Here’s a letter I got yesterday, September 9th, 1919, coming from Russia. Now suppose we had not made the very damnedest mess of Russia ever made in this world--with Lord Milner first going there and then Mr. Henderson, the head of the Labour Party, ambassadoring (as least, he says so) and this nation in every possible conceivable way alienating the Russian people--then I never could have had this magnificent letter from Russia to give you. Just observing, before I quote it: Supposing a French Army landed at Dover to help us subjugate Ireland? I guess we should all forget whether we were Tories or Carsons or Smillies, and unite to get this French army out of our Archangel, and the Entente Cordial would be “in the cart,” as the vulgar say. Well, this is the letter which does my heart good. It is from a young lad in an English man-of-war, now off St. Petersburg. He is writing of the recent defeat of the Russian fleet there:-- “There has been such a fight. I was only a looker-on. I was furious. Kronstadt was attacked by our motor boats each carrying two torpedoes” [by the way, I was vilified for introducing motor boats] “and seaplanes with destroyers backing them up” [isn’t it awful! I introduced destroyers also]. “Two Russian battleships, a Depôt ship and a Destroyer Leader were torpedoed. “Our motor boats were MAGNIFICENT! “I nearly cried with pride at belonging to the same Race. “There has been nothing like it in the whole War. “I would rather take part in a thing like that than be Prime Minister of England. You would have been so proud if you could have seen them.” The letter is to the boy’s mother. On it is written, by him who sends it me, “The Nelson touch, I think!” [Illustration: [_By kind permission of “The Westminster Gazette._” NATIONAL SERVICE OR THE NAVY? SIR JOHN FISHER AND LORD ROBERTS, 1906.] CHAPTER V THE DARDANELLES “UNTIL THIS DAY REMAINETH THE SAME VAIL UNTAKEN AWAY” 2 Corinthians, iii, 14. I compared this morning early what I had formerly written on the subject of Personalities with what I said to you yesterday on the same subject in my peripatetic dictation--I can’t recognise what is in type for the same as what I spoke.