LEON Y CASTILLO 5,
TELDE,
GRAN CANARIA.
_13 December, 1903._
This may--I cannot be sure that it will--be in time to salute you on
Christmas day. Posts are irregular and nine miles of bad road separate
us from Las Palmas. So, not being able as yet to cycle to our ciudad,
I shall just drop this into the village letter box and trust that it
may reach you some day.
I had the good luck to find the Bay of Biscay reflecting a really
warm sun and very soon I could hardly believe that so grey a place as
Cambridge existed. I arrived here at the end of a prolonged drought
and the good folk of Telde "clapped on the prayer for rain": or rather
they did much more; they carried round the town a milagroso Cristo
whom they keep for great occasions. I am not sure that the priest
let him go his rounds until he, the priest, saw that the clouds were
collecting thick over the mountains. Anyhow the rain came at once, to
the great edification of the faithful. Since then we have celebrated
the Immaculate Conception. It is very queer how events get turned
into persons. The Conception became a person for the people. I think
that the historian of myths would learn a good deal here. Just lately
I discovered--it was no great discovery--that the pet name "Concha"
is the short for Concepcion, as Lola is the short for Dolores. My
protestant mind has been a little shocked by a female form of Jesus,
namely "Jesusa."
I am living in hope that Pollock's successor at Oxford may be
Vinogradoff. I wish much that we had him at Cambridge.
I am curious to hear any news that there may be concerning the
deliberations of the great syndicate. I suppose that something will be
known before I return to Cambridge--if ever I return. I say "if ever"
for I am always thinking of resignation. Out here I can do a great
deal with photographed manuscripts and so on, whereas in England I get
nothing done.
You I suppose are deep in "Josephism"--by the way has anybody
endeavoured to transfer that term from a manner of treating the
church to Mr C.'s fiscal policy? My latest newspaper gives the Duke's
oration--how very good our Chancellor can be!--but no doubt that is
with you a very ancient history[32]. My own impression when I left
England was that the crusade was failing.