My Life

My Life - Oswald MosleyAcute differences did not arise in our discussions of politics, for a clear reason. Herepresented in a high degree the qualities of order and stability without which themodern and complex state cannot survive. The dynamic progress which I sought tocombine with order and stability in the creative synthesis necessary to secure either,was a concept which, for him, simply did not exist. He was profoundly familiar withevery detail of imperial administration and concomitant questions of foreign policy,but a complete stranger to the economics of statecraft and to the lives of the people.Master of one subject in which I was interested, the other was a closed book to him;so we could only discuss subjects on which we had a certain measure of agreement.Lord Curzon had a practical side in political judgments on his own ground which wasmore marked than in the organisation of his personal life and affairs. His method oflife was obsolete, and he added to his ignorance of economics a lack of money sensein private life. I remember him showing in conversation, when he was ForeignSecretary, that he had not the least idea how the franc had moved during previousyears, and his attitude in his personal affairs was the simple proposition that adequatemoney should be available to support his expensive tastes. He felt it a public duty tomaintain in proper state the various fine establishments with which his exquisite andsophisticated judgment had endowed the national heritage; this led to some frictionwith his daughters, as most of the necessary money happened to belong to them.When we married, the question arose of how Cimmie should deal with the moneyinherited from her American mother, who came from the Leiter family, which hadamassed a considerable fortune in real estate. Years later they were stated by mypolitical opponents to be Jewish, but when I was in America with Cimmie in 1924 thiswas never suggested. They were then reputed to be Dutch immigrants, and those I sawwere big, blond, blue-eyed people. The rumour probably arose from the founder of thefortune being called Levi Leiter, but these Old Testament names are as common in theWelsh valleys as they are in Holland. The thought that they were Jews appeared inthat period never to have occurred to anyone, but the story was freely circulated inEngland during the thirties, when I found myself in conflict with certain Jewishinterests, for the clear but transient reason that I was trying to stop the outbreak of theSecond World War. Needless to say, if Cimmie had been half-Jewish it would nothave made the slightest difference either in my attitude to her or in my political actionin opposing anyone, Jew or Gentile, who in my view was agitating in favour of war.Cimmie decided on our marriage to leave some of her money with Lord Curzon for ashort time in order to tide him over a transition which might be awkward for him. Hehad little money of his own, but his second wife had a considerable fortune. Theirexpenditure was very large. Already his eldest daughter, Irene, had departed withmost of her money, to his considerable indignation. It was therefore a difficultmoment when Cimmie decided, with my support, to take the rest of her own. Iinsisted, and she agreed, that no detailed rejoinder should be made to his reproaches;it would have been all too easy, but would have created additional and unnecessaryacrimony. It was a sad business which clouded a relationship otherwise invariablyagreeable and happy.Lord Curzon was difficult in money matters because he appeared to think that societyowed him not merely a living but an existence of singular magnificence. He had theattitude of a spoilt child. This foible brought its nemesis, for his time was inordinately98 of 424