The Third Man

The Gilbert Magazine came yesterday! and today I read a very interesting article, The Third Man. The 'third man' was Maurice Baring, a close friend of GKC. The reason he is called the third man is because of a painting of three men. Two of them are easily recognized as Hillaire Belloc and GKC, but the third is less easily recognized, he is, as you probably guessed, Maurice Baring. He was, like Chesterton, a Catholic convert but he converted 13 years earlier, in 1909. When Chesterton converted in 1922 Maurice Baring sent him a letter of which there is an excerpt in the Gilbert Magazine and I will give you an excerpt of that excerpt:

I have hardly ever entered a church without putting up a candle to Our lady or to St. Joseph or St. Anthony for you, And both this year and last year in Lent I made a Novena for you. I know of many other people, better people far than I, who did the same. Many Masses were said for you and prayers all over England and Scotland in centres of Holiness. I will show you some day a letter from some Nuns on the subject. A great friend of mine one of the greatest saints I have known, Sister Mary Annuncitiation of the Convent Orphanage, [would] always pray for you.

Isn't that neat? And here is another interesting quote from the same source.

People used to conceal their ignorance decently. No longer. This is due to the spread of what is called Education. More people are taught things, but they are taught less. In fact, they are taught hardly anything;in former times they were taught little, but that little they learnt.

Well that's all for now, but I will hopefully be posting on the Gilbert magazine this week, but I can't be sure, school is starting soon and I am going to be busy.