AMBASSADOR
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 gMJFORNIA 
 
 DIEGO
 
 / <
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR
 
 THE 
 AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 BY 
 
 LAWRENCE BYRNE 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS 
 1917
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS 
 
 Published May, 1917
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR
 
 The American Ambassador 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 October i, 19 . 
 
 THREE days ago, out of a clear sky, this telegram 
 arrived : 
 
 Come at once to Washington. Think I have you fixed. 
 
 WALTER. 
 
 Walter is my best friend. He has succeeded 
 fairly well in the Diplomatic Service, and at present 
 is fulfilling an important position if one may judge 
 by the resonant title which signifies it in the 
 Department of State. He has been urging me for 
 several years to go in for diplomacy; always encour 
 aging me with the remark that I am so admirably 
 fitted for it. What he means by this I don t exactly 
 know. I m of the opinion that he doesn t either. 
 However, I had told him to tip me off if any chance 
 came; and I felt sure that this telegram meant that 
 the opportunity had come knocking at my door. 
 
 He met me at the station. 
 
 "You re looking quite fit. Ready for a job?" 
 He took me by the arm and piloted me through 
 the crowd to his motor. "It s all ready for you."
 
 2 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 " Is it Ambassador ? or just plain Mr. Minister ? " 
 
 "It may lead to both. At present it s private 
 secretary to an ambassador; a position without pay; 
 but one filled with honors and opportunities. It 
 will take you almost anywhere you want to go. 
 By the way," he broke off abruptly and indicated a 
 huge pile of gray buildings, "that is by way of 
 being the Capitol of the United States of America. 
 Did you ever see it before?" 
 
 I shook my head, and looked at the great impres 
 sive mass. Silhouetted against a vivid autumn sky 
 it struck me as one of the most splendid things I 
 had ever seen. 
 
 "You provincial New Yorkers!" Walter railed 
 at me. "Anything west of New York doesn t 
 exist for you. Think of living to be twenty-six 
 years old and never having seen Washington!" 
 He had not seen it either until he had entered the 
 Diplomatic Service six years before. "That," he 
 went on, pointing across the city, "is the Washing 
 ton Monument. Oh, there are heaps of things for 
 you to see here. We ll go sightseeing to-morrow." 
 
 He settled back in the motor, offered me a ciga 
 rette, and lighted one himself. 
 
 "I might as well put you en rapport with the 
 whole thing at once. Over there," he nodded 
 toward a white stone building near the Capitol, 
 " is what are called the senatorial offices. In one of 
 them we are going to find, at five o clock, a certain 
 Senator Colborne John T. from the West. At 
 least that is what he was. He is now, if you please,
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 3 
 
 his Excellency, the American Ambassador to a 
 not unimportant European country. I met him the 
 other day at the State Department. He said he 
 was looking for a chap to take along as private 
 secretary, and I at once thought of you. He said 
 to have you down for a talk. So here we are." 
 
 "Then I m on trial?" I grumbled. 
 
 "Not at all. Only he couldn t take you with 
 out seeing you, could he ? " 
 
 "What is he like? Some awful species, I sup 
 pose. From the West! Ugh!" 
 
 Walter laughed gayly. " I m not going to tell you 
 anything about him. You can judge for yourself." 
 
 "You must at least tip me off as to what he 
 expects of me." 
 
 Walter appeared to be getting a great deal of fun 
 out of my questions. "Be yourself, old man," 
 he said, "with a few discreet suppressions. Remem 
 ber that there is nothing in the whole world so 
 scorned by the average senator as our so-called 
 New York effeteness. Indeed, I believe that is 
 the attitude of the average American man, after 
 you get beyond the seaboard. To them, a chap 
 who is interested in artistic things is at once suspi 
 cious; if he happens to play some musical instru 
 ment, he is effeminate; if he knows the difference 
 between calico and chiffon, he is an out-and-out 
 degenerate." Walter lifted his hands with a gesture 
 reminiscent of the Continent. "A word to the wise 
 is sufficient. In other words, you expect me to 
 pose before this impossible Colborne as a sort of of
 
 4 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 crowbar twister. I think I ll take the next train back 
 to New York." 
 
 Walter roared. "You re misjudging him. He s 
 all right. Only I thought you might accidentally 
 say something about having studied singing for 
 two years in Milan." 
 
 "Well, what if I did?" 
 
 Walter looked at me soberly. "I hardly think 
 that would impress the Senator as being a necessary 
 requisite for his private secretary." 
 
 The motor had drawn up before the portentous 
 white-stone building. Walter sprang out. I tar 
 ried a little behind, not altogether happy over the 
 impressions I had received of the Senator from 
 the West. I had practically made up my mind to 
 refuse his offer before I had seen him. 
 
 "Cheer up, old man." Walter slapped me on 
 the back as we stood before the Senator s door. 
 "You re not going to be hanged. If you don t 
 like him, you don t have to go." 
 
 Mr. Colborne received us in his private office. 
 At first glance he did not appear as provincial as 
 I had expected. He wore a well-cut blue-serge 
 suit, and though there was no pretense at smart 
 ness about him, he was quite a bit removed from 
 the type of provincial senator made familiar to us 
 by comic cartoons. He is about fifty, I suppose. 
 Gray hair, gray mustache, gray-blue eyes with a 
 nice, jolly twinkle in them, and a good, clear com 
 plexion. His voice is not objectionable; indeed, 
 it is rather pleasant deep and resonant. He does
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 5 
 
 not hang onto words, or separate them with "and 
 er." In fact, he is quite direct. His manner is 
 easy and assured free-and-easy, I suppose you 
 would call it though not for a moment approach 
 ing vulgar familiarity. Of course he is the type 
 that is produced nowhere else except in the United 
 States. On the whole, I found myself liking him 
 from the start. 
 
 "Here s my friend, Senator, just arrived," was 
 Walter s way of presenting me. 
 
 I felt my hand clasped warmly, and a quick inspec 
 tion shot at me from the gray-blue eyes. 
 
 "Mighty glad to meet you, young man. Sit 
 down, both of you." He resumed his seat in the 
 revolving chair before a mahogany desk, and 
 reached for a box of cigars. He held the box 
 toward me. " Smoke ? " 
 
 "Thanks, only cigarettes," I answered, feeling for 
 my case and receiving a scowl from Walter. He, 
 to my surprise, took a cigar from the proffered 
 box. 
 
 The Senator cut his with a gold clipper attached 
 to his watch-chain, lighted it, and leaned back in 
 his chair. 
 
 "Know anything about diplomacy?" 
 
 I looked at him, caught the twinkle in his eye, 
 and laughed. "As a matter of fact, I don t, sir." 
 
 He laughed with me. " You haven t got anything 
 on me there, young man. That being the case, 
 what sort of team-work do you think we can pull 
 off together?"
 
 6 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 I threw a glance at Walter. He appeared a little 
 perplexed. 
 
 "Together, we might make a great success of 
 it," I said, feeling thoroughly at ease. The Senator 
 is really quite sympathetic. 
 
 " How? "he asked. 
 
 "By both approaching it in " 
 
 "Complete ignorance ?" 
 
 " I was going to say without prejudices." 
 
 "The same thing. Perhaps you are right." He 
 threw back his head, crossed his legs, and drew at 
 the cigar. "They tell me at the State Depart 
 ment" this with a sidelong glance at Walter 
 "that there are two secretaries already at the Em 
 bassy; that all I ll have to do will be to put myself 
 in their hands. That, however, is exactly what I 
 don t intend to do. I have never put myself in any 
 one s hands." He let his fist fall on the table with 
 a bang. 
 
 "Still if they are trained men- 
 He broke into a laugh. "Do you know what 
 trained men in our Diplomatic Service means?" 
 
 I waved my hand toward Walter. "He is the 
 only one I know." 
 
 "He is the exception." 
 
 "Indeed, I m not," Walter protested. "Our 
 service has changed a great deal in the past few 
 years. We have serious men in every embassy 
 now. You are judging, Senator, by your trip to 
 Europe of twenty years ago." 
 
 "I hope you are not mistaken," the Senator said
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 7 
 
 to Walter; then turned back to me. "Look here, 
 young man" again his fist fell on the desk with 
 a bang. Beyond giving me a start, I was growing 
 fascinated by the very force of the clinched fingers. 
 The gesture was full of expressive power. "Look 
 here, if you go with me, I want you to be more 
 than a stuffed-shirt social secretary. I m looking 
 for a man that I can trust." 
 
 He looked at me through several moments of 
 silence, his head a little forward, his eyes intently 
 searching mine, his mustache pushed up by an odd 
 contraction of the lips. It was a most disconcert 
 ing glance; he probably meant it to be. However, 
 I met his eyes squarely. At last he turned to 
 Walter. 
 
 "You guarantee him; don t you?" 
 
 " I ll go even further," said Walter. "I ll indorse 
 him." 
 
 " Good ! " The Senator held out his hand to me 
 and nearly broke every one of my fingers in his 
 grasp. "You might as well know at once that 
 I m not going to Europe just to get a four years 
 pension out of the Government. I m going for a 
 purpose. Do you understand? I m going to put 
 through a deal that will be about as important as 
 anything the U. S. A. has ever done." I saw the 
 ringers clinch again, and then relax. "Of course 
 I don t speak anything but American. I ll have 
 to rely on you to talk to those fellows for me. You 
 speak French?" 
 
 "He knows it backward !" Walter cut in
 
 8 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Well, I prefer everything straightforward," said 
 the Senator with a twinkle. Then turning to me 
 he suddenly demanded: "When can you go?" 
 The question caught me unprepared. Since meet 
 ing him I had been more interested in studying 
 him than in thinking of myself. But here, quite 
 suddenly, I was face to face with a decision. With 
 out further debate, I took the plunge. 
 
 "I can go at once if you wish me to." 
 
 I saw Walter s glow of enthusiasm; also the 
 Senator s expression of satisfaction. 
 
 " Then let s see next week ? " He has a way of 
 firing a question at you, and then levelling his eyes on 
 you to see how you took it. Much as a man fires 
 a gun and watches to see how true his aim was. 
 
 "If necessary yes. Though next week is a bit 
 sooner than I had expected to go." 
 
 "I am going in about a couple of weeks myself. 
 I m only waiting now for my wife and daughter to 
 get ready. I d like very much for you to get over 
 there a little ahead of me and size up the situation. 
 Can you do it?" 
 
 " I ll make a point of it, sir." 
 
 " Good ! " He rose and held out his hand. " I m 
 glad you brought him to me." This to Walter. 
 Then to me: "We ll hit it off all right, I m sure. 
 By the way, suppose you come down after dinner 
 to-night to the Willard Hotel. We ll have a chance 
 then to talk a little more about it." 
 
 Walter and I were silent for an appreciable 
 time after we returned to the motor. Pennsylvania
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 9 
 
 Avenue and its dreary buildings stretched on either 
 side of us before Walter spoke. 
 
 " Well, what do you think of him ? " 
 
 I had been thinking of the Senator during our 
 silence, and yet did not know exactly what I did 
 think of him. One is likely to feel him more than 
 form an opinion of him. He is a puzzling combina 
 tion of contradictions. I am certain of only one 
 thing: he is a big man. Yes, he may lack refine 
 ment and cultivation, I grant you that; but he is 
 well educated and, I should say, a gentleman. Of 
 course I have not yet seen him in the presence of 
 women. That is always a very sure and a very 
 quick test of a gentleman. I have never quite 
 understood the subtlety of it; but after I have gone 
 along for some tune seeing a man only among men 
 and thinking him a thoroughly good sort, then, 
 quite suddenly, I see him with a woman and know 
 at once that he is a rotter. But even if I find the 
 Senator a boor among women, I have the feeling that 
 he will still be able to soar above all these questions 
 there is something about him really big, very 
 human, and virile. 
 
 I told Walter my impressions. He received them 
 in satisfied silence. 
 
 "You did rather well/ he said at length. "I 
 think I was more interested in you than in the 
 Senator. I had no idea he could be bluffed and 
 particularly by you. As a matter of fact, I believe 
 it has lowered him in my estimation." 
 
 "But I didn t bluff!"
 
 io THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Oh, come now, of course you did." Walter 
 scoffed at my seriousness. " You sat up and looked 
 as wise as an owl. No one would ever have guessed 
 you had spent a year with Jean de Reszke trying 
 to learn to sing. Do you like him ? " 
 
 "Immensely. But I m not sure he will like me. 
 Living up to what he expects of me may be tire 
 some." 
 
 "At least it will be good training." 
 
 "Fiddlesticks! Tell me about the wife and 
 daughter." 
 
 Walter looked out of the window. I took his 
 averted face to mean disapproval. His answer, how 
 ever, was quite impersonal. "I ve only seen them 
 once or twice. The wife is an exceedingly good- 
 looking woman. In fact, she is beautiful. She is his 
 second wife." 
 
 "And the daughter?" 
 
 "Kate Colborne," Walter looked ahead thought 
 fully. "She is one of the he broke off with a 
 laugh. "I m not going to tell you everything in 
 advance. Wait and find out for yourself. Only 
 this the present Mrs. Colborne is her step 
 mother." 
 
 I lighted a cigarette and leaned back in the motor. 
 "Somehow, Walter, you ve cooled my enthusiasm. 
 You don t like the wife and daughter." 
 
 Walter s amazement appeared sincere. "Why 
 should you say that? I barely know them." 
 
 "That s just it. Yet you are such a good friend 
 of the Senator."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR n 
 
 Walter gave me a dig with his elbow. "My dear 
 fellow, if you are going into diplomacy, draw your 
 own conclusions as much as you please; but, for 
 heaven s sake, don t put them into words." 
 
 The motor stopped before an insignificant little 
 building. Walter sprang out with more enthusiasm 
 than I had before observed in him. 
 
 "This," he said, with a wave of the hand, "is 
 where they make the Protocol Cocktail." 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., 
 October 15, 19 . 
 
 I am sailing to-morrow. It has been a steady 
 rush since the day I arrived in Washington. Walter 
 put me through a three days course of diplomacy, 
 warranted to prepare me to handle, with marvellous 
 tact, any question that might come up for a private 
 secretary. I m sure I can now receive and return 
 cards in the most approved fashion, with the upper 
 right-hand corner, mind you, always neatly folded 
 over; I can seat thirty people at dinner without 
 making one social gaffe, so Walter assures me, if I 
 follow his instructions; but I can do even more than 
 this for I learned during my three days at the State 
 Department how to keep an official caller waiting 
 at least four hours. You watch him every now and 
 then, through the keyhole, and when his patience 
 is exhausted, and he is actually on the point of 
 leaving, you let him in. 
 
 Walter tells me I shall find Dalton, the first 
 Secretary, a nice fellow the right sort: the second
 
 12 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Secretary, Atkins, he doesn t know. They are both 
 at the Embassy now awaiting the arrival of the new 
 chief and trembling while they wait Walter added, 
 explaining the awful suspense he had often been 
 through before he knew what his new chief would 
 be like. 
 
 The night I left Washington, I tried to find out 
 what Senator Colborne referred to as the reason for 
 his going abroad. 
 
 "I give you my word I don t know," Walter 
 said. "Of course, you know that old question that 
 has been up between the two countries for half a 
 century or more. He may mean that. I hope he 
 doesn t, though." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because he is doomed to disappointment if he 
 thinks he can put that through." 
 
 "I shouldn t mind seeing him try," I said. 
 
 "Yes, it would be instructive." 
 
 "And, ten to one, he d do it." 
 
 Walter yawned at my enthusiasm. "Not that 
 deal, you may be sure. Besides, I don t think that 
 is the real object of his going." 
 
 "No? Then what is it?" 
 
 "The object almost every American has in accept 
 ing a diplomatic mission." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "To gratify his wife !" 
 
 At the station I caught a reflective look on Wal 
 ter s face. "I was just envying you," he said with 
 a smile, when I asked him the cause of his expression.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 13 
 
 "It seems to me that you are going to have the time 
 of your life." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "Can you imagine anything funnier than watch 
 ing John T. Colborne circulating in one of the oldest 
 European court circles? My dear fellow the 
 train began to move. "And don t forget, when 
 diplomacy gets a little difficult, what the Congress 
 man from Arkansas said: A successful diplomat, 
 like Caesar s wife, must be all things to all men ! 
 
 NEW YORK, 
 October 20, 19 . 
 
 I have nine days travel ahead of me. Six days on 
 the steamer and three more beyond Paris. But 
 what are nine days when I have nine volumes 
 of international law which Walter insists I must 
 carry under my arm all the way. He is trying to 
 make me a diplomatist of the ancien regime; while 
 John T., if I m not very much mistaken, will insist 
 upon my being either of the "shirt-sleeve" or "dol 
 lar" variety. I wonder which?
 
 II 
 
 En Poste, 
 November 8, 19 . 
 
 I ARRIVED this morning; and if this day is a fore 
 cast of what is to come time will not hang heavy on 
 my hands. I stopped in Paris a week. It is too 
 pleasant a place to run through as I had intended. 
 Even shrouded in mists and a biting wind blowing, 
 it is still the gayest city in the world. I wonder if 
 New York will ever acquire its lightness. 
 
 I finally tore myself away and woke up here this 
 morning to find a much milder climate, the sun 
 shining gayly, fountains plashing, and the town all 
 aglow with warm-colored buildings. My first 
 shock came when, after having bathed and break 
 fasted, I asked the concierge of the hotel to direct 
 me to the American Embassy. He did not know 
 where it was. He could show me to the American 
 Consulate; oh, yes, that was where all the Amer 
 icans wanted to go, but the Embassy he would 
 have to look that up. The address found, I sauntered 
 forth and came, after a walk of a few minutes, to a 
 dignified house facing a place. The emblem of the 
 U. S. A. gave me a real thrill. I had seen it often 
 before in European cities but it had not meant so 
 much to me as it does now. I suppose it is because I 
 now consider myself more closely connected with it. 
 
 14
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 15 
 
 I rang the bell and waited several minutes. I 
 looked at my watch. It was half-past ten. Then I 
 looked at the brass plate to one side of the door 
 and read: "Hours for Visitors from 11.30 A.M. to 
 i P. M." So I was ahead of time. Nevertheless, I 
 rang again and was at length admitted by a man in 
 uniform. I asked in English for Mr. Dalton, the 
 Secretary. The man shook his head. I tried 
 French. Again the man shook his head. Evidently 
 he only speaks the language of the country. While 
 I waited, undecided, a most gorgeous personage 
 came forward. He was very tall, and dressed in a 
 sort of uniform of his own design, I fancy. Light- 
 blue trousers with stripes of red braid, a dark-blue 
 coat with brass buttons, each one displaying a 
 goodly sized eagle, and a collar of gold braid. Top 
 ping this costume was a very florid face, immacu 
 lately brushed hair, and the most splendid mustache 
 I have ever seen. It grew out fiercely on both sides 
 and then lifted abruptly to a level with the eyes. 
 My first thought was that the King was calling 
 incognito at the Embassy. 
 
 "This is the American Embassy," the personage 
 said in a high voice and with an accent that no one 
 could ever reproduce. "You probably wish to go 
 to the Consulate." 
 
 "I wish to do nothing of the sort," I answered, a 
 little angry that every one should think I wanted 
 to go to the Consulate. "I am looking for Mr. 
 Dalton." 
 
 The important person grew a shade less con-
 
 1 6 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 descending. "Mr. Dalton will not come until 
 eleven o clock, sir." 
 
 "Then I shall wait for him." 
 "Very well, sir; will you walk this way." 
 With squared shoulders, and a walk that would 
 make him a fortune in vaudeville, he led me to what 
 I suppose is the waiting-room. With a formal bow 
 and the information that I should find all the 
 American papers on a table, he left me. 
 
 The room was large, with a high ceiling deco 
 rated with frescos which might have been done by an 
 Italian painter of the seventeenth century. Three 
 large windows, open to the floor, gave on to a ter 
 race. Beyond this extended a formal garden. In 
 the distance was a view of the town and harbor and 
 rugged mountains. It was as picturesque a setting 
 as one could wish. Six steel engravings of Presi 
 dents, framed in mahogany, a large print of the 
 Capitol, and a Houdon bust of George Washing 
 ton, gave an amusing contrast to the background. 
 It made one smile at the ubiquity of our influence. 
 I waited a half -hour. Finally I picked up a New 
 York paper two weeks old and decided to go out 
 on the terrace and into the garden. It was quite 
 balmy and delightfully cheery in the sun. A stone 
 bench surrounded by ilex-trees and yet still in the 
 sun offered a comfortable seat. I sat down, lighted 
 a cigarette, and unfolded the paper. 
 
