I found the people I met were chiefly interested in the following report of indignation meetings:

"Blame Girls for 'Snugglepupping' and 'Petting Parties' in Chicago."

"Male 'Flappers' Parents hold Indignation Meeting."

"Boys who don't follow Fair Companions' Pace called 'Sissies, Poor Boobs and Flat Tires'."

I have only seen two headings that have really interested me. One was:

"A Good Name."

The other: "Wanted, a Rare Man: aggressive yet industrious, fighting, yet tactful and dignified. He must have a good education, and an appearance which will give him an entree into the best homes."

I would much like to be presented to any of the men who will answer these advertisements, though I have no doubt they are tumbling over one another.

From Buffalo we went on to Cincinnati where I read in one of the newspapers:

"MARGOT

"Margot Asquith, wife of the former Prime Minister of England, is in Cincinnati.

"Men who like to believe that they know more than their wives would not be happy with a woman like Margot for wife. She knows more than most men, and there is scarcely anything she cannot or will not talk about.

"She wrote a book that is an encyclopedia of the inside history of British politics and history of her time.

"There aren't many like Margot. Husbands who long after the honeymoon like to be entertained will envy Asquith his Margot. It must be pleasant to have a Margot in the house."

I expect the writer was pulling my leg—to use a slang expression—or possibly pitying my husband, but it amused me.



XII: INTERESTING ST. LOUIS

INTERESTING ST. LOUIS

MET BY THE MAYOR—ANOTHER INTELLIGENT REPORTER—NEWS FROM HOME AND VIEWS THEREON—LUNCHEON AT WOMEN'S CLUB

We were met at St. Louis station by a vast crowd of photographers, reporters—male and female—headed by the Mayor, a grand fellow called Henry W. Kiel. He motored me to the Hotel Statler where my rooms were full of roses and, in spite of an iron bed, we were more than comfortable. I am like stuff that is guaranteed not to wash, so I sat down at once to talk to the reporters, among whom I observed one man of supreme intelligence. Caustic and bitter, he interrupted the females and asked to be allowed to return to us after dinner. Mr. Paul Anderson and I had a first rate discussion, while my secretary typed and telephoned till, with his usual consideration, he came back to send me to bed, where I remained like a trout on a bank with piles of old Times's which Mr. Anderson had brought me.

I read details, for the first time, of Mr. Montague's resignation, and smiled over the belated theory of the joint responsibility of our British Cabinet. When one recalls the many conflicting opinions expressed by every minister without rebuke, culminating in the Admiralty note upon the Geddes Report, the Prime Minister's indignation is more than droll. I presume the Conservative wing of the Coalition wanted to get rid of Indian Reform as interpreted by the Viceroy and Mr. Montague, and I shall watch with interest the action that Lord Reading will take upon the matter.

Arresting Ghandi was as unwise as stealing a cow from a temple; but from such a distance political comment may be as belated as the theory of cabinet responsibility; and the inspired agitator—beloved of his people—may, for all I know, be governing India at the present moment.

St. Louis is among the most interesting cities I have visited. The Mississippi is commanded upon both its banks by huge buildings, and spanned by grand bridges. There is a private park as large as the Bois de Boulogne, and an open air theatre with oak trees on either side of the stage. The school buildings and Washington College are of perfect architecture, and I was grateful to Mrs. Moore—a woman of sympathy and authority—for driving me out to a lovely club house for tea, which gave me an opportunity of seeing the environment.

I was entertained the next day at a private luncheon given by a ladies' club and was glad to be sitting next to dear Mrs. Moore. Observing a single gentleman seated among the company I asked in a whisper who he was; upon being told he was a reporter I said, in an aside to my other neighbour, that for the rest of the meal I would confine my remarks to: "Yes," "No," or "I wonder!" and "How true!" Upon this the unfortunate young man was conducted from the room. He had a peculiarly charming face and when I saw what had happened I said I was afraid I also would have to leave the table, as I could not allow any guest to be insulted for my sake; at which he was allowed to return. I apologised to him, saying that though I had imagined this to be an informal gathering at which no newspapers would be represented, I did not wish him to be treated with any lack of courtesy, and hoped he would not make copy out of any foolish thing I might have said. He was particularly nice and, although I shall probably never see what he has written about me, I am willing to "take a chance"—as they express it over here.

After signing my name twenty-three times—as flattering as it was fatiguing—the Mayor came to fetch me away. Mrs. Moore and two other ladies accompanied us on a motor drive to see the city. The Mayor—who is a big man—sat rather uncomfortably between me and Mrs. Moore, and said that, with the permission of the other two ladies he proposed to put his arm round my waist as, being engaged to speak at a meeting of the Boy Scouts, he would be unable to attend my lecture in the evening. I told him that, after this, nothing but bribery and corruption could re-elect him as the Mayor of St. Louis.

"Then I shall return to my original occupation, Mrs. Asquith; I started life as a bricklayer, and I have not forgotten my trade, at which I am unrivalled."

The ladies said he was much more likely to be returned as their political representative, and after asking "Joe," his chauffeur, to stop and enable him to buy me cigarettes, he took me back to the hotel.

I found a beautiful bouquet of orchids on my table to which was pinned a card from one of the ladies whom I had met at lunch:

"From Mrs. Hocker, with best wishes for a successful evening at St. Louis, to absolutely the most brilliant and interesting woman it has been my privilege to meet either in America or Europe."

