ants; and the Russian Military Attache from Paris with several
representatives of the special Russian Commission in England were
present, as well as the Head of the Roumanian Military Mission in
France. The Russians, Roumanians and Italians all, needless to say,
wanted to get as much as they could out of us, and the French were
quite ready to back the Russians and Roumanians up. Mr. Lloyd George
made a tip-top chairman, conciliatory and, thanks to ignorance of
French, always unable to understand what was said when it happened to
be inconvenient to grasp the purport. At one juncture M. Thomas and
General Dall' Olio came rather to loggerheads over something or other,
steel I think. Had they been Britishers, one would have been preparing
to slip under the table so as to be out of harm's way; but Latin
nations are more gesticulatory than we are, and this sort of
effervescence does not mean quite so much with them as it does when it
shows a head amongst us frigid islanders. Just when the illustrious
pair of Ministers were inclined to get a little out of temper, arguing
of course in French, Mr. Lloyd George burst out laughing, threw
himself back in his chair and ejaculated, "Now will some kind friend
tell me what all that's about!" He had touched exactly the right note.
Everybody beamed. The disputants burst out laughing too, harmony was
completely restored, and the discussion was conducted thenceforward in
friendliest fashion.

By far the most interesting feature, however, about this pow-wow, and
several others, was provided by the interventions of M. Mantoux, the
gifted interpreter who used to come over from Paris, and of whom I
believe great use was made at Conferences at various times at
Versailles. His performance on such occasions was a veritable _tour de
force_. He never took a note. He waited till the speaker had finished
all that he wanted to say--and your statesman generally has an
interminable lot to say--whether it was in French or in English. He
then translated what had been said into the other language--English or
French as the case might be--practically word for word. His memory,
quite apart from his abnormal linguistic aptitudes, was amazing. Nor
was that all. He somehow contrived, almost automatically it seemed, to
imitate the very gestures and the elocution of the speakers. M. Thomas
is troubled with a rather unruly wisp of hair which, when he gets
wrought up in fiery moments, will tumble down over his brow