 I had probably been there five minutes when I 
 saw a woman pass hurriedly along a path a little 
 way from me. At first glance one saw that she
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 17 
 
 was immensely smart. She wore a long fur coat, a 
 toque of the same fur, and her face, though covered 
 with a veil and seen only for a moment, was de 
 cidedly handsome. Indeed, her whole appearance 
 was chic perhaps a shade too much so to be en 
 tirely elegant. 
 
 She did not see me. While I was wondering who 
 she might be, I heard the sound of footsteps crunch 
 ing on the pebble walk and saw a young man pass 
 in the same direction. He looked about thirty; 
 was tall, thin, and very carefully dressed ecru 
 waistcoat and spats, and evidently English-cut 
 clothes. 
 
 I was on the point of following him and making 
 myself known when I heard a burst of laughter 
 from the shrubbery back of me. This was fol 
 lowed by words of greeting in French. They were 
 so near to me that I could hear them distinctly, 
 and though I had no intention of playing eaves 
 dropper, honesty makes me confess that I did listen 
 for a few moments, attracted by the perfect French 
 and the delightfully modulated voice of the woman. 
 
 "Did you get in without being seen?" came the 
 man s voice, a bit anxious, I thought. 
 
 "Yes only the lock is rusty. I don t believe you 
 use that entrance often!" 
 
 "Of course, we don t! Why should we? I m 
 frightfully impatient to know why you asked me 
 to send you the key. There is no reason why you 
 should not have come in at the front door. You ve 
 done it often before."
 
 1 8 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Oh! That is just it! I have done it too often. 
 Don t you see I a jeune fille coming to the Em 
 bassy alone ! It creates talk." 
 
 This was met with a roar of laughter. "Jeune 
 fille! My dear Victoire ! " 
 
 "Any unmarried woman in Europe is a jeune 
 fille" came the reply, in a voice full of angry re 
 proof. Then, quickly: "And I have been very in 
 discreet to come this way ! It is like a clandestine 
 meeting!" 
 
 "I should say it was that. Why did you come?" 
 
 "I had to see you. It was important. You 
 must help me. You alone are able to. You will 
 no ? Ah say you will ! " 
 
 The voice was so full of gentle pleading that I 
 felt sure any request that might follow, no matter 
 how impossible, would be granted. Imagine my 
 surprise when the answer came in a most matter-of- 
 fact and questioning tone. 
 
 "That depends." 
 
 "Oh ! You are so cruel ! I do not find you sym 
 pathetic to-day. You make me regret that I came." 
 
 I caught the sound of great relief in the reply: 
 "Then you are going? It probably is better. We 
 might be seen here." 
 
 A choked sob or two broke a short silence. "Oh ! 
 To treat me this way ! After all your protesta 
 tions!" 
 
 "Protestations!" 
 
 "Yes yes! You know you have led me to be 
 lieve that you loved me!"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 19 
 
 "Extraordinary! I!" 
 
 "And now, when I need help, I say to myself, he 
 will help me he will do all in his power ! I say to 
 myself go to him at once ! Ah !" 
 
 This was followed by an uncontrolled outburst of 
 sobbing. 
 
 My conscience smote me so at this moment that 
 I got up and changed to a bench farther away and 
 quite beyond the sound of their voices. I should 
 have liked to have gone to the lady s assistance; for 
 I found myself growing furious with the cad. He 
 could surely be nothing else. His voice, with its 
 assumed English accent, showed what he was more 
 plainly than the words he had used. But fate was 
 bent upon my hearing them again. For some reason 
 I could not fathom they changed places, too, so that 
 I again heard them distinctly. 
 
 Almost directly back of me through the shrub 
 bery a match was struck. "Will you smoke, Vic- 
 toire?" 
 
 She must have assented, for a second match was 
 lighted. 
 
 "Now, ma cherie, we ve had a charming little 
 scene. You ve indulged your temperament to your 
 heart s content and so, let s very, very calmly, if 
 you can bring yourself to it, get at the gist of the 
 matter. What s up?" 
 
 Another sob, very soft, and a final snifHe. 
 
 "It s Delphine my dressmaker. She is a beast! 
 She threatens to sue me, me, Victoire, Comtesse de 
 Stanlau!"
 
 20 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 This was followed by a sound as if some one had 
 changed position. I m sure the cad had moved 
 away from her. His following words convinced me 
 of it. 
 
 "A question of money ! and you come to me ! 
 My dear Victoire I thought you were clever!" 
 
 "I only want you to help me to make some 
 money." Then, with a subtly lowered voice: 
 "Honorably of course." 
 
 "Of course. But how?" 
 
 "Your new Ambassador, the one who is coming, 
 he is very, very rich; isn t he?" 
 
 "So I ve heard; but one never is sure about 
 money." 
 
 "Oh, but I know! When my brother was Am 
 bassador at Washington he heard that extraordi 
 nary story. Mr. Colborne said he would give his 
 daughter twenty-five million francs the day she 
 married. Mon Dieu! Quelle dot!" 
 
 I gasped. Walter had never suggested that my 
 chief had such untold gold at his disposal. 
 
 The cad yawned audibly. "We often do things 
 like that in America." 
 
 "And Mrs. Colborne is new to diplomacy!" 
 
 "Alas yes!" 
 
 " Good ! Now, do you see, I can be indispensable 
 to her. I can tell her everything what to do 
 whom to meet whom to speak to the people to 
 invite to dinner the ones to cut everything, 
 everything! Une excellente idee, rfest-ce-pas?" 
 
 "Perhaps."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 21 
 
 " I will do all this for a certain sum agreed upon 
 in the strictest intimacy between her and me. Do 
 you see?" 
 
 "Yes, I see. Only she may think she already 
 knows all you can tell her. Some American women 
 do, you know." 
 
 1 Allans done! American women know as much 
 about diplomacy as that!" This accompanied by 
 an expressive snap of the fingers. Then, once more, 
 the irresistibly pleading voice: "I expect you to 
 arrange this for me, mon cher ami. You must tell 
 her of the prestige of my family, my position at 
 Court, my brother s great intimacy with the King. 
 You must tell her that I can make her the most 
 successful ambassadress that America has ever 
 produced." 
 
 Another short silence, punctuated by a lighted 
 match. 
 
 "And for this inestimable service, ma chere Vic- 
 toire, what price ? " 
 
 "Oh, that can be easily arranged. Perhaps, let 
 us say, a thousand francs a week. It is a mere 
 bagatelle compared to what I shall do for her. 
 When does she arrive?" 
 
 "To-morrow morning." 
 
 "Then I shall come to the Embassy in the morn 
 ing. Perhaps you can arrange for me to meet her 
 as if by chance. One can become intimate so much 
 more easily in a casual encounter." 
 
 The sound of a door opening and shutting came 
 from the house.
 
 22 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 u i 
 
 : Sh-h ! You d better go. Quick ! Yes by the 
 garden gate! I ll look for you to-morrow. Au 
 revoir." 
 
 Just as the sound of their footsteps died away, 
 the important uniformed personage came up to 
 me and announced that Mr. Dalton had arrived 
 and would see me in his office. 
 
 Dalton is a man of about forty, good-looking, 
 blond, clean-shaven, thoroughly American in fea 
 ture, though subtly different in voice, manner, and 
 dress. He has evidently got the best out of Europe. 
 This shows in many ways, particularly, I think, in 
 a simple, quiet, easy manner that makes for charm. 
 One might say that he is the best type we produce, 
 softened and rubbed down in the way that life in 
 Europe can alone accomplish. 
 
 He appeared surprised to see me and said he had 
 just received a telegram from the Ambassador an 
 nouncing his arrival for the following day. So it 
 appears that I have just saved my reputation by 
 one day. 
 
 We had just seated ourselves when the man I 
 had caught sight of in the garden entered. Dal 
 ton introduced him. It was Atkins. 
 
 It was amusing to be face to face with this chap 
 after having heard his part in what might be termed 
 an intimate interview. My impressions received 
 from his voice deepened with a view of the man. 
 I at once put him down as a prig and stupid. 
 
 He screwed a monocle into his eye and looked me 
 over as if I were a prize kangaroo in a zoo.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 23 
 
 "So you re the new chief s secretary what? 
 Tell me what sort of an old dub he is." 
 
 Dalton frowned. "Perhaps he doesn t consider 
 Mr. Colborne a dub at all," he suggested. 
 
 "As a matter of fact, I don t." I tried to ignore 
 Atkins during the rest of the conversation, and ad 
 dressed myself only to Dalton. 
 
 "Oh, really!" Atkins went on. "But I m sure 
 you re only chaffing us. You re trying to be encour 
 aging. I m adamant now: I ve had ten chiefs. 
 They grow steadily worse. They say a Democratic 
 administration appoints the rarest gems, but I 
 can t see any difference. The last one we had 
 could not only not speak French he couldn t speak 
 English ! I say what ! Yet French is the diplo 
 matic language. It s astounding how our am 
 bassadors get through their four years." He rattled 
 on as if we were gathered together solely for the 
 purpose of listening to his pronunciamenti. 
 
 Dalton watched me to see how I took it. He has 
 a nice quiet way of sitting back in his chair and 
 playing the part of looker-on and listener. He does 
 it very well and without the slightest suggestion of 
 condescension. 
 
 When Atkins had finished, he smiled. "Still, 
 Atkins, you must admit that in comparison with 
 European diplomatists who have been trained for 
 the work from childhood, the American succeeds 
 extraordinarily well. We appear to have a certain 
 trick of falling on our feet in every situation." 
 
 "Not at all! You are quite wrong," Atkins
 
 24 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 burst out impatiently. " Every thing a crude Amer 
 ican does over here is explained with a shrug and an 
 Oh, that s American! I don t call that succeed 
 ing!" 
 
 Again Dalton smiled. "It s our way of accom 
 plishing what we set out to do. It appears to satisfy 
 our Congress." 
 
 "Our Congress concerns itself just about as much 
 with our foreign service as it does with me. What 
 do the majority of Congressmen know about Eu 
 rope ? Not a damn thing and they care even less. 
 Any old dub, as long as he is an honest-to-Gawd 
 Amuricun, is good enough to represent their 
 country in this benighted land. The longer I live 
 away from America, the more I get the idea that 
 Americans, and particularly American ambassadors, 
 are too impossible to be real." 
 
 "Yet you are willing to represent America!" I 
 could not resist putting in. 
 
 He looked at me quickly, let his monocle drop, 
 and lighted a cigarette. I can hardly wait for the 
 Senator to get hold of him ! I m sure his first 
 move will be to pitch him straight through a win 
 dow. 
 
 "My representing the United States" he said 
 this as if he were the Ambassador himself "is a 
 mere matter of chance. I have an aunt. Did you 
 ever have one ? Extraordinary creatures, aunts ! 
 Mine in particular!" He threw himself into a 
 chair, sprawling his legs out before him. "She once 
 told me, with her characteristic frankness, that she
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 25 
 
 wanted the social prestige it would give her to say: 
 My nephew, Secretary of our Embassy, you know, 
 at Vienna, Rome, London ! Do you see ? Possess 
 ing the wherewithal of the family, you can readily 
 see that it was diplomatic of me to aid her in her 
 social ambitions. So here I am." He got up, 
 stretched himself, and dug his hands deep into his 
 trouser pockets. "After all, it s a gentleman s 
 vocation. On the whole, I feel I m being quite 
 patriotic in doing this. I m helping, at least, to 
 obliterate the impressions left by most of our com 
 patriots." 
 
 Dalton shot me a lenient smile. 
 "Are you quite sure," he said to Atkins, "that 
 you are giving a correct impression one that is 
 sincerely characteristic of the greatest republic in 
 the world?" 
 
 Atkins laughed boisterously. "Right you are, 
 old chap ! Perhaps it isn t a correct impression 
 but you must admit that it is a flattering one." 
 
 He moved toward the window. Dalton and I 
 faced each other through a short, meaning silence. 
 Finally he leaned toward me. 
 
 "I should be very glad to hear something about 
 Mr. Colborne," he said quietly. "You can imagine 
 how interested we are to know what he is like. We 
 haven t had a chief for six months. The last 
 one- 
 Atkins held up both hands. "Dalton for God s 
 sake ! Let s try to forget that. Go on about Col- 
 borne."
 
 26 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 I gave them a short description of the Senator. 
 
 "He sounds rather encouraging," Atkins com 
 mented. "How about the family?" 
 
 "I have not seen his wife and daughter." 
 
 Atkins sank down in a chair. "Of course they re 
 bound to be hopeless! ..." 
 
 This afternoon Dalton came for me in his motor 
 and we drove about the town and out along the sea 
 to a delightful little resort where we had tea. It 
 was closed for the winter season, but appeared very 
 promising as a summer place. We returned rather 
 late, so that I went directly to Dalton s house to 
 dine with him. He spoke very frankly to me about 
 the work of the Embassy, told me a good many in 
 teresting details, and in such a way that I feel I 
 shall not find my work difficult as long as I have him 
 to go to for advice. He has been in the service 
 fifteen years; and has been en paste at Vienna, Pet- 
 rograd, Paris, and Tokio. I find him thoroughly 
 sympathetic and responsive. 
 
 When I reached the hotel at eleven o clock the 
 concierge met me with a profound bow. 
 "His Excellency arrived this afternoon." 
 " What ! " I gasped. " Mr. Colborne ? " 
 "Yes, sir. He left this note for you." 
 I tore it open and found a few words written on a 
 visiting-card. "Just arrived," it ran. "Will see you 
 in the morning at the Embassy. Mum s the word !" 
 "What time did he arrive?" I asked. 
 "About four o clock, sir."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 27 
 
 "Four o clock! What did he do all this after 
 noon?" 
 
 "I don t know, sir. He went out alone, sir, on 
 foot."
 
 Ill 
 
 November 12, 19 . 
 
 THE Colbornes have arrived. That is the most 
 important thing. After that many others. But 
 I am going too fast. 
 
 The morning of my second day en poste, I arose 
 early, took a walk about the town, and finally reached 
 the Embassy about ten o clock. The same impor 
 tant personage met me in the hall, and treated me 
 this time with distinguished consideration. He has 
 found out who I am, and I have found out who he 
 is. He calls himself the chasseur of the Embassy, 
 which only means that he is a sort of glorified hall- 
 boy. 
 
 He conducted me with a great deal of manner 
 straight into Atkins s room. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," I said. "I did not ask for 
 you." 
 
 Atkins lay stretched out on a sofa, in one hand a 
 cigarette, in the other a French novel. He looked 
 up at my entrance, put aside the book, and yawned. 
 
 " Come in and sit down. I came early to see the 
 new chief," he said, yawning again. "Haven t been 
 up so early since I can remember. Have a ciga 
 rette?" 
 
 I lighted one of my own, wondering if I could 
 wait for the Ambassador to arrive and throw At- 
 
 28
 
 2Q 
 
 kins out of the window. Otherwise, I should have 
 to do it myself. 
 
 Arturo, the glorified hall-boy, interrupted before 
 I had done anything desperate. He knocked at the 
 door, entered, and stood in the centre of the room. 
 After a very low bow, he spoke to Atkins: "A lady, 
 sir." 
 
 "What sort of a lady, Arturo?" 
 
 Before answering, Arturo went to a table, picked 
 up an ash-receiver, placed it on a low chair, and 
 pushed it up beside Atkins. His tidiness is quite 
 commendable. Atkins had been dropping ashes all 
 over the carpet. 
 
 "An American lady, sir." Arturo resumed his 
 formal position in the centre of the room. 
 
 "An American! Why so sure?" 
 
 Arturo glanced at me and, debating a moment, 
 took refuge in violently twisting his mustaches. 
 "If you will pardon me, sir," he said at last. 
 
 "I ll pardon you anything, Arturo. I find you 
 such a sympathetic person. Why is the lady un 
 mistakably American?" 
 
 "Because, sir, she is so sure of herself." 
 
 Atkins lighted a cigarette from the one he had 
 been smoking. "You find us so sure of ourselves, 
 Arturo?" 
 
 "American ladies are, yes, sir." Then, with a 
 movement toward the door: "Shall I fetch her in 
 here?" 
 
 Again Atkins yawned. "I suppose you ll have 
 to." He looked at his wrist- watch and then at me.
 
 30 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "It s only half -past ten an unheard-of hour to 
 come to an embassy. I wonder if you Americans 
 will ever learn to sleep in the morning !" 
 
 I suppose I ll have to admit that, in a way, Atkins 
 is amusing. His pose is so consistent that it im 
 presses one as sincere. Indeed, it may be sincere. 
 He suggested that I stop on in his room while he 
 received the unmistakably American lady. I did, 
 curious to see how he would receive her, and hoping 
 to have some experience in the handling of embassy 
 questions. 
 
 The lady was ushered in by Arturo. Her advance 
 into the room was energetic, accentuated by the 
 firm planting of common-sense shoes. For costume 
 she wore an alpaca suit which hinted of bargain- 
 counters. In one hand was a large shopping-bag, 
 in the other an umbrella and a Baedeker; on her 
 meagre bosom was pinned a gold watch probably 
 an heirloom. A voluminous green veil, shrouding a 
 hat, hung down to her waist in the back. Her 
 face, strongly marked and determined, gave her 
 the air of one who meant to get the best value for 
 her money and not to be cheated about it either. 
 Arturo was right. She could have been produced 
 in no other country under the sun than America. 
 
 She walked straight up to Atkins. "Are you the 
 American Consul?" she asked, without any pre 
 liminary greeting; pronouncing it "Counsel" and 
 introducing into it somehow, with the unmistakable 
 gusto of the Middle West, a rolling, resonant r . 
 
 "Heaven forbid!" Atkins replied solemnly.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 31 
 
 "I was told at my pension that I should find him 
 here," she said, finality in each word. "There s a 
 lady from home staying there, and she said 
 
 "You were misinformed," said Atkins, cutting 
 her short. "This is the American Embassy." 
 
 At this the lady sat down. "Well, what s the 
 difference?" she inquired sharply. 
 
 "Between a consulate and an embassy?" At 
 kins looked at her with amused superiority. "All 
 the difference in the world ! A consulate deals 
 with tiresome, middle-class, commercial affairs; an 
 embassy concerns itself only with the Royal Family, 
 the Court, the nobility." 
 
 The lady viewed him through rising anger. " You 
 say commerce is commonplace?" Her voice and 
 expression grew florid. "You don t know what 
 you re talking about! My father, Hannibal T. 
 Baxter, was in commerce all his life. You ask any 
 body from Kansas City if he was commonplace ! 
 Baxter and Durkin, that was the firm; retail grocery 
 and two of the finest gentlemen I ever met !" 
 
 Atkins looked at her with silent scorn. 
 
 Finally she rose. "Well, as I m not royalty or 
 nobility" she said this with rather effective sar 
 casm, "I guess I ll go to the Counsel. He ll give 
 me my passport; and I guess he won t put on so 
 many foreign airs either. The lady at our pension 
 said- 
 
 "Oh, if you want a passport," said Atkins, sup 
 pressing a yawn, "this is the place to get it. Sit 
 down, please."
 
 32 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 She defiantly resumed her seat. Atkins, at his 
 desk, opened a drawer, pulled out several large, 
 important-looking sheets of blue paper, and spread 
 them out before him. With pen poised he turned 
 toward the lady. 
 
 "What is your name?" he asked in a languid 
 voice. 
 
 "Mary Brown Baxter." 
 
 "When were you born?" he continued, dipping 
 his pen in the ink. 
 
 "Do you have to put that down?" 
 
 Atkins shot her a glance so full of exasperation 
 that she answered hurriedly, all in one breath: 
 " Marchfirsteighteenseventy." 
 
 "Married?" 
 
 "Is that necessary?" 
 
 "It s considered more correct." 
 
 She actually flushed. "No, I m not married, nor 
 anything of the kind!" she snapped. 
 
 The passport filled up, Atkins leaned forward over 
 his desk and scrutinized Miss Baxter s face in 
 silence. He then jotted down notes on the sheets 
 of blue paper, glancing up at her from time to time. 
 
 Miss Baxter grew restless under his cool eyes. 
 "What are you doing?" she finally asked, evidently 
 unable to remain any longer in doubt. 
 
