till you sit day after day and hear them in the House of Commons, mercilessly pounding one another.  Then you are puzzled.  Do they keep all these outworn things because they are incapable of changing anything, or do these outworn burdens keep them from becoming able to change anything?  I daresay it works both ways.  Every venerable ruin, every outworn custom, makes the King more secure; and the King gives veneration to every ruin and keeps respect for every outworn custom.

     Praise God for the Atlantic Ocean!  It is the geographical
     foundation of our liberties.  Yet, as I’ve often written, there are
     men here, real men, ruling men, mighty men, and a vigorous stock.

A civilization, especially an old civilization, isn’t an easy nut to crack.  But I notice that the men of vision keep their thought on us.  They never forget that we are 100 million strong and that we dare do new things; and they dearly love to ask questions about—­Rockefeller!  Our power, our adaptability, our potential wealth they never forget.  They’ll hold fast to our favour for reasons of prudence as well as for reasons of kinship.  And, whenever we choose to assume the leadership of the world, they’ll grant it—­gradually—­and follow loyally.  They cannot become French, and they dislike the Germans.  They must keep in our boat for safety as well as for comfort.

     Yours heartily,
     WALTER H. PAGE.

The following extracts are made from other letters written at this time: 

* * * * *

. . .  To-night I had a long talk with the Duchess of X, a kindly woman who spends much time and money in the most helpful “uplift” work; that’s the kind of woman she is.

Now she and the Duke are invited to dine at the French Ambassador’s to-morrow night.  “If the Duke went into any house where there was any member of this Government,” said she, “he’d turn and walk out again.  We thought we’d better find out who the French Ambassador’s guests are.  We didn’t wish to ask him nor to have correspondence about it.  Therefore the Duke sent his Secretary quietly to ask the Ambassador’s Secretary—­before we accepted.”

This is now a common occurrence.  We had Sir Edward Grey to dinner a little while ago and we had to make sure we had no Tory guests that night.

This same Duchess of X sat in the Peeresses’ gallery of the House of Lords to-night till 7 o’clock.  “I had to sit in plain sight of the wives of two members of the Cabinet and of the wife and daughter of the Prime Minister.  I used to know them,” she said, “and it was embarrassing.”

Thus the revolution proceeds.  For that’s what it is.

* * * * *