I need hardly say that I clung to my bouquet that evening when I was escorted upon the stage by Judge Henry Caulfield, the City Counsellor.

Mr. Anderson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch returned to talk to us after the meeting, and I can truly say that after "Bruce"—whose real name I never discovered—I found him the most interesting press-man that I have met. I wrote to his editor congratulating him on having such a man upon his staff, and received a grateful reply.

Never having been interviewed till I arrived in this country, I do not know in what way reporters of intellect here would compare with ours, but it passes my comprehension to understand why those that I have met are content to write for papers that seldom print what is either informing or interesting.

One of them said to me:

"We do not publish news, Mrs. Asquith, we concoct it."



XIII: KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA

KANSAS CITY AND OMAHA

AMERICAN VOICES RARELY MUSICAL—SEES LOVELY COUNTRY HOME—DISCUSSION ON CHARACTER BUILDING—MARGOT PREDICTS GREAT FUTURE FOR GOVERNOR ALLEN

We travelled to Kansas City the night of the lecture and were met upon our arrival and taken to the country house of Mrs. Edwin Shields.

After greeting her, I observed her fine tapestries, oriental china, portraits (by Sir Joshua Reynolds), and other old masters, as well as modern French pictures. We ate porridge, eggs and bacon and grapefruit for breakfast, off an oak table with Irish linen napkins, and I observed the refinement of my hostess's little face, and the pretty quality of her voice.

I do not think the voices here are generally musical; they are nasal and a little loud and, though Americans have a great deal of geniality and love of fun, I am so slow at picking up the language, that I probably miss much of the irony and finesse that characterises our better kind of humour. The Canadians, who are of British stock, have a better sense of humour; but it is always a dangerous subject to write about, and when I remember the stupid things that evoke the laughter of the London public in our theatres, I feel I had better walk warily.

I am Scotch, and as a nation we have been accused of lack of humour; I cannot be expected to agree with this, nevertheless I remember being told in my youth of a man who had said:

"Oh! aye; Jock undoubtedly jokes, but he jokes with facility. I joke too, but with difficulty."

The French have a far finer sense of humour than any other nation in the world, and all they say is a constant source of delight to me.

It is pardonable not to laugh at what is amusing, but sudden guffaws at bad jokes is the test of a true sense of humour.

After breakfasting with Mrs. Shields I asked her to show me over her beautiful house. I was reminded of Glen by the freshness of the chintzes, and general feeling of air and comfort which I saw wherever I went.

We started at midday for Omaha, where we arrived in the evening. I felt less sad at parting with my hostess as I knew I was going to spend from 7 a.m. till midnight with her on the 24th. She is coming to Europe this summer where I shall look forward to entertaining her in London, as well as in the country.

After leaving her, Mr. Horton told me she had said to him that till she met me, she felt like a flower that had grown on clay soil, and that I had helped her to break into the sunlight. I was deeply touched, and am encouraged to hope that some day I may be worthy of so rare a compliment.

Upon our arrival at Omaha we were met by an open motor lent by Mrs. Kountze, who had invited us to stay with her in her town house, but fearing that three of us might be embarrassing, we decided to go to the hotel.

Omaha is a lovely city, with avenues of trees on either side of wide boulevards, and within easy reach of stretches of wild and beautiful country. As our hostess had been obliged to go to New York, her kind relations conducted us to see the wonderful views surrounding the town.

After speaking in the afternoon to an encouraging audience, with Mr. Hall, the British Consul, as my chairman, I dined with Mr. and Mrs. Ward Burgess. They were more than hospitable, and had it not been for the severe figure of my secretary standing in the doorway, my jolly host, who had entertained me for two hours at dinner, would have prevented me from catching the midnight train.

We returned to Kansas City early on the morning of the 24th.

On being informed by Mrs. Shields's butler that her maid had already called her, I had a bath and, dressing as quickly as I could, went downstairs.

Her sitting room was a garden of roses, lilies and antirrhinums and I shall always remember our unforgettable tete-a-tete.

We started upon personality, and the difficulty of expressing what was true without hurting anyone, or acquiring character without becoming a character part. The difference between originality and eccentricity; kindness and tenderness; sympathy and understanding; and the delicate grades by which your attempts at goodness may either help or hamper your fellow creatures.

It is an eternal problem; and the morally lenient and socially severe is what you encounter every day of your life. I confessed how much I resented the shortness of life and urged her to realise this, as she appeared to me, in spite of having a genius for friendship, to be self-contained and lonely. She was responsive, and said many encouraging things to me. I said that somewhere or other I had read that Marcus Aurelius had begged us to keep our colour. I was not very sure of the correct text; but that the idea was that some of us were born red, some yellow, and others grey, but that however this might be, the point was to keep it; not so much by contrast or conflict with the other person, but to complement it. Great scientists, mathematicians or philosophers may manage to develop their personality alone, but what they write will not have the key that the writings of men who are nearer the earth are able to present to ordinary human beings.

At one of Abraham Lincoln's great meetings, he had to walk through the crowd to reach the platform. He heard someone say as he passed:

"Is that President Lincoln? Why, what a common-looking fellow!"

At which he turned round and said:

"God likes common-looking fellows or he would not have made so many of them."

I told her how much I had been moved by her remark to my secretary that our friendship would help her to emerge out of clay soil; adding that the desire of my life was to replant myself in a bigger pot every year, and that what she had said would encourage me to go on. After a certain age we were liable to become stationary; and the ravages of war so far from having regenerated, had retarded civilisation.