 "Describing your personal appearance. And 
 before I give you the passport I must have a pho 
 tograph of you to paste on it." 
 
 Miss Baxter bridled. "I never have my picture 
 taken."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 33 
 
 "Well, you ll have to now. And please have it 
 coincide with this description." 
 
 "Read me the description," she said, compla 
 cently leaning back in her chair. 
 
 Atkins rose and leaned against the desk. He 
 glanced at me and half smiled. Then, picking up 
 the sheets of blue paper, he read: "Name: Mary 
 Brown Baxter. Age: Forty-three." He stopped 
 abruptly and again glanced at me. 
 
 " Is that all ? " asked Miss Baxter, this time frankly 
 impatient. 
 
 Atkins smiled agreeably at her. "You said it 
 was." 
 
 She frowned. "I referred to the description," she 
 said majestically. 
 
 "Oh, there s lots more of that. Stature: Five 
 feet eight inches. Forehead: Low. Eyes: Virginal. 
 Nose: Inquisitive. Mouth: Determined. Chin: 
 Commanding. Hair: Pale and thin. Complexion: 
 Etiolated." 
 
 Miss Baxter fairly sprang from her chair. The 
 whole room throbbed with her fury. "Where s the 
 Ambassador?" she cried. "I want to see him right 
 now. I ll tell him how his office man insulted 
 me!" 
 
 Atkins gave a short laugh, thoroughly calm. 
 "The Ambassador hasn t arrived yet. And, by the 
 way, Miss-er Baxter, I m not his office man: I m 
 the second Secretary of this Embassy." 
 
 "Well, office man, or secretary, or stenographer, 
 it s all the same to me. You re the rudest man I
 
 34 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 ever met!" Her eyes blazed; and, marching up to 
 his desk, she seized the blue papers out of his hand 
 and tore them into bits. Then, without glancing 
 at him, she stalked to the door and straight into 
 Dalton s arms. 
 
 Dalton s face was ludicrous in its amazement. 
 He had been nearly knocked off his feet by the im 
 pact for Miss Baxter was solidly built and moving 
 rapidly. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," he said courteously. "I 
 hope I did not hurt you?" 
 
 His graceful manner appeared to soothe Miss 
 Baxter at once. She viewed him through several 
 moments with relaxing muscles. 
 
 "Are you the Ambassador?" she asked, her voice 
 suddenly mild.. 
 
 "No, I m only Charge d Affaires," Dalton said, 
 smiling pleasantly. 
 
 " Charge d Affaires ! What s that ? " 
 
 "It means that I am in charge of the Embassy 
 until the Ambassador arrives." Dalton s glance 
 for the first time swept beyond Miss Baxter to At 
 kins and me. For a second his eyelids moved. It 
 was the only sign he gave of appreciating the situa 
 tion. 
 
 "This lady wanted a passport," said Atkins. 
 "But she wasn t satisfied with the one I gave her." 
 
 "Your stenographer insulted me!" said Miss 
 Baxter, all her sense of injury returning with a 
 rush. "He said my complexion looked as if I took 
 ether! He said "
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 35 
 
 "Please sit down," interrupted Dalton soothingly. 
 "I ll see that you get a proper passport at once." 
 
 Again Miss Baxter fell under the charm of his 
 gracious personality. She sat down and, ignoring 
 Atkins, addressed herself to Dalton. "When does 
 the Ambassador arrive?" 
 
 "We expect him to-day. He has just arrived 
 from America." 
 
 "From Kansas, you should say," Atkins mur 
 mured, with a very frank note of derision. 
 
 Miss Baxter glared at him for a second, then 
 turned back to Dalton. "If he s from Kansas I ll 
 come around this afternoon to welcome him. I 
 want to tell him that I am located here for the 
 winter, and I just know he ll make it real pleasant 
 for me. I m fond of going into society, and as your 
 stenographer" with another glare at Atkins 
 "tells me the Ambassador will be real intimate with 
 the King and Queen, I think I ll get him to present 
 me. I don t know what the ladies in Kansas City 
 would say if I went home without having met the 
 King and Queen!" 
 
 "Of course," Atkins put in impatiently, "you 
 know we only present Americans of distinction at 
 Court." 
 
 Miss Baxter was on the defensive at once. " What, 
 pray, do you call Americans of distinction ?" 
 
 She looked at Dalton for an answer. The ques 
 tion was too much even for him. He sought safety 
 by ignoring it. 
 
 "Don t you think, possibly, it would be better
 
 36 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 to give him a day to rest?" Dalton had not yet 
 shown the slightest evidence of impatience. " Could 
 you wait until to-morrow? I suppose you have a 
 letter to the Ambassador?" 
 
 " A letter ? Why, no. That wouldn t be necessary 
 when he s from my home State. You tell him I m 
 here, and that I m real comfortably fixed in a pen 
 sion where I pay one dollar sixty a day. That s 
 not too much, is it?" 
 
 "Not if you like it." 
 
 "I m crazy about it. There are so many pleas 
 ant ladies staying there." Miss Baxter was fairly 
 beaming now. "At present," she continued, "I 
 want to find a good dressmaker to make me over 
 some things. Perhaps you could tell me of one?" 
 
 Dalton turned swiftly to us. "I m sure Mr. 
 Atkins could give you some addresses." 
 
 "The American Embassy is not an information 
 bureau!" Atkins answered, lighting a cigarette. 
 
 If glances could kill, Atkins would have dropped 
 dead on the spot. But Dalton s quiet voice broke 
 in before Miss Baxter could speak. "I will send you 
 some addresses to-morrow," he said. "I hope you 
 will enjoy your season here very much. If you are 
 ever homesick, remember that this is American 
 soil." 
 
 " American soil ! How s that?" 
 
 "Wherever an Ambassador lives becomes actually 
 a part of his country." 
 
 Dalton opened the door and stood there waiting 
 to see her out. Suddenly Atkins came across the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 37 
 
 room and up to Miss Baxter. He was smiling 
 broadly. 
 
 "Another very important thing you should know 
 is " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "That, if by any chance you happened to become 
 a mother in this building, the child would be a 
 native-born American." 
 
 She swept us all with a scorching glance, and 
 marched, this time successfully, out of the room. . . . 
 
 I have jotted down this scene in detail, not so 
 much to show what happened my first morning in 
 an embassy, as to impress upon myself the necessity 
 more than that the advantages, of courtesy. 
 Dalton, through patience and politeness, has made 
 a friend of Miss Baxter, I m sure. No matter how 
 impossible she may be, and perhaps just on that 
 account, she will sing his praises all over her world. 
 I m equally sure she will never cease to damn 
 Atkins. 
 
 When she was gone Dalton crossed to a window 
 and drew a long breath. 
 
 "Dalton, you make me tired!" Atkins cried. 
 "That woman is impossibly vulgar. To be decent 
 to her lowers the dignity of the Embassy. Now, 
 just for your pains, she ll be coming here every day. 
 Next time she ll be asking for a recipe for angel- 
 cake!" 
 
 "She s an American; and we are here for the pur 
 pose of being polite to them," Dalton answered, his 
 back to the room. Then, turning toward me and
 
 38 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 giving me a look that explained that the following 
 words were not expressive of his sentiments, but 
 were meant to influence Atkins, he said: "Besides, 
 you must remember that we hold our jobs by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate of the 
 United States of America." 
 
 "What s that got to do with it?" 
 
 "You never can tell. Miss Baxter may have a 
 senator concealed somewhere in her family."
 
 IV 
 
 November 14, 19 . 
 
 Miss BAXTER safely out of the way, for the pres 
 ent at least, Dalton looked at his watch. It was 
 time for him to go to the station to meet the Am 
 bassador, and while he waited, asking a few ques 
 tions of Atkins and ringing for Arturo, I came very 
 near to telling him that the Ambassador had arrived 
 the day before. However, I did not; for which I 
 shall always be thankful. 
 
 When Arturo entered, Dalton asked him if every 
 thing were in readiness for the Ambassador and his 
 family. It appears that the house is used both as 
 chancery and residence. I have only seen the three 
 or four rooms to the right of the entrance which 
 serve for offices. Dalton tells me the rest of the 
 house and the second-floor apartments are quite 
 handsome and comfortable. It was rented by the 
 former Ambassador, and as the lease has not yet 
 expired, has been retained, awaiting the approval 
 or disapproval of Mr. Colborne. 
 
 "Yes, sir, everything is ready," Arturo answered. 
 "His Excellency could move in to-day if he wished 
 to. I ve engaged all the servants. Here is the list, 
 sir." 
 
 Dalton looked over the list and ended with a low 
 whistle. 
 
 "Twenty-five!" 
 
 39
 
 40 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Arturo s expression showed, not only wounded 
 pride that Dalton should question the number, but 
 real surprise that any decision of his was not ac 
 cepted at once. 
 
 "You ought to know, sir, with your experience, 
 that an embassy can t be run with less than twenty- 
 five servants; that is, sir, if it is to be run properly." 
 He began pompously enumerating the list: "There s 
 the maitre (Thotel the groom of the chambers 
 two butlers six footmen the chef and three as 
 sistants the housekeeper and four maids the 
 lingere the window-washer the floor-cleaner the 
 two gardeners. I am expecting his Excellency to 
 bring his own valet and the ladies their maids." 
 
 Dalton looked at the list thoughtfully. Arturo 
 came a little nearer and lowered his voice. 
 
 "If you don t mind my making a suggestion, sir, 
 it wouldn t be amiss if you d let him know from the 
 start that this Embassy can t be kept up correctly 
 on a cheap scale. You remember, sir, the last Am 
 bassador. I ve never been so mortified in my whole 
 career!" 
 
 The seriousness of Arturo s face robbed the 
 words of any objectionable quality. He was deeply 
 interested in having his Embassy keep up with the 
 others, and quite naturally. It is his career, as he 
 expressed it, to see that it is run well, and if he fails, 
 his reputation suffers. 
 
 "I ll show the Ambassador your list, Arturo," 
 Dalton replied. "He probably has his own ideas 
 about running the Embassy."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 41 
 
 "But if he s new to diplomacy, sir 
 
 "He is new to it." 
 
 Arturo drew himself up to his full height. "Well, 
 sir, I m not ! I ve been in diplomacy twenty-five 
 years and I know what ought to be done ..." 
 
 Left alone with Atkins, I wandered out to the 
 reception-room and awaited the arrival of the Am 
 bassador. What his object was in coming a day 
 ahead of time, I had not yet decided; unless he wanted 
 to arrive and see something of the place before he 
 was known. 
 
 While I was looking over some papers, Arturo 
 showed in the lady I had seen the day before in the 
 garden. She gave me a quick glance of inspection, 
 then turned to Arturo and asked for Atkins. When 
 he had bowed himself out, the lady threw me an 
 other quick glance. My impression of her yester 
 day was correct. She is immensely smart, exag 
 gerated, of course, but smartness to-day appears to 
 depend upon discreet exaggeration. She looked 
 about the room, selected the most effective chair, 
 and sank into it with studied grace. With her elbow 
 resting on the arm of the chair and her chin sup 
 ported in the palm of her hand, she assumed a wist 
 fully pensive attitude. Once or twice, while waiting, 
 she permitted a very slight, barely audible sigh to 
 escape her. It was not so much a sigh of impatience 
 as one of a certain ennui which might be conquered 
 if the right person came along. When Atkins en 
 tered she held out her left hand, very languidly , 
 and permitted him to kiss it.
 
 42 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Mon cher ami. Me void!" 
 
 Atkins threw me a quick glance. "My dear 
 Comtesse, I want to present to you our new Am 
 bassador s private secretary." He signalled me. 
 
 I rose, crossed the room, and also kissed the limp 
 left hand. It was gloved and strongly scented. 
 
 She said nothing in acknowledging the introduc 
 tion, only smiled in such a way as to make words 
 quite unnecessary. She has all that subtlety of the 
 European woman which makes a mere introduction 
 an event. It is a very difficult thing to describe. 
 I ve tried to and failed. The nearest approach to 
 explaining it is to quote what I once heard a man 
 say: "When you meet a woman in Europe, she gives 
 you the impression at once that there may possibly 
 be a chance, if the opportunity arises, of a very 
 deep, sympathetic relation developing between you. 
 It is all done with a trick of the eyes, a quick lower 
 ing of the lids, a suppressed lingering smile any 
 thing but words. You feel it at once and you are 
 immensely flattered by it; and you begin to think 
 of yourself as having underestimated your possi 
 bilities. It is a very subtle form of flattery and a 
 vastly effective one." 
 
 While I was experiencing some such sensation, 
 Arturo entered the room. He seems always to be 
 coming in ! 
 
 "A gentleman, sir," he said to Atkins. 
 
 I looked up interested, feeling sure it was the 
 Ambassador. Atkins appeared irritated at the 
 interruption.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 43 
 
 "I won t see any one," he said. "I m occupied." 
 
 "If you will pardon me, sir 
 
 "Goon!" 
 
 "I think you had better see him, sir. He is look 
 ing all over the place. I think he might give some 
 trouble, sir, if you don t see him." 
 
 I was sure now that it was John T. 
 
 "American?" Atkins asked; and Arturo s reply 
 was most convincing. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 Comtesse de Stanlau rose. "Yes, man ami, do 
 see him. Perhaps," turning to me, "we could wait 
 in the garden until he is finished?" 
 
 "No! Stay both of you," Atkins exclaimed, 
 as we moved toward the door. "I ll get rid of him 
 all the quicker if you are here. People think this 
 Embassy is for no other purpose than their con 
 venience!" Then to Arturo: "Fetch him in." 
 
 The Comtesse sank down in a chair and let a 
 little bored sigh escape her. As if to while away a 
 few tiresome minutes, she drew a tiny mirror, 
 powder-puff, and rouge stick from her gold purse 
 and began examining her face and adding a touch 
 of powder and rouge where she found it wanting. 
 Atkins offered her a cigarette, which she took, and 
 permitted him to light without its interrupting her 
 toilet. Afterward, he offered me one, and lighted 
 a third for himself. This was the scene that the 
 Ambassador walked in upon. 
 
 I think I was the first to see him, and immediately 
 received a glance from him which kept me standing
 
 44 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 still and silent, instead of rushing forward to greet 
 him as I was on the point of doing. He took in the 
 room with one comprehensive glance; then his eyes 
 fell and remained on Comtesse de Stanlau. She 
 had barely looked at him and continued accentuat 
 ing the red line of her lips. 
 
 Finally the Ambassador turned to Arturo, who 
 had followed him into the room. "I thought you 
 said this was the American Embassy?" 
 
 "It is the American Embassy," Arturo replied in 
 his most pompous manner. 
 
 The Ambassador swung about and faced Atkins. 
 "Good morning," he said, with a nod. 
 
 Atkins bowed coldly. The Ambassador shot me a 
 glance full of the jolly twinkle I had remembered. 
 
 "Right nice place you ve got here," he continued, 
 looking about the room. "Hello!" He stopped 
 before the bust of Washington. "There s George 
 Washington! Hello, George!" He smiled with 
 real pleasure; slipped out of his top coat, and placed 
 it, with his hat and stick, on a chair. Arturo came 
 forward, picked them up, and was on the point of 
 carrying them into the hall when the Ambassador 
 called to him to stop. "Hold on there! Bring 
 those things back ! I lost my other coat in Paris 
 just that way." 
 
 Arturo s face at that moment was the perfection 
 of polite contempt. However, the coat and hat were 
 returned to the chair. 
 
 The Ambassador continued looking about the 
 room. He appeared immensely pleased with the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 45 
 
 portraits of the Presidents. Atkins stood it for a 
 few minutes only. 
 
 "You have probably made a mistake," he said 
 very coolly. "The National Museum is in the next 
 street." 
 
 The Ambassador looked at him and actually 
 smiled. "Are you a secretary of this Embassy?" he 
 asked, in a most conciliatory tone. 
 
 "lam." 
 
 "And the lady," he lowered his voice so as not 
 to be heard by Comtesse de Stanlau, "is the type 
 writer, I suppose?" 
 
 She, all this time, was busily occupied with the 
 rouge stick. Atkins, however, exploded: 
 
 "See here!" he cried, "if there s anything you 
 want 
 
 Mr. Colborne sat down heavily. He was serious 
 now. " There s a lot I want. Where s Mr. Dalton ? " 
 
 "He is out!" 
 
 "So I see. I asked where he was." 
 
 "He has gone to the station to meet the Am 
 bassador." 
 
 Again he sent me a meaning glance. 
 
 Comtesse de Stanlau rose languidly. "I think I 
 shall go into the garden," she said to Atkins, "until 
 this extraordinary person has left." 
 
 "No, please don t go," the Ambassador said 
 quickly. He felt in his pockets and drew out a 
 bundle of letters. "I ve got some letters I want to 
 dictate at once," he said to Atkins, his voice again 
 lowered. "Is she pretty lively at the job?"
 
 46 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Atkins was now quite beyond control. " You are 
 talking of the Comtesse Victoire de Stanlau ! And 
 I d like you to explain this extraordinary behavior ! 
 You act as if you owned the place. Who are you, 
 anyhow?" 
 
 The Ambassador smiled leniently at Atkins s 
 fury. "I m just a plain American citizen," he said. 
 Then he crossed quickly to the Comtesse and held 
 out his hand. She looked at his proffered hand and 
 then at him. With a haughty shrug she turned 
 toward the window. The Ambassador watched her, 
 his lips still a little smiling, his eyes alive with the 
 humor of the situation. When the Comtesse was 
 on the point of leaving the room he spoke: 
 
 "Countess Stanlau," he said reflectively. "I 
 knew a Count Stanlau in Washington. He was the 
 Ambassador from this country. Any kin to you, 
 Countess ? " 
 
 She turned back, looked at him again, less haugh 
 tily this time, and finally extended her hand. "He 
 is my brother." 
 
 The Ambassador held her hand and looked at her 
 through several moments of silence. In the end she 
 gave him her subtle smile and he, I think, came up 
 to the required mark. I believe he knows how to 
 carry off such a situation. 
 
 "I m mighty glad to know you, Countess. Sit 
 down." He made much of pulling a chair forward 
 for her, and drew one for himself close to hers. 
 Sitting down, he leaned a little forward and looked 
 at her admiringly. "Now, Countess, tell me all
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 47 
 
 about your brother. They say he s the biggest man 
 in this country. We liked him a lot in Washing 
 ton." 
 
 It was the most delightful thing to see his quick 
 change of manner toward her, his attentive and 
 considerate pose, his words which were meant, and 
 succeeded, to flatter her through reference to her 
 brother. She responded more quickly than I had 
 expected. She was now smiling and leaning toward 
 him in a most confidential attitude. 
 
 "You are very, very kind," she said. "I expect 
 my brother here this morning. He is coming to 
 meet the new Ambassador." 
 
 "That s good ! Then I ll see him." 
 
 This appeared too much for Atkins. I think he 
 was on the verge of attempting violence on the Am 
 bassador, and possibly would have done something 
 rash if we had not been interrupted by the entrance 
 of Dalton. He came in, seemingly a little perplexed, 
 bowed to the Comtesse, and, seeing the Ambassador, 
 looked at Atkins for explanation. 
 
 "Good morning, Comtesse," he said. Then to 
 Atkins and me: "He didn t come. I suppose he 
 will be here on the evening train." 
 
 By this time the Ambassador had risen and gone 
 up to Dalton. 
 
 "Are you Mr. Dalton?" he asked. 
 
 Dalton assented. 
 
 The Ambassador s hand went out. "My name s 
 Colborne. Glad to know you." 
 
 "The Ambassador! *
 
 48 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "I suppose," he smiled broadly, "that s what I 
 am now." 
 
 The consternation on all their faces was interest 
 ing to watch. The Comtesse s expression was one of 
 intense satisfaction. I m sure she thought she had 
 made a master-stroke. Atkins s face was almost 
 pitiful in its bewilderment and chagrin. Dalton, 
 with nothing to disturb him, was the first to recover 
 his composure. He clasped the Ambassador s hand 
 cordially. 
 
 "I m very glad to see you, sir. But when did you 
 arrive?" 
 
 "Yesterday. Took a notion to come a day ahead. 
 I hate all the fuss of people meeting me at the sta 
 tion. Like to get my bearings by myself." 
 
