ms on the men and the jewels on the ladies (by
the ton) and their trains--all this makes a very brilliant
spectacle. The American Ambassador and his Secretaries and the
Swiss and the Portuguese are the only ones dressed in citizens'
clothes.

At a levee, the King receives only gentlemen. Here they come in all
kinds of uniforms. If you are not entitled to wear a uniform, you
have a dark suit, knee breeches, and a funny little tin sword. I'm
going to adopt the knee breeches part of it for good when I go
home--golf breeches in the day time and knee breeches at night.
You've no idea how nice and comfortable they are--though it is a
devil of a lot of trouble to put 'em on. Of course every sort of
man here but the Americans wears some sort of decorations around
his neck or on his stomach, at these functions. For my part, I like
it--here. The women sparkle with diamonds, the men strut; the King
is a fine man with a big bass voice and he talks very well and is
most agreeable; the Queen is very gracious; the royal ladies (Queen
Victoria's daughters, chiefly) are nice; you see all the big
Generals and all the big Admirals and the great folk of every
sort--fine show.

You've no idea how much time and money they spend on shooting. The
King has been shooting most of the time for three months. He's said
to be a very good shot. He has sent me, on different occasions,
grouse, a haunch of venison, and pheasants.

But except on these occasions, you never think about the King. The
people go about their business as if he didn't exist, of course.
They begin work much later than we do. You'll not find any of the
shops open till about ten o'clock. The sun doesn't shine except
once in a while and you don't know it's daylight till about ten.
You know the House of Commons has night sessions always. Nobody is
in the Government offices, except clerks and secretaries, till the
afternoon. We dine at eight, and, when we have a big dinner, at
eight thirty.

I like these people (most of 'em) immensely. They are very genuine
and frank, good fighters and folk of our own sort--after you come
to know them. At first they have no manners and don't know what to
do. But they warm up to you later. They have abundant wit, but much
less humour than we. And they know how to live