We were interrupted by Mr. Henry J. Allen, a guest who arrived long before the luncheon hour.

The Governor of the State of Kansas is a man of authority—not only intelligent but intellectual, always a rare combination, and it needs no witch to predict a great future for him. He remained at Mrs. Shields's lovely house in Cherry Street from 11.30 till 6 in the evening, in spite of having an appointment at 4, by which I inferred he could do what he liked.



XIV: THE WAR AND PROHIBITION

THE WAR AND PROHIBITION

HEATED DISCUSSION ON ENGLAND'S ENTRY INTO THE WAR—OUR GERMAN FRIENDS—AMERICAN VITALITY—MISQUOTED ON PROHIBITION

I sat next to Mr. Heath Moore at lunch and discussed many subjects; among others, the motives that had brought Great Britain into the war. He expressed himself with vigour and frankness, and said that nothing would induce him to believe that our purpose had been moral. That our trade was in danger of being out-rivalled, and the German navy had developed into such a formidable menace, that after France had been defeated, our own shores would have been immediately attacked by the Germans; it was therefore humbug to suggest that our motive had not been one of pure self defence.

As this was the first anti-British note that I had heard since my arrival, it interested me.

I asked him where he imagined our ships would be when the German dreadnoughts sailed into our harbours: and what sort of reception the British people were likely to give the enemy crew, even supposing it could land an army—never a very easy matter—and concluded by saying I had not been kept awake by the fear that the Kaiser would succeed where Napoleon had failed. He stuck to his point and said that but for the violation of Belgium we would not have entered into the war. I answered that no doubt this had made it easier for the party in power—of which my husband was the head—because among the many convictions that divide Liberals from Conservatives is that we believe in freedom, while they believe in force: and that imperialism meant militarism against which we would fight for ever. But, I added, no British Government of whatever party would have watched with folded arms the whole German navy sail down our coast to attack France.

He inquired if my husband had felt any qualms when he took upon his shoulders this great decision. I answered that our Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward now Lord Grey, Lord Crewe, and others, had made up their minds from the first moment; and that in one year—thanks to the Committee of Defence, Lord Haldane and Lord Kitchener—we had produced a large voluntary army; and had he been in England at the time, he would have been struck by the pathos and silence with which men of every class joined up to fight in a war which was not their own, against a foe for whom they felt no hatred.

He asked if England had been disappointed that America had come in so late to help her, I confessed that in a moment of pique I had exclaimed that had I been Christopher Columbus I would have said nothing about the discovery, but that I doubted if Great Britain would have come in any earlier to help the United States had they been in a similar quandary.

Someone asked me privately if I had lost a child in the war. I said that my little boy had been too young to fight, but that both my sisters, my three brothers and my husband had lost their sons; that living in Downing Street in the first years of the war had been an anguish, the depth of which no one could realise.

We had refused to drop any of our German friends in London, and in consequence became targets for the abuse and calumny of our social and political enemies.

It is a subject that rouses me to undying indignation when I remember the manner in which we were persecuted, not only by our opponents, but by some of my personal friends even after we had been defeated in the General Election of 1918. One of the candidates said that she had often been to Downing Street on matters of vital importance during the war and had been struck by the lack of feeling shown by myself and my husband.

Mr. Heath Moore gave me an account of the savage manner with which the German population over here had been treated when America joined the Allies. He told me among other things, that one of his fellow-countrymen in a great recruiting speech had been interrupted by a man in the gallery who was understood to have shouted: "Hurrah for the Kaiser!" At which he was kicked and beaten down the stairs to the street and, but for the intervention of a policeman, would have been killed. When asked what he had done, the unfortunate German said his only son had been killed in the war and that he had shouted: "To hell with the Kaiser!"

This was mild compared to some of the cruelties related.

It is always dangerous to generalise, but the American people, while infinitely generous, are a hard and strong race and, but for the few cemeteries I have seen, I am inclined to think they never die. They thrive in rooms as hot as conservatories, can sit up all night, eat candy and ice-cream all day, and live to a great age upon either social or commercial excitement without leisure.

When I left the room to rest and think over my lecture, I was afraid I had not shown sufficient consideration to Mr. Heath Moore or his opinions, so that I was relieved on being informed that he had proposed himself to return to dinner the same evening. I hope we shall meet each other again, as he is a man of compassion.

I lectured after dinner, and before I had finished I fixed my eyes upon Mr. Heath Moore sitting next to Mrs. Shields and spoke of the moral motives that had made Great Britain enter into the war, apart from her friendship with France. I said that while the French had sacrificed everything and fought magnificently, other countries had been animated by the same motives, and in the end it had been won by a League of Nations.

I dwelt at length upon the cruelty with which the Germans had been treated in the United States and at home, and was cheered when I said that had Christ come down among the civilian population at any time during the war His sense of justice and compassion would have earned for Him the title of pro-German.

We went back to Cherry Street before taking the midnight train.

I was introduced to several people of the City of Kansas at supper, all of whom I found interesting. One man said to me:

"I knew you had charm and personality, Mrs. Asquith, but you must have spoken on a hundred platforms to have acquired such courage and eloquence."

I gazed at him dumb with surprise.

When I left I promised to write to my hostess and Mr. Moore.

