Diary of Oberlin Herbert Gray, April 1916 to June 1917 - Part 9

distance, with the white sailed
trawlers on the horizon - a good
many New Zealanders about, they are
camped at Tone -
26/6/17 Went to Aushys Cove in a.m. & to
Babbacombe & Ellacombe- back to
lunch at Aunt A's - At 3 Aunt A. came
down & we went by train to Poignton
a suburb - visited the old Church
1100 - relics of the Armada - A great
deal of Carving etc. most of it disfigured
by the Reformers – Had tea at the
Grand Hotel - strawberries & Devon Cream
etc. Walked to the Sea front & along
the Promenade for a mile, caught
train to near Torquay, & Aunt A & I
Walked to Cockington Village, saw
the old church of 1088 in the park
of the manor house - Brought home
strawberries & flowers roses from one of the
cottages. Retd to Knighton & I went
to Aunt Annies for dinner retg. 10 PM
27/6/17 Raining lightly during morng -
Went into the town & up to say goodbye
to Aunt A. - Lunch & caught 1 PM train
A fine afternoon & a good journey
up. Noticed Ticklers Jam Factory -
Huntley Palmers - Suttons large
seed gardens - The line is level
all the way, & streams run near
it for miles - - Kennet valley
A fine view of Windsor - Caught
tribe at Paddington to Elephant &
Frain to Dulwich.
29/6/17 Went in after to see the Levetts
with Aunts E. train, tube & tram to
Crouch End - Put Aunt E. on the
train at Picadilly, & met Doris at
the Marble Arch - rather cold fresh after
the rain - Went on the Serpentine
for an hour - quite sheltered from
wind - one or two boys swimming.
Retd After seeing Mables Doris home.
29/6 Went in with Alfd
 

Blank pages in
this item have
not been
scanned
 

May
A sunny shaft did I behold,
From sky to earth it slanted:
and poised, there in a bird so bold
sweet bird, thou wert enchanted!
He sang he rose he twinkled, he trolled
within that shape of sunny mist;
His eyes of fire, his beak of gold,
All else of amethyst.!
And thus he sang: "adieu! adieu!
Love's dreams prove seldom true,
The blossoms they make no delay:
The sparkling dew drops will not stay,
Sweet month of May, we must away;
Far, far, away!
To-day! to day!
Coleridge
The Lake
The Summer dawn's reflected hue
To purple changed Loch Katherine's blue;
Mildly and soft the western breeze
Just kissed the lake just stirred the trees,
And the pleased lake, like maiden coy,
Trembled, but dimpled not for joy;
The mountain shadows on her breast
Were neither broken nor at rest;
In bright uncertainty they lie,
Like future joys to fancy's eye.
Invisible in flecked sky,
The lark sent down her revelry;
The blackbird & the speckled thrush
Good morrow gave from brake & bush;
In answer cooed the cushat dove
Her notes of peace, & rest & love.
Sir Walter Scott.
 

So do I gather strength & hope anew,
For will I know thy patient love perceived
not what I did, but what I strove to do. -
and though the full ripe ears be sadly few
Thou wits accept my sheaves" -
I seek in prayerful words, dear friend
My hearts true wish to send you,
That you may know that far or near
My loving thoughts attend you.
I cannot find a truer word,
nor brighter thought to wish you
Nor song, nor poem I have heard
Is sweeter than "God bless you"
God bless you; so; I wish you all o
Of brightness life posesses 
For can there any joy at all
Be thine unless God blesses.
God bless you; so I breathe a charm
Lest griefs dark night oppress you,
For how can sorrow bring you harm
If 'tis God's way to bless you,
And so through all the days
May shadows touch thee never
But this alone God bless you -
Then thou art safe forever.
You have heard it said that flowers only
flourish rightly in the garden of of someone
who loves them. I know you would like
that to be true; you would think it a pleasant
place magic if you could flush your flowers into
brighter bloom by a kind look upon them.
Ruskin
You say this world seems drained of all its
sweets! - I know not what ye call sweet Hyacinth
Roses Violets are yet in the earth - The sun &
moon yet reign in heaven & the lesser lights
Keep up their pretty twinklings - Meats & Drinks, Sweet
Sights & Sweet Smells, a county walk, Spring &
Autumn; have all Sweetness by twins. Good
humor & good nature, friends at home who
love you & friends abroad who miss you - you
possess all these, & more innumerable, & these
are all sweet things - Chas Lamb.
 

 ep Places.
A.J. Burr
I love thee, dear, and knowing mine own heart,
With every beat I give God thanks for this:
I love thee only for the self thou art;
No wild embrace, no wisdom-shaking kiss,
No passionate pleading of a heart laid bare,
No urgent cry of love's extremity -
Strong traps to take the spirit unaware -
Not one of these I ever had of thee.
Neither of passion nor of pity wrought
Is this, the love to which at last. I yield
But shapen in the stillness of my thought
And by a birth of agony revealed.
Here is a thing to live while we do live
Which shames not thee to take nor me
to give.
8/4/17
"Copied on a glorious Spring day outside my
dugout at the R.A.F. beyond Bapaume - the
whistling of shells overhead - "& only man is vile".
to Bux hill - Go to Havant &
by L B. & S.C. Ao. Bex
a little thing is but a little
thing, but faithfulness in a little
thing is a very great thing.
A. fit for general service
B1 Temp. unfit for gen. service for less 6 mo.
B2 -   -    -      -    -     -      - more than 6 mo
C perm. unfit for Gen. service.
1 fit home] service
2 temp unfit ac home service
3 perm       _          __          _
Never dwell on the miseries of the past.
Think only of the happiness of the present
to the possibilities of the future
Flor. Nightingale
Matches - 15m., make opponent take
last - I move first & take 6^th 10^th &14^th
4 matches- move one &
make square [diagram - see original document]
match in handk., hidden in ham.
[diagram - see original document]
take away ms
& leave same no in line
[diagram - see original document]
take 8 & leave
2 squares
 

