to be in danger. They fly over us on the way to bigger game. At any
rate I'll take the risk for this air and sunshine. Trenches and
barbed wire run all along the beach--I suppose to help in case of
an invasion. But an invasion is impossible in my judgment. Holy
Moses! what a world!--the cannon in the big battle in France
roaring in our ears all the time, this cannon at our door likely to
begin action any night and all the rest along the beach and on the
way to London, and this is what we call rest! The world is upside
down, all crazy, all murderous; but we've got to stop this barbaric
assault, whatever the cost.

Ray Stannard Baker is spending a few days with us, much to our
pleasure.

With love to Leila and the babies,

Yours affectionately,
W.H.P.

_To Arthur W. Page_

Rest Harrow, Sandwich Beach,
Sandwich, Kent, England.
May 20, 1918.

DEAR ARTHUR:

... I can't get quite to the bottom of the anti-English feeling at
Washington. God knows, this people have their faults. Their social
system and much else here is mediaeval. I could write several
volumes in criticism of them. So I could also in criticism of
anybody else. But Jefferson's[77] letter is as true to-day as it
was when he wrote it. One may or may not have a lot of sentiment
about it; but, without sentiment, it's mere common sense, mere
prudence, the mere instinct of safety to keep close to Great
Britain, to have a decent respect for the good qualities of these
people and of this government. Certainly it is a mere
perversity--lost time--lost motion, lost everything--to cherish a
dislike and a distrust of them--a thing that I cannot wholly
understand. While we are, I fear, going to have trade troubles and
controversies, my feeling is, on the whole, in spite of the
attitude of our official life, that an increasing number of our
people are waking up to what England has done and is and may be
depended on to do. Isn't that true?

We've no news here. We see nobody who knows anything. I am far from
strong--the old stomach got tired and I must gradually coax it back
to work. That's practically my sole business now for a time, and
it's a slow process. But it's coming along and relief from seeing
hordes of people is as good as medicine.

Affectionatel