Lord Sandhurst's Diary
From Day to Day. By Viscount Sandhurst. (Arnold. 18a.) " IF it had been a race," writes Lord Sandhurst of one of his walking-backward evenings at Court, " Farquhar would have been disqualified for bumping, and he was never in step." As Lord Chamberlain, his life was surrounded by
pomp, but he was never pompous, and. always ready to see the funny side of things.
This book, like the man, is unassuming, direct, scrupulously fair, more than a little shrewd. Whatever Lord Sandhurst midertook, whether as Governor of Bombay, the Treasurer of " Bart.'s," Censor of Flays, or organizing some Court function, things always ran smoothly ; and it was this innate rhythm or harmony—running through his diary as it did through his days—that brought him honour and success, rather than any ambition to shine. He understood men and their management. Labour, he foresaw during the War, was destined to come to the front after it ; it was the party of the future ; and although he hoped that that future would be distant, he wished the movement well in no ungrudging way.
In all his judgments he was fair as well as generally far-sighted. Mr. Lloyd George was evidently his hgte-noire, but he frequently records how well he speaks. Again : " F. E. Smith is to be ford Chancellor, amazing if half what I hear of him is true." But later we find the diarist recording that he is " an imposing figure, and, I think, will do much better than most think. He has a beautiful voice " ; and after further acquaintance he sums him up as " a first-rate colleague."
But it is not as a politician that Lord Sandhurst's chief inclinations lay. He hated fuss, publicity, the ignoble com- promises of party faction, and was never happier than when he could take an afternoon off to visit the Zoo, or to walk about in Kew Gardens. To their Majesties he was a loyal and devoted servant, and there are many passages in this diary that will be read with pleasure, not only by the older generation, who remember three reigns, but by all who Would learn how much hard, inconspicuous and self-sacrificing work was undertaken by the King during the course of the War.
The book is full of good stories, not all new, but all of item amusing enough to be repeated and. typical of the English gentleman of the old school, who, though he walked with kings, never lost the common touch. Moreover, there is 'the indefinable quality of a charming personality in every page:,-hgre is a man who never tried to be grand or brilliant, and who held all kinds of high offices, met all the most interesting people of the day, and achieved some notable work, both as Lord Chamberlain and as hospital adMinis- trator, without ever making an enemy. It is impossible to convey the attractive simplicity of this diary without reading it, but once it is opened it will not easily be put down.
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