96. Mon Jan 19.]
He comes to England desiring to remain unknown. He takes an empty house. His valet falls ill. By the Doctor and Everyone Else he is taken for the valet, while the valet (who dies) is taken for the painter Ilam Corve. The supposed painter is given a funeral in the Abbey. The real man marries happily, and remains incog. for some time. But he must paint. Consequently his identity becomes known to a dealer who get involved in a lawsuit with an American to whom he had sold several of these latter pictures as genuine Ilam Corves. Finally the Law Suit is settled amicably by Corve establishing his identity satisfactorily though to save the face of the Abbey, so to speak, it is hushed up and Ilam & his wife go abroad.
A fine play quite well acted.
Tue Jan 20
Actually spent the morning working! Went for a ride along the Abingdon Rd again. Origen Society in eve. (S.C.R. St Johns) Dr. Rogers, an American professor, read a paper on "The Fall of Babylon." Most interesting. I wish he had talked for 1 1/2 hrs instead of only 3/4. He sketched the events leading up to it and the characters of the spectators of the drama, the position of the Jews &c. A good discussion followed in which the chief part was taken by Burney & Dr Gray.