* * * * *

We changed at St. Louis, on our way to Indianapolis, and were met there at 7 a.m. the next morning by Mr. Paul Anderson; we all had breakfast at the station together, and I was sorry to say good-bye to him.

I read quoted from a London paper that Mr. Balfour—the greatest living Commoner—had been made a Knight of the Garter.

We were met upon our arrival in the afternoon at Indianapolis by Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, and accompanied to their house by a reporter, I was surprised to see in the papers next day that I had said among other things that in Scotland we were not only highly educated, but able to study in our schools both the French and Spanish languages, and were I the Queen of America I would restore drink.

I began to fear that, though uncrowned, I must have in a fit of absence usurped some of the powers I had indicated ought to be restored to the United States.

After travelling all day on the 26th, we arrived in sousing rain at night to hear there were no porters at the station. On enquiring if they were on strike, I was told that there never had been any porters at Kalamazoo.

Loaded with luggage, we paddled like ducks in the mud to an inferior hotel.

As we had lunched at midday and there was no dining car on the train, we were annoyed to hear that no one could get any food after 8.30 p.m., but luckily for us there were still ten minutes before the restaurant closed, so we devoured what we could. On the next day I was told by reporters and other people that an eminent divine had said in a sermon that, thanks to my belief in intemperance, I was not a fit and proper person to give a lecture, and in consequence, my audience of the evening was not all that I could have desired. I had something to say about bearing false witness against your neighbour, but the few that were there were more than enthusiastic, and I was embraced by a woman from Peebleshire.

I was grateful to have the following cutting posted to me:

"Can't stand the Tone of a Morning Contemporary in Reporting Mrs. Asquith's Address,

"Editor, Evening Telegram:

"SIR,—I am a busy man, and have not much time to write letters, but I can't stand the sneering, cheap remarks of the Globe in their account of Mrs. Asquith's summing up of 'prohibition.'

"Mrs. Asquith did not give stories of a 'vulgar nature,' 'depicting an individual half-stupid with drink.' Note the hard Pharisaical way in which they gloat over the word 'drink.' Reminds me of the cheap old-fashioned 'temperance' poems. Mrs. Asquith quite properly and honestly called attention to the farce of prohibition laws, and merely voiced the opinion of ninety per cent of all honest people when she decried the unjust and unconstitutional 'blue laws' which the bigoted and ignorant minority of the Canadian and American people are trying to enact and enforce on the unwilling majorities—the real taxpayers.

"Would to goodness we had more such women, fearlessly candid, broadminded, and un-hypocritical like the same Margot Asquith. England, with all her faults, will never pander to the few fanatics who are the real oppressors, depressors and joy-killers.

"F. J. Paget."



XV: NEW YORK IDEAL CITY

NEW YORK IDEAL CITY

LIFE AND AIR AND GAIETY IN NEW YORK—LETTER FROM GOVERNOR ALLEN—MARGOT MEETS ARTHUR BRISBANE—PRINCESS BIBESCO'S BOOK

After travelling two days and a night we arrived in New York on the evening of the 28th to find Elizabeth and her husband waiting for the elevator to take them to a play; they were ready to throw this over but I told them I was too exhausted to talk and only longed to get to bed.

I have not been to San Francisco, but if I were an American I would live in New York City. St. Louis, Syracuse, Omaha, Washington, are more beautiful because of their environment; but there is life in the air, and a general atmosphere of gaiety and movement which I find infinitely stimulating in New York.

We saw "The Truth about Blayds" and "Kiki," two plays that were wonderfully acted; I enjoyed every moment of "Blayds," and the heroine of "Kiki" would make her fortune in any play.

On Sunday the 2nd of April I went to tea at the studio of my friend Mrs. Komroff. I have known her for many years, when she was Nellie Barnard, and I do not believe there is any artist living who can paint children in water-colour in the manner she does. The room was crowded with friends and artists and the portraits that were displayed filled us with admiration.

Together with many letters from home I received the following from Governor Allen.

"STATE OF KANSAS

"OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

"TOPEKA

"THE GOVERNOR. "March 30, 1922

"MY DEAR MRS. ASQUITH,

"I am taking the liberty of sending you a copy of my book on the industrial question. I hope you will forgive me for intruding it upon you. I have so many delightful recollections of the keen and instructive things you said at Mrs. Shields's house that I now find myself full of regret that the conversation continually drifted into general discussions which robbed us all of an opportunity to hear more of your own conclusions.

"Your generous comment upon Kansas City and the west has made us all happy and as a citizen I want to express my hearty appreciation of your compliments to this growing section of the country.

"I do not wonder that you drew from my remarks the conclusion that I am 'illiberal.' I was stupid not to realise that your definition of the word liberal is different from that which characterises it out here just now. In your world, 'liberal' is an honourable word. Over here it has come through misuse to denote a peculiar class whose reaction is antigovernment. The anarchist, the socialist, the communist and the bolshevist are all put down in one class, and the word liberal is thundered at them by orators and editors. It isn't fair to the word.

"If you have time, I'd be awfully glad if you would look over 'The Party of the Third Part,' because it relates to a program of industrial peace and justice which the President has recently indorsed in a message to Congress and which New York is now trying to write into her state legislation. Doubtless if the law is held to be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States several States in the forthcoming legislative sessions will adopt the principle of impartial adjudication of labor quarrels when those quarrels occur in the essential industries of food, fuel, clothing and transportation.

