Part 23 (1/2)

We were all busy, but we must all have tea somewhere, and why not in a place close to the Houses of Parlia Street, and the War Office? I went on to say that though I could not proet one of his colleagues or else soeneral or ad, to orna ease and good sense hich every suggestion that I ed that we should begin in the folloeek

Oddly enough, I cannot now reuest of honour, but I do reot Sir Edward Grey, and that on one occasion he spent over two hours, from 430, that is, until nearly 630, over , and if I re the number were included two Lord Chancellors, Lord Haldane, and Lord Buckmaster Mr

Balfour and Mr McKenna were also visitors, as was Earl Grey--the cousin of Sir Edward Grey Lord Roberts was to have come, but Death intervened to prevent his visit

Lest the diet should be uished people like the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, Adinald Custance, General Ian Hainald Hall, at that tience Department at the Adian Minister, the Ae, and Colonel House, who visits Last, but not least, I had the two Censors, Sir Edward Cook and Sir Frank Swettenham

It was as if The Thunderer and Mercury had descended to play with e and Ad the most constant supporters of my Conversaziones

They proved very popular with the correspondents

I know that the lions I provided for enuine when they toldthe able and keenly-interested young men who forht not to flatter my own tea-parties, but I am bound to say that I don't think I ever listened to better talk than the talk I heard on those occasions I specially remember a conversation which took place when Lord Buckmaster became Chief Censor, shortly before he was h, the correspondents were inclined to be critical, though friendly, and he, though equally friendly, was sternly deter

Curiously enough, our dialectic on that occasion see an impression upon others as upon uished of news experts of his own or any other country, Mr Roy Martin, of the associated Press of America, in a little tract which he wrote about the censorshi+p when America entered the war, spoke of my parties and the talk with Lord Buckmaster in terms which showed that he had been impressed The tract in question was entitled ”Newspaper Men should direct the Censorshi+p” The following is the passage to which I a:

On the day when Lord Buckh Chancellor I met him at the hospitable home of St Loe Strachey, of _The Spectator_, the best friend A this war, in London, and told him that newspaper men had probably been a more constant nuisance to him than to any man in Great Britain With characteristic suavity he assured me that he had only the pleasantest recollection of all his relations with the press An American probably would have admitted a part of the indictment We do not produce that type of urbanity in this country; like the colour on the walls of St Paul's and the Abbey, it comes only with centuries

But all the dreadful lapses of the British censorshi+p and all its inequalities can be avoided by the United States The nposts for us

Its printed rules reveal its sloth Our censorshi+p can develop equal efficiency in a month, if it notes the charted pitfalls in Whitehall

I think my tea-parties would have run to the end of the war if it had not been thatto reat deal away from London, and in any case was not equal to the extra strain they i was held at _The Spectator_ office, for 14 Queen Anne's Gate was let at the time, _ie_ in April or May, 1917

I hope I shall not be thought indiscreet if I take note of an incident which occurred in the last six months of the Strachey teas, for it marked the extreme kindness, consideration, and true-hearted friendshi+p shown h I have forgotten it, the Foreign Office suddenly took it into their heads that theythely they askedover the conduct of theentleman whom they named He had lived, they pointed out, for over twenty years in the United States and was therefore likely to be a better host than I was Indeed, it was suggested, of course rounds he would be more acceptable to the correspondents than I should be and would understand them better

We were at war, and we did not in those days waste tihtly I was not in the least hurt Though I loved the parties, which had given ood talk, I was very busy, and indeed very etting a couple of hours of ed that I should retire gracefully and recommend my official successor to my Aood-will But the Foreign Office, though they did not reckon without their host, had reckoned without his guests When the concrete proposal (well-lorious navete in a little speech by the new host, it was received with so like annoyance--a fact which worried me not a little, for I had, rather unwisely perhaps, assured my official s, however, went further than the grim silence hich the initial proposal was ned to be ”the positively last appearance of Mr Strachey” After a few days I heard that three or four of the correspondents, representing the whole body (with their usual tact they had kept this fron Office and told him plainly that if the scheme was not abandoned and I was not continued as host, they would none of thes The result was that the official scheme was abandoned and that my Conversaziones continued as before

Many people e I do not think so

Noting that I had only spent three weeks in America, it was most natural that the officials concerned should consider that I norance ht be liable to become offensive But this view, to borrow Gibbon's ih probable is certainly false” It is logical, no doubt, but it is not consistent with the inconsistency of huht, perhaps, at the sa to the amount of work I had on hand, I offered to retire from the office of host and let it be carried on by others, I was sternly rebuked by the Prime Minister's Private Secretary, and told pereo on exactly as before--a arded as a compliment as well as an order

The incident was indeed a pleasant one, and I have reason to believe that what I did was regarded with satisfaction and with gratitude by the Priues in the Cabinet In any case, the whole episode was characteristically English I suggested it anisation had no regular official sanction or recognition, it was regarded as I have just recorded as ork from which I could not retire, without leave It was valued as a usefulthe war and the journalists of A official inquiries, it was easy to find out the temper of the men who kept America informed Those concerned had only to drop in at the next Strachey tea and sound the correspondents

Is it to be wondered at, then, that I am intensely proud of what I was able to do? and proud in three capacities: as athe war, as a working journalist anted to help his colleagues, and last, but not least, as one whose life's object has been to improve the relations between this country and America

To this account of my tea-parties I will further add as a postscript some proofs of as the opinion of the correspondents as to these gatherings

I had plenty of kind words from my American journalist friends, but as, I a, I shall obey my rule and not quote their letters or my recollections of their words One of them, Mr Needha of 1915, wrotebefore he died, fro The letter ritten fro Itea every Wednesday afternoon I know of nothing to co that I could drop in, have a good tie, which one can't so easily do, you know

Having said so much, I think I must quote the next sentence, because it involved a question which was often discussed in the spring of 1915 at the tea-parties That was a rather plain-spoken article which I had written in _The Spectator_ in regard to President Wilson's policy of neutrality on a moral issue I spoke frankly, and my words were not unnaturally resented by those of Mr Wilson's friends ere personal admirers and supporters of the President

I want to tell you, also, that privately speaking with er to my lips, I quite approve of your article on Wilson