"Never in this world! To speak for an hour and fifteen minutes to people who never clap is like hitting one's head against a wall." At which one of the ladies said:
"You are quite right, Mrs. Asquith, there is great apathy and lack of manners in Providence."
"Why should you clap," I said, "if you are not interested?" At this they all protested.
"We were afraid of missing a word of what we were enjoying," said one charming woman, to which I replied:
"I would have stood as still as a statue if one of you had thought of cheering me!"
We took the midnight train to New York where we arrived at six the next morning, and I felt that I was returning home.
On March 8, the New York Times published on its front page:
"LORD LEE DEFENDS AMERICAN YOUNG
WOMEN
"Mrs. Asquith's Charges Cruel, Ludicrous,
and Untrue!"
"Speaking at the English-speaking Union luncheon, Lord Lee said the statement attributed to the famous country-woman of his now in the United States was as cruel as it was ludicrous and untrue. He added that he could testify from thirty years of personal observation in America, and from reliable information from various quarters; and that he was speaking seriously."