"I am sincerely glad you came to the middle west and I am grateful to Mrs. Shields for the delightful privilege of meeting you. I hope you will have a safe and happy voyage and that some day you will come back to America.

"Yours sincerely,

"HENRY J. ALLEN."

I was proud and pleased to sit to Baron Meyer one morning, the greatest photographer that ever lived—poor praise for an artist who can express himself in whatever he touches. If I die on the Mauretania going home,—which is more than likely as the sea seldom forgives bad sailors—I am certain of leaving something to my family that they can look at without repugnance.

On the 3rd of April we read in the papers "Balfour accepts Peerage: will enter Lords as Earl."

We were entertained at lunch by Mr. Arthur Brisbane, a famous journalist and friend of Elizabeth's. I sat between him and Mr. Hapgood and had an excellent conversation. They both spoke in high praise of "I Have Only Myself to Blame." In connection with this I will quote an American review out of the New Republic.

"MODERN LOVE

"'I Have Only Myself to Blame,' by Elizabeth Bibesco.

"This book is a collection of pictorial sketches and stories. Its field is restricted. It isn't about life in general. It leaves out religion and science, and illness and wars, animals and politics, and business, and children, and crime. It's only about lovers and loving.

"It is an unsettling book. Just as you have privately made up your mind, perhaps, to be sensible, and be satisfied with what you have—or haven't—and to forget about a oneness with somebody, and are feeling rich enough with much less, this book tells you a story which reaches into some inner part of you that was getting dried up, and makes you feel painfully aware of the things you are missing.

"Here for instance is part of a letter that one woman writes:

"'In a way I don't see why you should ever want to kiss me again. Do you understand what I mean, that I feel so merged, so eternally in your arms that I can hardly believe in the process of being taken into them again and again? Oh my dear, do you notice how one never can use superlatives when they really would mean something? They seem to slink away ashamed of their loose lives. After all we can't "make love" to one another. We both do it too well. This is not an incident, a game, an art; ours is not a love affair, it is life.'

"Another extract: 'I can't sleep. There is something oppressive in the atmosphere.... There is always a tenseness when you are not there, a cumulative unreality. I have felt it all day.... I seemed to be a ghost wandering about in some meaningless void. It was not only that I couldn't believe in the people, I could not even believe in the chairs and tables; it was tiring. You know how in fairy tales the lovely Princess is turned into a toad and has to wait for a kiss to release her, that was what I felt like—that nothing but your touch could make me into a human being again.'

"Her trueness is so exquisite, it really doesn't need any plots. For example, she is describing a man who has fallen in love, and who, though he used to be talkative, can now only stammer. He wants to propose to a beautiful girl but he can't. 'One day they were walking through a bluebell wood.... "I must speak," he said to himself unhappily, while he realised he was physically incapable of bringing out the most common-place phrase....'

"He decided to speak when he saw the next orchis.

"He thought of a woman he had once imagined himself in love with. She had had red hair and green eyes ... and red hair had seemed infinitely wicked and alluring and adventurous....

"He saw an orchis and hastily averted his eyes.

"He thought of a rocking horse he had had as a child, dappled grey with a grey yellow tail and a scarlet saddle....

"Another orchis. He looked at her imploringly.

"'What are you thinking about?' she responded to his appeal.

"'Rocking horses,' he said. 'Will you marry me?' And then desperately, 'I know that's not the way to put it'; and then convulsively, 'I love you.'

"She waited till he had finished and then she said.... 'That's a very nice way to put it.'"

"This seems to one reader at least one of the best proposals in fiction.

"Perhaps these stories are not classics. But they are of the very best of to-day's. They are not only charming, and fresh, but they have a nobility; they are seriously concerned with our lonely emotional needs.

"And there are things in them that touch the very core of one's heart. Things a reader is startled to find in print—things he had supposed not expressible. Secret things that make him whisper, 'Why I thought no one knew that but myself.'

Clarence Day, Jr."

In answer to a letter of thanks from Elizabeth he wrote:

"It made me so sad to read some of the reviews of your book. I knew of course how few people appreciated fine writing, but now I know how few people have ever been in love."

* * * * *

Mr. Heath Moore put this review into my hands before we parted and I thought it was clever of him to know the pleasure it would give me.



XVI: CRITICISM AND FAREWELL

CRITICISM AND FAREWELL

DOLL SALESMAN TALKS ON PROHIBITION—PERILS OF COMMERCIALISM AND MATERIALISM IN AMERICA—PLEA FOR LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP

On April 3—the day before I sailed for England—I went out early to buy toys to entertain my grand-baby on our voyage in the Mauretania; and had an interesting talk with one of the many civil salesmen that I have met all over the United States in their beautiful shops. He said he regretted that he would not be able to attend my last lecture although he had been to the other three in New York, because he feared the daughter of a friend of his was dying. She was a little girl living in a suburb who had fainted some weeks before. Her mother had given her the only stimulant they had in the house; since when she had suffered from blood-poisoning and was lying in a critical condition.

"I do hope, madam, you will deal to-night with the abominable law of Prohibition. It has encouraged this country to manufacture liquors of the most dangerous kind," he said.

I told him I heard the same complaint wherever I had been and, while sympathising deeply with him, feared I could do no more, as I had dealt freely and at length with the subject.

I was advertised by the following card to make my last speech.

