The real Lord Northcliffe : some personal recollections of a private secretary, 1902-1922

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VISCOUNT NORTHCLIFFE

A snapshot taken by the author at Mentone, March, 1919

THE REAL

LORD NORTHGLIFFE

-

Some Personal Recollections

of a Private Secretary

1902-1922

BY

LOUISE OWEN

CASSELL AND COMPANY, LTD

London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne
1922

PrtHttd in dial Britain

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£ DEDICATED

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THE PUBLIC

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THE REAL
LORD NORTHCLIFFE

IT is an impertinence for me to attempt a pen
picture of my Chief, Lord Northcliffe. No one
person could do justice to that marvellous per-
sonality, even in several volumes. More able
pens than mine have written, and will write, of
his great achievements. All I attempt is to
take the great public, whom he loved so dearly,
into my confidence, and let them see him as I
knew him, as a human person with many
faults, but very small ones compared to his
wonderful generous nature, and charming
characteristics.

In March, 1902, I applied to him for
the post of private secretary. It was pre-
sumptuous of me, as I was untrained, but
my only excuse was, that having been brought
up in the atmosphere of newspapers, the
paper and ink had penetrated to my very
bones.

The Real Lord Nor the life

My mother died when I was a small child.
My father died before my school days should
have ended, and I was faced with the problem
of earning my living, in addition to having the
care of two younger sisters. I think all people
have a natural talent for some one thing. I
knew mine was for clothes. Without being
taught I could design, cut out and make any
garment, make it so that not even the sharp
eyes of my friends could detect the amateur
hand. I was tempting Providence by not
utilizing this gift, but my heart wasn't in it.
Even in my poorest days I parted with my
spare pennies to buy newspapers. I hated to
feel after my father's death that I was drifting
away from the core of things.

My first impression of Alfred Harmsworth
was his kindliness, and soft cultivated voice.
I can see him now, standing by the fireplace
with his elbow on the mantelpiece. He was
particularly handsome, fresh and wholesome
looking, tall, broad-shouldered, with a finely
shaped massive head, covered with thick,
smooth, cendre* coloured hair, one lock of which
fell over the left side of his forehead. His
face was clean-shaven, and I noticed his chiselled
features, finely shaped nose, determined mouth,
and strong square jaw. His grey eyes were

2

The Real Lord Northcliffe

kind but penetrating, and he fired off questions
at me in a simple direct manner. It was
his lack of affectation, and snobbishness,
that impressed me most at that momentous
interview.

His room at Carmelite House was luxuri-
ously furnished — more like a library in a country
mansion — nothing of the stereotyped office
here, with hard chairs upholstered in leather,
ordinary desks, and linoleum- covered floors. I
noticed the thick carpet into which my feet
sank as I walked, the soft green velvet curtains,
the photographs of his dear father and mother
on his desk, the bookcases reaching from floor
to ceiling filled with richly bound volumes ;
but what attracted my attention most were the
masses of beautiful flowers. He saw me glance
at them.

" I spend a number of my working hours
in this room, so I like to surround myself
with beautiful things, and the flowers give me
great joy. I have them sent up from my
country house twice a week."

He was almost feminine in his anxiety that
I should be comfortable and at ease. He pulled
up an armchair for me, and placed it in front of
the roaring fire. He talked, not as if I were a
stranger applying for a post, but as a friend

3

The Real Lord Northcliffe

and equal. He explained how he needed some-
one almost to anticipate what he wanted done,
someone who would make his interests her
interests, who could interview for him, go
through his correspondence and sift the wheat
from the chaff, who would watch his newspapers
and discover the weaknesses of one or the other,
who would not keep an eye on the clock —
meaning no fixed hours. All this appealed to
me. Why, I thought, this is my dream ful-
filled. Yes, I can do all that. But with fear
and trembling I blurted out : " My shorthand
and typewriting are a bit weak — I have been
working at them for three months, but have no
confidence."

" Don't be nervous, you will have plenty
of work, and with practice you will improve,"
he replied. " I don't want a mere machine ;
I want somebody with tact, judgment and
imagination."

As I am? Irish, I said I had all these!

"You will start on Monday then."

I had realized by now that Alfred Harms-
worth was no ordinary man. Even the office
boy who ushered me in was dressed in an Eton
suit, but in spite of this unusual atmosphere,
his extremely simple and natural manner
dominated his surroundings.

4

The Real Lord Northcliffe

" What about salary ? " I ventured, the
picture of my little home and sisters loomed
in front of me.

" Oh, I haven't thought of it, but that will
be all right," he replied.

"But you tell me," I urged, full of
anxiety, " I am replacing a man who is taking
on more responsibility; what have you been
paying him ? "

" That is quite different, he is a man with
dependants, and you are only a girl."

" But I too have responsibilities ; I have no
parents; no one I can turn to for help, and I
have two sisters to support."

Alfred Harmsworth saw the force of my
argument, and said, " Well, at the end of the
week we will discuss the matter again, and
if you make my interests your interests, and
if I find you have gumption and industry, in
fact, if you are of help to me I will pay you
well."

And so began the fight for equal wage
for men and women. He paid, during the
subsequent years, substantial salaries to the
women members of his staff, a very construc-
tive policy in view of woman's ever-increasing
participation in public life. No joy that I have
experienced since can be compared with that
feeling of security and relief which filled me as
I passed out of Carmelite House. The joyous-

5

The Real Lord Northcliffe

ness which radiated from him to all about him
communicated itself to me, and through me to my
little home. We were indeed a very happy family.

Monday came at last, but not the day I
imagined. Mr. Sutton (now Sir George Sutton,
Bart.) entered my room, which adjoined Lord
Northcliffe's, and gave me some newspapers
to read. Except for this interruption I saw no
one, and had no work. I did have the sense,
however, to go out to lunch. The following day
another visit from Mr. Sutton," Mr. Alfred will
not be in to-day." Such was the state of my
nerves that I muttered, " Thank God ! "

Mr. Harms worth (as he was then) appeared
on Wednesday. He had been staying in the
country, and said he had purposely left me
alone to give me time to settle down. Every
day showed the depth of his understanding,
small things, but so far-reaching.

His methods of work, in those times long
ago (1902), may interest my readers. He
usually appeared about 11 o'clock, having read
his own, and every other morning newspaper,
so he was well equipped for continuing his work

6

The Real Lord Northcliffe

at Carmelite House. It was his habit to jot
down in the early hours criticisms and sugges-
tions on everything conceivable, and from these
notes we started the day's work. I marvelled
at his concentration ; he did not waste a second
of time. He dealt with his vast correspon-
dence, gave me lists of people whom he wished
to see, saw the heads of the various depart-
ments. Nothing connected with his vast
organization seemed too trivial for his notice ;
those steel grey eyes of his noted everything,
and his hearing was just as acute. His power
of looking ahead, his gift of acquiring informa-
tion, startled me ; his knowledge of affairs was
uncanny. He had a curious instinct for asking
questions, and seemed to know each subject as
thoroughly as the specialists themselves.

