ation in
Germany and partly because the Germans will have to confess that
they can't whip our armies in France. But, even then, since they
have all Russia to draw on, they may keep going for a long time.
One man's guess is as good as another's.

One sad thing is certain: we shall at once begin to have heavy
American casualties. Our Red Cross and our army here are getting
hospitals ready for such American wounded as are brought over to
England--the parts of our army that are fighting with the British.

We have a lot of miserable politics here which interfere with the
public feeling. The British politician is a worse yellow dog than
the American--at times he is, at least; and we have just been going
through such a time. Another such time will soon come about the
Irish.

Well, we have an unending quantity of work and wear--no very acute
bothers but a continuous strain, the strain of actual work, of
uneasiness, of seeing people, of uncertainty, of great expense, of
doubt and fear at times, of inability to make any plans--all which
is only the common lot now all over the world, except that most
persons have up to this time suffered incomparably worse than we.
And there's nothing to do but to go on and on and on and to keep
going with the stoutest hearts we can keep up till the end do at
last come. But the Germans now (as the rest of us) are fighting for
their lives. They are desperate and their leaders care nothing for
human life.

The Embassy now is a good deal bigger than the whole State
Department ever was in times of peace. I have three buildings for
offices, and a part of our civil force occupies two other
buildings. Even a general supervision of so large a force is in
itself a pretty big job. The army and the Navy have each about the
same space as the Embassy proper. Besides, our people have huts and
inns and clubs and hospitals all over the town. Even though there
be fewer vexing problems than there were while we were neutral,
there is not less work--on the contrary, more. Nor will there be an
end to it for a very long time--long after my time here. The
settling of the war and the beginning of peace activities, whenever
these come, will involve a great volume of work. But I've no
ambition to have these things in hand. As soon as a n