 Dalton looked at the others and, I think, realized 
 for the first time that they had been talking to the 
 Ambassador without knowing who he was. He 
 hastened to present the Comtesse. 
 
 "Countess and I are old friends now; aren t we, 
 Countess?" 
 
 "Indeed we are!" was the ready response, ac 
 companied by a radiant smile. 
 
 "And your second Secretary, Mr. Atkins," 
 Dalton continued. "I suppose you know him, 
 too?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, I know him." 
 
 Atkins came forward and extended his hand with 
 exaggerated cordiality. "Enchante" 
 
 "What s that?" the Ambassador asked, giving 
 Atkins his quick glance of inspection.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 49 
 
 "Oh I beg your pardon." Atkins permitted his 
 voice to show ennui. " One is so accustomed to speak 
 ing French 
 
 "Well I m not. No parlez-vousing around me. 
 I speak only American and it s good enough for any 
 body." 
 
 Dalton hastily interrupted. " Have Mrs. Colborne 
 and your daughter come, too?" 
 
 "Yes. They ll be around after while." 
 
 "It will be such a pleasure to meet Mrs. Col- 
 borne," Comtesse de Stanlau said. " And my brother 
 has told me so much of your daughter. She must be 
 ravissante" 
 
 At this the Ambassador s eyes softened. I think, 
 in watching him at that moment, I have found out 
 that his daughter probably represents the gentler 
 side of his life. His expression, even his voice, when 
 he answered, was much softer. "If that s something 
 nice, it fits Kitty; you can count on that." 
 
 "I shall wait in the garden to welcome them," 
 said the Comtesse. "Of course, you have tremen 
 dously important things to talk over with your 
 secretaries. It has been delightful to meet you so 
 informally." She extended her hand. The Am 
 bassador shook it violently. "Au rewir." 
 
 "Good-by, Countess." The Ambassador watched 
 her go through the door, accompanied by Dalton, 
 who held it open for her, and Atkins, who walked 
 with her onto the terrace. Then he turned swiftly 
 to me. "How do you say that?" 
 
 "What, sir?"
 
 50 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "That last thing she said. It means see you 
 later. " 
 
 "Oh au revoir." 
 
 "Au revoir. That s it. Sounds mighty nice when 
 she says it. Write it down for me. Not the way 
 it s spelled the way she said it. I must try to get 
 it off sometime. It would please my wife a lot. 
 Does the Countess come here much? Seemed 
 mighty at home." 
 
 I told him I had seen her here twice. 
 
 "Do you like her?" 
 
 "I ve nothing against her." 
 
 He sniffed his hand suddenly and made a wry face. 
 "Beware of foreign women, young man. Remember 
 what happened to Solomon! Smell that!" He 
 held up his hand. It smelled of strong muguet. 
 "Mighty suspicious and I only shook hands with 
 her." Then, more personally: "How are you? 
 Everything all right? What do you think of 
 them?" 
 
 Before I could answer, Dalton and Atkins had re 
 turned to the room. Dalton suggested that the 
 Ambassador go to his own office, and led the way 
 through a door into a room which adjoined the one 
 in which we had been standing. It was heavily 
 furnished with red Morocco chairs, mahogany desk 
 and bookcases, Smyrna carpet, and dark-red hang 
 ings. Framed photographs of former ambassadors 
 were hung on the walls. 
 
 The Ambassador went straight to the revolving 
 chair before the central flat-topped desk, gave it a
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 51 
 
 whirl, and sat down. He stretched his legs out 
 before him, dug his hands in his pockets, leaned 
 back, and sighed comfortably. 
 
 "I ll bet this chair came from the U. S. A.," he 
 said, waving us to seats and smiling in his friendly, 
 companionable way. 
 
 "Yes, it did," Dalton replied. 
 
 "I knew it. Everything good does." He took a 
 cigar case from his pocket and offered it. Each one 
 shook his head and thanked him. "All of you smoke 
 cigarettes, eh? Suppose I ll come to it, if I stay in 
 diplomacy long enough." Dalton struck a match 
 and held it for him. "Thank you. Well, gentle 
 men," he took a long puff at the cigar and once more 
 looked at each of us in turn, "here I am Ambas 
 sador of the United States of America. Now what 
 have I got to do?" 
 
 The question was something of a poser, especially 
 when fired at one with the Ambassador s customary 
 directness. But if he had expected to embarrass 
 Dalton, he was disappointed. After a moment or 
 two of silence Dalton replied: "I suppose you were 
 given instructions by the State Department?" 
 
 "Not a damn thing. They didn t seem to have 
 time to bother with me and I didn t have time to 
 bother with them All they told me was to get on 
 over here at my most leisurely convenience, and 
 that you, a well-trained man, would put me onto 
 things. So let s get down to business. Put me 
 next. What s the first thing I do?" 
 
 Atkins moved restlessly. The Ambassador saw
 
 52 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 the movement and nodded to him. " What have you 
 to say on the subject?" 
 
 "I was only hoping that you had thought of 
 ordering your visiting-cards." 
 
 The Ambassador threw back his head and roared. 
 "That the most important thing you can think of !" 
 
 Atkins glared. "It is important. You should 
 have at least five thousand to begin with." 
 
 "I suppose you hire a hack and distribute them 
 along the street!" To Dalton: "What have you to 
 suggest?" 
 
 "The first thing an ambassador does is to advise 
 the Minister for Foreign Affairs of his arrival: then 
 you call on him and ask for an audience with the 
 King. At the audience you present your letters 
 of credence, the King welcomes you, and you make 
 a short address in reply. I shall announce your ar 
 rival to the Foreign Office this morning." 
 
 "You needn t do that," the Ambassador smiled. 
 
 "It is the official method, sir." 
 
 "It won t be this time. I ve already been to see 
 him." 
 
 "The Minister for Foreign Affairs!" 
 
 "Yes if that s what you call him. I call him 
 Secretary of State." He leaned back and crossed 
 his legs. "I was loafing round town yesterday after 
 noon, passed a big building, asked what it was; fel 
 low told me it was the Foreign Office. At least 
 that s what I made it out to be fellow couldn t 
 speak any American. Anyhow, I thought I d risk 
 it, and I fell on my feet."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 53 
 
 Dalton s disapproval of this method was giving 
 way to curiosity. "But, how did you see him?" 
 
 The Ambassador drew out a card-case and, select 
 ing a card, held it up. " One of those five thousand," 
 he nodded to Atkins. "Just sent that in." He 
 looked at the card and read aloud: "The American 
 Ambassador. Just sent that in and said I wanted 
 to see the Secretary of State. Well, I saw him. 
 Now we know each other without a whole lot of 
 fuss and red tape. Nice old chap. Had a long chat 
 with him. Just like anybody else. Knows a lot 
 about America. Told him we wanted to sell him 
 those two battleships they are going to buy. So, 
 you see, we ve got that much behind us. Now- 
 after I ve made my bow to the King, presented my 
 letters of credence, and got rid of the folderol part 
 of the job, I suppose the real work begins. That s 
 what I was talking about when I asked what there 
 was to do." He paused, looked at us all, and 
 broke into a broad smile. "I trust my question is 
 not embarrassing." 
 
 "It is a bit difficult to answer," Dalton said, 
 meeting his smile. "An ambassador, as you know, 
 is not so important as he was fifty years ago." 
 
 "That s encouraging! Why not?" 
 
 "Formerly he had to decide questions himself; 
 now he cables to Washington and asks for instruc 
 tions. The most interesting thing he can do to-day 
 is to negotiate a treaty; and even that is planned 
 for him at home." 
 
 "Look here, Mr. Dalton," the Ambassador let
 
 54 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 his hand fall on the desk with a bang; his eyes, 
 however, belied the seriousness of his manner. 
 "Are you trying to make me think I ve been hood 
 winked into coming over here? Haven t you got 
 anything good to say for this job ? " 
 
 Dalton took his questions seriously. "On the 
 contrary," he said, "I think representing one s coun 
 try is one of the finest things a man can do. But 
 as an opportunity for doing any individual work, 
 the best it offers is a chance to show one s dis 
 cretion. The successful ambassadors I have known 
 have owed their success to affability and lack of de 
 cided opinions." 
 
 The Ambassador rose, yawned, and stretched his 
 arms out on either side of him. I have an idea that 
 he was not only bored, but also disappointed in 
 Dalton. 
 
 "In other words, you want me to go around 
 smiling like a Cheshire cat and never saying a word. 
 Well I m afraid I m going to disappoint you. I ve 
 come over here for a purpose, a big work!" Once 
 more the fist fell heavily on the table. This time 
 the seriousness was sincere. "And so help me 
 God I m going to put it through !" 
 
 As usual, Arturo interrupted. He looked with un 
 concealed amazement at Mr. Colborne sitting before 
 the ambassadorial desk, then went up to Dalton. 
 
 "Two ladies are calling, sir." 
 
 The Ambassador sprang up. "My wife and 
 daughter! Let s go bring them in." He hurried 
 out of the room followed by Dalton.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 55 
 
 Arturo watched them, his face a strange study in 
 conflicting thoughts. I think the truth was just 
 beginning to dawn on him. He turned to Atkins. 
 
 "Your pardon, sir, but who is that person?" 
 
 "You ass!" cried Atkins, "that s our new Am 
 bassador." 
 
 "That the Ambassador!" Arturo s hands and 
 mustache rose in horror. " Mon dieu!"
 
 V 
 
 November 17, 19 . 
 
 MRS. COLBORNE is beautiful. Tall, slender, with 
 exceptionally pretty hair; a complexion whether 
 the result of art or not that is perfect; handsome 
 though restless brown eyes; and a mouth that is 
 beautiful, though rather cold and unsympathetic. 
 She has line, more than that, she has what the 
 French would call "branche." Whether there is 
 anything back of this striking physical quality re 
 mains to be seen. From my observation of her, 
 since she arrived and a little former experience, I 
 should say that she is probably commonplace I 
 mean mentally. Such is often the case with very 
 beautiful women. Of course, the world maintains 
 that if a woman is good-looking enough she need 
 not bother about her mental development. I wonder 
 if the world is right! I have always felt that it 
 would be so much more compensating to a woman to 
 be distinguished rather than beautiful; for no matter 
 how much of a wreck she may develop into, she can 
 still be distinguished. There is nothing more dis 
 tinguished than a distinguished wreck. 
 
 Miss Colborne is a young female edition of her 
 father. She has identically the same jolly twinkle in 
 her gray-blue eyes; the same clear, fresh complexion, 
 
 56
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 57 
 
 with heaps of gleaming blond hair. She is thor 
 oughly Anglo-Saxon in type, with all the freshness 
 and fragrance that term signifies. She is thor 
 oughly delightful. 
 
 When they arrived at the Embassy a thorough 
 inspection of the house ensued. We spent an hour 
 or more going through the rooms. Mrs. Colborne 
 at once decided they would keep the house, discussed 
 the arrangements, assigned the suites which were to 
 be used by herself and her husband and Miss Col- 
 borne. One room caused more comment than any of 
 the others : The Tower of the Dwarf, as it is called. 
 One of the charms of this old palace is that each 
 room is named after the frescos which decorate it. 
 The dining-room is called The Salon of the Worlds, 
 on account of its geographical frescos; the ballroom 
 is The Chamber of the Muses, with all nine of 
 them busy at their chosen metier. The Tower of 
 the Dwarf is a corner room, entirely separated from 
 the rest of the house, very small, with only one door 
 and one window, and extraordinarily painted walls 
 which depict curtains held back here and there by 
 dwarfs who beckon one to enter secret chambers. 
 From the window one looks down on the square, 
 quite fifty feet below. Miss Colborne was en 
 thusiastic about this room, said it suggested secret 
 interviews, and was sure that some one, once upon 
 a time, had been thrown from the window to a 
 clamoring crowd below. Dalton said this was likely 
 enough, as the palace had been built four centuries 
 before by a family that was not celebrated for its
 
 58 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 serenity. When the Ambassador had looked it 
 over, he appropriated it for himself, saying it was 
 the very place for a harassed family man to find 
 peace he could lock himself in and no one could 
 ever get him out. 
 
 Then they discussed the earliest time possible 
 to move in. The question ended with the Ambas 
 sador asking me to take up the matter of engaging 
 the servants, a business I am quite inexperienced in, 
 though I see I am in for it now. Comtesse de Stan- 
 lau was presented to them. Mrs. Colborne appeared 
 rather impressed by her and asked her to tea that 
 afternoon at the hotel. Comte de Stanlau did not 
 arrive as expected, though his sister promised to 
 fetch him to tea that afternoon. 
 
 Dalton, Atkins, and I lunched with them. The 
 conversation was what might be called a strictly 
 business talk. Mrs. Colborne is keenly interested 
 in the social part of her position and asked innumer 
 able questions which Atkins was able to answer 
 without the least hesitation. One might say he was 
 the leading speaker at luncheon. He is the type 
 which almost invariably has a quick intuition re 
 garding social matters. I have seen the type often 
 in New York. Rather amusing, if one will accept 
 him as such; possessing a certain sarcastic clever 
 ness; assuming an attitude of man of the world 
 with obvious hints thrown out to give you the idea 
 that he has, at one time, lived a roue s existence; 
 always missing the reality of things; and yet, tre 
 mendously useful to any one who is going to play
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 59 
 
 the social game. Mrs. Colborne was quick to see 
 this quality in him and I saw at once that he would 
 probably be her social adviser. What Miss Colborne 
 thought of him I could not quite make out. She 
 was rather silent through luncheon, though not for 
 a moment giving the impression of indifference. 
 She is too interested in what is going on about her 
 and is, above all, a sympathetic listener. The 
 Ambassador, I m sure, looks upon Atkins with good- 
 natured, tolerant contempt. He, too, I find, is a 
 good listener. 
 
 "You will find the American colony one of your 
 most difficult problems," Atkins said, toward the 
 end of the meal. 
 
 The Ambassador leaned forward, interested. 
 "What do you mean by that?" 
 
 Atkins twirled his small, very thin mustache. 
 "If you expect to go into fashionable society you 
 can t afford to have anything to do with the resi 
 dent Americans. There are quite a lot of them here. 
 They entertain all the time. And, of course, they 
 will try to swamp you with dinners; not because 
 they like you, do you see, but because they want 
 to use you as an entree to the Court set. Besides 
 most of them are quite impossible !" 
 
 The Ambassador shot a puzzled glance toward 
 Atkins and frowned. "I ve heard of Americans 
 being over here so long that they acquire the habit 
 of looking down on their own country people." 
 He spoke bluntly, but with a seriousness which made 
 his words reflective. "I never could understand
 
 60 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 what it is makes them feel that way. Can you ex 
 plain it to me, Mr. Atkins?" 
 
 Atkins twirled his mustache again and looked 
 around the table with a broad smile. "I venture 
 to say you understand, Mrs. Colborne, don t you?" 
 
 She smiled, evidently pleased. "Perfectly. And 
 you do, too, John." 
 
 "No, I don t. I m asking for information. Of 
 course, I don t know Europeans very well on their 
 own soil; but at home I always get the impression 
 that they are a hundred years behind us in every 
 thing." 
 
 "Except in manners," Atkins put in. 
 
 "Manners!" The Ambassador laughed. "Well 
 I ll be blamed if I see where they beat us there. 
 I know they kiss the hand of every woman they 
 meet; they take off their hats to each other; they 
 click their heels when they bow. We don t do any 
 of that, I ll admit; nor do we make excavations in 
 our teeth after every course at dinner!" 
 
 "My dear John!" Mrs. Colborne protested. 
 
 "No I can t see any reason for this attitude," 
 the Ambassador went on. "I don t believe I ever 
 shall, either. I m proud of the old U. S. A., and 
 I m mighty proud of being here to represent them. 
 It s my business, and my intention, to boost them 
 all I can. I m here to take care of all the Americans 
 who need my help. And it goes without saying 
 that I m going to have them for my best friends." 
 He let his fist fall on the table; then turned to Dai- 
 ton. "I think you know what I mean?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 61 
 
 I awaited Dalton s reply with interest; indeed, I 
 think all of us did. He was in no haste to answer; 
 in fact, he gave the appearance for a moment or 
 two of having decided not to reply. 
 
 "I do understand what you mean," he said 
 finally. "But the American colony is invariably a 
 source of annoyance and often embarrassment to 
 an ambassador. I don t mean"all of them; of course, 
 there are always nice Americans to be found. I 
 speak of the colony as a whole. If you will permit 
 me to say it, Americans who live out of the United 
 States draw their incomes from its resources and 
 do nothing in return except criticise its customs 
 and its Presidents and officials, are not worthy of 
 much consideration. That is a pretty fair descrip 
 tion of American colonies in European capitals. I 
 was told by the President who gave me my first 
 diplomatic appointment, that I was going abroad 
 to make friends for the United States among the 
 people of the country to which I was sent; that I 
 was not to let myself be used as a social ladder for 
 those Americans who preferred to be seen with 
 titled persons rather than with their own country 
 men. It is a diplomatist s first duty to try to be on 
 friendly, if not intimate, terms with the people of 
 the country; and it is very necessary, for how else 
 are we to get useful information!" 
 
 I have tried to put down Dalton s remarks as 
 completely as I can recall them, because they appear 
 to me so reasonable and so true. I spent a year in 
 Paris not so long ago and one of my most vivid
 
 62 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 memories is of a woman who could hardly form a 
 sentence without introducing in it somewhere the 
 name of a titled personage with whom she had just 
 dined. It is needless to say that she was quite un 
 known at home. And that brings me to a question 
 that I have often heard discussed. I don t vouch 
 for its truth, as I have not seen enough of American 
 colonies to know. But it is often stated that almost 
 all the Americans who become well-known and 
 conspicuous in European capitals are quite unknown 
 in the United States. This also recalls the remark 
 of a man who said he never met nice people while 
 travelling and the answer, that nice people didn t 
 travel, they stopped at home. 
 
 The Ambassador had listened attentively. "It 
 sounds sensible enough," he said, with that frankness 
 and receptivity to new ideas which makes him a 
 big man. "I never thought of it that way before. 
 But then, I ve only known Americans at home. 
 I m afraid, though, I shall not be much of a success 
 making friends with these people. To begin with, 
 I don t speak anything but American." 
 
 "That need not worry you," Dalton replied. 
 "English has become quite chic lately much more 
 so than French. You will find almost every one you 
 meet speaks it." 
 
 "Thank God for that !" said the Ambassador with 
 his hearty laugh. . . . 
 
 This afternoon I had my first conversation with 
 Miss Colborne. I came in a little early for tea and 
 found her overlooking the tea-table.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 63 
 
 "I m trying to make these rooms look a little less 
 like a hotel," she explained, shaking hands and 
 giving me a friendly smile. Her hand-clasp was 
 friendly, too; a warm, personal clasp. She is amaz 
 ingly like her father, and an interesting study in 
 showing how a second generation can acquire all 
 the subtlety and refinement unknown to the first 
 and yet without losing any of the virility or straight 
 forward qualities of the former. She was quite 
 pretty and dainty in a light frock and, while ar 
 ranging a bowl of roses on the tea-table, struck me as 
 being as charming a picture as I have seen for many 
 a day. It was nice to see her thinking about making 
 the rooms homelike and attractive. After all, it is 
 one of a woman s important missions in life, if not 
 the most important, to make surroundings pretty, 
 and one doesn t often find girls bothering about 
 it. 
 
 "Will you have your tea now?" she asked. "I 
 always try to have mine before the guests arrive. 
 Otherwise I never get it." 
 
 The water, extraordinary event, was already boil 
 ing and we had our tea at once. 
 
 "I wonder if we shall like it here," she said, 
 sipping her tea. "Do you?" 
 
 "It s bound to be interesting." 
 
 "I suppose so," she said, with a slight drooping 
 at the corners of her mouth. "But just think of 
 losing four years at home. You won t tell any one 
 if I tell you a secret?" 
 
 I swore it would be like burying it to tell me.
 
 64 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Strange how tremendously flattering it is to have a 
 woman trust you ! 
 
 She smiled a little, looked about the room as if 
 to be sure that we were alone, and leaned a bit 
 forward. "I wouldn t have father know it for any 
 thing in the world !" 
 
 "It must be frightfully serious," I said. 
 
 At this she laughed. "It isn t serious at all. It s 
 only this, I hated to come." 
 
 I laughed, too. "Then why did you?" 
 
