PEOPLE AND THINGS
HAROLD NICOLSON
WHERE was an expression much in use among the intel- lectuals of the reign of good King Edward which to modern ears may seem fantastic and far-fetched. The ex- pression was " Susan volunteer." It could be used either as an adjective or a substantive. One could experience a " Susan volunteer," and certain emotions or episodes could be described, with the lilt of the time, as " simply too Susan volunteer for words." The origin of this curious phrase was, it is said, the unexpected behaviour of Mr. Maurice Baring's aunt. Attending a review of volunteers about to embark for the South African War, Lady Susan was so enraptured by the occasion that, when the band struck up " Goodbye, Dolly, I must leave you," she rose in her landau, waved her parasol on high, and burst into floods of tears. The phrase " Susan volunteer " was used thereafter to designate patriotic rapture in all its forms, as also those gusts of emotion which assail human beings when virtue is publicly rewarded or heroism stalks triumphant.
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