Small service is true service while it lasts
Of humblest friends bright
creature scorn not one
The daisy by the shadow that it casts
Protects the lingering dew drop from the sun
Wordsworth
I expect to pass thro' this world but once
Any good thing therefore that I can do
Or any kindness I can show to any
human being let me do it now.
Let me not defer neglect nor defer it.
For I shall not pass this way again
S Grellet.
Sweet stream that winds thro yonder
Apt emblem of a virtuous maid glade
Silent & chaste she steals along
Far from the worlds gay busy throng
With gentle, yet prevailing force,
Intent upon her destined course
Graceful & blest wherever she goes.
Pure bosom'd as that watery glass
And heaven reflected in her face
Cowper.
Morse
A  . -       K - . -     U . . -
B - . . .     L . - . .    V . . . -
C - . - .    M - -      W . - -
D - . .      N - .        X - . . -
E .           O - - -   
F . . - .     P . - - .   Y - . - -
G - - .     Q - - . -   Z - - - .
H . . . .    R . - .
I . .          S . . . 
J . - - -    T -
Tennyson - her hair
In gloss & hue the chestnut, when 
the shell
Divides threefold show the fruit the shell
within:
It is a good thing to be rich,
and a good thing to be strong
But it is a better thing
to be beloved of many friends.
To know, to esteem, to love, & then to part
make up lifes. tale to many
a feeling heart.
Who is the happiest of men?
He who values the merits of others,
And in their pleasure takes joy
even as tho' twere his own
Goethe
The friend  thou hast, and there
adoption tried.
Grapple them to they soul with
Looks of Shel
Shakespeare
Life is a sheet of paper white
Whereon each one of us may write
His line or two & then comes night
Greatly begin
though thou hast time but for a line
Be that sublime.
Not failure, but low aim is crime
The heart grows rich in giving
all its wealth is living gain
Seeds which mildewed  in the
Scattered fill with gold the garner
plain.
 

The Pal
When you pick your mate for the
long long climb
To the mountain top that you've made
your goal;
When you plight your troth till the
end of time,
And bind two destinies soul to soul
When you ask another to share your
path
To set her stride to your restless gait
To sink with you under Fortune's wrath
Or mount besides you the wings of Fate
Will you choose because of her outward
mould
At the call of the procreative lust
Or stifle love for her store of gold
And grind your heart in the sordid
dust?
Or choose, for the spirit strong & deep
That shows unspoiled from her brave
clean eyes,
The Partner, the Super-friend, who'll
Keep.
Your feet in the way to Paradise.
It was only a sunny smile
And little it cost in the giving
But it scattered the night
Like morning light
and made the day worth living.
Through lifes dull warp a woof it
wove
in shining colors of light & love
And the angels smiled as they
watched above
Yet little at cost in the giving.
It was only a kindly word
and a word that was kindly
spoken
Yet not in vain
For it stilled the pain
of a heart that was nearly broken
It strengthened a fate beset by
fears
and groping blindly through
mists of tears.
For light to brighten the coming
years.
Altho' it was lightly spoken.
It was only a helping hand
And it seemed of little availing
But its clasps were warm
And it saved from harm.
A brother whose strength was
failing.
Its touch was as
tender as angels wings
But it rolled the stone from the
hidden springs
And pointed the way to higher things
Tho it seemed of little availing
A smile, a word, a touch
and each is easily given
Yet one may win
a soul from sin.
Or smooth the way to heaven
A smile may lighten a falling heart
A word may soften pains keenest
smart
A touch may lead us from
sin apart
How easily each is given!
 

Yourself By Dr FK Crane
Your greatest enemy is yourself
It is the fashion to talk much maudlin
self pity & to blame environment
heredity temperament fate, & your fellow
creatures for the evils that happen to you
no real calamity ever crushed you that
did not enter the door you unlocked yourself.
All hell could not make you
despair, except yourself joined in.
Every stone in the edifice of your
character was laid by your own hands.
Fake, malicious people, & other factors
can threaten, hurt & wound you, nothing
& nobody can put you down but yourself
The world is but the mirror of yourself
Keep clean, & you see clean men & women
everywhere. Be cheerful & all mankind
smiles. Be unafraid of events & men
& the stars in their courses will fight
for you.
Let all the world despise you, it
does not matter if you do not despise
yourself.
Whatever the past may have been,
begin now to stand for yourself
your best self, the high & great
self that you know you are,
away in the deep recesses of
Your heart!
Stand! Yield not an inch!
Be faithful to yourself! And
from this moment things shall
take a turn.
 

1398½
 

AWM 2018.666.1