are
able to present to ordinary human beings.

At one of Abraham Lincoln's great meetings, he had to walk through the
crowd to reach the platform. He heard someone say as he passed:

"Is _that_ President Lincoln? Why, what a common-looking fellow!"

At which he turned round and said:

"God likes common-looking fellows or he would not have made so many of
them."

I told her how much I had been moved by her remark to my secretary that
our friendship would help her to emerge out of clay soil; adding that
the desire of my life was to replant myself in a bigger pot every year,
and that what she had said would encourage me to go on. After a certain
age we were liable to become stationary; and the ravages of war so far
from having regenerated, had retarded civilisation.

We were interrupted by Mr. Henry J. Allen, a guest who arrived long
before the luncheon hour.

The Governor of the State of Kansas is a man of authority--not only
intelligent but intellectual, always a rare combination, and it needs no
witch to predict a great future for him. He remained at Mrs. Shields's
lovely house in Cherry Street from 11.30 till 6 in the evening, in spite
of having an appointment at 4, by which I inferred he could do what he
liked.

XIV: THE WAR AND PROHIBITION

THE WAR AND PROHIBITION

HEATED DISCUSSION ON ENGLAND'S ENTRY INTO THE WAR--OUR GERMAN
FRIENDS--AMERICAN VITALITY--MISQUOTED ON PROHIBITION

I sat next to Mr. Heath Moore at lunch and discussed many subjects;
among others, the motives that had brought Great Britain into the war.
He expressed himself with vigour and frankness, and said that nothing
would induce him to believe that our purpose had been moral. That our
trade was in danger of being out-rivalled, and the German navy had
developed into such a formidable menace, that after France had been
defeated, our own shores would have been immediately attacked by the
Germans; it was therefore humbug to suggest that our motive had not been
one of pure self defence.

As this was the first anti-British note that I had heard since my
arrival, it interested me.

I asked him where he imagined our ships would be when the German
dreadnoughts sailed into our harbours: and what sort of reception the
British people were likely to give the enemy crew, even supposing it
could land an army--never a very easy matter--and concluded by saying I
had not been kept awake by the fear that the Kaiser would succeed wher