 She put down her cup and looked at me through 
 a short silence. I think she was weighing me in the 
 balance; and surely her following words made me 
 feel that she had decided I was not wanting. 
 
 "You are going to be father s private secretary, 
 and so, of course, more in his confidence than the 
 others, aren t you?" 
 
 "I hope he will consider me worthy of his con 
 fidence." 
 
 "He does, I m sure; he told me that he liked you 
 the first time he saw you." She stopped and leaned 
 back in her chair. "My reason for coming was that 
 I felt I could be of some help to him. You see, he 
 has never known this sort of life, it is quite new to 
 him, and, naturally, he isn t going to like it. It will 
 bore him to death. Has he told you why he ac 
 cepted this position?" 
 
 I told her that he had referred to some important 
 work, but only in a vague way. 
 
 "He will tell you, of course. But beyond that, I 
 want him to succeed in other ways. He has never
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 65 
 
 failed at anything he has set out to do. I don t 
 want him to now. He shan t, either, if I count for 
 anything." 
 
 She said this with such determination that I 
 could almost see the clinched fist coming heavily 
 down on the desk. It also sent my curiosity up a 
 hundred per cent. What in the mischief is this 
 important mission which has brought him here? 
 If I don t find out soon I m going to ask him. 
 
 "I m sure you can count on me to the extent of 
 my limited ability," I said. 
 
 "Thank you." She extended her hand, while the 
 determined expression faded into a smile. "Then 
 we are all going to pull together, as father would 
 say." 
 
 At this point the door opened and Mrs. Colborne 
 entered. She was wearing a delightful gray tea- 
 gown, one of those stencilled creations of Fortuny 
 which one woman in ten thousand can manage suc 
 cessfully. Mrs. Colborne wore it gracefully. Even 
 Atkins will approve of her standard in dress. 
 
 Almost immediately Comte de Stanlau and his 
 sister came in. It seems that he knew the Col- 
 bornes when he was Ambassador in Washington, 
 so that his greeting was that of an old friend. He 
 is an extremely interesting type; very handsome, 
 dark, rather Latin in character, tall and gracefully 
 proportioned. Indeed, his whole personality is 
 graceful. His manner, which might be called 
 formal at home, is expressive of sincere personal 
 interest in the one to whom he happens to be talk-
 
 66 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 ing; his courtesy is charming. He possibly suggests 
 giving too much care to the selection and putting on 
 of his clothes, but this is a characteristic of Con 
 tinentals. His voice, low and modulated, is one of 
 his most agreeable qualities. It reveals cultivation, 
 refinement, and that assurance which comes from 
 being at home in any situation. His English has 
 just enough accent to make it attractive. 
 
 He bowed over Mrs. Colborne s hand and raised 
 it to his lips. 
 
 "Ah, your Excellency, welcome to my country! 
 I congratulate the United States upon sending you 
 as their representative." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne was immensely pleased. "By 
 which you mean me or my husband?" 
 
 Comte de Stanlau s shoulders rose gracefully. 
 "The Ambassadress is invariably the important 
 feature of an embassy." He turned to Miss Col- 
 borne, took her hand but did not kiss it, and I 
 fancied I saw a subtle change in his manner. It 
 was even more courteous. It was almost the at 
 titude of a man toward the women he worships. 
 She, however, did not appear to notice it, and greeted 
 him with her customary frankness. 
 
 The Ambassador came in at this moment with 
 both Dalton and Atkins, so that the conversation 
 became general. Dalton gave me two letters which 
 had just arrived for me, and, anxious to read them. I 
 gradually made my way to the far end of the room- 
 it was one of those large, hideous salons reserved 
 for important guests and into an adjoining room
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 67 
 
 used as a dining-room. Here I sat down near the 
 door and opened my letters. 
 
 I could only have been there a few minutes when 
 my attention was called from the letters to a con 
 versation which was taking place very near me, 
 just on the other side of the door. Evidently 
 Comte de Stanlau and Mrs. Colborne had detached 
 themselves from the others for a moment of unin 
 terrupted conversation. 
 
 It was his voice which caught my attention first, 
 very low, and with an intimate quality in it which 
 surprised me. 
 
 "I am so happy that Miss Colborne smiles upon 
 my country. First impressions are always very 
 real." 
 
 "How could she do otherwise? It is so charming 
 here." 
 
 "But you you are always, I remember 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "So very kind and sympathetic so very under 
 standing." 
 
 This was followed by a slight pause. Then Mrs. 
 Colborne s voice: "We have had quite a serious 
 diplomatic conversation to-day. I suppose one might 
 call it my first lesson." 
 
 "You!" His low laugh expressed incredulity. 
 "I should like to find any one accomplished enough 
 to teach you anything about diplomacy. You were 
 made for this life. It is your metier." 
 
 "You said just now that an ambassadress was 
 the important part of an embassy. Do you be-
 
 68 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 lieve, too, that an ambassador s wife makes or ruins 
 him?" 
 
 "It is quite true. The woman, in diplomacy, 
 plays the subtle part." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne sighed. "Alas ! I am not subtle." 
 
 "Subtlety," Comte de Stanlau s voice grew a 
 shade softer, "subtlety, to me, shows itself most 
 in the eyes. Brown eyes, when they are deep and 
 warm, are full of subtle lights. One never knows 
 which of their Protean shades expresses it most. 
 Then a hand, with delicate, sensitive fingers, shows 
 infinite subtlety . . . You will you forgive me if 
 I say it? you are made up of subtleties." 
 
 Atkins came across to them with a perfunctory 
 question about another cup of tea. This interrup 
 tion, however, was only of a few seconds. 
 
 "I want so much to succeed," Mrs. Colborne re 
 sumed, almost plaintively. "My husband hates 
 protocol and every sort of form. So, do you see, I 
 shall have to do everything alone; unless unless 
 you would help me?" 
 
 Comte de Stanlau laughed again, this time ex 
 pressing deprecation. "You are far too clever to 
 need my poor assistance. You have to do only one 
 thing to win all my countrymen." 
 
 " Only one thing ? What ? " 
 
 " Smile ! We are very susceptible to beauty . . . 
 It has been our ruin ! As Ambassadress your power 
 will be unlimited !" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne pretended to scoff at this. "Why 
 should I have any power? In what would it con 
 sist?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 69 
 
 " An ambassadress with cleverness and beauty 
 and money ! Par exemple! Think of what you could 
 do for me!" 
 
 "For you! What?" 
 
 He paused for a full moment. His voice came 
 still lower. 
 
 "Your stepdaughter Miss Colborne." 
 
 "Ah, Kate!" Her voice sounded a shade disap 
 pointed. "Are you still thinking of her?" 
 
 "I have never thought of any one else since I 
 left Washington. She has made my country seem 
 worthless to me. Without her 
 
 I got up quickly, suddenly realizing my indis 
 cretion. If Comte de Stanlau was going to pour 
 out his heart to Mrs. Colborne on the subject of 
 Miss Colborne it was time for me to move. 
 
 As I passed through the door I could not help 
 hearing what Mrs. Colborne was saying: "She is 
 very diftcile. First, you must win her trust; then 
 do something to put her under obligations to you." 
 
 It is extraordinary how much keener one s inter 
 est becomes in any person once one knows the great 
 desire of that person s life. I found myself studying 
 Comte de Stanlau all the rest of the afternoon. He 
 had interested me from the first; now he was be 
 coming a sort of obsession. I began to appraise 
 him as a factor in arousing the interest of a woman. 
 To a mature woman he would be immensely at 
 tractive; to a young girl, I am not so sure. He 
 must be over forty; his face has interesting lines in 
 it; his alert expression, accentuated by a smartly 
 trained mustache, gives the effect of youth. Yet I
 
 yo THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 have the feeling that everything about him is too 
 carefully studied to be spontaneous. He would be 
 perfect as an accomplished villain. 
 
 His few words about Kate which I had overheard 
 gave me a new interest in her. I gathered from 
 those few words that he had proposed to her and 
 been refused. Suddenly, with an unpleasant shock, 
 I recalled what Comtesse Victoire had said to At 
 kins that day in the garden about the dot the Am 
 bassador would give his daughter. . 
 
 When I got back to the tea-table Comte de Stan- 
 lau was talking to Kate and Dalton. 
 
 "Then you don t think four years will be long to 
 you in my country?" Stanlau was saying. 
 
 Kate threw me a glance before answering. "I 
 had just said before you came in, Comte de Stanlau, 
 that four years away from home seemed an awfully 
 long time." Then to me: "The Comtesse has been 
 telling me such interesting things about the people 
 we are going to meet." 
 
 She said this in a way that rather left Comte de 
 Stanlau out of the conversation. Whether she 
 meant it that way or not, I m not sure. He, at 
 least, did not seem to feel that she did. 
 
 "You will enjoy riding here, mademoiselle," he 
 went on suavely. "I have some excellent horses 
 to offer you." 
 
 " Thank you," she said rather perfunctorily. "I 
 think I shall ride a good deal." She turned this 
 time to Dalton: "When are you going to give me 
 the list of Americans living here?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 71 
 
 Comte de Stanlau looked at her intently a mo 
 ment, then quite without brusqueness moved across 
 the room to the Ambassador. 
 
 Dalton had not answered her. He waited, smil 
 ing at her, until Stanlau was safely out of hearing. 
 
 "You are extraordinarily like your father," he 
 said, evidently greatly amused. 
 
 "I?" She looked up in surprise. "How?" 
 
 "You both have the same dislike of foreigners." 
 
 "Dislike! No," she said thoughtfully, "I don t 
 think we dislike them. We just prefer Americans." 
 She said this with a nice, comprehensive look at both 
 of us. "I suppose you mean that I was rude to 
 Comte de Stanlau. I didn t intend to be; only," 
 she made a pretty little moue, "he thinks a woman 
 must always be fed on flattery." 
 
 "It appeared sincere with him." 
 
 "Appeared yes." Again she looked up at us 
 both. For a second her face grew a shade pinker; 
 then her eyes fell. "I suppose I m quite unique for 
 a woman, but do you know, I d rather feel things 
 than hear them said. Unless," this with a gay little 
 laugh, "they came from some one I wanted to 
 hear them from." 
 
 Dalton waited a moment, then lowered his voice: 
 "May I make a suggestion?" 
 
 "Of course do." 
 
 "Comte de Stanlau is a very important man in 
 this country. In fact, he is about the cleverest man 
 here. He can be very useful to your father." 
 
 "Oh, dear," she sighed with resignation. "Then
 
 72 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 you mean it is my duty to let him go on She 
 hesitated, as if deciding whether or not to finish 
 the sentence. 
 
 Dalton laughed. "Not exactly that." 
 "But it will be that, I assure you." She drew 
 her brows together with vexation. "I see you 
 are determined to draw me into this diplomatic 
 net. And I was planning to have such a good time 
 keeping entirely out of it." 
 
 I have been thinking about her and Stanlau all 
 evening. I hope she won t consider him seriously. 
 But I don t see why I should bother about it in the 
 least, except that Dalton, who, by the way, gives 
 all the signs of already being interested in her, would 
 be a much more suitable match. There is no doubt, 
 however, that Mrs. Colborne favors Stanlau. As 
 he was raising her hand to his lips at parting, he 
 said quite loud enough for me to hear: "Then I 
 may count on your help?" "Indeed you may," 
 she replied warmly. "I will do everything in my 
 power."
 
 VI 
 
 December i, 19 . 
 
 WE have all been "on the jump," as the Ambas 
 sador would phrase it, this past week. The first two 
 or three days were given up to installing the family 
 in the Embassy. The army corps of servants, en 
 gaged by Arturo, interviewed by me, and now in 
 resplendent livery, are standing around in every 
 one s way, especially the Ambassador s. They 
 bow quite to the ground whenever he appears. I 
 believe they are mortally afraid of him; he, so long 
 as he is not thinking of something else, appears to 
 be getting a good deal of amusement out of them. 
 He gives his orders in English, explaining in detail 
 exactly what he wants, and though none of them, 
 with the exception of his valet and the maitre d hotel, 
 know one word of English, they appear to under 
 stand him perfectly. I don t see how it is done. I 
 can t make people understand me unless I speak a 
 language they know; but the Ambassador can. He 
 simply talks on in a perfectly natural, conversational 
 manner, exactly as he would talk to me; the other 
 person responds in his own language; and both of 
 them appear to understand. There is something 
 psychic in it, I suppose. Anyhow, it s quite beyond 
 me. 
 
 The most important event of the week was the 
 
 73
 
 74 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Ambassador s audience with the King. As a matter 
 of fact, it was not half so impressive as it sounds. 
 The announcement, command, or summons, call it 
 what you will, came two days before, with the in 
 formation that his Majesty would deign to receive 
 the American Ambassador at eleven o clock in the 
 morning, and that the royal carriage would come 
 for the Ambassador at a little before the appointed 
 hour. 
 
 We donned our evening clothes in honor of the 
 occasion. I have never before realized how neces 
 sary some sort of a diplomatic uniform is. Atkins 
 sneered at himself and at us all, declaring we looked 
 like nothing more or less than waiters. The Am 
 bassador said that if he were seen in Washington 
 at eleven o clock in the morning in a dress suit, he 
 would never find any one who would believe he 
 hadn t been out all night. 
 
 When Arturo announced that the royal carriage 
 had arrived and that several chamberlains awaited 
 the Ambassador, we went down the stairs in dignified 
 silence. I think Arturo must have increased his 
 army corps, for I could have sworn there was a 
 liveried footman on each step. Two men in cavalry 
 uniform, the smartest I have seen, black coats 
 trimmed with astrakhan, silver epaulets, light-blue 
 trousers, patent-leather boots, astrakhan caps, and 
 dangling swords, came forward and presented them 
 selves as members of the King s Guard who had come 
 to fetch us to the Palace. They were very jolly, 
 good-looking chaps, and as soon as they forgot their
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 75 
 
 uniforms, were as informal as you please. They 
 conducted the Ambassador to the royal carriage, a 
 gaudy affair done hi red paint with scrolls of gilt, 
 the four corners decorated with an arrangement of 
 brass bouquets. The horses, four of them, were 
 white with a very jolly harness of red patent leather 
 with bunches of plumes on the bridles. The whole 
 outfit reminded me of a hearse I had once seen in 
 Havana, which bore the significant name of "El 
 Chicago," on account of having come from that 
 enterprising city. If one s last expressed desire 
 had been to be buried in a really smart fashion, the 
 family jewels had often to be pawned to afford the 
 chic "El Chicago." A score of mounted gens 
 d armes accompanied this coach and a second one, 
 of less portentous design. Atkins and I and one of 
 the Royal Guardsmen rode in this latter one. 
 
 The Palace was entered by an impressive stair 
 case. The regulation red carpet and palms were in 
 evidence, and, of course, heaps of flunkies and a 
 detachment of the King s Guard, who dropped their 
 guns with such a noisy salute as we passed that I m 
 afraid all of us jumped disgracefully. 
 
 The Grand Master of Ceremonies or Master of 
 Grand Ceremonies, I never can remember which it 
 is from his uniform it ought to be both met us 
 at the top of the stairs. He would make Arturo 
 die of jealousy ! His uniform is quite the most 
 splendid thing I ve ever seen, in or out of comic or 
 grand opera. To make his presence all the more 
 imposing he carries a baton eight feet high, wrapped
 
 76 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 all about with gold cord and tassels. Our simple 
 republican black and white became almost shabby; 
 even the Ambassador appeared to feel a certain 
 lack of importance in our costuming. 
 
 The Grand Master led us through innumerable 
 antechambers. We followed silently, all of us a bit 
 dejected. At last we came to a door where the 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs greeted the Ambas 
 sador and conducted us into a smaller room. Here 
 a pleasant, smiling old gentleman, in the same smart 
 uniform of the King s Guard, came forward with 
 outstretched hand. 
 
 "It gives me much pleasure to welcome you to 
 our country," he said, very simply and in perfect 
 English, drawing the Ambassador with him, a little 
 away from us. 
 
 Dalton, Atkins, and I waited near the door. 
 
 After a minute or two of hesitation my curiosity 
 got the better of me. I nudged Atkins with my 
 elbow. "Is that by way of being his Majesty?" 
 I whispered. 
 
 He annihilated me with a glance. "No. It s the 
 chimney-sweep !" 
 
 The King continued his little talk, expressing much 
 delight at welcoming an American ambassador, 
 mentioning the friendly relations which had always 
 existed between the two countries, and a lot of other 
 official expressions of good-will. His face was de 
 lightfully human. Rather good-looking, a fair, 
 northern type, and showing unmistakable evidences 
 of having tried all the dissipations life could offer.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 77 
 
 Out of his uniform and kingly setting one would have 
 taken him for a nice, sympathetic old boulevardier. 
 I could see at a glance that he and the Ambassador 
 were hitting it off immensely well; and after the 
 Ambassador had made his set speech, also about the 
 friendly relations they can t seem to get away 
 from that phrase presented his letter of credence 
 with its dangling seals, the King made a gesture 
 toward a line of chairs against the wall and together 
 they walked across the room and sat down. This 
 left the Minister for Foreign Affairs with us. How 
 ever, I was too busy watching the scene across the 
 room to take notice of any one else. The King and 
 the Ambassador appeared to be immensely interested 
 in each other, one might say they were hobnobbing. 
 Once I saw the Ambassador s hand raised to fall 
 with emphasis on the King s knee. However, it 
 didn t. He told me afterward that he remembered 
 just in the nick of time. 
 
 They must have talked for half an hour; then the 
 King rose, came over, and shook hands with each 
 of us, said a word or two, shook hands with the Am 
 bassador, and we all left the room, trying to bow 
 ourselves out with our faces still toward the King, 
 and in consequence stepping all over each other. 
 
 The two officers drove home with us and would 
 not leave until we had been safely landed within the 
 Embassy doors. 
 
 As soon as they were gone the Ambassador went 
 straight to his office, telling us all to come with him. 
 He rang the bell for the maitre d hotel, threw himself
 
 78 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 heavily into the revolving chair, and let out a merry 
 roar. 
 
 " Of all the fake business ! " he exclaimed. " Why, 
 we do it a hundred per cent better in Washing 
 ton!" 
 
 The mailre d hote! entered and bowed. 
 
 "Four high-balls, quick!" said the Ambassador. 
 
 The maitre d* hotel bowed low. "Four high-balls, 
 your Excellency?" 
 
 " That s what I said. One two three four ! 
 One for each of us." 
 
 The man kept on bowing. Finally Atkins went 
 up to him. 
 
 "Four whiskeys and soda," he said in a lowered 
 voice. 
 
 "Ah! Whiskey and soda!" the maitre d* hotel 
 exclaimed with immense relief. "Whiskey and 
 soda ! At once, your Excellency." 
 
 Freed from the disturbing formality of the ser 
 vant, the Ambassador lighted a cigar, tilted back 
 his chair, and smiled reflectively. At such times his 
 face is full of charm. His deeply human qualities 
 show more, his eyes lose their direct expression and 
 become gentler; his kindly, humorous view of the 
 world shines forth warmly. 
 
 "You young men don t see it as I do all this 
 folderol King business. I m chuckling inside all 
 the time. It s a mighty good thing for a fellow to 
 be able to laugh at himself. I wonder what they d 
 say to all this in the home town. Gee-Whilligens ! 
 But they d roast me!" He laughed easily to him-
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 79 
 
 self, swinging around in the chair and patting its 
 arms with his hands. "This chair brings it all 
 back to me how I started out in life. A swivel- 
 chair before a big desk was the height of my am 
 bition once upon a time. Golly! How I re 
 member the first day I sat in one, chair, desk office 
 all my own ! Great day that ! when I was made 
 director of the Interstate Barbed- Wire Fence Com 
 pany ! And now ! look at me ! " He sighed, smiled 
 again, then suddenly swung around toward Atkins. 
 "Young man," he said abruptly, "ever done any 
 work?" 
 
 Atkins lifted his eyebrows. "I ve never been in 
 business." 
 
 "Too bad! Great training for a young man. 
 Shows you how to do things. Got me to Congress, 
 got me to the Senate " 
 
 "And made you Ambassador," Atkins added, with 
 a smile which barely veiled the inferred sarcasm. 
 
 "No, dog-on-it!" the Ambassador roared, "my 
 wife did that ! But I m going to run this Embassy 
 on the same lines I ran my barbed-wire-fence fac 
 tory." 
 
 "What were those lines, sir?" Dalton put in. 
 
