nto the mind."
The two things in the Roman visit that remain most prominent in
Dorothy's memory are Gilbert's loss of a medal of Our Lady that he
always wore and his audience with the Holy Father. The loss of the
medal seemed to distress him out of all normal proportion. He had the
elevator boy looking for it on hands and knees and gave him a huge
reward for finding it. Gilbert has left no record of his Papal
audience. But, says Dorothy, it excited him so greatly that he did no
work for two days before the event or two days after.
Their second visit to America in 1930-31 was far better enjoyed by
Gilbert, and also I think by Frances until she got ill, because on it
they came much closer to the real people of the country, especially
during the period when he was lecturing at the University of Notre
Dame, Indiana. They lived at a little house in South Bend and he
lectured every night, alternating a course on Victorian Literature
with one on the great figures of Victorian history. There were 36
lectures all told, and the average attendance at each lecture was 500.
At Notre Dame and the Sister College of St. Mary's, I felt the best
way to get the atmosphere of this visit would be to get together for
a talk the people who remembered Gilbert: they would stimulate one
another's memories. I invoked the aid of Sister Madeleva and she
suggested the two Fathers Leo Ward, Professors Engels and O'Grady,
and, best of all Johnnie Mangan the chauffeur. Johnnie is a great
institution at Notre Dame. He remembered driving my father nearly
thirty years ago and he had specially vivid memories of the
Chesterton period. We all sat in a circle in Sister Madeleva's
sitting room. I give here the notes I took.
Johnnie Mangan: "It was the hardest job getting him into the car,
harder getting him out. He'd walk on the porch and all the children
came. He'd talk to the children on the road. Money meant nothing to
him: the lady would give me the money saying himself would leave it
in the shop if the barber wasn't honest enough to give change.
"He enjoyed everything: when they dedicated the stadium he stayed
till the very end. Father O'Donnell introduced him to all the naval
officers and he was the last off the ground. He enjoyed talking to
all the naval officers. He loved cheer-leading."
Mr. O'Grady: "He spent one evening in Professor Phillips' room
after the lecture from 9 to 2.30 A.M. His host was deaf, G.
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