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9 June 1898 — 3 Savile Row | |
Thursday. 9th [June 1898]. Called as usual at 7. Read the Times in bed. We, Kate & I breakfasted in our room. She was taken rather faint & had to lie down again. Went down at 10 & found Arthur at breakfast with Rhuvon in the drawing room. I went downstairs & ordered the dinner in the kitchen then I went to the patio & busied myself painting the wood work of the pavilion with Aspinall’s Enamel. Merthyr came & sat sometime with Arthur. Theo sat in the meanwhile with Kate. I went & had a little chat with Arthur & then went off to luncheon at 17 Cav. Sqr with Blanche, Onie & Irène. The 2 latter went off to Harrow to see their brothers so Blanche took me out driving with her & took me home again at 5. It was a warm day but there was no sunshine. I found on my return Kate just home from paying visits. She & Nelly had lunched with Arthur. Rhuvon had gone out. Arthur was in his own room waiting for Mr Bond so we had tea & were joined afterwards by Bond, & then Arthur was wheeled in on his couch—& they chatted with us all a while & smoked– Then Arthur said he wished to speak to Bond alone & they retired again to the bedroom. I saw Bond as he left the house & he said Arthur had wished to know the truth about himself. He said he felt he was not gaining ground & he thought he should be told the truth. Bond then told him that he had a cancerous growth in the bladder from wh he could not recover. Arthur asked him how long he might be expected to live– Bond answered no one could tell—but he thought till about the end of the year– After this Arthur was wheeled back into the drawing room & played bésique with Mrs Jellico & Rhuvon. Bond was very low about his own wife. He had taken her to a private hospital for an operation for internal tumour this morng & there it was found that she has also a cancerous tumour in the bladder. He told Arthur this & that she & he were both suffering alike—& when he told me he was almost choked with emotion. Poor man—sorrow has laid its finger also on him! It upset me altogether & I broke down—so that I had to run out for a little walk with Nelly to get over it. Henry Alderson came to dine with us & Rhuvon also remained so we were 5 to dinner in the studio. When I went to bed at 10 I looked into Arthur’s room & found he was awake & I said a few words to him, wished him good night & we gave each other a hearty kiss. Poor fellow! | |
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