The days passed all too swiftly. It was one
round of excitement for me. The letters I had
to answer touched on every imaginable subject.
The people seeking interviews represented the
highest and the lowest, from minor Royalties,
Cabinet Ministers, distinguished foreigners, our
leaders from overseas, naval and military men
of high rank, politicians, men and women in
the public eye, writers, artists and musicians
of note. These, down to the humblest of men
and women, even ex- convicts, all sought out my

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The Real Lord Northclijffe

Chief. There was scarcely a minute's interval,
and it surprised me how he could switch off so
completely from one subject to another. He was
tireless ; he worked from morning until night.

During the few first weeks of my life at Car-
melite House I knew that if I was to succeed
I must acquaint myself with every subject
that interested him, and I could best accom-
plish that by reading the newspapers diligently,
so that when he arrived at the office my know-
ledge of current affairs would not disgrace me.
I arranged with my newsagent that a complete
set should be delivered to me at my home by
6 o'clock every morning, and at that time I
started work. I read carefully The Times,
Morning Post, Telegraph, Standard, Chronicle,
and Express, and cut out and pasted on sheets
of paper all news or special features I found in
these journals which did not appear in ours.
I also cut out from our papers items of news
which we had, and our rivals had missed, so
that he could see at a glance if we had been
beaten, though I confess with pleasure that
that seldom happened. This may seem a small
task, but it took me a considerable time to do
thoroughly. I often had a very hurried break-
fast to enable me to reach Carmelite House at
10 o'clock. I did not disclose to anyone the

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The Real Lord Northcliffe

hours of work I put in on this job, and when the
Chief would say : " These sheets are very use-
ful ; I am glad you do them," I felt more than
recompensed for my task.

For many years my whole thoughts and
efforts were devoted to his work. I read up all
I could about him, and the business. I kept in
my private notebook the names of all impor-
tant members of the staff, their work, their
home addresses, and their telephone numbers,
every little detail that would help me to be
useful to him. I soon learned to notice the
quality of the paper, the printing, the ink, and
the make-up, and also the posters ; I kept
charts of the circulation of the daily, weekly,
and monthly journals, so that he could see at a
glance the rise or fall of any one publication.
To save his eyesight I re-wrote all important
illegible communications which otherwise
would have been consigned to the waste-
paper basket. Many important people owe me
thanks !

My clothes sense, to which I have referred,

served me exceedingly well. During my leisure

hours at home, I made my own and my sisters'

clothes, so I knew when our fashion papers

B 9

The Real Lord Northcliffe

were weak, and when the " Woman's page " of
the Daily Mail was not practical. It was my
duty to criticise the fashion designs and women's
articles, so that my experience in my little
home stood me in good stead. I tested the
cookery recipes, also the paper patterns. My
attention had for a long time been fixed on those
very charming sketches in the Evening Stan-
dard by Miss Bessie Ascough, and the delight-
ful weekly column in the Queen by M. E. Clarke.
I never tired of telling my Chief the pleasure I
derived from the work of both these clever
people. I am very proud that for many years
they have been valued members of the staff.
Miss Ascough's sketches are world-famous ; I
have seen them in the salons of the most ex-
clusive dressmakers in Paris, London and New
York; and Mrs. Clarke's delightful weekly
article, appearing in The Times every Monday
from Paris, is one of the most attractive features
of that journal.

I had to interview many people who were
anxious to put before my Chief their schemes,
inventions, and grievances, all having the fixed
idea that if they could only meet him he would
take up the subject dearest to their hearts in
his journals. My habit of signing letters with
surname and initial only, gave the impression

10

The Real Lord Northcliffe

that I was a man- secretary, and many callers,
especially elderly gentlemen, were indignant
when asked to submit their business to a mere
"chit of a girl." Not such a "chit," for I
assured them I could fully understand and deal
intelligently with their requests, and that I was
older than I looked, yet younger than my years,
for on joining I had given a wrong age, like the
soldier on enlistment, in order to get a " man's "
pay ! When later on I wanted to deduct these
years my Chief said, " Oh ! No, a very poor
excuse ! "

A duty I greatly enjoyed was entertaining
some of his Overseas visitors when he was
very pressed for time. At his instructions,
flowers and books awaited them at their
hotels, and when they were leaving these
shores, fruit and other gifts were sent to their
ships.

It was customary to hold an Editorial Con-
ference every afternoon, a " kind of Cabinet
Meeting," at which the Editors and special
writers attended, when the outline of the next
day's paper was put forward, the leading news
feature selected and the line to be taken dis-
cussed. Often Lord Northcliffe would alter
the decision already arrived at, and instead of
leaving the office about 6 or 7 o'clock as he
probably had planned, he would write the
leader himself. Walking up and down the

ii

The Real Lord Northcliffe

length of his room, smoking a cigar, he would
dictate it to me. He was fluent and very
direct in his writing, and you could detect that
clear penetrating intelligence behind the simple
well-framed sentences. He wrote just as he
talked, very descriptively, and not a word too
many. These were the leaders which gave
the Daily Mail that dynamic force, that inde-
pendence, that total disregard for the feelings
of politicians and other prominent people, and
made his journals so world famous. His
thoughts travelled beyond Westminster ! He
did not look at any one spot through a tele-
scope, but rather used prism glasses of large
diameter, which gave him as his " field of view "
the whole world.

He was a demon for work. Often after an
arduous day he would remember his promise
to write an article, maybe for a prominent
American or Overseas journalist, who wanted
his impressions, or for an Editor of a small, un-
important paper. Whatever it was, he would
do it. " I can't disappoint ' so and so,' " he
would say; "I promised." Often, after start-
ing work at 5 o'clock in the morning, he was so
tired towards evening that he could hardly
stand, and instead of going home to dinner
he would invite one of the staff to take

12

The Real Lord Northcliffe

a simple meal with him at a neighbouring
restaurant.

" I am going to give you an extra pound a
week, so that you can take a hansom cab when
you are kept here late. I know what a struggle
it is on a wet night trying to get inside an
omnibus," my Chief said to me. " Remember
it is for cab fares — not for finery ! "

Not long afterwards many complaints
reached him that I had been seen leaving
Carmelite House in a hansom cab ! It was a
most improper proceeding in those far-off days
to ride by one's self, and I can understand
the young generation who may scan these
pages thinking we had a very thin time of it.
I often wondered why it was considered im-
proper. Personally, I loved it, and thought
the windows made a good frame for any
woman ; certainly we all looked our best in
them, much more attractive than when emerging
in these days from an aeroplane, wearing cap
and goggles. To be associated with a million-
aire often leads one to extravagance, but in
my early days the wasting of an eight guinea
seat, purchased by my Chief for me to see
King Edward's Coronation, which was post-
poned, hurt me acutely, and it was long before
I recovered from the shock. When eventually

13

The Real Lord Northcliffe

it did take place, I was working hard at
Carmelite House !

