"Mary Herbert disobeyed her mother and came to see me in the afternoon. She told me Eileen Wellesley claims very serious love affair with Rupert Brooke... No doubt Rupert Brooke had the thoroughly polygamous instincts of most poets."

"I am so glad the P.M is pleased about Violet & Bongie, I thought he would be. ... I should like to arrive in London about 8 or 8.30. ... I am glad Birrell approves [of our engagement]."

"The King sent yesterday for a copy of my Memo. on General Policy. The Cabinet, after seeing Sir John French decided approximately as follows:— (1) We must keep our hands free for eventualities; (2) Subject to this that the western theatre of war was the principal one for our efforts..."