FAREWELL LECTURE under the auspices of THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF ROUMANIA

Founded under the August Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Marie of Roumania

MARGOT ASQUITH

will close her brilliant and successful tour by delivering a lecture entitled

IMPRESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA

I put on my best dress and, armed with a bouquet of rare orchids given to me by my chairman, made my final public appearance in this country.

As Mr. Nelson Cromwell, who introduced me, is a fluent orator and had a great deal to say while paying a fine tribute to my husband—and knowing that I was to hold a reception afterwards—I cut my lecture as short as I could.

Among other subjects, I dealt with the exaggerated belief over here in commercial success; and the dangerous self-interest and lack of leisure which was encouraging not only this but every nation to materialism.

I had read in the morning papers a typical example of what I meant.

"First have what people want.

"Then let them know it.

"Thorough advertising is the Secret of Success.

"The old way was to let the people find it out gradually and slowly, in time for your grandson to get rich. The modern way is to have it TO-DAY, and make everybody know it TO-MORROW, or, if possible, THIS AFTERNOON."

I told them what I had observed at the Niagara Falls, and spoke of the many hideous bill boards and advertisements that desecrated the scenery wherever I had been, and pausing over the one among others that had really interested me, "A GOOD NAME", was interrupted by my chairman who exclaimed in a clear voice:

"ASQUITH!"

This met with immense success.

I ended by saying that few countries really cared for one another. It was not rivalry or jealousy that produced this indifference, but a certain blindness of heart. That we were part of the same family, if we would only realise it, and had had a terrible object lesson in imagining that any of us, however much we prepared or tried, could succeed in crushing the other. We had seen enough hate, and enough death; and that I passionately hoped the English-speaking nations all the world over would try a new departure, and do what they could to promote friendship and love.

* * * * *

The next day we sailed for England in the Mauretania.

If I were to finish without criticism, it might be said that these pages should not have been called "Impressions," but "Experiences"; and against this I have not only been warned, but adjured.

Nevertheless it is difficult, without appearing unfriendly, to write with candour upon matters that have moved me in my American tour.

It must be said that the architecture, regulations of street-traffic, arrangement of flower-shops, plumbing, and telephone service are infinitely superior to our own, but these are not criticisms, they are facts, the truth of which is not disputed.

I realise that there is not a nation in the world that extends such a generous welcome to the many strangers that go there as the United States. But admiration for my husband, and the publication of the first volume of my autobiography—which aroused both favourable and unfavourable comment—prevented me at the outset from being a complete stranger. Indeed many of the people who attended my lectures seemed to know all about me; and I was surprised when crowding on to the stage they sometimes exclaimed:

"But you are so different to what we expected you would be! And you haven't told us what you think of us."

I begged them to be frank, and tell me without fear of offence what they had imagined I would be like; but they could only repeat:

"I don't know! But somehow we thought you would be the very opposite of what you are."

When I tried a little clumsy chaff by saying: "I am sorry to have disappointed you!" it was always met with a protest; and on one occasion I heard a man say to the woman who was with him:

"There you are! I told you all along; but you wouldn't read the book!" at which the woman grasped me by the hand and said:

"You are writing another volume of your life aren't you, Mrs. Asquith, in which you will tell us everything you think about us."

I explained that I was writing an article on my Impressions of America for immediate publication and the second and final volume of my life which would come out in winter.

Flattering cuttings were sent to me from papers, as: "The Margot myth." And others, which said it was abundantly clear that I was in a chastened humour and, by guarding myself from my critics, was exercising a caution that deprived me of all spontaneity; or words to this effect.

These remarks are of little interest, but they tend to show how much some people and nations depend on the approbation of others and are the reason why I am going to finish with a short summing-up.



XVII: THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND

THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND

AMERICANS FRIENDLY BUT VAIN—THE LAND OF THE REFORMER—INTEREST IN EUROPE'S ARISTOCRACY—NEWSPAPERS PANDER TO VULGAR CURIOSITY—PLEA FOR ANGLO-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP

It is probably wiser in writing impressions to keep the conclusions you arrive at secret; and many may ask—and with justice—:

"What can a woman know who arrived on the 30th of January, and left on the 4th of April, of America or her people?" In answer to this I can only say that in those nine weeks I saw and talked to more varied types of persons than I could have done had I remained in either New York, Chicago or Washington for as many months. I met and conversed with senators and niggers, farmers and reporters, judges and preachers, hotel proprietors, mayors, solicitors, soldiers, shopmen, doctors, men of science and commerce, and a few of the rarer class of both the fashionable and the leisured. During this experience there are certain things I observed that I shall take the risk of writing down.

The Americans, while the most friendly people in the world, are too much concerned about each other; and, though not personally, they are nationally vain. They would rather hear themselves abused than undiscussed; which inclines one to imagine that they are suffering from the uneasiness of the nouveaux riches.

What do you think of us? or, how do you compare our men and women and their clothes and customs with your own? was the substance of every question that was put to me.

There are things of surpassing interest in this country, but have any of us heard an English man or woman ask a foreigner what he thought of us? Or, if they were silly enough to do so, who would be interested in the reply?

Some will say that this comes from pride, or insularity; but they would be wrong. We are not obsessed by the desire to interfere with our neighbour that is noticeable all over America.

In spite of true generosity and kindliness, I was aware of an undercurrent of illiberalism and violence which amazed me.

In every city that I have visited there are clubs, both male and female, to forbid or promote some harmless triviality and until these are ridiculed they will prevent the United States from ever becoming what we should call a free country.