 "First know what you want to do; second find 
 out how to do it; third do it !" He rose from his 
 chair and stood before us with his hands deep in 
 his pockets. 
 
 Dalton rose also. Atkins and I quickly fol 
 lowed. 
 
 "Sit down, all of you," said the Ambassador.
 
 8o THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "You don t have to stand up just because I do. I 
 have to; can t think unless I m on my feet. Now 
 as I was saying I know what I ve come here for; 
 so, you see, number one s all right. I m counting 
 on you to help me with number two and three." 
 
 A knock interrupted. Arturo entered with a 
 cablegram. Dalton took it, tore it open, and glanced 
 at it. 
 
 "It s in cipher, sir. I ll get the code-book at 
 once." 
 
 He left the room just as the maitre d hotel entered, 
 followed by a footman carrying a tray. On it was 
 a bottle of whiskey, a carafe of water, and four wine 
 glasses. Taking the tray from the footman the 
 maitre d hotel placed it, with great empressement, on 
 the desk and bowed low. The Ambassador sat 
 down, picked up the bottle and read the label, put 
 it down with a grimace, and looked at the carafe. 
 
 "A bottle of Scotch whiskey ugh ! And a bottle 
 of plain water ! And wine-glasses ! " He looked at 
 the maitre d hotel with an expression of increasing 
 disgust. "Is that the best high-ball you can give a 
 man ! Where s the soda ? Where s the ice ? Where s 
 the" His fist fell on the desk. "Don t look at 
 me as if you didn t know what I was talking about." 
 
 "Perhaps he doesn t understand our drinks," I 
 interrupted, and turned quickly to the trembling 
 domestic. "De I eau, de seltz, et de la glace. 7 
 
 "Bien, monsieur." The man bowed and hurried 
 to the door. 
 
 "And rye not Scotch, mind you," called the Am-
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 81 
 
 bassador. "And if you never heard of a high-ball 
 before, go to that saloon I saw down the street. It 
 has a sign over the door: American bar. Get them 
 to tell you what a high-ball is." He turned to me: 
 "I thought he spoke American. If he doesn t, fire 
 him at once. I told you I d have nothing but Amer 
 ican around me." 
 
 Dalton returned with the code-book. He sat 
 down at one corner of the Ambassador s desk and, 
 with the aid of Atkins, began deciphering the cable. 
 The Ambassador, leaning back in his chair, watched 
 the process through a cloud of cigar-smoke. 
 
 "What s the date?" he asked, after a long pause. 
 
 "Yesterday noon." 
 
 "Twenty-four hours! Damned slow cable ser 
 vice. I must look into that. What next?" 
 
 "Confidential." 
 
 "Is that a bluff or does it mean something?" 
 
 "It usually means something important." 
 
 The Ambassador leaned forward. "Go on." 
 
 Atkins called off a group of figures. "It s one of 
 those tiresome double code words," he drawled. 
 "Here it is: Lillian. Here s another: Russell." 
 
 The Ambassador reached impatiently toward the 
 code-book. " Lillian Russell ! " he exclaimed. >" You 
 are both drunk ! Give me the book ! I ll work it." 
 
 "Just one minute, please," Dalton replied. "These 
 words have another meaning. Here it is: Lillian is 
 Count; Russell is Stanlau." 
 
 The Ambassador sank back in his chair and 
 waited, not patiently, but with his eyes and his
 
 82 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 hands moving restlessly. When Dalton handed him 
 the cable, he took it and read it in silence. Then he 
 spread it out on the desk before him, read it again, 
 frowned, whistled, and began scratching his head 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 Dalton and I watched him intently. Atkins, with 
 a yawn, slipped out of the room and closed the door 
 after him. 
 
 "Pretty serious ; " Dalton said, after we had waited 
 a long time in silence. 
 
 "Serious!" The Ambassador looked up as if 
 startled to find us still there. "It s the most serious 
 thing that has come up for the United States in my 
 lifetime. This wasn t known when I left home. I 
 wonder when they got on to it." Suddenly he looked 
 around for Atkins. "How about that young chap 
 knowing this, Dalton?" 
 
 " He only read out the numbers. Except for Count 
 de Stanlau s name appearing, he knows nothing." 
 
 "Then it s between us three?" 
 
 "Absolutely." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," I interrupted. "Between 
 you two. I did not see it." 
 
 The Ambassador gave me a swift look, glanced at 
 the cable once more, then, without a word, handed 
 it to me. I don t think I ve ever been more sincerely 
 flattered. But I forgot this the moment I had read 
 the cable. It was the first time I had ever been be 
 hind the scenes of world history, and to suddenly 
 see my own country on the point of winning or los 
 ing what she had stood for for over a hundred years
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 83 
 
 made me a little dizzy. My second thought was a 
 question : Was the Ambassador big enough to handle 
 it? Would he have been chosen for this mission 
 if the information embodied in the cable had been 
 known before he left? I hated myself for doubting 
 him, and yet this problem which had been put up 
 to him would have been a test of any man s ability, 
 no matter how experienced he might be. 
 
 When I turned back to the room I had gone 
 to the window to read the cable I saw Dalton 
 locking the door. He sat down near the desk. The 
 Ambassador motioned me to join them. 
 
 "Now, let s get down to business. Tell me ev 
 erything you know about Stanlau." 
 
 Dalton gave a concise sketch of Comte de Stan- 
 lau s career. It appears that he is one of the most 
 influential men in his country. Of an old family 
 whose traditions have been allied with those of the 
 monarchy for centuries, he holds a unique position, 
 in that he is very close to the King and court circle, 
 and is also very popular with the people. Having 
 grown interested in politics and become a member 
 of Parliament, he has for the last few years been 
 a formidable leader of the Socialist party. His 
 popularity with this left wing of Parliament is the 
 greatest source of his power. Though a monarchist, 
 his liberal tendencies and sympathies for the con 
 stitutionalists make his position at Court extremely 
 difficult. 
 
 If he were not afraid of him," Dalton ended, 
 "the King would have exiled him long ago."
 
 84 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador listened attentively. "So the 
 King would like to get rid of him?" he asked 
 slowly. 
 
 "Naturally. He opposes the King s plans." 
 
 "And the King s plans," said the Ambassador, 
 rising and walking about the room, "are our plans." 
 
 "Unfortunately for us," Dalton commented, with 
 a succinctness which made his words carry weight, 
 "the King is a mere figurehead. The constitution 
 of this country is such that it makes it more of a 
 democracy than our own." 
 
 "In other words, we ve first got to get Stanlau 
 on our side." The Ambassador lighted his cigar, 
 which had gone out, and leaned against the desk. 
 In the silence that followed, his eyes grew thought 
 ful. "Has it ever come under your notice," he said 
 reflectively, "that every man has his price? Every 
 rotten one of us; even you even I?" 
 
 Dalton looked at him, surprised. "You mean 
 you don t except any one?" 
 
 The Ambassador s lips straightened into a hard, 
 firm line. It was a new expression for his face, one 
 I had not seen before, and one that sent my thoughts 
 racing off into possibilities of his succeeding with the 
 task he had shouldered. 
 
 "I except not a damned soul." 
 
 "Perhaps we have our price," Dalton debated, 
 "but surely it is not always written in figures." 
 
 "I grant you that; but it s a price, all the 
 same." 
 
 "Well?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 85 
 
 The Ambassador s fist came down with a bang. 
 "Our first work is to find out Stanlau s price . . ." 
 
 And now I come to the only unpleasant episode 
 which has occurred since we arrived. I sincerely 
 hope that it will not be repeated, and yet I feel 
 pretty certain that it will be; not only that, I fear 
 that it is only the beginning of small events which 
 may lead straight up to some big crisis. This fear 
 may be due to my first impression of Mrs. Colborne 
 and the conversation I overheard between her and 
 Comte de Stanlau. She is not very clever and she 
 is inordinately vain; Comte de Stanlau is sharp 
 enough to realize this, and play upon it to his own 
 advantage that is, if he is unscrupulous. I don t 
 say he is; I don t know. But since I saw that cable 
 and know his power in this country I find myself 
 looking upon his rather insistent professions of 
 friendship with suspicion. Mrs. Colborne, in his 
 hands, would be mere putty. 
 
 We were still discussing Stanlau when some one 
 knocked on the door. Dalton went to it, unlocked 
 it, and admitted Mrs. Colborne. She came in, 
 strikingly handsome in magnificent dark sables, 
 and looked at us with surprise. 
 
 "You don t appear at all as if you had just had 
 an audience with the King," she said, advancing to 
 the Ambassador and laying her hand on his arm. 
 "John you are a sight! Your hair all mussed! 
 What does it mean ? Any one would think something 
 important had happened !"
 
 86 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador showed very frankly that he was 
 not happy at the interruption, though he smiled at 
 his wife and took her hand in his. 
 
 "Something important has happened, Jenny." 
 
 "Really! What?" Her eyes brightened with 
 curiosity. 
 
 "I ll tell you later." He moved impatiently to 
 his chair and sat down. "For the present I ve 
 begun work." The words were spoken with an un 
 mistakable finality. He might just as well have 
 said: "Clear out and leave me alone." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne watched him a second or two in 
 silence, then, quite without warning, her face 
 flushed and her eyes gleamed with anger. I suppose 
 it was a bit mortifying to her to have us see him 
 treat her so indifferently; still, she might have con 
 trolled herself. 
 
 "You ve certainly begun being very cross," she 
 finally said. Then, seeing the cable lying before 
 him, she moved nearer. "Is this the cause of your 
 ill-humor?" She pointed to the sheet of paper 
 on which Dalton had written the deciphered 
 words. 
 
 Dalton came swiftly up to the Ambassador and 
 held out his hand. "Shall I lock the message in the 
 safe now?" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne looked at him quickly, drew herself 
 up to her full height, and smiled frigidly. "Are you 
 afraid of my seeing it, Mr. Dalton?" 
 
 Dalton flushed. "It is only political, Mrs. Col 
 borne."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 87 
 
 The Ambassador picked up the cable and began 
 folding it. "It wouldn t interest you, Jenny." 
 
 "You don t want me to see it, John? You don t 
 trust me sufficiently you and Mr. Dalton?" She 
 ended with rather forced laughter: "Oh, very well, 
 I saw enough to know what it s about." She turned 
 toward the door. 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked the Ambassador, 
 half rising. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne came back, still smiling through 
 her anger, and pointed a finger at the Ambassador. 
 "I saw one word of seven letters Stanlau." She 
 broke into very gay laughter, and looked from the 
 Ambassador to Dalton. The whole proceeding was 
 very much like a child playing with grown-ups, and 
 the grown-ups in this case were frankly worried. 
 "How foolish you both are. If you only knew it, 
 I can be of inestimable help to you if it is a question 
 of Comte de Stanlau!" 
 
 "If that s the case," said the Ambassador, "we 
 surely will need your help; shan t we, Dalton? 
 What s your proposition, Jenny?" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne looked calmly at Dalton. She was 
 still smiling, but somehow it was not a pleasant 
 smile. "I prefer to tell you alone, John." 
 
 "Oh, come. We aren t going to have any secrets 
 from Dalton." 
 
 "But he doesn t believe in women knowing diplo 
 matic secrets; do you, Mr. Dalton?" 
 
 She had rather cleverly turned the situation to 
 Dalton s embarrassment. He, as well as the rest of
 
 88 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 us, knew that she had resented his first motion to 
 remove the cable before she had seen it, and that her 
 insistence now, though spoken with all the outward 
 semblance of pleasantry, was done to make him feel 
 her resentment. 
 
 "That is a question for the Ambassador to de 
 cide," Dalton replied with dignity, and quietly left 
 the room. 
 
 I was following him when Mrs. Colborne called 
 to me and said she did not intend her words for me; 
 that she would like me to remain. I turned back 
 unwillingly. Family squabbles are never amusing. 
 
 She loosened her sables, laid them on a chair, 
 glanced at the Ambassador, and then crossed to the 
 window. He still sat before the desk, both arms 
 stretched out before him, his head a little forward. 
 His expression of deep annoyance made him look 
 much older than I had ever seen him. The silence 
 grew embarrassing. I began to wonder what was 
 going to happen. 
 
 "Jenny," the Ambassador finally spoke, quietly 
 but with determination, "I don t like this. Dalton 
 didn t mean any harm." 
 
 With her back to the room she answered: "He 
 insulted me!" 
 
 "Nonsense!" Then, after another long pause: 
 "Well if you ve got anything to say, say it!" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne came from the window and sat 
 down in the chair near the desk. 
 
 "Comte de Stanlau is in love with Kate." she 
 said. "He wants to marry her."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 89 
 
 The Ambassador made an impatient gesture. 
 "Fiddlesticks! Kate refused him in Washington. 
 She s got too much sense to marry a foreigner." 
 
 "Still Mrs. Colborne began, and was inter 
 rupted by the Ambassador pushing back his chair 
 and rising. 
 
 "No. I see what you mean. But my daughter 
 shall never be mixed up in anything like this." 
 
 She looked at him in astonishment; then, very 
 slowly, I saw the tears gather in her eyes. "So you 
 laugh at the idea of my helping you, John !" 
 
 His expression changed quickly. He laid his hand 
 very gently on her shoulder and looked down at 
 her. "Jenny this is man s work. I don t want you 
 to be worried over a thing while we are here. Don t 
 you see, dear?" 
 
 The tears were streaming down her face now. 
 She evidently regretted the whole incident, I thought, 
 until her next words convinced me that it was not 
 that at all. 
 
 "But you refused to show me the cable, John. 
 You don t really trust me. If it is important and 
 you don t want me to see it, you make me feel"- 
 this accompanied by a sob "as if you were putting 
 me out of your life !" 
 
 Of course, after this, there was only one thing for 
 him to do. I suppose any husband, at least any 
 American husband, would have done the same 
 thing. He went to the desk, picked up the cable, 
 and put it into her hand. 
 
 At this moment Arturo, followed by the maitre
 
 90 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 d hotel, entered, with another attempt at furnishing 
 a high-ball. This time he had succeeded. There 
 was a bottle of whiskey unmistakably rye a 
 siphon of seltzer, and four tall, regulation high-ball 
 glasses. I found out later that the American bar 
 had actually been requisitioned.
 
 VII 
 
 December 15, 19 . 
 
 I HAVE taken a small flat. It has been great fun 
 arranging it. At first it was a serious question 
 whether to furnish it with things that could be 
 found here, so-called antiques, or try to keep it 
 American in effect. Miss Colborne decided the 
 momentous problem by saying that I should get in 
 closer touch with the traditions and customs of this 
 country if I surrounded myself with the furniture 
 and stuffs it had produced; a suggestion, I think, 
 which threw some light on her character. She came 
 to look the rooms over, accompanied by her maid, 
 an elderly woman who is really more of a companion 
 than otherwise, and who has been with her ever since 
 her mother died. I am delighted that she is ob 
 serving the conventions of this place and not going 
 about alone. So many American girls maintain 
 that they can do in Europe exactly as they do at 
 home appear on the streets alone, and do many 
 things which are considered, over here, to show a 
 shocking lack of appreciation of the proprieties. 
 Many years ago, Henry James wrote an interesting 
 exposition of this situation in "Daisy Miller." 
 Unfortunately, it doesn t appear to have been read 
 to advantage by many young American women. 
 I suppose it all comes from the feeling that when 
 one is away from home one is neither known nor 
 
 91
 
 92 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 criticised. The theory is quite wrong. The belief, 
 held by most Europeans, that all Americans are 
 vulgar, is created by our careless avoidance of all 
 their conventions. Unfortunately, correct Amer 
 icans are inconspicuous; the ostentatious ones are 
 always in evidence; thus our reputation suffers. 
 After one has lived over here for a little while, and 
 approached these people sympathetically, one be 
 gins to understand their point of view. Even among 
 the lower classes, they can teach us a simplicity and 
 modesty that makes for refinement. 
 
 I had arranged a frugal tea in my bare rooms for 
 Miss Colborne. We had a jolly time planning the 
 decorations of the flat. She grows on one immensely. 
 By degrees I am finding out something about her, 
 I mean where she has lived, what she has done, what 
 she likes little details which make our understand 
 ing of each other so much more intimate. She is 
 not in the least Western, nor, for that matter, does 
 she suggest any special section of the United States, 
 as most of us do. Try as hard as we may, nearly 
 every one of us is plainly stamped Eastern, South 
 ern, or Middle- Western. Her voice is charmingly 
 modulated, with a crisp pronunciation of words that 
 is distinguished; her carriage and appearance are 
 immensely high-bred; indeed, she shows at once 
 gentle breeding. I have often worried over finding 
 a good definition of breeding. It is quite impossible 
 to make it precise. To say that it means good 
 manners is quite incorrect; for I have often known 
 people with atrocious manners who were unmistak-
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 93 
 
 ably well-bred. Some one has said it is an attitude. 
 Perhaps so. It seems a fairly satisfactory definition. 
 
 "And how about Comte de Stanlau," I said, 
 after we had made a tour of the rooms. The com 
 panion, with admirable sympathy, had remained in 
 another room to inspect my books. "Has he begun 
 his," I hesitated, "his suit?" 
 
 She flushed and laughed. "I suppose you thought 
 me frightfully vulgar the other day saying what I 
 did. Somehow, though, I feel we are all a family 
 here in a foreign land, and that together we can talk 
 frankly. Yes," with a sigh, "I suppose one might 
 say he has begun; though his attentions appear to 
 be directed chiefly toward my stepmother. He sends 
 her flowers every day. He has asked me to ride with 
 him several times. This morning," she looked away, 
 "I did." 
 
 "Perseverance always wins," I said. 
 
 "He is really quite interesting," she went on, 
 "and I should like him so much if 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 She smiled and met my eyes steadily. "If he 
 would only realize that I will never make my home 
 anywhere but in the United States." 
 
 I made some sententious remark about a woman 
 never thinking of where she was going to live when 
 she is in love. 
 
 "Perhaps not," she admitted. "One never knows 
 what one would do in a special case until that case 
 confronts one. But I have two friends who married 
 in England. I should not call either a successful
 
 94 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 marriage; though they were both love-matches. 
 It must be a traditional difference in us." 
 
 "Then there is no chance of your giving up your 
 nationality?" 
 
 She answered quite seriously: "Never!" 
 
 "I m jolly glad to hear that!" I said, probably 
 with more ardor than I intended, for when I had 
 finished I found her looking at me through surprised 
 and serious eyes. 
 
 "Why?" she asked. 
 
 I tried to laugh it off. I didn t know myself why 
 I had said it. "Because," I struggled lamely, "be 
 cause it would surely break your father s heart." 
 
 She left soon afterward, remembering, at the last, 
 to say that Mrs. Colborne expected me to dinner 
 that night to discuss their first reception. . . . 
 
 Both Dalton and Atkins were at dinner that eve 
 ning. It was the first time I had seen Dalton with 
 Mrs. Colborne since the contretemps over the cable. 
 He had told me that she had written him a note of 
 apology the same day, and though I knew he still 
 felt rather resentful about the whole matter, he is 
 man enough to overlook it and make the best of the 
 situation. After all, if we are going to live here in 
 any sort of harmony, all of us will have to be fairly 
 kindly disposed toward each other. That is one side 
 of embassy life which I never thought of until I 
 became a part of it. Here we are, a group of people, 
 living a rather intimate life, seeing each other every 
 day, and bound together by only one tie that of
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 95 
 
 having to live together. The assembling was en 
 tirely fortuitous. The Department of State, un 
 intentionally, plays the role of Fate in many such 
 cases. Appointments appear to be made without 
 any thought being given to "team- work." An am 
 bassador is chosen for political reasons, secretaries 
 are promoted through merit or senatorial influence, 
 and the often heterogeneous mass is thrown together 
 and expected to fight it out successfully among 
 themselves. On the whole, I think we are hitting it 
 off fairly well. This is due, however, to certain 
 broad, tolerant qualities in the Ambassador. He is 
 determined to be fair and just with us all, and I be 
 lieve he expects us to maintain this attitude toward 
 him. Even to Atkins, whom I thought he would 
 find insupportable, he is consistently polite and even 
 friendly. And as for the note which his wife wrote 
 Dalton. there is no doubt that it was written at his 
 express insistence. 
 
