red to fight, and a policeman came along and arrested the
unhappy Greek and beat him over the head, just for luck, and marched
him off to jail, just for laughing.

They took me to the hospital ship which was starting, and I came to
Athens that way with one hundred and sixteen wounded; the man on my
right had his ankles gone and the man on the left had a bullet in his
side. They groaned all night and so did I. Then when the sun rose
they sang, which was worse. I never saw anything more beautiful than
the red-cross nurses, and I guess that is the most beautiful picture I
shall ever see--those sweet-faced girls in blue and white bending over
the dirty frightened little peasant boys and taking care of their
wounds. I made love to all of them and asked three to marry me. I was
in bed for two days after I got to Athens but had a fine time, as all
the officers from the San Francisco, from the admiral down, came to see
me, and the minister, consul and the rest did all that could have been
done. I am now all right and was bicycling in the dear old Cascine
this morning. On the whole it was a most successful trip. Sylvester
Scovel and Phillips of The World arrived just as it was all over, and
so Bass and I are about the only two Americans who were in it.

The train from Brindisi stopped at Rome on the way back and I went to
see the Pages. They took me out and showed me Rome by moonlight in one
hour. It was like a cinematograph. They are here now and coming to
dinner tonight. Last night the consul had all our friends to dinner to
welcome me back, and maybe I was not glad. I had been living on cheese
and brown bread and cold lamb for two weeks, with no tobacco, and
sleeping five hours a night on floors and sofas. Sometimes the
officers and men fought for food, and we never got anything warm to eat
except occasionally tinned things which we cooked in my kit. It was
the most satisfactory trip all round I ever had. I have been twenty
years trying to be in a battle and it will be twenty years more before
I will want to be in another.

On the eighteenth I start for London, stopping one day in Paris to see
the Clarks and Eustises. It is going to be bigger than the Coronation
for crowds, and Mother need not worry, I shall keep out of it. The
Minister to Russia sent me word that the Czar's prime minister has
given him my article and that the Czar said thank him very much. So
that is all right. Also Hay is to present me