We've heard nothing from Harold in quite a little while. We have,
you know, three of our footmen in the war. Allen was wounded at
Loos--a flesh, bullet-wound. He's about well now and is soon going
back. Leslie is in the trenches and a postal card came from him the
other day. The third one, Philip, is a prisoner in Germany. Your
mother sent him a lot of things, but we've never heard whether he
received them or not. The general strain--military, political,
financial--gets greater. The streets are darker than ever. The
number of wounded increases rapidly. More houses are turned into
hospitals. The Manchesters', next door, is a hospital now. And
everybody fears worse days are to come. But they have no nerves,
these English. They grit their teeth, but they go on bravely,
enduring everything. We run into experiences every day that melt
you, and the heroic things we hear outnumber and outdo all the
stories in all the books.

I keep forgetting Xmas, Kitty, and this is my Xmas letter. You
needn't put it in your stocking, but you'd really better burn it
up. It would be the ruination of the world if my frank comments got
loose. It's for you and Chud only. You may fill your stocking full
of the best wishes you ever received--enough to fill the polar bear
skin. And I send you both my love.

W.H.P.

_To Ralph W., Arthur 147., and Frank C. Page_[31]

London, Christmas, 1915.

DEAR Boys: R.W.P., A.W.P., F.C.P.

A Merry Christmas to you! Good cheer, good company, good food, good
fires, good golf. I suppose (though the Lord only knows) that I'll
have to be here another Christmas; but another after that? Not on
your life!

I think I'm as cheerful and hopeful as I ever was, but this
experience here and the war have caused my general confidence in
the orderly progress of civilization somewhat to readjust itself. I
think that any man who looks over the world and who knows something
of the history of human society--I mean any American who really
believes in democracy and in human progress--is somewhat saddened
to see the exceeding slowness of that progress. In the early days
of our Republic hopeful Americans held the opinion that the other
countries of the world would follow our example; that is to say,
would educate the people, would give the m