Because there is little gallantry and no reserve, people do not necessarily become of one class. We cannot regulate equality, since we are born with different brains, natures, and environment, and so far from being equal, there is such a rigid regard for precedence in America that you are even congratulated after a dinner party because you have been seated "one off Mrs. ——".

While more than severe on anyone who accepts a title, there was no detail too insignificant about our Court or aristocracy that did not excite an almost emotional interest in my audiences. Every day of my tour I received letters begging me to tell them more about the life and habits of our upper classes or anything that I could "about Princess Mary's underwear."

If these letters had been merely the cackle of the feminine goose who likes writing to an advertised person, I would have torn them up, but they were sometimes signed by men, and often expressed the opinions of important local editors.

One night after I was in bed, having had a long talk with an intellectual reporter upon the dearth of great literature in his country, he rang me up to say his paper was annoyed that he had not brought back an accurate description of my hat and dress.

He apologised profusely, but said that that was what the public really cared for: that none of our discussion upon Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe or William James's fine style, or anything else of interest would be printed in the morning paper. But what I had said to one of the lady reporters, when we were left to ourselves, about Princess Mary's marriage being one of love, would probably be enlarged by headlines into a paragraph. I said I forgave him for waking me up, but was quite unaware that I had even mentioned our royal family.

The next day I read that I had said I was:

"On smoking terms with Queen Mary."

You may say that certain journalism of a similar kind panders to the same curiosity in what is low and vulgar over here, but it is more harmful in the States because the press has more power.

So far from guiding public opinion, the papers in America stimulate all that is worthless and credulous; and you may search in vain to find careful criticism either upon art, music or international affairs.

England has been called a nation of shop-keepers, but I think we spend as much time upon the moors and playing fields as Americans do in elevators and offices.

Perhaps we waste too much time on grass and games; but it has encouraged a certain aloofness and leisure, which produces a quiet mind.

Whether it is from the difficulties of the climate and the overheated rooms, the voices of even the nicest people appeared to me to be loud, and however generously you may have been entertained, you are left with a sense of suffocation, which it would be difficult to explain.

The excuse of being a young country will not continue to cover the rush and noise and lack of privacy that prevail; and the number of small children that I have seen in hotels, shops and restaurants that go to bed at midnight after sucking candy between enormous meals, is not promising for a nation which is always growing up.

The ingrained idea that, because there is no king and they despise titles, the Americans are a free people is pathetically untrue; and you have only to watch the working of the Prohibition law to see the dangers of repressive legislation. There is a perpetual interference with personal liberty over there that would not be tolerated in England for a week.

It is probably due to our passion for understatement and that we have inherited wise and tested regulations that the British are a law abiding race; but I think if the Americans were given a chance they would be the same. I can only say, if they are not, Democracy will prove as great a failure as Czardom.

It is enormously to the credit of the American public that they have never chosen a bad character in their presidents and have produced, in Abraham Lincoln, a man of genius, ability and courage who will live for ever in the hearts and minds of every country in the world. Nor must we forget that he dominated the people in spite of a campaign of calumny by the press only equalled by the one to which my husband was subjected in the latter days of the war.

Men at the head of affairs must be independent of public opinion if they wish to achieve anything and never try to conciliate a press that, in all fairness, it must be said,—with a few exceptions—does not attempt to guide, for more than a transitory moment, anyone to any goal.

The present Government in America from all I heard—some of its heads I had the honour to meet—seems to be an admirable one, and working smoothly in times of exceptional difficulty. President Harding has had the wisdom to get good men round him and is a man of open mind and wide views himself.

With some of the faults I have found during my tour I am told that "The American Credo"[*] (given to me by my friend Mr. Anderson of the St. Louis Dispatch) deals with searching fidelity. I daresay when I read it I shall learn where I have been wrong; but in criticising as I have, I am merely fulfilling the promise I made to write my impressions which at best can be but superficial.

[*] By G. J. Nathan and H. L. Mencken.

Among thoughtful people there is a great deal of pro-American propaganda going on in this country, and in conclusion I would like to say that there is so much that is fine and keen in the American race, so much that is disarming and lovable, that if I have written anything exaggerated or erroneous, I should feel of all people the most ungrateful.

I can only plead to be forgiven where I have erred, as I was not only shown unforgettable courtesy and friendship, but I feel it is vital to the peace of the world that our people and those of the United States should understand and care for one another.

THE END



INDEX

A

Acton, Lord, 15

Adams, tomb, 62

Allard, Miss, 76

Allen, Henry J, 161, 178, 180

America, 9 dancers, 24 man, 17 press, 83 race, 207 women, 16

Americans, 200

Anderson, Paul, 147, 152, 171, 206

Aurelius, Marcus, 159

B

Balfour, Lady Francis, 101

Balfour, Mr, 47, 59, 170, 181

Balfour, Oswald, 100

bal poudre, 45

Baltimore, 135

Bancroft, Mrs, 36

Barnard, Nellie, 178

Beland, Dr. Henri, 108

Bibesco, Antoine, 128

Bibesco, Elizabeth, 46, 181

Bibesco, Prince, 22, 51

bolshevist, 179

Bonus, The, 77

Boston, 29 Fine Arts Museum, 84 Public Library, 34 Sargent Hall, 34, 35 Symphony Hall, 30