 The conversation at dinner was as usual on some 
 phase of this eternal diplomatic question. After 
 the Ambassador had been received by the King 
 he made the official calls on his colleagues, the Am 
 bassadors from other countries. Only Dalton ac 
 companied him, so I only know of them at second 
 hand, though there appears to have been nothing 
 specially interesting in connection with these calls. 
 Since then the colleagues have been returning the 
 calls, and almost every morning we have the ex 
 citement of Arturo signalling the arrival of his Ex 
 cellency, the Ambassador of Great Britain, et cetera,
 
 96 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 et cetera. Mrs. Colborne has had an audience with 
 the Queen. She was accompanied by Miss Colborne, 
 and from their description it was an even simpler 
 function than when we were presented to the King. 
 It took place in the afternoon; they wore afternoon 
 gowns and hats, and were received by the Queen 
 and two ladies in waiting. Mrs. Colborne declared 
 the Queen a frump and gave quite an amusing de 
 scription of her costume; Miss Colborne found her 
 very sweet and gentle. Since her audience Mrs. 
 Colborne has been taken by the doyenne of the diplo 
 matic corps who happens just now to be the wife 
 of the British Ambassador to call on the wives of 
 the Ambassadors. So that, on the whole, one 
 might say that we are fully launched on our career. 
 I have shot cards on what might be termed my col 
 leagues, the secretaries there are about fifty of 
 them, I m sure and now invitations are beginning 
 to pour in. 
 
 The all-important question of the moment is the 
 Ambassador s official reception. He is inclined to 
 resent the small part he is permitted to play in it. 
 The Grand Master of Ceremonies called a few days 
 ago, asked him when he would like to give his official 
 reception, and said that he would be glad at any time 
 to send him the list of guests to be invited. 
 
 "I never heard of such cheek as that! It fairly 
 knocked the breath out of me," the Ambassador said 
 at dinner, once more going over the whole episode. 
 " As if I didn t know whom to ask to my own house ! " 
 
 "But we don t know, John," said Mrs. Colborne.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 97 
 
 "We haven t met any of the Court set. This is 
 our way of meeting them. I think it s delightfully 
 simple. We come to a new place, quite unknown, 
 and want to know the best people; don t we? Well 
 the Grand Master of Ceremonies arranges it all 
 for us. We can t make any mistakes. We invite 
 only the people he tells us to." 
 
 "Hanged if I ll stand for it," said the Ambassador. 
 "Why, I might as well not have anything to do with 
 it!" 
 
 "Oh, your chance comes, sir," Atkins cut in. 
 "You pay the bills!" 
 
 "They do let me do that, do they! Well, I ll do 
 more. I ll ask the Court set if I ve got to, but I ll 
 also ask all the Americans here." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne held up her hands. "John, dear, 
 we must follow the customs of this place. This 
 isn t America." 
 
 "So much the worse for it," growled the Am 
 bassador. "I m determined to have all the Amer 
 icans in town. The rest you can manage just as 
 you please; only leave me out of the folderol part 
 as much as possible." 
 
 The discussion ended with Dalton being given 
 instructions by the Ambassador to see that all the 
 Americans who had left cards were invited. 
 
 When we had returned to the drawing-room, or 
 withdrawing-room, as Atkins calls it, Arturo came 
 in with a tray filled with cards and invitations. 
 Mrs. Colborne seated herself at a small table and 
 examined them all with great care and greater
 
 98 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 satisfaction. There was an invitation for dinner 
 from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and one from 
 the British Ambassadress. 
 
 "Comtesse de Stanlau tells me," Mrs. Colborne 
 said, still holding the latter invitation in her hand, 
 "that the British Embassy has always been the 
 smartest here. She also told me, quite confidentially, 
 that the American Embassy has never been con 
 sidered of much importance." 
 
 "Which only goes to prove that the Comtesse 
 doesn t know what she is talking about," com 
 mented the Ambassador, looking up from a fort 
 night-old American paper. "I sized her up the 
 first time I saw her. She s what we call at home, a 
 piker. Any woman who would have the cheek to 
 ask one thousand francs a week for what she pre 
 tends to do for you would say anything." 
 
 Evidently Atkins has been successful in getting 
 the position for her. This was the first I had heard 
 of it, and it was quite evident from Mrs. Colborne s 
 face that she had not intended us to know about 
 the arrangement. She flushed and looked swiftly 
 around the circle. 
 
 "That is quite confidential, John. I did not want 
 any one to know about it." 
 
 "It is not an excessive price," Atkins was quick 
 to put in. "In Paris, many of the smart women of 
 the noblesse demand that much before they will 
 appear at your house for dinner. Of course, it is 
 only their method of raising money for their char 
 ities, just as it is with Comtesse de Stanlau."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 99 
 
 The Ambassador smiled. "The sort of charity 
 that begins at home." 
 
 Dalton told me later, a propos of the British 
 Embassy, that the Comtesse de Stanlau was quite 
 correct. In the first place, he said, they have a 
 permanent residence here, which is owned by the 
 Government. That, in itself, gives a certain cachet, 
 which we lack. When an American ambassador 
 arrives he usually spends a month or two with a 
 real-estate agent trying to find a furnished house 
 which he can rent for four years. Again, British 
 Ambassadors, as well as practically all others except 
 our own, are men who have made diplomacy their 
 life-work; they are left often for ten years in one 
 place, which gives them an opportunity to know 
 every one fairly well and become a part of the life 
 of that place; whereas an American ambassador is 
 hardly installed before his successor arrives. This 
 has been our custom now for so many years that 
 the people of a capital have become almost in 
 different about knowing us, asserting that it is 
 hardly worth while, as to-morrow we shall be 
 gone. 
 
 "Listen to this," Mrs. Colborne exclaimed, after 
 having opened the last envelope. "It surpasses any 
 thing I ve yet received !" She read the note aloud: 
 
 DEAR MRS. COLBORNE: 
 
 I have just come back to town and hear you have arrived. 
 I shall be in to-morrow afternoon about five to see you. 
 Believe me, most cordially your friend, 
 
 MRS. CARRY HAYNES.
 
 ioo THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Atkins doubled up in his chair and roared with 
 laughter. 
 
 "Who is the woman? Do you know her?" asked 
 Mrs. Colborne. 
 
 "She s the Consul s wife!" Atkins cried. 
 
 "A nice old man, Haynes; came to see me the 
 other day. From Texas." The Ambassador laid 
 aside his paper and looked at Atkins. "What s 
 so funny about it?" 
 
 "John, dear, women, in writing to each other, 
 don t sign themselves Mrs. Carry Haynes!" 
 
 "You re getting too particular, Jenny. That may 
 be the way they do it in Texas." 
 
 "She must be quite impossible," Mrs. Colborne 
 said. 
 
 "Impossible! That isn t the word," Atkins went 
 on, laughing. "She s improbable! All consuls 
 wives are. Wait till you ve seen a few of them." 
 
 The Ambassador rose quietly, but I could see by 
 the look in his eyes that he was displeased. 
 
 "Look here, young man," he said to Atkins, "it 
 seems to me that you d be ashamed to be known 
 as an American." 
 
 Atkins met his eyes squarely. "Many times I 
 am, sir." 
 
 "Then why don t you become a naturalized Dago 
 or Turk? We might bring ourselves to spare you. 
 I don t mean to hurt your feelings, but sometimes 
 you make me mighty tired. I m going to tell you 
 something right now and I want you to put it in 
 your pipe and smoke it. If you can t find some way
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 101 
 
 of being proud of your own country-people I don t 
 think this Embassy is the place for you." He said 
 It in a much pleasanter way than it sounds, and, 
 without waiting for Atkins to reply and perhaps 
 with the intention of relieving him from embarrass 
 ment, he crossed to his wife and took Mrs. Carry 
 Haynes s letter from her hand. "Write to this 
 lady, Jenny, and tell her to be sure to come in to 
 morrow." 
 
 "I shall do nothing of the sort, John. I m not 
 going to bore myself with tiresome, provincial peo 
 ple like her. Besides, a consul s wife never goes in 
 the Court set." 
 
 The Ambassador looked at her through a short 
 silence, and then responded: "The Court set be 
 hanged ! By Golly ! What s the matter with all of 
 you ! I ve a great mind to ship the whole lot of you 
 home. You no sooner get over here than you get 
 ashamed of the place you come from. Kitty, stop 
 your laughing and write that lady a note. The 
 next thing I know you ll be telling me you want to 
 marry one of those Court blackguards ! " 
 
 Kate Colborne and I up to this time had been 
 only very good listeners. The Ambassador s out 
 burst had struck us both as being humorous. His 
 seriousness made it all the funnier. I had tried 
 not to laugh, but when I had seen her doing it 
 quite frankly, I joined in, too. It really was very 
 funny; not only his outburst, but the expressions of 
 the others. Mrs. Colborne s annoyance, Atkins s 
 sullen silence, and Dalton s carefully maintained
 
 102 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 aloofness. It was very much like a group of school 
 children who had mutinied against their master. 
 
 Kate rose at her father s command and went to a 
 writing-table. "What shall I say to her, father?" 
 she asked, with a mischievous glance at the rest of 
 us. 
 
 "Tell her anything you please," said the Ambas 
 sador, "just so you make it polite." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne had risen, impatient and restless. 
 
 "John," she said, "I will not see this woman! 
 From her note I can see she is nothing but a very 
 second-class American and has no position here at 
 all." 
 
 "She s American: that s enough for me. As for 
 position she has got a heap better one in my es 
 timation than all your duchesses and marquises !" 
 
 " If you invite her to the house you ll have to see 
 her yourself ! " 
 
 "Very well, I ll do that; furthermore, I ll give her 
 the nicest time I know how. Kitty, you see to it. 
 Order tea and lemonade and ice-cream, and any 
 thing else that Mrs. Haynes might like." 
 
 "I should suggest buttermilk and hot biscuits," 
 said Atkins, "if you really want to make her feel 
 at home." 
 
 The Ambassador turned on him. "And, by 
 George, I d rather have that than anything I ve 
 had since I came here. And if you ve made any 
 engagements to ride," he went on to Kate, "with the 
 Count this or the Prince that, cut em all out. I m 
 getting sick and tired of titles, anyhow. And you,
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 103 
 
 gentlemen," he swept us all with an irate look, "I 
 expect all of you to be here to help me. No excuses 
 accepted; do you hear? If an American lady wants 
 to come to this Embassy she s going to be received 
 with all the hospitality I m able to show. It doesn t 
 make a bit of difference if she signs herself Miss, 
 Mrs., or Madam. Do you understand? . . ." 
 
 Comte de Stanlau came in about ten o clock. 
 The Ambassador tried to get him off for a private 
 talk in his smoking-room, but Stanlau had no inten 
 tion of leaving the ladies. His attitude toward 
 Kate is getting rather objectionable. I don t mind 
 a man showing that he admires a woman, but there s 
 no necessity for him to look at her as if he were 
 going to eat her up at any moment. And, for all 
 her professions about preferring Americans, I be 
 lieve she is beginning to like him.
 
 VIII 
 
 December 17, 19 . 
 
 THE business of returning cards "shooting" 
 them, as Atkins calls it and the registering and in 
 dexing of names and addresses of each caller has 
 grown to such proportions that I find I am obliged 
 to come an hour earlier in the mornings to accom 
 plish anything at all. I have tried to arrange this 
 part of the Embassy work systematically, though 
 system has never been my strong point. I have a 
 large rubric book for the registering of callers; an 
 other for invitations with space enough to record 
 the persons met at such and such a dinner and any 
 remarks on the subject that might be useful; a 
 third book for dinners and receptions which are to 
 be given at the Embassy, containing special pages 
 with a diagram of the table, showing the names of 
 the guests and how they are placed. I have also an 
 adjustable placement board, it can be used for a din 
 ner of eight or for one of one hundred and twenty. 
 Heaven preserve me from having to seat correctly 
 the latter number! The question of placement ap 
 pears to be more vital than any other and quite 
 beyond me. It seems to begin with the nationality 
 of the host and is not ended when the least im 
 portant guest s chauffeur is considered. I am doing 
 my best to master the subject, aided materially by 
 Atkins, who insists that he knows it au fond. 
 
 104
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 105 
 
 While I was industriously assorting cards in the 
 room which the Ambassador uses after dinner for a 
 smoking-room, Kate Colborne came in, dressed for 
 riding. I had not seen her before in this costume; 
 it was vastly becoming. She sat down in one of the 
 high-backed cinquecento chairs with which this 
 room is furnished, and with her crop held in both 
 hands, looked at me with a certain amused inquiry. 
 
 "Have you seen father this morning?" 
 
 I shook my head, immediately anxious. 
 
 "He s feeling much better." 
 
 I expressed my relief. 
 
 "However, I shouldn t fail to appear this after 
 noon to welcome Mrs. Carry Haynes." 
 
 I assured her that I had no intention of being a 
 delinquent; then we were silent a few minutes. 
 
 "Going riding, I suppose," I commented at last. 
 
 "Yes. Can t you go with me? I wish you could. 
 Leave the cards till later." 
 
 I looked at her to see how sincere she was. But a 
 man can never tell. She said it and looked as if 
 she really meant it. I wish I could believe she 
 did. 
 
 "Are you going alone?" I asked. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "With whom?" 
 
 "My groom and 
 
 "Comte de Stanlau?" 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 "You are beginning to like him very much, 
 aren t you?"
 
 io6 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 She looked down and patted her boot with the 
 crop. " I have always liked him." She put a slight 
 emphasis on the word liked. 
 
 "You are with him practically all the time. 
 You ride with him talk with him " 
 
 She looked up quickly. "I would ride with you, 
 too, if you would ask me; and surely I talk to you 
 more than I do to Comte de Stanlau." 
 
 I hate that sort of evasion, and I practically told 
 her so. "Every one seems to be the same to you. 
 I don t see why you need go out of your way to be 
 so awfully nice to Stanlau." 
 
 She was a little astonished and greatly amused 
 at my answer. "But," she protested, "Mr. Dalton 
 told me I must be as nice as possible to him." 
 
 This made me still more peevish. She quotes 
 Dalton entirely too often; and since his little froisse- 
 meni with her stepmother she has gone out of her 
 way to be attentive to him. It may be at the in 
 stigation of her father and done as a sort of sop to 
 Dalton s wounded feelings; all the same, I don t see 
 why that should be necessary, particularly as Dalton 
 is falling desperately in love with her. Any one can 
 see that who observes them together. 
 
 "I suppose you do have to be indiscriminately nice 
 to people," I grumbled. "But somehow " 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "I hate to feel that your manner to him is ex 
 actly the same as it is to me when it isn t nice." 
 
 She let a short silence pass between us. When 
 she spoke, her eyes were lowered. "Ought I, as a
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 107 
 
 diplomatist s daughter, to show my preferences?" 
 she asked innocently. 
 
 I pushed the cards aside and went to her. 
 
 "Kate " I began; but she didn t let me finish. 
 Before I had said another word she had rushed out 
 of the room, laughing. 
 
 I wonder if every man has the feeling, when he 
 is falling in love, that the woman is only flirting with 
 him! I have been experiencing this miserable, un 
 certain, suspicious, unendurable sensation all the 
 past week. I wish I could take it a little more 
 lightly; but I can t. I ve tried and failed. I shall be 
 quite impossible to live with until I know whether 
 Kate is only amusing herself at my expense or really 
 liking me a little. We are so congenial that I have 
 the awful fear that she only finds me a bon camarade 
 and is thinking of nothing more. But she shan t 
 think only that; and I m going to tell her at once 
 that it s far from being my thought. This morning 
 was only the beginning. I m going to follow it up 
 with very definite statements. And, damn that 
 Comte de Stanlau ! damn Dalton, too ! . . . 
 
 Promptly at five the Ambassador and Kate, 
 Dalton, Atkins, and I assembled in the drawing- 
 room. Mrs. Colborne sent word that she was 
 suffering from a very severe headache. 
 
 Kate seated herself at the tea-table; before I 
 could get it, Dalton had taken the chair beside her; 
 Atkins yawned in the most comfortable chair in the 
 room; and the Ambassador walked up and down the
 
 io8 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 floor, hands clasped behind him, head forward in 
 deep thought. He has been giving all of his atten 
 tion during the past few days to what might be 
 called the raison d etre of his appointment. He has 
 had some important interviews on the subject with 
 the Minister for Foreign Affairs; he has also met 
 several of the leaders in Parliament, and had a long 
 visit this morning with the Prime Minister. He 
 has said nothing to me about it but I can tell from 
 his preoccupation that things are not going very 
 smoothly. He may be realizing that the success of 
 the question is doubtful. Heretofore he has not 
 admitted such a possibility. His almost depressed 
 expression would suggest such a realization. 
 
 Kate busied herself with the tea-things, and did 
 not bother about the rest of us. We were all rather 
 silent. When the water was boiling she made the 
 tea, poured out a cup, and held it toward her father. 
 
 "If you are going to invite ladies to tea, father," 
 she said, "you must learn how to drink it with 
 them. Otherwise, they will say you are not hos 
 pitable." 
 
 He stopped and looked down at her, smiling. I 
 like to see him look at her. It invariably brings out 
 a very gentle, very lovable side of his character. 
 
 "You know, Kitty, I never drank a cup of tea in 
 my life," he said. 
 
 "You ve never been Ambassador before, either," 
 she answered, still holding the cup out to him and 
 meeting his eyes affectionately. "And every one 
 says that tea-drinking is the first requisite."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 109 
 
 He pushed a chair close to hers, sat down, took 
 the cup of tea, inspected it dubiously, then looked 
 at her. "You really want me to do it, Kitty?" 
 
 "I do, father." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because I want you to be," she tried to keep her 
 expression serious, "a perfect ambassador." 
 
 "So this is the finishing touch, is it?" He held 
 the cup in his hand. "Old maid s dissipation. Well 
 here it goes." He drained the cup with one 
 swallow, put it down, and made a wry face. 
 
 "And now," she said, "one thing more a ciga 
 rette." I offered my case. "No, yours are too 
 strong. He must have a delicately scented one with 
 a gold tip. Mr. Atkins has the kind I mean." 
 
 Atkins came forward with his case. She took a 
 cigarette and, rising, leaned toward her father. 
 
 " Stop your fooling, Kitty. If I drink a whole cup 
 of tea and then smoke a nasty cigarette I ll have to 
 go to bed and send for a doctor." 
 
 She shook her head and smiled with determina 
 tion. In the end she got the cigarette between his 
 lips and held a lighted match to it. He inhaled the 
 smoke and smiled at her. He was enjoying it im 
 mensely her playing with him this way. 
 
 "Like to see what you can do with me, you ras 
 cal!" he laughed easily. "Well satisfied now?" 
 
 She considered him thoughtfully. "Not quite. 
 Oh, I know. Mr. Atkins, give me your monocle." 
 She placed the monocle in the Ambassador s eye and, 
 clapping her hands gayly, sank back in her chair.
 
 no THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Come," she cried, "and see his Excellency, the 
 Honorable John T. Colborne, Ambassador Extraor 
 dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United 
 States of America!" 
 
 The striking part of the whole thing was the ex 
 traordinary difference a cigarette and a monocle 
 made in his appearance. It at once gave him a 
 gayer, lighter air; it lifted him out of a middle-aged, 
 solid, dignified gentleman into an almost smart man 
 of the world. 
 
 "You look quite English, sir," commented Atkins. 
 
 "Which is exactly what I don t want to look," 
 said the Ambassador, tossing aside both cigarette 
 and monocle. 
 
 In the midst of this scene the footman announced 
 Mrs. Haynes. 
 
 If the poor, unfortunate woman had known what 
 comment her visit had created, I doubt if she would 
 ever have come to the Embassy. She entered the 
 room and stopped timidly near the door. Kate went 
 quickly to her with outstretched hand. 
 
 "I am Kate Colborne," she said, "the Ambas 
 sador s daughter. I am very glad to meet you." 
 Still holding her hand, Kate turned to her father. 
 "And this is my father, Mrs. Haynes." 
 
 Kate managed it very gracefully, even sweetly, 
 in her manner to the unfortunate Mrs. Haynes. I 
 use the adjective unfortunate advisedly. There was 
 something about Mrs. Haynes that struck one at 
 once as pitiful. She was a small woman, very badly 
 dressed a home-made attempt at some exaggerated
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR in 
 
 fashion I remember somehow a combination of 
 bright colors and cheap lace her face was pale, 
 carelessly powdered, and looked inexpressibly weary. 
 Indeed, her whole personality was one of weariness. 
 Not that she was at least, I don t see why she 
 should have been but this effect was so pronounced 
 that as I looked at her I felt a wave of weariness 
 sweep over me. 
 
