s? Or did the statement he had
made to a friend years before when he started for West Point that "war
was no more and a gun would not be fired in a hundred years," again come
back to him, when, seated in the car of state, he was swept swiftly
toward London on that beautiful and historic day in June?

In London, United States Ambassador Page, Admiral Sims of the United
States Navy, Lord Derby, British Secretary of State for War, General
Lord French and many other leaders of the British Army were waiting to
receive him. Throngs of people on every side were doing their utmost to
show that they too as well as the representatives of their Government,
wanted to manifest their appreciation in every possible way of the
coming of the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force.

The following day General Pershing was presented formally to King George
V at Buckingham Palace. General Lord Brooke, commander of the Twelfth
Canadian Infantry Brigade, as was most fitting, was the spokesman. To
General Pershing the King said:

"It has been the dream of my life to see the two
great English-speaking nations more closely
united. My dreams have been realized. It is with
the utmost pleasure that I welcome you, at the
head of the American contingent, to our shores."

His Majesty conversed informally with each member of the General's staff
and talked with the General a longer time. His intense interest and
enthusiasm as well as his gratitude were manifest not only in his spoken
words but also in the cordial grasp of his hand when they departed. It
was the representative of one great nation trying to express his
appreciation to the representative of another nation.

There were numerous formal calls and entertainments to follow and on
June 11th, when these all had been duly done, General Pershing and
Ambassador Page were entertained at luncheon by King George and Queen
Mary, who personally showed their guests through the historic rooms and
beautiful grounds of the palace. It was not merely a meeting of the
English king and the American soldier--it was the quiet manifestation of
the deep feeling and strong ties that now bound together the two great
peoples they represented.

General Pershing then departed for the War Office where already members
of his staff had been busily conferring with the corresponding members
of the British Army.

In the afternoon of that busy day General Pershing