MY “LITTLE BIT” MARIE CORELLI MY “LITTLE BIT” BY MARIE CORELLI AUTHOR OF “THE YOUNG DIANA,” “THE LIFE EVERLASTING,” “INNOCENT,” “ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,” “BARABBAS,” ETC. [Illustration] NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY _Copyright, 1919, By George H. Doran Company_ _Printed in the United States of America_ DEDICATED TO MY FRIEND A. R. M. L. AND HIS FELLOW-MEMBERS OF THE CARLTON CLUB PREFACE The articles in this book, with the exception of the first two, were all written during the war at the request of the various editors by whose courtesy they are now reproduced in volume form. Most of them, notably those which appeared in the _Pall Mall Gazette_, were, by my own desire, gratuitous, though payment for them was offered. But, being unable to handle sword or gun, I was glad to offer the free service of my pen whenever such service was desired, or considered useful, just as I would have been glad, had I been a man, to fight voluntarily for Great Britain, without any thought of other recompense than that of the personal pride and joy such action would have given me. The first two articles: “Savage Glory” and “The Great Unrest,” were published some considerable time before the outbreak of war, and while the editor of _Nash’s Magazine_ was generous to a fault in his praise of “Savage Glory” he was so doubtful as to the accuracy of the indictment conveyed in “The Great Unrest” that he felt himself compelled to preface it by a note, stating that he, or rather “we,” could not be held responsible for any agreement with or endorsement of the author’s ideas. Readers can now judge for themselves whether those ideas were fairly prophetic or otherwise. Naturally, no heed was paid to them, except by a huge silent public, the press apparently making it a rule not to notice in any one paper what their rivals print in others, unless it happens to be by one of their own special clique, or the utterance of a Cabinet Minister, which they generally misquote. But, such as they are, these various contributions to English and American sections of journalism indicate the straight and loyal road my pen has travelled during the wickedest and stupidest war that ever devastated the world. The stupidity of it was even more glaring than the wickedness of it--especially in the case of Germany. Germany was an advancing and prosperous nation, chiefly through the industrial progress of her hard-working people, and her “peaceful penetration” was conquering every quarter of commerce. She has, for the time being, ruined everything by a blind faith in and following of her scoundrels of finance, for whom the Krupp and other dividends were not sufficiently high or secure; the work of years has now been destroyed and every gain has to be discounted as loss, though there is not the slightest doubt that her cleverness and cunning will enable her to mend the hole in