Slept in and didn’t get up until after 8 o’clock. Walked along Kil Kel [sic] Braes1 in the morning and read Mr McKenna2 on the new War Loan. Spent the afternoon on the sea front and read a bit of Everyman3. Bought a teddy bear for Moira and some other presents for home. Met Ernie at night and spent the night with the photographs.
Tag Archives: Library
5 July 1915; Monday
Got up about 6 o’clock and went for a bathe. Grand day again. Went along Kil-Kel [sic] Braes1 in the morning and read Poison Island by Quiller-Couch 2. Went down to the beach in the afternoon and listened to the pierrots a minute or two. Bought a doll for Dorothy. Walked round sea front at night with Ernie.
“Quiller-Couch”: Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1863 – 1944, Kt. 1910, Professor of English, Cambridge, 1912; edited ‘Oxford Books of ’: English Verse; English Prose; Ballads; Victorian Verse. Nom de plume “Q”. See also Poison Island and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
Poison Island
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch was a British writer who published under the pen name of Q. He is best known for the Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900, but was also a prolific novelist.
Quiller-Couch’s novel Poison Island is the story of Harry who meets a mysterious Captain Coffin. Coffin is planning a voyage to the Honduras, where he expects to find treasure, while avoiding the poison of the title.
Arthur Linfoot read Poison Island while on holiday in St. Andrews on 5 July 1915.
4 July 1915; Sunday
Finished reading She1. Went to the Baptist chapel in the morning with Ernie. Walked along the golf links in the afternoon. Aggie Froxon and Alec Anderson to tea. Ernie said we were going to Hope Street church2, but we went on to the sea front. Grand night.
See She and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
Hope Street church: no church by this name now exists, but there is a Hope Park and Martyrs church in St Andrew’s, at the intersection of St. Mary’s Place and Hope Street. See also St Andrews map. ↩
3 July 1915; Saturday
Went to bathe at 6 o’clock. Walked along Kinkel<l> Braes1 and read “She”2. Went down to the sea front in the afternoon and read. Went out with Hilda at night and met Ernie. Grand weather.
“She”: novel by Rider Haggard, of “King Solomon’s Mines” fame. See also She and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
She
She is a novel by H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925), first serialised in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887.
The story is a first-person narrative that follows the journey of Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey to a lost kingdom in the African interior where they encounter Ayesha, the eponymous “She”.
She remains one of Rider Haggard’s most popular books and has never been out of print.
Arthur Linfoot started to read She while on holiday in St. Andrews on 3 July 1915 and finished it the next day.
1 July 1915; Thursday
Got up shortly after 6 o‘clock and went down for a bathe. Walked round town in the morning and down to the sea side. Read some of Omar1 and a bit from “Everyman.”2 Ernie off in the afternoon. * took some photos and developed them. Smashed a lamp and had some trouble and fuss. Walked out last thing with Ernie.
Omar Khayyám; see note on 29 June, Omar Khayyám and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
Everyman: see Everyman and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
30 June 1915; Wednesday
Got up shortly after 6 o’clock and went for bathe in the sea baths with Ernie. We were first in and I swam pretty well. Had walk along North Sands in the morning and spent afternoon on the sea front reading. Read Barry Pain’s1 “De Omnibus”2. Grand day. Posted little Navy book to Uncle George. Walked round with Hilda at night and she bought a bathing costume for me. Had walk with Ernie later to the south side of the harbour. Had chips3 for supper.
Barry Eric Odell Pain (28 September 1864 – 5 May 1928) was an English journalist, poet and writer. ↩
De Omnibus has long been out of print but may be found at various on-line locations including at archive.org; a digitised (by Google) copy from New York Public Library. See also De Omnibus and Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
For the benefit of American readers, “chips” does not mean the food more usually known as “crisps” in the UK. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not correct to consider British chips analogous to French fries either. Wikipedia has an explanation of sorts on its French fries page. ↩
De Omnibus
Barry Eric Odell Pain (28 September 1864 – 5 May 1928) was an English journalist, poet and writer.
De Omnibus has long been out of print but may be found at various on-line locations including at archive.org; a digitised (by Google) copy from New York Public Library. The book rather enigmatically names “The Conductor” as its author (the true author’s name appearing in parentheses) – evidently a pun on [omni]bus conductor.
Arthur Linfoot also read De Omnibus during his holiday in St. Andrews, recording it in his diary on the day after he started to read Omar Khayyám, 30 June 1915.
29 June 1915; Tuesday
Got up about 8 o’clock. Walked round town and sea front. Read a bit of Omar Khayyam1. Walked round The Braes 2 in the afternoon. Had walk with Hilda and Ernie at night. Saw Ernie’s shop and got a few things there. Spent a pleasant day. Had walk with Ernie at night.
Omar Khayyám (1048-1131 A.D.) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy and music. It is not clear from this diary entry which of his writings had engaged ALL’s interest, but it may have been his most famous work, The Rubáiyát. See also Omar Khayyám at Arthur Linfoot’s Library. ↩
“The Braes”: Kinkell Braes, near the site of a castle which was a noted venue for conventicles in the period following the restoration of the House of Stuart. The Braes are now occupied by modern structures including a caravan park and camp site (position of map marker).
ALL evidently visited the Braes on several further occasions during his 1915 visit to St. Andrews.
See also St Andrews map. ↩