Lord Northcliffe was fascinating to men
and women alike, and they found the hours
spent in his company all too short. His per-
sonal charm captivated all, his conversational
genius was combined with the rarest kind of
sincerity and a total freedom from affectation.
I remember Helen Mathers, the well-known
authoress of " Comin' thro' the Rye," telling me
of his good looks at the age of 16, and how he
resembled a young Apollo. Not only women,
but men well known in Fleet Street, repeated to
me how handsome he was in his young days,
that every head was turned to look at him as he
passed with an utter lack of self-consciousness.

He had a supreme talent for friendship, and
had a rare gift of inspiring the devotion of his
staff. He was loved with boyish ardour by
men of such diverse temperament as Thomas
Marlowe, Charles Hands, H. W. Wilson, Hannen
Swaffer, the late Twells Brex, and William
McAlpin, his devoted friend and able repre-
sentative for many years in Paris. All who
came into personal contact with him felt the
magnetism that induced them to put him first,
even at the sacrifice of their own home life.
He was a born leader, but never so absorbed in
his own affairs that he was unable or unwilling
to appreciate the work of others. He was the

14

The Reai, Lord Northcliffe

first to send congratulations with unstinted
praise for any achievement or exploit in any
part of the world, no matter by whom it was
accomplished. I always felt a certain pride
that many splendid types of men loved my
Chief and understood him. He enjoyed the
friendship of patriots; — Cecil Rhodes, Lord
Roberts, Sir Henry Wilson. To my knowledge
Sir Henry Wilson consulted him often, and the
National Service Movement, put before the
country by our beloved " Bobs," was helped
both financially and publicly by him. Lord
Roberts usually signed his letters to my Chief,
" Yours affectionately," surely a tribute from
our great Field Marshal.

Lord Northcliffe impressed upon me the
value of friendship. I remember that after I
had been at Carmelite House a few months he
startled me by saying, " I have tested you, my
dear, and find you loyal and truthful, and now
I shall take you fully into my confidence." He
counted off on his fingers his real friends, as he
described them : " Harold (his brother, now
Lord Rothermere), Sutton, Beeton (and another
whose name for the moment I have forgotten),
I trust them with everything, and your name"
(touching his little finger) "will be added to the
list. Remember, it is better to have a few real
friends than hundreds of acquaintances. You
now have a friend in me for life."

15

The Real Lord Nor the life

No wonder I thought him the most mar-
vellous person who had ever crossed my path,
and I made every effort to uphold that trust.

Amongst ourselves we talked of him as
" Alfred," or " Alfred the Great." He had a
natural dignity of which nobody, however
friendly he became, could take advantage.
I remember, though, one youthful member
failing to understand this. Lord Northcliffe
invited him to his country house, and during
his visit called him by his Christian name,
which was rather a favourite habit of his. His
young guest, forgetting his position, addressed
his Chief not only personally, but in writing, as
" My dear Alfred." It did not surprise me
that his career on our staff was short.

He addressed all our sex as : " My dear ! "
an elastic term which may mean so much or so
little ! Whether we were married or single,
young or old, made no difference. I chaffed
him once : " You play for safety, and so avoid
confusion among your lady friends." To which
he laughingly agreed.

" Ah, my dear, you don't know them as
I do ; I have to be careful," and truthfully I
did not.

It was a never-ending surprise to me how
persistent some women were in their efforts to
make his acquaintance, or improve the friendship
already begun. Whether it was admiration for

16

The Real Lord Northcliffe

him, or publicity and power for themselves, I did
not fathom. I was often astonished that women
whose title, name, wealth or ability assured
them of a certain position, should be filled with
anxiety for their names to be mentioned in the
society columns of his newspapers. I have
seen letters from women who had been present
at the opera, or some other function, bitterly
complaining that the names of their friends had
appeared and their own been omitted. Others
less exalted in the social scale were equally
persistent seekers after notoriety.

I never see sandwiches without the vision
of a little packet being left in my room every
afternoon by a messenger boy. Taking it for
granted it was but another kind thought of my
Chief's to provide me with a little nourishment,
I ate them. It was months before I discovered
that they were not ordered for me by the Chief,

but for the Chief by Lady , who had a most

casual acquaintance with him. She thought the
way to the man's soul was : " Feed the brute."

I did, however, understand my own sex on
one occasion. Before Lord Northcliffe launched
the Daily Mirror in its first form as a women's
newspaper, I repeatedly told him we did not
require a newspaper for ourselves, we were
quite content with those supplied to our men

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The Real Lord Northcliffe

folk ; but he thought otherwise, and the ex-
periment cost him £100,000. He was the first
to recognize his mistake and said, " It was
simply another failure made by mere man in
diagnosing women's needs ! " What a hectic
time that was ! Working night and day, a
mixture of tragedy and comedy. The staff
was composed of women, with the exception of
three or four men in an advisory capacity.
My sympathies were with the night Editor,
who with no other male to support him was
called upon to decide all disputes and preserve
law and order. No wonder he rushed from
Fleet Street, and went " back to the land " !

From the very beginning of Lord North-
cliffe's career he paid his staff very liberally,
and adopted the profit-sharing system for those
who had helped him in his earliest days. His
great publishing business, the Amalgamated
Press, was so organized that the staff worked
only five days a week. The wonderful success
of this enterprise was due to those devoted
workers who started with him over thirty years
ago. Mr. A. E. Linforth, so popular in Fleet-
way House, was one of this little band ; he is
now Vice- Chairman of the company.

Lord Northcliffe sent many members of his
staffs to his delightful home at Grand Falls,
Newfoundland, where some years ago he estab-
lished his paper mills. They were sent not only

18

The Real Lord Northcliffe

for a holiday, but for the additional advantage
of keeping in touch with all sides of the business.
The establishing of a town in the oldest colony
of the British Empire is surely a romance in
itself. This has been built in the midst of
forest land, with well-designed and comfortable
houses for the inhabitants, streets well paved,
electric light, telephones, schools, churches, hos-
pital, public library, bank, theatre, kinema,
and even wireless. The Duke of Connaught,
when Governor-General of Canada, paid a visit
to Grand Falls, and occupied Lord Northcliffe's
house. It is a very charming one, and was
built from plans sent to him by the late Mark
Twain, who remembered the admiration which
Lord Northcliffe had expressed for his home
while visiting him there.

When my Chief was taking a holiday in our
own islands, on the Continent, or even so far
afield as America, he would cable for several
members of his various staffs to join him. He
was a charming host, every wish anticipated,
and arrangements made as if all were honoured
guests, as indeed they were.

He was a genius in selecting men. There
is a well-known story in Fleet Street of how he
passed a young reporter on the staircase, and
questioned him about his work and salary.
The young man replied that he was happy and
earning £8 a week.

19

The Real Lord Northcliffe

" Content ? " Lord Northcliffe inquired.

" Yes, quite," he answered.

" Then you had better look for another post,
for nobody will make headway with me who is
content with £8 a week on the Editorial Staff."

I reminded him of this story and he said,
' Yes, I recognized his limitations at once, my
dear."

