MYSELF WHEN YOUNG
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
THE LOOM OF YOUTH
PLEASURE
THE LONELY UNICORN
THE PRISONERS OF MAINZ
PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE
MYSELF
WHEN YOUNG
CONFESSIONS
BY
ALEC WAUGH
LONDON
GRANT RICHARDS LTD.
ST MARTIN’S STREET
1923
{4}
Printed in Great Britain by
Neill & Co., Ltd., Edinburgh.
{5}
FOR
MY MOTHER
TO WHOM I FIRST SPOKE OF IT
WITH MY LOVE
I
IF the majority of one’s friends live in Kensington and Bloomsbury, andif one is fond of going out to parties in the evening, then one shouldlive somewhere midway between these two extremities of charm andculture. With the acceptance of each fresh invitation, I am ledincreasingly to appreciate that there is no stronger deterrent to one’senjoyment of an evening than the knowledge that one has at the end of itto get to Golders Green. However agreeable the company, however profusethe hospitality, there must always come that moment when one is forcedto weigh the expense of a taxi against the degree of entertainmentlikely to be derived from a refusal to be disturbed by the sirens of thelast tube.
It is twenty-five minutes past twelve; in thirteen minutes the shuttersof Warren Street Station will be down. You rise from your cushionedcomfort. You inform your hostess that it is very late, that you are verybusy just now, that you have to be up early in the morning, that youreally feel that the time has come. But you rarely complete yourexplanations. “Oh, but no, really; must you?” she says. “Surely you canstay a little longer. I’m expecting ‘so-and-so’ and ‘so-and-so’ anymoment now. They promised{8} faithfully they would come. They’ll befrightfully disappointed if they find you have gone.” Your vanity arraysitself before your prudence. You remind yourself that a taxi will onlycost ten shillings; you consider with what speed, with the writing ofhow few extra words