of brilliant American women whether in Italy, Paris or London;
but it could be added with truth that brilliance, while stimulating most
people, has always exhausted me. I prefer the clumsiest thought to the
most finished phrase, and am so slow, that the mildest complication may
make me miss the point. "General and prolonged laughter" is a faculty I
have never been able to acquire, and sudden explosions over anything I
have said usually convince me that I had better have held my tongue.

To an outsider who has only known European Americans, the most
noticeable thing about American women is their freedom from native soil.
They are equally well equipped whether their nationality is transferred
from Russia to Rome, Vienna, Roumania or Paris. No blank cheque could be
more adequately filled in, and I never cease wondering what can be the
secret of their perfect social mechanism.

Beautiful to look at and elegantly dressed, with an open mind upon
whatever topic is discussed, adaptable, available, rich and
good-humoured, the American woman as I know her is the last word in
worldiness and fashion. In my own country she is not only a popular, but
a privileged person, and having started by being what is called
"natural," she becomes more and more so every day.

The husbands of these ladies, when not of needy foreign aristocracy, are
usually divorced, discharged or disposed of in some way or other; and,
even if they are of the same nationality, are quite unlike the American
man as I have known him.

He is seldom fashionable and never leisured; he has a passion for
learning all that there is to be known, and holds vigorous views upon
most things. If a little copious in narrative, he is never mechanical,
but an absolutely genuine article; spontaneous, friendly, hospitable and
keen. He appears to treat his women folk with the patience and
indulgence you extend to spoilt children, never attempting to discuss
matters, either literary or political, with them, and is agreeably
surprised if you show an interest in Wall Street or the White House.

I am jotting down these preliminary impressions, any one of which
may--and probably will--have to be revised during the course of my
travels.

II: ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK

ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK

REPORTERS LACKING IN AWE--SPLENDOURS OF HOTEL LIFE--FIRST LECTURE A
FAILURE AS RESULT OF SEA-SICKNESS--THRILLED BY NEW YORK'S
ARCHITECTURE

After an abominable voyage during wh