"There you are! I told you all along; but you wouldn't read the book!" at which the woman grasped me by the hand and said:
"You are writing another volume of your life aren't you, Mrs. Asquith, in which you will tell us everything you think about us."
I explained that I was writing an article on my Impressions of America for immediate publication and the second and final volume of my life which would come out in winter.
Flattering cuttings were sent to me from papers, as: "The Margot myth." And others, which said it was abundantly clear that I was in a chastened humour and, by guarding myself from my critics, was exercising a caution that deprived me of all spontaneity; or words to this effect.
These remarks are of little interest, but they tend to show how much some people and nations depend on the approbation of others and are the reason why I am going to finish with a short summing-up.
XVII: THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND
XVII.
THINKING IT OVER IN ENGLAND
AMERICANS FRIENDLY BUT VAIN—THE LAND OF THE REFORMER—INTEREST IN EUROPE'S ARISTOCRACY—NEWSPAPERS PANDER TO VULGAR CURIOSITY—PLEA FOR ANGLO-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP
IT is probably wiser in writing impressions to keep the conclusions you arrive at secret; and many may ask—and with justice—: