n France to
the American Ambassador. When I arrived today the _Chancellerie_
presented an astounding sight. Around the outer door were huddled a
compact crowd of Germans, men and women; they pressed about the
entrance; they glanced furtively over their shoulders and their blue
eyes were filled with dumb apprehension. Inside the _Chancellerie_ was
chaos. Hundreds of Americans and Germans crowded together seeking
audience and counsel. German women sank down in corners of the halls
or on the stairs, weeping for joy to have found a haven of refuge.
Scores of Sovereign American Citizens stood in the busiest spots and
protested with American vehemence against fate and chance. Each S.A.C.
was remonstrating about a separate grievance. Most of them reiterated
from time to time their sovereignty, and announced to no one in
particular that it was their right to see "their Ambassador" in
person. They demanded information! They needed money! They wished to
know what to do with letters of credit! What was "the government"
going to do about sending them home? Was Paris safe? Would there be
immediate attacks by Zeppelins? Could they deposit their jewels in
the Embassy vaults? Were passports necessary? WHY were passports
necessary? They asked the same questions over and over, and never
listened to the answers.

Inspired by Mr. Herrick, the staff of the Embassy struggled bravely
and coolly through this maelstrom, and accomplished as many things as
possible each minute. No fifty men could have gone through with all
the work that suddenly demanded attention. Without warning, virtually
within one day, this great flood of humanity had rolled in upon the
normally tranquil life of the Embassy, and yet its chief and his
assistants took up the vast responsibility as quietly and acted as
coolly as though it were all an everyday occurrence and not the
emergency of a lifetime.

I was first assigned to work with the American problems. William
Iselin, who had been one of my fellow-students in the Ecole des Beaux
Arts, is Attache at the Embassy and he gave me a rapid summary of
necessary information. I plunged into work with eagerness, but while
attending to my own countrymen, my deepest personal sympathies went
out to the mob of panic-stricken Germans. Poor creatures, they are in
no way personally responsible for the war, and yet they bear no mean
part in the suffering it is causing. It was decreed by the French
government that all Germans who had