Youth was a word I was constantly hearing,
for my Chief was a great believer in it. He
once remarked to me, " When I am forty I shall
slack off, and not take on further responsibili-
ties, and certainly not buy any newspapers."

He made himself an impossible promise.
Those who have followed his career know what
he was doing at fifty, and what he would have
done had he lived to sixty.

I was often urged by a sister, who lived in
India, to leave Fleet Street and join her there.
She thought I was wasting my youth, and lead-
ing a drab existence. She did not realize that
the very atmosphere of the newspaper world
is electrifying, and so penetrating that one can
never be free of it ; to me it was an earthly
Paradise. My friends often chaffed me, and
said my happiness would be complete if I could
arrange for a little home to be built on the roof
of Carmelite House ! But the truth of it was
that every day was a fresh adventure. We
peeped behind the scenes, and so learned the

20

The Real Lord Northcliffe

secrets of the world. We knew the inside
stories of the so-called Cabinet crisis ; the plot-
tings of foreign countries, with their aims and
ambitions ; the principal figures in international
scandals ; the private lives of public people ; the
pulling of strings in political and other worlds ;
the motives, unknown to the general public,
behind criminal and divorce cases; the inner
lives of unscrupulous financiers. But not only
the seamy side ; we heard also of the conditions
of labour, the sacrifices and untold heroism of
the ordinary man and woman in the street.
We heard of our countrymen overseas. Nothing
too big or too small for the attention of the
journalist. This variety was so fascinating
that one's work became one's pleasure.

Lord Northcliffe had true sympathy with
his staff ; he understood them and their diffi-
culties. All artists and writers are tempera-
mental, and apt to feel very acutely. When
something had gone wrong, and a stormy inter-
view in a volcanic atmosphere had taken place,
I would catch sight of a man leaving his room
looking very despondent. I would mention it.

" My dear," he would say, " I am so sorry ; I
didn't mean to hurt him, but he was ' asleep ' (or
' stupid ' or ' indolent ' or whatever it might
be). Tell him to lunch with me."

With great joy I would rush upstairs to the
Editorial room, and tell the offender, still suf-

21

The Real Lorn Northcliffe

fering from his wounds, that the Chief wanted
him downstairs. As we descended I would say :
" Don't mention the little upheaval ; it is all
over and the Chief has forgotten it." He would
be the first to hold out his hand and say :
" I was irritable," " not feeling well," or
" worried."

Sometimes he would dictate to me a very
angry letter, with instructions to see it delivered
immediately. After he had signed it, if I
thought it undeserved I would put it on one
side (remembering that " the written letter
remains ") and purposely forget it. Later on
I would show it to him, and ask if he still wished
it sent. More often than not it was destroyed.
The same with fiery messages, how often I
thought it wiser to forget them !

No wonder those who knew him well adored
him ; how could they help it ? They knew he
was a genius, with a genius's unexpectedness.
One never quite knew what he intended to do,
or what he wanted done.

One day I ventured : " Tell me, did you ever
imagine in your very young days you would
have such a successful life ? "

" My dear," he replied, " I attribute my
success, as you call it, to seeing ahead. I did
not think my school-fellows were stupid, but
I could always see farther than they could."

It was this gift of vision which, added to his

22

The Real Lord Northcliffe

great power of concentration and grit, carried
him on.

In some ways he was ruthless. He had no
use for inefficiency. " I pay my staff well and
treat them well, and I expect in return good
service," and he usually had it. Having ex-
perienced impecunious days myself, I felt sorry
when a man was dismissed, and if he had a wife
and children I would plead for a second or even
a third chance. Sometimes the man would
get it, sometimes not. Nothing would alter
his decision when he had formed an opinion of
a man's value. " I know him better than you ;
one cannot bolster up empty sacks," and later
on his judgment proved correct.

One of my earliest recollections is the instal-
ment of an electrophone in his room. He invited
leading Editors of other journals, and our own
special writers, to be present to hear Joseph
Chamberlain deliver his celebrated speech on
" Tariff Reform " at the Guildhall. It was a
rare pleasure for me, as I had never heard him ;
it seemed a miracle, so distinctly could I hear
every word. That afternoon was recalled
vividly to my mind last year, when I took a
party of young people to the Daily Mail office

The Real Lord Northcliffe

to initiate them into the mysteries of wireless.
The doors of the room were closed, and they were
amazed and interested when the operator fixed
the receivers on their ears and they heard messages
from across the Atlantic, from the Continent, and
also from aeroplanes flying the channel.

My first acquaintance with the motor car
was a ride, as a great privilege, in Lord North-
cliffe's 90 h.p. Mercedes, which took two men
to start the engine. How different from these
days of the self-starter.

The Daily Mail gliding prizes take my
thoughts back to the time when the Wright
Brothers brought from America their flight
invention, and came to Lord Northcliffe, who
saw at once the possibilities, not only in war-
fare, but also in civil life. He urged the Govern-
ment to give it attention. Lord Balfour and
Mr. Winston Churchill were enthusiastic, others
were indifferent. Can it be so long ago as 1909
when my Chief telephoned me early one morn-
ing : " Our country is no longer an island ;
Bleriot has flown the channel, and history is
made to-day. Do you realize it is the first time
an entry has been made otherwise than by ship ?
We must send out invitations for a luncheon
in his honour." The excitement when Bleriot
and Lord Northcliffe drove up together to the

24

The Real Lord Northcliffe

Savoy Hotel must still be very vivid in the
minds of my friends at Carmelite House.

When thinking of him and his work my
thoughts invariably turn to his mother. She
was his ideal of womanhood and his devotion
to her was immeasurable. It was his joy to
take her away, just the two of them, for a
holiday every summer, motoring or travelling
on the Continent. I remember his pleasurable
excitement when he took her to America, and
to lunch at the White House at Washington
with President Roosevelt. He was always
speaking to me of his " wonderful mother," as
he called her, and always visited, telephoned or
wrote to her daily. She was his inspiration,
and ever in his thoughts. Abraham Lincoln's
words applied equally to Lord Northcliffe.
" All that I am, all that I ever hope to be, I
owe to my mother." He talked over with her
his schemes and ambitions from his earliest
days. If he had promised to dine or lunch with
her, neither Kings nor Queens could keep him
from that promise.

Before he went off on his world tour he
looked so tired and worn that I suggested he
should go instead to a nursing home and take a
thorough rest.

" I have always wanted this trip," he
c 25

The Real Lord Northcliffe

said, " and the doctors tell me my mother is in
splendid health, so I am taking the opportunity
of leaving her for a few months."

His last words to me on the eve of sailing
were : "I shall pray every day for my mother."
I replied : " Don't be over anxious, your brothers
and sisters will look after her, they also adore
her."

" Yes, I know that, but I am her first-born
and she looks to me."

