this—­never—­but persons in unofficial life; and I have sometimes hit some hard blows under this condescending provocation.  This is the one experience that I have found irritating.  They commiserate me on having a Government that will not provide an Ambassador’s residence—­from the King to my servants.  They talk about American lynchings.  Even the Spectator, in an early editorial about you, said that we should now see what stuff there is in the new President by watching whether you would stop lynchings.  They forever quote Bryce on the badness of our municipal government.  They pretend to think that the impeachment of governors is common and ought to be commoner.  One delicious M.P. asked me:  “Now, since the Governor of New York is impeached, who becomes Vice-President[23]?” Ignorance, unfathomable ignorance, is at the bottom of much of it; if the Town Treasurer of Yuba Dam gets a $100 “rake off” on a paving contract, our city government is a failure.

I am about to conclude that our yellow press does us more harm abroad than at home, and many of the American correspondents of the English papers send exactly the wrong news.  The whole governing class of England has a possibly exaggerated admiration for the American people and something very like contempt for the American Government.

If I make it out right two causes (in addition to their ignorance) of their dislike of our Government are (1) its lack of manners in the past, and (2) its indiscretions of publicity about foreign affairs.  We ostentatiously stand aloof from their polite ways and courteous manners in many of the every-day, ordinary, unimportant dealings with them—­aloof from the common amenities of long-organized political life. . . .

Not one of these things is worth mentioning or remembering.  But generations of them have caused our Government to be regarded as thoughtless of the fine little acts of life—­as rude.  The more I find out about diplomatic customs and the more I hear of the little-big troubles of others, the more need I find to be careful about details of courtesy.

Thus we are making as brave a show as becomes us.  I no longer dismiss a princess after supper or keep the whole diplomatic corps waiting while I talk to an interesting man till the Master of Ceremonies comes up and whispers:  “Your Excellency, I think they are waiting for you to move.”  But I am both young and green, and even these folk forgive much to green youth, if it show a willingness to learn.

But our Government, though green, isn’t young enough to plead its youth.  It is time that it, too, were learning Old World manners in dealing with Old World peoples.  I do not know whether we need a Bureau, or a Major-Domo, or a Master of Ceremonies at Washington, but we need somebody to prompt us to act as polite as we really are, somebody to think of those gentler touches that we