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CHECKENDON COURT
CHECKENDON. READING.
29 April 1921
Dear John,
Our mutual friend, the Bishop of St. Praxeds, was staying here
last Friday.
It was the first time he had been on earth since 15- !
What brought him was a rumour that the Municipality were pro-
posing to restore his tomb, which had been somewhat damaged by
Bolsheviks in the late disturbances. He could have forgive the
injury, but he was filled with a natural horror at the announcement
of the Corporation that the monument "should be embellished with
certain new features worthy of the saintly prelate whose bones
are here interned".
Having settled the hash of the Town Council by means of a [motion,notice, exec ?]
deprecating the gross misapplication of public funds at a time of
stress he came on the Checkendon in high spirits. For I had ever a
place in his heart, having hated Gandolph with all my moral &
intellectual fabric.
It was his first visit to England, and he was most curious
about the manners of our clergy. I gave him some files of the
newspapers to read knowing that he would be interested in the
Wakeford trial.
He was: and he informed me with a chuckle, just
as he was leaving, that he had sent you a copy of verses on the