He cabled to her every day, and sent her
long descriptive letters. The sympathy and
understanding between this mother and son
are rarely equalled in these days of hurry
and scurry. Here was a man, whom so
many thought ruthless, ambitious and
self-advertising, showing even to me that
natural boyish affection for his family. Often
he would telephone from his mother's home :
" I shall be at the office soon. I have had a
delightful morning with mother and Christabel's
(a favourite sister) children," and he did not
tire of telling me of the games they all played
together. The simplicity of the life there
appealed to him. " Give a kiss and my love
to mother, and tell her she is the only one."
Such were his messages to her when he was
dying. They buried him with her picture on
his breast, and in his hands were clasped the
little book, her gift to him, which he had with

26

The Real Lord Northcliffe

him always. He was very attached to his
brothers and sisters, and always spoke of them
to me in endearing terms. Lord Rothermere
was his confidant and helper, and his opinion
was asked and invariably taken before fresh
schemes were launched. He constantly referred
to his brother St John's fortitude and courage
in taking up the threads of life and making good,
in spite of the terrible motor accident, which
crippled him and blotted out in a moment the
promise of a great career.

I thought years ago that I was unusual, or
more than up to date, in having the telephone
fixed, not only by my bedside, but also in my
bathroom. The Chief had a habit of ringing
us up in turn at any moment of the early morn-
ing, and he was impatient if a maid asked for a
message, so I always had my pencil and paper
ready to take down any instructions, or even
articles, through the telephone.

I soon discovered the adoration Lord North-
cliffe had for children of all kinds and conditions.
To my knowledge he practically adopted scores,
educated them, planned their holidays. He
sent some to the 'Varsities, others to the Con-
tinent ; a few even enjoyed the finishing advan-

27

The Real Lord Northcliffe

tages of a trip round the world. They were
children of his journalistic friends, or little ones
who had lost their parents. I shall follow their
careers with interest. We all know it was a
great grief to him that he had no children of
his own.

" But there, my dear," he would say,
" no one person can have everything in life ;
there is a crumpled rose-leaf everywhere, so
count your blessings and you will realize you are
well off. Wouldn't it be dull if we had our
every wish gratified ? "

Had my Chief had children, he would
have had no leisure to father so many waifs
and strays. He never failed to inquire from
time to time after my little family, the three
children I adopted twelve years ago.

One of his greatest pleasures was his annual
camp at Broadstairs for the boys from Poplar.
It was a summer camp for about 500, and
these young town-bred schoolboys had a joyous
holiday, most of them seeing the sea and country
for the first time. Everything was provided
for their comfort. They had special trains to
take them to and fro, and sports of every de-
scription were organized to fill their days. He
loved these weeks beyond everything. He
entered into their games with that joyousness

28

The Real Lord Northcliffe

and youthful spirit which marked him even to
the end. It was an unwritten law that he had
a bachelor party at his Broadstairs home during
that time, and invitations were eagerly accepted
by his old friends. Whenever suitable vacan-
cies occurred in his various businesses, his
thoughts would turn to his friends, as he called
them, in Poplar, and inquiries were made for
suitable candidates.

He took great interest in Sir Arthur Pearson's
" Fresh Air Fund," and it was my duty to see
that each year his journals, the Daily Mail,
Evening News and Weekly Dispatch, gave it
full publicity. He continually noticed the backs
of those rows and rows of grim, dreary-looking
houses, which we all see from the railway car-
riage windows when entering big manufactur-
ing towns, and when the schemes for the
Garden Cities were put before him he entered
into them with characteristic energy and
zest.

He was for ever thinking how he could help
those less fortunate than himself. He under-
stood in no small measure what the blind missed
in life. So far back as 1906 he had the Daily
Mail printed in Braille and this was continued
until the middle of the war, when it was taken
over by the National Institute for the Blind.

29

The Real Lord Northcliffe

Father Boiling's name is engraved on my
memory. A great friendship existed between
that famous east end preacher and Lord
Northcliffe. This was evident in his great
anxiety lest Father Dolling should not recover
from the serious illness which ended his life.
Neither effort nor money was spared, every-
thing that could be done was done, and it was
a great grief when he lost his friend. He after-
wards interested himself financially in the sea-
side Dolling Memorial Home, and devoted a lot
of time to its organization. The Rev. Hugh
Chapman, and Sir Owen Seaman, Editor of
Punch, did not appeal in vain for his help
when starting the well-known Normyl Cure for
Inebriates.

Incidents crowd upon my mind as I write,
but one will always remain as of yesterday.
It was Christmas, 1902. I was sent to Coutts's
Bank for several £50 notes. On my return I
addressed several envelopes under his direction,
and into each one placed a note.

" I want you to deliver these personally
this afternoon, and in no manner disclose my
name. They are old friends of my father's, and
people I knew in my young days, but now
down and out."

Several of them were for the Temple, and
when I convinced myself I was face to face
with these old friends, I parted with my gifts,

30

The Real Lord Northcliffe

and flew down the creaking stairs as quickly
as possible lest I should be traced.

He was very witty, and always saw the
humorous side of things. I recollect with
what boyish glee he told me how just before
boarding a channel boat he bought, as was
his habit, a complete set of newspapers to read
on the journey. He was wearing a travelling
ulster and cap well pulled down, with his papers
in a bundle under his arm, when he was tapped
on the shoulder by a passenger, and " Times,
please," was bellowed in his ear. I have for-
gotten whether he parted with his copy or not !
His appreciation of amusing incidents was
easily seen. A member of the Editorial staff
sauntered into the office one evening, and seeing
a colleague, as he thought, bending over a desk
writing, slapped him vigorously on the back and
said : " Thank God, the old man has gone to the
Continent; now we shall have peace."

"Oh no, he hasn't," said Lord Northcliffe,
looking up and enjoying the offender's confusion.
An invitation to dinner closed the incident.

An epidemic of loss of memory once spread
over the country, and Lord Northcliffe was
perturbed by the disappearance of his valet
for a few days. I suggested he had lost his
memory.

The Real Lord Northcliffe

" Oh no," he said, " that is all very well for
the newspapers, but not for my domestic
staff ! "

As Joseph remained in his service, I presume
he gave a satisfactory explanation.

My readers must not imagine that life was
altogether a bed of roses. Suffering once from
a sense of injustice, I had a heated argument
with Lord Northcliffe, and in the midst of it he
stopped me and said : " Look in the mirror
my dear and see how hideous your face is ! I
can tolerate it when it is cheerful, but now —
impossible ! " Who could refrain from smiling
and so recovering equanimity ?

Reference has been publicly made to his
extensive private pension list for what he called
" deserving cases." It was a lengthy one, and
once on the list meant being there for life, and
the amounts were not small. Not only his
immediate circle, but others with scarcely any
claim were made comfortable for life. This
list was very private, he preferred people to
think of him as a monster, rather than the
warm-hearted man he was.

I have heard it said by those who do not
know, that the sufferings and troubles of the

32

TJie Real Lord Northcliffe

rich are non-existent, that money heals all
wounds. How untrue ! Lord Northcliffe,
though very rich himself, repeatedly said :
" Money does not bring happiness, but it can
round off the corners of life, in that it enables
one to travel, and to help crowds of lame
dogs over stiles."

