The Spectator

Monday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: The privilege of an Englishman

From our UK edition

From ‘The Privilege of an Englishman’, The Spectator, 3 July 1915: [TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR] Sir,—There is one privilege which an Englishman has which is not shared by any other European nation. That privilege is neither asked for nor desired by other nations in Europe, for they are more democratic than we are. The privilege I refer to is the right which an Englishman has to refuse to defend his country. Some journals and some people seem to think that this right is the most priceless and precious privilege of all. They think the right of the individual rises superior to the need of the State.

Sunday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Night riding

From our UK edition

From 'Dawn on Box Hill', The Spectator, 26 June 1915: AS we rode down the gentle eastern slope of Ranmore Common we noticed that we could see our horses' ears. The statement seems commonplace, but for the last two hours we had mostly taken not only our horses' ears but our horses' heads on trust. In the wooded bridle-ways on the summit of the North Downs it is pitch dark even on the night before the summer solstice. We had had two hours of such bridle' paths, with only an occasional" bald" piece of Down where the stars and the open vault of sky made it poseible to see the man in front and the man behind in the column. We left Ranmore Church a few minutes past 1.30, and by twenty minutes to two there was no mistake as to the coming of the dawn.

Saturday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Self denying ordinance

From our UK edition

From ‘Food and Drink’, The Spectator, 26 June 1915: The Government have been completely beaten by the trade in their attempts at prohibition. But are they justified at the present time in allowing this great waste of food to continue ? Even if in this the trade is strong enough to beat them, as it probably is, the people of the country can do what the Government cannot do to check this abuse. They are unable to face the question of compensation, but if every loyal citizen followed the example of the King and refrained from alcohol during the progress of the war, the compensation question would be answered in a way eminently satisfactory to the nation, however unsatisfactory to the trade. The writer has never been an advocate of prohibition.

Friday

The Spectator

The Spectator at war: Cold-blooded goodness

From our UK edition

From 'Cold-blooded Goodness', The Spectator, 26 June 1915: A young person of either sex who is wholly without sentimentality has not as a rule much heart. On the other hand, where practicality so overruns the character as to destroy all the finest feelings, it may still leave the capacity for sympathy not uninjured, but certainly undestroyed. No good child ever lived who did not wish for approbation, but certain good people do grow out of it. Indifference to it is a cold, unlovable virtue; but some quite kind and lovable people are indifferent to the opinion even of those they really like. It goes, we think, with an overweening desire for independence, a quality always unsocial and rather inhuman.

Thursday