ely dull days--not often, however. To-day came:

General Tasker H. Bliss, Chief-of-Staff, now 64--the wisest (so I judge)
of our military men, a rather wonderful old chap. He's on his way to
Paris as a member of the Supreme War Council at Versailles. The big
question he has struck is: Shall American troops be put into the British
and French lines, in small groups, to fill up the gaps in those armies?
The British have persuaded him that it is a military necessity. If it
were less than a necessity, it would, of course, be wrong--i.e., it
would cut across our national pride, force our men under another flag,
etc. It is not proposed to deprive Pershing of his command nor even of
his army. The plan is to bring over troops that would not otherwise now
come and to lend these to the British and French armies, and to let
Pershing go on with his army as if this hadn't been done. Bliss is
inclined to grant this request on condition the British bring these men
over, equip and feed them, etc. He came in to ask me to send a telegram
for him to-morrow to the President, making this recommendation. But on
reflection he decided to wait till he had seen and heard the French
also, who desire the same thing as the British.

General Bliss is staying with Major Warburton; and Warburton gave me
some interesting glimpses of him. A telegram came for the General.
Warburton thought that he was out of the house and he decided to take it
himself to the General's room. He opened the door. There sat the General
by the fire talking to himself, wrapped in thought. Warburton walked to
the middle of the room. The old man didn't see him. He decided not to
disturb him, for he was rehearsing what he proposed to say to the
Secretary of State for War or to the Prime Minister--getting his ears as
well as his mind used to it. Warburton put the telegram on the table
near the General, went out, and wasn't discovered.

Several nights, he sat by the fire with Warburton and began to talk,
again rehearsing to himself some important conclusions that he had
reached. Every once in a while he'd look up at Warburton and say: "Now,
what do you think of that?"

That's an amazing good way to get your thought clear and your plans well
laid out. I've done it myself.

I went home and Kipling and Carrie[83] were at lunch with us. Kipling
said: "I'll tell you, your coming into the war made a new earth for me."
He is on a committee to see that British graves are properly marked