As an Irishwoman I always realized that
the transposition of the first two letters in
"acres" spells "cares."

"Medical men should be paid handsomely
by rich people," Lord Northcliffe would
say. " They give much of their time,
thought and energy to the poor without any
recompense."

His interest, work and pecuniary help aided
many hospitals, and Lord Knutsford, that
prince of beggars, never appealed to him in
vain.

Though it is not generally known, he was a
great lover of music. On one occasion he
played to me on the piano with obvious pride
his earliest compositions, and remarked that
by those he earned his first money. He took
a great interest in pictures and tapestries, and
had many beautiful examples in his homes. He
loved colour, and expressed his admiration for
Mostyn's famous garden scenes, and the work

33

The Real Lord Northcliffe

of that brilliant young artist, the late Lovat
Fraser.

His Spartan life would astonish many of his
readers. He ate sparingly, drank but little
alcohol, and usually retired to bed between
9 and 10 o'clock. He was not strong, and only
by this rigime could he conserve his energy and
strength. Lord Northcliffe had no expensive
hobbies. He spent very little money on him-
self, and having known in his early days what
it was to be " hard-up," he hated waste of any
kind. I have been called over the coals for
carelessness, especially for omitting to switch
off the electric lights. He loved fishing, but
his real pleasure was reading, mostly biogra-
phies and books of travel. I am very pleased
that he took with him and read on his last tour
my little birthday gift : Steele's translation
of " Aristotle's Letters to Alexander the
Great."

A few years ago Lord Northcliffe was advised
by his doctor to take up golf. He hated it, and
would have given it up had not Sandy Thomson,
the well-known professional, thought otherwise.
There was no escape ; wet or fine at 9 o'clock
Sandy called for him wherever he happened to

34

The Real Lord Northcliffe

be. The Chief used to tell us how he would
even ignore the valet's excuse and walk into the
bedroom, and persuade him against that first
instinct of dodging a lesson, when an east wind
was blowing. He took such interest in Lord
Northcliffe's game, that within a very short
time his handicap was reduced to single figures,
and it was through the perseverance of the pro-
fessional that he enjoyed good health for many
years. Sandy's Scottish humour delighted Lord
Northcliffe, and the list of golfing " Command-
ments " which he drew up and insisted upon
his pupil reciting every day before playing,
afforded much amusement to the Chief and his
friends. For many years he travelled with
Lord Northcliffe, and became almost an inter-
national figure, for very few people missed
meeting " Sandy " ; he and Pine (my Chief's
loyal chauffeur for 20 years) looked after him
with boyish devotion, each doing his best to
serve him well.

Lord Northcliffe had no sympathy with
habitual grumblers, those who hugged their
grievances and repeated them again and again
to their colleagues and friends, instead of going
to headquarters. It was for this reason he had
a golden rule: he would listen to complaints
from every member of his staff, and that faculty

35

The Real Lord Northcliffe

of seeing at once both sides of the question
served him well. Like Aristotle, he always
said : " First of all, let's get the facts." That
determination to deal with facts and to see both
sides always impressed me, for he saw people
as they are, and not as they ought to be. He
would say : " As if anyone ever knew the whole
truth about anyone."

Fulsome flattery he heartily disliked.
" He is an impossible person, my dear.
He agrees with everything I say — right or
wrong."

And he summed up very clearly the worth
of those who thought they would succeed by
paying him compliments.

Lord Northcliffe acquired The Times in 1908,
and March 17 was a momentous day for us,
for The Times is the most powerful thing in the
whole world. It is already recorded in detail
how he stepped in and obtained control, fore-
stalling the late Sir Arthur Pearson. It seems
hardly possible that during the passing of those
14 years so many things have changed. He did
not attempt to alter the character of that
famous journal ; his ambition was to maintain
its traditions, and he worked for that end.
Only those in close association with him during
those early days know of the struggle he had,

36

The Real Lord Northcliffe

and the obstacle-makers he encountered; it
was like knocking his head repeatedly against
a brick wall. He devoted much of his precious
time to improving the appearance of the paper ;
the ink, printing, publishing and advertising,
for nothing escaped his attention. He had
great difficulty, I remember, in introducing
electric light into some parts of Printing House
Square, and how he urged and urged the late
Mr. Moberly Bell to save his energy and time
by dictating his letters to a stenographer,
instead of laboriously writing them by hand.
To be up-to-date and take advantage of labour-
saving appliances, such as the typewriter, is
not breaking tradition; and putting the great
journal on a sounder footing was surely the
only way to maintain its place as the greatest
newspaper in the world. He often spoke to me
of the future of The Times. He thought he
would like it carried on as a national institution
after his death, but the scheme was not prac-
tical. He had a dread of politicians or foreign
financiers obtaining control and using it against
the interest of the British Empire, or to further
the ambitions of a few unscrupulous people
anxious for power. His foreign travels and know-
ledge of public affairs helped him unquestionably,
and the few who criticized his work and spoke so
slightingly of it, displayed their ignorance. I
wonder what they would have done had they

37

407444

The Real Lord Northcliffe

been in his place ? Personally, I think that
but for him the journal would have perished.

He met nearly every person of interest the
world over. It was not " Who are you ? " but
;' What are you ? " He had no use for those
who, bearing great names, were content to live
on that. It saddened him when he saw such
people failing to uphold their fine traditions.
He knew how much Great Britain owed to those
families who devoted themselves to honoured
service for their country. Ordinary " Society "
people bored him. He was most happy with
those of his own craft.

There was, I remember, great excitement
in Fleet Street, and particularly in Carmelite
House, when it became known that Lord North-
cliffe had been chosen as the central figure of a
forthcoming play. We naturally felt very
curious, and I remember how the whole staff
gathered at the first night performance of The
Earth, by Fagan. I confess to disappoint-
ment, for I knew the Chief so well, and could
trace in the play no resemblance either to his
character or work. On my returning home
Lord Northcliffe telephoned me, " I hope you
have had an amusing evening." He was dis-
appointed when I told him it was a failure.

38

The Real Lord Northchffe

" My dear," he said, " I could have done it so
much better ; I should have torn him to shreds
had I been the author."

Another play, What the Public Want, by
Arnold Bennett. That incomparable actor,
Hawtrey, played the character representing
Lord Northcliffe, but here again no resem-
blance. Both authors seized on what they
thought to be the man's personality, but failed
hopelessly. He always enjoyed a joke against
himself, and these dramatic efforts afforded him
great amusement.

