Mr. Ford, still the impassioned pacifist, whose aeroplane engines
will help to bomb the Hun's conscience into wakefulness, staggers
our amazement but commands our admiration. We do not attempt to
understand or reconcile his two extremes of conduct, but as fighters
we appreciate the courage of soul that made him "about turn" to
search for his ideal in a painful direction when the old friendly
direction had failed. Here again it is significant that both with
regard to individuals and nations, Germany's sternest foes are
war-haters--war-haters to such an extent that their principles at
times have almost shipwrecked their careers. In England our example is
Lloyd George. Throughout the Anglo-Saxon world the slumbering spirit
of Cromwell's Ironsides has sprung to life, reminding the British
Empire and the United States of their common ancestry. After a hundred
and forty years of drifting apart, we stand side by side like our
forefathers, the fighting pacifists at Naseby; like them, having
failed to make men good with words, we will hew them into virtue with
the sword.

At the end of June I went back to Blighty wounded. One of my most
vivid recollections of the time that followed is an early morning
in July; it must have been among the first of the days that I was
allowed out of hospital. London was green and leafy. The tracks of
the tramways shone like silver in the sunlight. There was a spirit of
release and immense good humour abroad. My course followed the river
on the south side, all a-dance with wind and little waves. As I
crossed the bridge at Westminster I became aware of an atmosphere
of expectation. Subconsciously I must have been noticing it for some
time. Along Whitehall the pavements were lined with people, craning
their necks, joking and jostling, each trying to better his place.
Trafalgar Square was jammed with a dense mass of humanity, through