Brisbane, Arthur, 181

Brooklyn, 50

Broun, Heywood, 51, 52

"Bruce", 82, 83, 152

Buffalo, 73, 112, 139

Burgess, Mr. and Mrs. Ward, 158

Butler, Dr. Murray, 23

C

Calve, Mme, 98

Campbell, Ex-Governor, 73

Cannes Conference, 61

Castex, Captain, 65

Caulfield, Judge Henry, 152

Chapin, Mr. and Mrs., 72

Charwoman, 98

Chicago, 73, 137 Michigan Boulevard, 140, 141 reporters, 74

Church, Mr, 86

Cincinnati, 142

Coalition, 148

Columbus, 72

Columbus, Christopher, 167

Communist, 179

Conservative Party, 61, 116, 124, 148, 166

Cravath, Paul, 50

Crewe, Lord, 167

Cromwell, Nelson, 129, 191

D

Davis, Ex-Ambassador, 129

Day, Clarence, Jr, 185

Detroit, 71 Highland Park, 73

Downing Street, 168

Drew, Mrs, 15

Drummond, Mrs. Huntley, 99, 111

E

E. A. S——, 137

Eglee, Dr, 52

F

flappers, 21, 83, 91, 118, 120, 141

Ford, Henry, 72

Fuller, Alvin, Lieutenant Governor, 33, 34

G

Galahad, Sir—statue, 109

Geddes, Sir Auckland, 22, 67

Genoa Conference, 61

German race, 66

Gerry, Miss Mabel, 24

Ghandi, 148

Gibbs, George, 45

Gouin, Sir Lomar, 109

Governor General of Canada, 111

Graham, Hon. George, 109

Grey, Lord, 116, 157

H

Hall, Mr, 158

Hapgood, Mr, 181

Hard, Thomas, 57

Harding, President, 57, 58, 206

Harper, Henry Albert, 110

Hill, Mr. Arthur, 32

Hocker, Mrs, 151

Holland, Dr, 86

Hosmer, Charles, 101

Hostetter, V, 44

House, Colonel, 47, 129

Hughes, Mr, 61, 107, 130

I

If Winter Comes, 74, 84

India, 148

influenza, 11

Intemperance, 173

International politics, 81

Irish Free State, 107

J

Jeffries, Mr, 72

Johnson, Pussyfoot, Mr, 125

Jusserand, M, 64

K

Kalamazoo, 172

Kansas City, 155, 158, 171, 179

Keedick, Mr. Lee, 22, 49

Kennedy, Mrs. G. B, 109

Kiel, Henry W, 147

"Kiki", 178

King, MacKenzie, 105, 106, 116

Komroff, Nellie, 72, 178

Kountze, Mrs, 158

Kreisler, 130

L

Labor, 107

Lake Chautauqua, 58

Laughter, 16

Lawford, Mrs, 100, 111

Lee, Lord, 65, 123, 126, 127

Liberal Party, 49, 166

Lincoln, Abraham, 119, 160, 205

Lloyd George, Mr, 49, 60, 121

Lords, House of, 124

M

Mackay, Clarence, 129

Margot myth, 195

Meighen, Mr 105, 106

Meyer, Baron 181

Military doctor 76

Minotto, Count, 74

Minotto, Mrs 74, 75

M. M. F 138

Montclair, 120

Montreal 99, 111

Moore, Heath 165, 168, 170, 186

Moore, Mrs, 149, 150

McGiverin, Hal, 108

N

New Republic 181

New York 177, 189 Architecture 24 female reporters 115

Niagara, 138

Niagara Falls 12, 139, 140

O

"Official Reprisals", 107

Omaha 157, 158, 177

Onondaga Hotel, 135

Ottawa, 105, 106, 108

P

Paget, F. J, 174

Parkes, Dr, 41

Perley, Sir George, 105

Petting Parties, 141

Pittsburgh, 81, 91, 96

Polk, Mrs. Frank 128, 129

Prince Bibesco, 22, 51

Princess Mary 12, 14, 120, 202

Prohibition, 95, 116, 124, 125, 127, 174, 190, 204

Providence, 120, 121

Q

Queen Mary, 203

R

Railway Stations 29, 30

Reading, Lord 148

Reed, Mrs. Hayter 100, 111

Reporters 21, 81, 117, 173

Richards, Dean 135

Ridgeway, Mr. Thomas 24, 45

Rochester 89

Rock Creek Cemetery 62

S

Sabre, Mark 84

St. Louis 147, 149, 171

Salesmen 189

Saloon League 125

San Francisco 177

Sargent, John Singer 34

Senate 130

Shell-shocked 77

Shields, Mrs. Edward 155, 158, 161, 170, 179

Smugglepupping 141

Speedway Hospital 75, 76

State, Department of 131

States, The 77

Stauffer, Rev. Byron, chairman 95, 96

Sullivan, Mr. and Mrs 172

Syracuse 135, 136, 177

T

Taylor, Sir Frederick 101

Tennant, Miss 22, 53, 62

Tennants 48

Thayer, Charles M 37

Toronto 91, 95

Trains 89, 90

Twain, Mark 96

U

Utica, 135

V

Vanderbilt, Mrs. Cornelius, 45

Versailles Conference, 61

Vining, Mr. C. M, 91

Volstead, Mr, 125

W

Washburn, Mr. and Mrs. W, 37

Washington, 130, 177

White, Mr. Harry, 24, 41

Wiers, Rev. Swan, 120

Wilson, Ex-President, 63

Y

Younger, Sir George, 60, 61, 116

THE END