I flatter myself that I absorbed a little
philosophy in that " Street of Adventure," to
borrow Sir Philip Gibbs's apt description of
Fleet Street. Lord Northcliffe taught me to
close an eye to faults, but open both wide where
praise was due. This has helped me consider-
ably, and I am sure it is worth remembering.
He practised it himself, and was very generous
in his praise, whether he sent cables to his cor-
respondents stationed in out of the way parts
of the globe, or messages to his staff nearer
home. He would send cheques to the wives
of his writers with a characteristic note : " Please
accept the enclosed as a souvenir of your hus-
band's delightful article this morning, it gave
me great pleasure." Sometimes he would send

39

The Real Lord Northcliffe

a basket of fruit or choice flowers, or even a
piece of jewellery. He had the priceless faculty
of giving pleasure in an unexpected manner. He
seldom returned from a holiday without several
gifts for the wives of those who served him.

Mentioning gifts reminds me of the first
trinket he ever gave me. On the eve of leaving
London for a holiday abroad he bade us all
" good-bye," and as an afterthought turned
to me and said : " Get your ears pierced while
I am away, and I will buy you a pair of pearl
earrings."

Overjoyed, I rushed to the jeweller for the
operation, and in my ears I wore gold-wire
rings. I glued my eyes to the Bond Street
windows, and selected in my imagination pearl
drops reaching almost to my shoulders, even
trying the effect with beads, and nodding my
head to get accustomed to them. On his
return three months later no mention was made
of earrings ! My pride was too hurt to refer
to the subject, although I could not refrain
from touching the gold wires in my ears rather
ostentatiously. Many months passed, until I
had almost forgotten the promise, when one
day he took from his waistcoat pocket a case
measuring a square inch.

" Here are your earrings, my dear, I hadn't
40

The Real Lord Northcliffe

forgotten them." On my opening the case my
face must have betrayed my surprise, for instead
of dangling drops I saw two very small pearl
studs. I put them on, " Very nice, very neat,
just what I would like my sister to wear."

I afterwards realized that his was the
better taste. He detested ostentation in any
form. Of all people I have met no one loved
simplicity more ; his taste was unerring, and
those who have visited his homes will agree
with me.

If I waited long for the earrings, I certainly
had other unexpected gifts. I remember once
being late, and my excuse was that my watch
(an inexpensive one) had lost time. Without
a moment's hesitation he switched his gold
repeater from his chain, and putting it on my
desk he said : " Keep this, I know it is a good
time-keeper, and never be late again."

I thought he had given it to me on the
impulse of the moment, as I could see it was
of value, so the next day I offered it back, but
he refused it. It is now my most precious
possession, and I shall treasure it all my life.

On the eve of his birthdays, and at Christmas,
my advice was sought by his friends and valued
members of his staff about suitable presents.
D 41

The Real Lord Northclifte

They all wanted to give him something unique.
A simple message of love and loyalty pleased
him most, but those who had so much from him
wanted their feelings to take a more practical
form. I assured them he detested gifts, but
without avail ; and my thoughts now turn to the
" Museum," as he called the safe where he kept
these offerings, and I am wondering what their
final destination will be.

Lord Northcliffe was very generous in the
matter of holidays, and Fleet Street knows of
the unexpected cheques which some of us re-
ceived to enable us to take our holidays further
afield than our finances permitted. I well
remember how I obtained my first winter
holiday, by going to sleep ! As I have already
mentioned, we had no fixed hours for work ;
often our busiest time would be the evening,
when others had finished. Lord Northcliffe
would return to the office after dinner to collect
work I had prepared for him. He was extra
late one evening, and tired out by waiting I
had fallen asleep. He realized for the first time
that I was overworked, and was very distressed.
So I was packed off the next day.

He was a great believer in the educational
value of travel, and encouraged it in all of us,

42

The Real Lord Northcliffe

from the directors to the humblest members
of the staff.

" I can see the business better if I get away
from it, so I am off to the Continent to-morrow."

How often I heard this said. Some-
times the journey would be to the extreme
north of Scotland, to Ireland, or a motoring
tour through Wales. He insisted on seeing
things first hand, and thus learning how best he
could serve his own people. His love for our
Empire was the one passion of his life ; it
became almost an obsession. He did all that
man could do to further its interests, and link
up our scattered possessions with an unbreak-
able chain of love and understanding. He
believed in making known to the public the
life and the conditions in our Empire overseas,
and he spared neither money nor effort in doing
this. It is well known how he established a
weekly edition of the Daily Mail, and pub-
lished it at a ridiculously cheap rate, so that all
our people to the farthermost points of Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India,
and our other lonely lands should be kept in
touch with home affairs, and encouraged to
feel they were always in our thoughts. When
the life of Lord Northcliffe is written, record-
ing his great work, it will be seen how he
was responsible in a very large measure
for keeping the British Flag, and all it

43

The Real Lord Northcliffe

stands for, in the hearts of the present
generation of our countrymen overseas. He
was the prime mover in establishing the
Overseas Club, whose influence now reaches
round the world.

It is an open secret that Lord Northcliffe
had a great admiration for France and her
people, and spent many of his holidays there.
In my early days he complained to me how he
missed his morning newspaper, but he soon
remedied that by starting the Paris Daily Mail.
It has been for years a great boon to travellers
both in Paris and farther afield. I welcomed
the idea, I could see myself being sent to Paris
on business, and incidentally returning with a
new hat. Personally I seized every opportunity
of seeing the world of which I was daily hearing.

The Manchurian War was drawing to a
close, and the exiled British War correspon-
dents were on their way home, when they were
detained in Petrograd owing to the unsettled
state of the country. Charles Hands, our bril-
liant writer, had been absent from England
over a year, and it occurred to Lord Northcliffe
that he (Charles) would much appreciate a sur-
prise visit from his wife, so he arranged that
Mrs. Hands should join her husband there. I
can always remember the tribute he paid to

44

The Real Lord Northclijfe

Charlie Hands : " So lovable, staunch, wise,
and without an ugly thought," and he smilingly
added, " I only had a good time on my first
visit to America because I said I knew Charles,
his name was my passport ! "

Owing to the rigorous climate she was
going to, Lord Northcliffe gave Mrs. Hands
instructions to purchase a fur-lined coat for
the journey. She invited me to assist her in
her choice, and together we went one Saturday
morning to Bond Street. While we were so
occupied, the assistant pressed me to try one on.

" A fur coat is of no use to me ;
I am not going to Russia," I said, and
then the vision of myself wearing the coat
flashed into my mind. " If I did go to Russia
I could have the coat," so, acting on impulse,
I fled from the shop to the Post Office near by,
and wrote a request to Lord Northcliffe for
permission to go.

He was on the eve of taking a trip to the
South of France, and was due to leave London
that same evening. My note was sent to his
house, where were gathered Lord Rothermere,
the late Kennedy Jones, and one or two others,
settling affairs before he left. It was read
aloud, and " K. J.," as we affectionately called
him, always assured me he persuaded Lord
Northcliffe to say " Yes."

Every day is still as fresh in my memory as

45

The Real Lord Northcliffe

in those days long past. The revolution in
Petrograd, with its shooting and attendant
excitements, filled me with wonder. Even the
ticket collector's remark at Charing Cross, when
my destination was noticed, I liked.

