THE LATE MR. J. E. C. BODLEY
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. Bodley's death will be a cause of real regret to a large circle of friends, and a larger of readers, on both sides of the Channel. For he was equally at home on both ; and on both his France was a classic. No Englishmen, and perhaps few Frenchmen, knew that country better ; and the honour of Corresponding Member of the Insitute of France--Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques—conferred on him in 1902 was an official recognition of his successful treatment of a subject which, at the time, presented special difficulties to a foreigner. The book did much to promote a good under- standing between the two countries ; and was as much appreciated in France as here. Among his other works were The Coronation of Edward VII. published by His Majesty's command, 1903 ; The Church in France, 1906 ; Cardinal Manning and Other Essays, 1912 ; L'Age mecanique et le declin de l'idealisme en France, discours prononcO a l'Institut de France, 1913 ; and The Romance of the Battle Line in France, 1920.
Having graduated at Balliol, and been called to the Bar (Inner Temple) 1874, he was appointed Private Secretary to the President of the Local Government Board (Sir Charles Dilke) 1882 ; and Secretary to the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Working Classes -1884, in which capacity- he drew up the three Reports on England, Scotland, and
Ireland respectively. He seemed destined to make his mark- in public life, and to hold office. But he was perhaps t....a fastidious a critic both of himself and of others to do so easily ; and his health was uncertain. Even as a writer he began more than he completed ; and the results of his industry, for he was industrious, should have been greater than they were. His memoirs, had he lived to finish them, would have been of singular interest ; for he was many sided, and an acute judge of men and affairs. His friendship with Cardinal Manning, which dated from the Commission of 1884, and gave him access to French clerical circles, did not modify his somewhat stalwart Protestantism. He was more intolerant, hoWever, of Anglo than of Roman Catholicism. His grievance against the latter was, indeed, rather political than religious ; he could not forgive what seemed to him the pro-German. policy of the Vatican during the War. His own politics Were rather Whig than Liberal. He distrusted Democracy; and was suspicious of Movements, from Tractarianism to Modernism ; both in Church and State the reigns of the first Georges were his Goddess Age. His powers both as a conversationalist and a letter writer were exceptional ; and he cultivated both gifts. This was why, though of late years his life had been one of retirement, he kept up his links with the larger world—which, at least in England, he regarded with a certain detachment. Like M. Jerome Coignard, it meprisait les hommes. He had been, perhaps, too much behind the scenes not to do so. But under a certain assump- tion of cynicism lay a real knowledge of and sympathy with human nature. In private life he had a genius for friendship ; no one was a more reliable or a more generous friend.—I
Previous page
