and a member of Parliament are not compatible This was one of the reasons whythe franchise to women Violet is a real mother and feels the probleifts as conspicuous as hers, she must inevitably exercise a wide-spread political influence Her speeches in her father's election at Paisley, in February of this year, brought her before a general as well as intellectual audience from which she can never retire; and, whenever she appears on a platfor on her to speak

Raymond Asquith was born on the 6th of Noveainst the Geriment had been in action ten minutes, on the 15th of September, 1916