" If you are for Russia, Miss, your days are
numbered ; you'll never return alive " I

I have since travelled all over Europe,
spent a winter in India, and six months in
Egypt, where I was entertained by Lord
Kitchener. I found him very human, nothing
sphinx-like, as I was led to believe. My last
far-away trip was to America, and when in Wash-
ington during the Conference I heard from the
President, and all the leading Americans I had
the privilege of meeting, of Lord Northcliffe's
great work. They knew, with me, that he was
the greatest friend America ever had, and he
did more to bring about good understanding
between the two nations than any other man
in public life. He took a leading part in the
formation of the English Speaking Union, and
always gave it his great support. If ever I
enjoyed any popularity, either here or abroad,
it was only " reflected glory."

From the time I first knew Lord Northcliffe
until well on in the War, he would never allow
his name to be mentioned in his journals with-

46

The Real Lord Northcliffe

out his special permission ; he preferred to
remain behind the scenes. For many years
previous to 1914, he had correspondents in
Germany, gathering details about naval and
military progress, activity at Krupps, and in-
dustrial conditions. This information was tabu-
lated and sent by him to our then leading poli-
ticians, some of whom were grateful, others not.

These facts came to the knowledge of the
Kaiser himself, and a request was made to Lord
Northcliffe to withdraw his representatives, who
were embarrassing the German Government.
He refused to comply. I well remember the
Kaiser's last visit here, when a Court ball was
given in his honour and Lord Northcliffe was
invited. Shortly before midnight my tele-
phone rang, and I heard my Chief's voice :

" I have escaped from the wily Kaiser, my
dear. It was made known to me that he wished
me to be presented to him. I thought otherwise,
so here I am at home, just going to bed."

I have heard it said on many sides that Lord
Northcliffe was very embittered because he
did not take part in the Peace Conference.
That is not true. We often discussed the
matter before the Armistice, and he repeatedly
told me how urgent it was for him to watch, and
use his newspapers to the best of his ability.

47

The Real Lord Northcliffe

Walking in his garden at Broadstairs in the
early part of the War, and hearing the booming
of guns across the channel, he remarked, " I
hope I shall live to see the end of this, and to
keep an eye on the Treaty. I know these
crafty politicians and how they would sell
their very souls for material gain."

And we then spoke of the " hidden hand,"
and all that was happening behind the scenes.
Had he taken part in the Peace Conference
himself, his newspapers would have suffered ; he
could not have published what he heard, and he
could best serve our Empire as an onlooker.

In early 1919 Lord Northcliffe was faced with
a very serious operation, and was sent to the
South of France to regain the strength he had
lost through overwork during the War. He
arranged to return home in April, but his
doctors insisted on his remaining in Paris until
the weather in England became warmer. These
few days were seized upon by his political
opponents to hold him up to ridicule, " waiting
for the summons that never came." His health
was such that had Kings, Presidents or Prime
Ministers gone on their bended knees for his
aid to straighten their tangles, his doctors would
have forbidden it. I was in Paris, and on the
day after Mr. Lloyd George had returned to

48

The Real Lord Northcliffe

London I remarked to Lord Northcliffe : "I
have read the report of the Prime Minister's
attack on you, I feel sorry for him."
" Why sorry, my dear ? "
" Because I feel he has gone too far."
" I don't mind attacks," the Chief replied.
" As you know, I am used to them. But
what does depress me is that the Prime
Minister at a time like this, when every moment
is of value in dealing with these world
problems, should occupy the attention of the
House, even inviting the young Prince to hear
him, in abusing me. It shows the mentality
of the Premier, and how he lacks all sense of
proportion. No ordinary man like myself should
at this time figure so prominently before the
world. But there he is, bent on advertising me."

Have politicians memories ? I often wonder,
when I think of the favours asked and granted,
but so soon forgotten. Listening to an attack
on Lord Northcliffe in the House of Commons
one day, I noticed a certain member's loud
applause. It was with surprise that I recog-
nized him the following day when he called at
Carmelite House to request a favour ! Remem-
bering his enthusiasm of the previous evening,
I recalled it to his mind, and had great pleasure
in showing him the door. Others more exalted

49

The Real Lord Northclijffe

have sought Lord Northcliffe. I remember
many years ago Mr. Lloyd George himself at
Carmelite House, and Mr. Winston Churchill
on another occasion. Lord Curzon, even, did
not disdain his aid ; I remember the pleading
letters sent from Simla to my Chief, asking
for his help. Lord Northcliffe was secretly
approached from time to time by many prom-
inent people, who urged him to expose the
shortcomings of various individuals and de-
partments. He was to " face the music," but
they preferred to remain anonymous. If suc-
cessful, they were to take the credit, if not, he
could take the blame. How often I urged him
to leave them alone, and tell them to take their
grievances to their own superiors. That " sixth
sense " which he credited me with served me
well. I was able to discern the difference
between the patriot and the sycophant. While
I was returning from New York on the Aqui-
tania, I had an invitation to tea from Sir James
Charles, the famous captain, and the conver-
sation turned upon Lord Northcliffe, who had
previously christened the vessel the " Wonder
Ship."

" I admire Lord Northcliffe," said my host,
" but I think it wrong that he should have
so much power."

" How would you alter it ? " I enquired,
getting very interested.

50

The Real Lord Northcliffe

" By preventing any one man from con-
trolling more than one newspaper," he answered.

To which I said, " If he had only one, that
would become even more powerful than the
many. It is a power he has built up himself,
and you can no more stop him than you can
the waves dashing against your own ship."

He paid the penalty of greatness. After
his death one or two small-minded people could
not restrain their pens from belittling him and
endeavouring to reduce his life's work to a
business footing. These little souls who carped
at him, what have they done for humanity ?
Will their names echo round the world, and live
in history ?

It was for the masses he worked, not for
the high-brow crank whose literary style may be
so highly polished that only the surface can be
seen. Lord Northcliffe's name will be handed
down for generations, while the fame of these
writers will disappear as ripples do on water.

All the world mourned his passing, and
tributes poured in from every corner of the
globe. I was much touched by the letters and
messages which came to me from friends, all
dwelling on that irresistible and lovable nature
which was hidden from the general public.

51

The Real Lord Northcliffe

He was so much to us ; we got from him more
than mere employment, and the things that
this world reckons as being worth while, for
he gave to us a little of his own strength and
spirit, and above all he encouraged us to love
and work for our Empire. He was our best
guide in life, and we, his staff, feel that though
the lamp has burned itself out, it has left its
glow upon our memories.

Somehow we never associated death with
our Chief, he was so intensely alive. At the
funeral service in the Abbey, where all round
were the faces of those who loved him, I felt
the whole atmosphere was one of deep affec-
tion. I saw friends whom he had not seen for
years. But what touched me most were those
loyal people who, even though they had been
" sacked " by him, came to pay their tribute
to his memory, many with their eyes dimmed
with tears. As I passed into the Abbey I
heard one man say to another : " If there is
a heaven, Northcliffe is there."

There has never been anyone just like him
before, and there never will be again, and the
world is the poorer for his death.

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