Lord Cecil to tea. He has grown large, but still has the angular twisting movements of a thin man. His face is moon shaped; brown & pink -- it used to be lank & cadaverous. He is more genial. Indeed, much expanded, & at his ease. A man of the world. A little frieze of still brown hair, very fine, at the back of his head. Bright merry eyes. In good spirits, in spite of the world. But he said, I think there is more vitality both in men & in institutions, than one expects. We have failed (the L. of N.) no matter we must try again. I'm convinced by Winston. An alliance of France England & Russia. B. Russell -— insane! Complete insanity! To tell us we are to submit to Hitler! Do what Hitler tells us! What do you think, Sally? Caressed Sally [dog] with his long pointed fingers. Had been speaking in M[ancheste]r. When he repeated B[ertie].s arguments peoples faces fell flat. The L. Mayor of M. said to him We want Dalton as leader. Atlee's not a colourful man. Said the people's political sense is unerring & right. One working man said to another, Vansittart has far too much say in things. Quite true. V. ruled Simon. Simon the worst F[oreign]. S[ecretary]. ever been. Hoare a complete disappointment. They shd. have put in Halifax. Not a genius but courageous. Eden young, poor, ambitious: his only interest politics. Human nature being what it is, therefore ... No, has no opinion of Eden. Shd. have resigned. The country sees through him. Very difficult to know when to resign, as I found. Phil Baker shd. do half what he does, & should drink wine. Everyone loves him —- the boys at the Treasury will do anything for him. But dictates letters as he drives.
Had been taken to see Mussolini. An absurd fellow. There he sat at the end of a very long room, making eyes at me (he made eyes). That doesnt impress me. The F.S. should submit his facts to the P[ermanen]t. officials but shd. control them. They write jargon, as my father used to say. Gave the impression of extreme well being: a saucepan gently simmering on the comfort & consideration of 70 years. Best type of Eng. Governing class I suppose: the flower of 19th Century civilisation: urbane, broadminded, kind & hopeful. Much more cheerful than the intellectuals. Is it that he has not so much mind? Compare him with Bertie or Aldous. Inclined to mock the earnest intellectual. Very nice of him to come of course. I was flattered. And it was raining & he went home in the Tube. Very poor he said. Had sacrificed 5 or 6000 a year when he gave up the bar. Cdn't afford a car. Anything else? Knows human nature from one angle. Likes it. Not much deluded I shd. say. Less of a fanatic, or more concealed than of old. Winston on side of Franco, because he has friends in that camp. But the people dont respect Winston. He changes his mind & policy. Baldwin a complete failure. He shd. have resigned when Hoare did. Awful Mansion House speech. No leaders. Young men on L[abour]. side kept back till theyre over 40. I wanted to ask him to call me Virginia but refrained. Thats about all. And Chapman coming today. Mauron dined on Sunday; another nice man. Telling humorous stories of Roger: his car: Josette.
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was een Engelse schrijfster. Ze hield vrijwel haar hele leven een dagboek bij.
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