. Life and letters of Maggie Benson. always on problemsof life and character, as illustrated by our con-temporaries and our authorities. One little incident stands out clearly in mymemory. In our last term there together, my firstsummer term, we were walking one lovely eveningin the parks, and I said something about the loveli-ness of Oxford in June and how it made all life ajoy. Maggie pressed me with questions as to whyI so enjoyed it all, and I said I didnt know, I justfelt like that. Whereupon she said, * I dont under-stand your being contented just to enjoy. I alwayswant to know why I enj
. Life and letters of Maggie Benson. always on problemsof life and character, as illustrated by our con-temporaries and our authorities. One little incident stands out clearly in mymemory. In our last term there together, my firstsummer term, we were walking one lovely eveningin the parks, and I said something about the loveli-ness of Oxford in June and how it made all life ajoy. Maggie pressed me with questions as to whyI so enjoyed it all, and I said I didnt know, I justfelt like that. Whereupon she said, * I dont under-stand your being contented just to enjoy. I alwayswant to know why I enjoy. It was a sayingintensely characteristic of her introspective, analytichabit of mind, and I never forgot it. Miss Beatrice Layman writes— At Lady Margaret Hall, Maggie was the lifeof all the Societies, serious and frivolous, of theShakespeare and Browning Reading Circles, of theSunodos, which was an informal debating was a reluctant member of the or MutualAdmiration Society, which consisted of a {e\y of 48 I. LADY MARGARET HALL those more exclusively attached to one another,and Maggie used to say in a complaining voice, Cant I be allowed to make a new friend ? Shecould not be induced to become a member of theSociety for the Cultivation of Graceful Leisure, asits rules were too stringent—but she was extra-ordinarily keen about all sorts of games, such ascricket, and hockey on the tennis lawn. She wasStage Manager of our amateur theatricals—wasinimitable as Mrs. Gruffanuff and made a splendidRomeo. She enjoyed ridiculous games, in whichwe likened one another to flowers and animals, andshe entered with zest into Storming the Passages and other entertainments so violent that we werereported to the authorities, but we always felt quitecomfortable as long as Maggie was amongst us ;while she gave an added respectability when wehad to get permission from the Council for such newand at the time unfeminine things as Boatingand Hockey. She was indefatigable in
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