Donait's leave of absence has arrived from Washington and I am leaving with him tomorrow via Switzerland with special dispatches for Berlin. I received an indefinite "leave of absence" from the American Ambulance, nominally retaining my position as staff officer in hopes of rendering indirect service to the Corps after my return to America. * * * * * _Saturday, November 28th._ It is impossible for the French people to understand why the United States should remove Mr. Herrick from his post just when he has so valiantly proved himself equal to the great demands which have been made upon him in the present crisis. In the diplomacy of other countries a plenipotentiary is never replaced in times of great stress, except as a rebuke to him or as an intimation that the policies he has expressed are to be reversed by his government. That a valuable diplomat should at a critical time be replaced for reasons of mere party politics seems incomprehensible to European nations. _Note._--The French Government sent a representative to America on the same boat with Mr. Herrick. As the ship was approaching land and Mr. Herrick was again virtually a private citizen within the bounds of his native country, this representative of the French Republic conferred upon him the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, the highest order in the gift of France and one usually reserved for her rulers and her victorious marshals. As far as I have been able to ascertain, this is the only time that such an honor has ever been conferred upon an American. CHAPTER VIII GERMANY AND BERLIN _Berne, Saturday, November 28th._ Donait and I left Paris at nine last evening for Lyons, Culoz, and Geneva with dispatches for Berlin. For many reasons we are particularly anxious to see Germany and Austria in war time, and look forward keenly to the experience which we face. We arrived in Geneva at noon. We were very tired, for our train and compartment were overcrowded and we had to sit up all night. The responsibility of the sack of official papers which we carried, and on which one of us had constantly to keep his mind, hand, and eyes, was an additional element of fatigue. * * * * * We were forced to wait in Geneva until five o'clock for a train to Berne, where we finally arrived at nine this evening. * * * * * _Sunday, November 29th._ This morning Donait and I presented ourselves at the American Legation and delivered our dispatches. It is the custom to send all mail for the American Embassy in Berlin to the Legation in Berne, where it is opened, checked over, and re-forwarded. In the afternoon we paid our respects to the Military Attaché, Major Lawton. German newspapers are accessible to us this morning for the first time since July. It is most interesting to view the reverse of the shield. * * * * *