 We were all duly presented to her. 
 
 "Mighty glad to know you, Mrs. Haynes," said 
 the Ambassador. "Have a chair." 
 
 Mrs. Haynes glanced timidly about the room. "I 
 came to see your wife, Mr. Colborne. Isn t she 
 here?" 
 
 "I m sorry, madam," he answered. "Won t I 
 do? or some of us here?" 
 
 "Where is your wife?" Mrs. Haynes evidently 
 was not to be put off, in spite of her timidity. 
 
 "She has a bad headache," Kate hastily explained, 
 "and asked me to make her apologies. She is very 
 sorry not to be able to see you." 
 
 The Ambassador pushed a chair close to the table 
 and Mrs. Haynes sat down. She arranged her 
 skirts carefully, crossed her hands in her lap, and 
 looked up at the Ambassador. 
 
 "Mr. Colborne, are you happy here?" she asked. 
 
 The question came sharp and direct out of the 
 silence which had followed getting her seated. It 
 caught all of us unprepared, and, most of all, the 
 Ambassador. He looked at her quickly and then 
 coughed.
 
 112 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 " Well madam I " 
 
 "I mean," Mrs. Haynes went on, "wouldn t you 
 lots rather be at home?" 
 
 " There s no doubt about that, madam." The Am 
 bassador s voice was convincing enough on this point. 
 
 "I certainly am glad to hear somebody say it." 
 Mrs. Haynes sighed and settled a little less uncom 
 fortably into her chair. "I m just dying of home 
 sickness myself. I ve been out of the States going 
 on two years now and I tell you it s just awful, 
 Mr. Colborne. I m real lonely all the time. If I 
 could just see Kraco once more that s my home 
 town, Kraco, Texas, you know I d be willing most 
 to die. All this stuff they tell you about Europe is 
 just pure foolishness. What do I care about all 
 these ugly old pictures, and churches, and broken- 
 down buildings, if I haven t got friends to visit 
 with!" 
 
 Her voice was plaintive; indeed, it was more than 
 that; there was something quite touching about the 
 recital of her situation. Listening to her, I could 
 not help feeling that being so misplaced it was 
 nothing more nor less than that was almost a 
 tragedy for the poor woman. Nothing is more dis 
 mal than to be in uncongenial surroundings. 
 
 I saw Kate s face soften sympathetically. "Why 
 don t you go back home, Mrs. Haynes?" 
 
 "I couldn t think of leaving Mr. Haynes. He s 
 just as miserable as me." 
 
 "Both of you go, madam," said the Ambassador. 
 
 The lines in the withered face deepened. "We
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 113 
 
 can t do that. Mr. Haynes is old and he can t 
 begin all over again. When they gave him this job 
 we sold our home. We haven t any place to go back 
 to. Everybody told us, after we got over here we d 
 like it so much we wouldn t ever want to come back 
 home. I guess I d like it more if I knew anybody. 
 But I don t; and it s terrible Ipnesome. Why, Mr. 
 Colborne, as I was saying, I ve been here going on 
 two years and will you believe it, not a living soul 
 has called on me yet!" 
 
 The Ambassador s face expressed his regret; 
 Kate remained sympathetically silent. It remained 
 for Atkins to break the silence. He rose and came 
 a little nearer. 
 
 "Probably you don t know it," he said, for him 
 quite gently, "but it is the custom in this place for 
 the new arrivals to make the first call." 
 
 Mrs. Haynes lifted her head with a first show of 
 spirit. It was a great relief to find something which 
 made her less dismal. 
 
 "Who ever heard of a stranger calling first!" she 
 looked at Atkins as if deeply offended by the sug 
 gestion. "If that s what they are waiting for, they 
 can wait !" This was accompanied by a toss of the 
 head that was actually vigorous. 
 
 "But it is the custom here, Mrs. Haynes," Kate 
 said, careful to make her voice conciliating. "When 
 one meets a resident here one leaves a card at once." 
 
 "Within twenty-four hours," Atkins put in. 
 "Otherwise one shows one s ignorance of good us 
 age."
 
 114 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Kate frowned him into silence and turned back 
 to Mrs. Haynes. "After that the resident returns 
 the card, and eventually you are invited to their 
 houses. I have been very careful to observe this 
 custom. It is expected." 
 
 Mrs. Haynes listened with growing incredulity. 
 "Do you mean to tell me your mother does 
 that?" 
 
 "My stepmother s case is a little different. She 
 is an ambassadress; but even she has to leave cards 
 first on officials and colleagues. But I assure you 
 for others it is quite right to make the first call." 
 
 I don t think Mrs. Haynes was in the least con 
 vinced. In fact, her answer showed it. 
 
 "Well I, for one, am not going to encourage them 
 in any such foolishness. Why, if I met a lady and 
 went right off and called on her, I d feel exactly 
 like I was begging her to ask me to a party. I think 
 that would be just terrible. Don t you, Mr. Col- 
 borne?" 
 
 "They ve got a lot of queer ways of doing things 
 over here, madam," he replied. "I don t bother 
 with em. Leave all that foolishness to my wife and 
 Kitty." 
 
 "They tell me," Mrs. Haynes went on more 
 placidly, "that the whole trouble is because Mr. 
 Haynes and I have never been introduced to the 
 King and Queen. They say they sort of size you 
 up by that over here. The Ambassador before you 
 wouldn t introduce us because he said a consul and 
 his wife weren t allowed in the Palace."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 115 
 
 The Ambassador gave an impatient laugh. "Evi 
 dently he didn t know his business!" 
 
 "I beg your pardon, sir/ Dalton had leaned closer 
 to the Ambassador and lowered his voice. "Con 
 suls and their wives are not presented at Court." 
 
 "I d like to know why?" said the Ambassador, 
 bristling. 
 
 "Their position is commercial." 
 
 "And what s mine?" 
 
 "Diplomatic." 
 
 Mrs. Haynes had listened with alertness. With 
 her heart in a subject she can be as virile as any 
 one. "There isn t any difference like that at home," 
 she said. "I ve got just as good a position as any 
 one in Kraco. I m president of the Ladies Cooking 
 Club; my husband is elder in the Baptist Church; 
 and we ve always been highly respected people. 
 I m just as much of a lady as your wife, Mr. Col- 
 borne; and I don t see why I can t meet the King 
 and Queen just as well as she can." 
 
 "I ll make it my business to see that you do meet 
 em, madam," said the Ambassador. "Young man," 
 to Atkins, "make a memorandum of that at once." 
 
 "It s quite irregular," Atkins answered. 
 
 "I don t give a dog-on if it is." 
 
 Mrs. Haynes actually smiled. I didn t believe 
 she could. Then she rose and held out her hand to 
 the Ambassador. "Thank you, sir. I feel better 
 already. It sure is good to see a real American gen 
 tleman like you representing the United States!" 
 
 Kate rose hurriedly. In the interest of the con-
 
 n6 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 versation she had forgotten to give any one tea. 
 "But surely, Mrs. Haynes, you are going to have 
 a cup of tea?" 
 
 "No, thank you," she said, extending her limp 
 hand. "We have early supper; and tea always 
 takes my appetite. Joshiah and I don t believe in 
 all these foolish customs of dinner at night. I never 
 could sleep on a full stomach." 
 
 We shook hands with her, each in turn, and Dai- 
 ton preceded her to the door. " Let me see you out," 
 he said. 
 
 "Not a bit of it!" cried the Ambassador. "I m 
 going to do that myself. This is the first time 
 I ve frad a visit from a real American lady since I 
 got here." 
 
 He offered his arm, Mrs. Haynes took it, and to 
 gether they left the room. 
 
 I wonder if the Ambassador is right when he calls 
 Mrs. Haynes a "real American lady." I find this 
 question becoming an interesting one to study the 
 longer one remains out of the United States I mean, 
 which type is most representative of our country. 
 One gets a perspective over here that is impossible 
 at home. Types are more distinctive; characteristics 
 by contrast become more pronounced. I suppose 
 there are thousands of Mrs. Hayneses, and yet I 
 refuse to accept her as the "real American lady." 
 Like all New Yorkers, I am inclined to cite people 
 I know there as our best types; still, the more I 
 think of it the more I realize that I am wrong. 
 New York is too cosmopolitan to be characteristic
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 117 
 
 of our country; even the little traditions we boast of 
 no longer exist there. Some say the South, due to 
 its lack of immigration, produces more purely Amer 
 ican types. Personally, the better I get to know the 
 Ambassador, the more I find myself thinking of 
 him as the representative American type. I use the 
 word "representative" in its broadest sense, meaning 
 one who embodies the spirit, the standards, the 
 ideals, and the education of the greater number. 
 There is no doubt about his having a virility, a 
 freshness of interest, a directness, and a capacity 
 for accomplishing things which are usually cited 
 as our predominating characteristics and which are 
 not strikingly evident among the Europeans I have 
 met. He also has that innate dislike of intrigue and 
 circuitous methods, characteristic of us all, which 
 the foreigner never understands. I suppose we have 
 lived so long in a country whose government, whose 
 institutions, whose industrial life is so consistently 
 exposed to the public that we have no patience with 
 anything that is not aboveboard. After all, we do 
 have an extraordinary freedom of thought and ac 
 tion. 
 
 Whether the Ambassador would come under the 
 heading of a "distinguished American" is another 
 matter. I have often thought of Miss Baxter s 
 question: "What do you call Americans of distinc 
 tion?" It isn t easy to give a satisfactory answer. 
 There are so many ways of being distinguished man 
 ners, education, achievement; each separately con 
 sidered might make one worthy of the term. I
 
 u8 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 think I shall put the question generally and make 
 notes of the answers. It appears an exceptional op 
 portunity for a bon mot. 
 
 And now, I must record the serious, perhaps tragic, 
 problem which has appeared out of a clear, fairly 
 peaceful sky. It may be the means of ruining us all. 
 It will surely, unless the unforeseen happens, be the 
 official, and perhaps the disgraceful, end of the Am 
 bassador. He is still courageous about it and means 
 to fight it out to the end; but it has taken the heart 
 out of the rest of us. The thing which makes me 
 feel it most keenly is that I am almost sure I know 
 how it happened; and yet, for the present, my hands 
 are tied. I shall wait a day or two before recording 
 it. Perhaps, then, something will have happened.
 
 IX 
 
 January 12, 19 . 
 
 THE cable the deciphered part of it which Dai- 
 ton wrote in pencil on a slip of paper has disap 
 peared. The discovery was made one morning when 
 the Ambassador had asked Dalton to open the safe 
 and bring the cable to him. Dalton brought the 
 original cipher. The Ambassador said he wished 
 the deciphered message. Dalton replied that he 
 had not seen that since the day he had given it to 
 him. 
 
 For a moment the Ambassador appeared dum- 
 founded. "You mean to say I did not give it back 
 to you?" he exclaimed. 
 
 "I am sure of it," Dalton replied. 
 
 "Why are you so sure?" 
 
 "Because at the time when I placed the original 
 in the safe I wondered what you had done with the 
 translation." 
 
 "Why didn t you ask me about it?" 
 
 Dalton colored slightly. "You will remember, 
 sir, there had been a rather unpleasant scene just 
 at that time. I felt that any question I might ask 
 you would be out of place. If the cable were in 
 your hands I felt sure it was in safe-keeping." 
 
 The Ambassador brushed his hands across his 
 eyes and sat down. "I can t seem to remember," he 
 said slowly. "You were in the room at the time." 
 
 119
 
 120 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 He shot a swift glance at me. And my wife. The 
 last thing I recall is giving it to her. Do you re 
 member seeing me do that?" I assented. "After 
 that," he continued, tapping the desk with his 
 fingers, "after that the waiter brought in the high 
 balls. You drank yours at the same time. Then 
 then, it seems to me that you left the room and my 
 wife stopped on there with me. Am I right?" 
 
 He was quite right. I had left to go home and 
 change my evening clothes before luncheon. It was 
 the morning we had had the audience with the King. 
 
 "After my wife left," the Ambassador continued 
 slowly, "I sent for you." This to Dalton. "I then 
 gave you the cable. Is that right?" 
 
 Dalton nodded. I noticed with a start that he 
 had grown very pale. The Ambassador noticed it 
 at the same time and sprang out of his chair. For 
 a second his own face grew livid. 
 
 "Good God!" he cried. "If it is lost" He 
 leaned heavily on the desk and, without finishing 
 the sentence, stared from one to the other of us. 
 Then, quite suddenly, and without a word, he left 
 the room. 
 
 Dalton and I faced each other. 
 
 "What does it mean?" I asked. 
 
 Dalton moved toward the desk and stood look 
 ing down at it as if unconscious of my presence. 
 "If it is merely lost it will not mean anything; if 
 it is not lost and is in some one s hands it means 
 that we are all ruined. But that is the small part 
 of it," he added slowly. "It means that the United
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 121 
 
 States will lose immeasurably in one of its most vital 
 interests." 
 
 "And the Ambassador?" My thoughts flew 
 first to him. 
 
 "He will be the laughing-stock of the world. I 
 doubt if he would ever be able to return home after 
 it were known. His honor would be gone. He would 
 be a hopelessly disgraced man. You know how un 
 forgiving a people can be when they feel that, 
 through negligence, their interests have suffered!" 
 
 A silence fell between us. 
 
 "What can we do?" I asked. 
 
 "Find the cable if possible." 
 
 "And if it cannot be found?" 
 
 "Then we must find out who has it." 
 
 "There is only one person who would want it." 
 
 "Yes, only one, and for us the most dangerous 
 man in the world." 
 
 "Comte de Stanlau?" 
 
 Dalton nodded. 
 
 Just then the Ambassador returned, went straight 
 to his desk, and sat down. During the few minutes 
 of absence his face had changed in an extraordinary 
 way. He appeared twenty years older; his color 
 had faded; his eyes, always so alert, were dead and 
 lustreless. He drummed with his hands on the desk 
 and seemed quite unconscious of Dalton and me. 
 
 "I went to look for my wife," he said after a 
 long pause. " She has gone out. I left word for her 
 to come here as soon as she returned." After this 
 he relapsed into a long silence.
 
 122 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 It was a trying half-hour we passed, with hardly 
 a word spoken. Indeed, what was there to say? 
 Each one of us knew so well the seriousness of the 
 situation, and yet for the moment the time for dis 
 cussing it did not appear to have arrived. Perhaps 
 each one was pinning his hope to what Mrs. Col- 
 borne might say. At least, until she had spoken, 
 it seemed best to wait. 
 
 While waiting for her I found myself going over, 
 detail by detail, little incidents and scraps of con 
 versation which I hoped might throw some light on 
 the disappearance of the cable if it had disap 
 peared. Atkins s talk with Comtesse de Stanlau 
 in the garden, particularly the part referring to her 
 brother and Kate, began to take an important 
 place; then the conversation between Mrs. Col- 
 borne and Stanlau, with its dovetailing subject, 
 grew suspicious. His beseeching demand that Mrs. 
 Colborne should help him win Kate and her prom 
 ised aid began to take a place in my thoughts with 
 alarming meaning. Try as hard as I might to dis 
 miss the significance of these conversations with 
 the argument that Mrs. Colborne was surely too 
 sensible to risk such a danger, I invariably came back 
 to the belief that there might be something in it. 
 When she entered the room with Kate I immedi 
 ately, and probably rudely, began to study her face, 
 hoping thus to allay my fears. 
 
 "The footman said you were looking for me, 
 John. Anything important happened?" She gave 
 us all an inclusive smile and moved near the desk,
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 123 
 
 resting one hand on it. Kate went at once to her 
 father and stood beside his chair. I saw him reach 
 for her hand and grasp it so hard that she winced. 
 
 "Jenny," he looked directly at his wife, "you re 
 member the day I received that cable?" 
 
 She frowned slightly, grew a bit paler, threw a 
 quick glance around the room, and finally nodded. 
 
 "I gave it to you to read, you remember?" 
 
 Again she nodded. 
 
 "Did you give it back to me?" 
 
 With her hand still resting on the desk she met 
 the Ambassador s eyes steadily. Her face, always 
 without color, seemed to grow much paler; this was 
 the only sign she gave of annoyance. Indeed, she 
 was particularly handsome that morning in one of 
 her most beautiful gowns of dark red cloth and black 
 fur. She has the gift of choosing her costumes for 
 their sumptuous effect. She held herself erect and 
 calm, not an easy thing to do when several people 
 near you are searching your face and awaiting 
 anxiously your answer. 
 
 "I think I laid it there," she said slowly, indicat 
 ing the desk not with hesitation but as if trying to 
 remember with precision. "Was there not a tray 
 on the desk, and some bottles?" 
 
 "Yes, there was," the Ambassador answered. 
 
 " Ah !" she sighed slightly, then smiled. "I am so 
 relieved. I m sure I put the cable beside the tray." 
 
 The Ambassador said nothing. The hand which 
 held Kate s loosened its hold; his whole figure ap 
 peared suddenly to relax. Dalton and I felt very
 
 124 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 much the same way. We, as he, had staked our 
 hope on Mrs. Colborne s answer and were now fac 
 ing the realization that the cable was gone. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne excused herself quickly and left 
 the room. Kate remained a moment or two, looked 
 questioningly at me and laid her hand on her 
 father s shoulder. 
 
 "What is it, father?" she asked. 
 
 He looked at her, shook his head, then forced 
 himself to smile at her. 
 
 "Did you ever expect your daddy, Kitty, to be 
 an out-and-out dern fool?" 
 
 She shook her head, her eyes very grave. "No, 
 father, you could never be that." 
 
 "But I am, Kitty," he laughed rather grimly. 
 "At this moment I feel I am the damnedest fool 
 that ever lived." He pulled her to him almost 
 roughly and gave her a resounding kiss. "Now 
 run along. Don t bother about me. I ll tell you 
 all about it when I get a chance. Right now I ve 
 got to do some tall thinking!" 
 
 After this the Ambassador ordered all the servants 
 sent to his office. The army corps was marshalled 
 in by Arturo. When they were all there and checked 
 off at the Ambassador s express order, he made a 
 short but quite expressive talk on the subject of 
 what punishment was going to be inflicted on the 
 culprit. When he had finished, Arturo addressed 
 the servants in French, explaining extraordinarily 
 well what the Ambassador had said.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 125 
 
 Finally, the army corps having been got out of 
 the room in very good order, Arturo remained. He 
 came up to the Ambassador s desk and bowed very 
 low. 
 
 "Your Excellency, I have been in diplomacy 
 twenty-five years, and 
 
 The Ambassador cut him short. "I don t give a 
 hang if you ve been in it a thousand years. What I 
 want is that stolen cable nothing else." 
 
 Arturo drew himself up proudly. Sometimes I 
 think he hates the Ambassador. That morning I 
 was sure of it. "I beg pardon, your Excellency, I 
 was only going to say that I engaged each one of 
 those servants. They are responsible to me. I am 
 responsible for them. And I assure your Excel 
 lency 
 
 The Ambassador s fist came down on the desk. 
 "I don t want assurances. I want that cable. If 
 you are responsible find it." 
 
 Arturo bowed low and left the room, every move 
 ment full of wounded pride. I suppose no one ever 
 treated him as the Ambassador does and it s a rather 
 bitter pill for him to swallow. 
 
 "I wonder," said the Ambassador, when we were 
 alone, "if he has sense enough to have taken it 
 himself?" 
 
 The discovery that the cable was lost could not 
 have come at a more unfortunate time. It took all 
 the fun out of our plans for Christmas and made 
 it about as dismal a feast as I ever hope to attend.
 
 126 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Afterward, one following quickly upon another, 
 came innumerable entertainments, official and other 
 wise. On New Year s Day was the reception by the 
 King and Queen of the entire diplomatic corps. It 
 took place at ten o clock in the evening. After a 
 very hurried dinner we assembled in the drawing- 
 room of the Embassy to rehearse our bows and 
 courtesies. The Ambassador had a very hard time. 
 Kate and I played King and Queen while the Am 
 bassador and Mrs. Colborne advanced into the room 
 side by side, he bowing three times, a few steps be 
 tween each bow, and she courtesying the same num 
 ber of times. This was easy enough; the difficulty 
 lay in the backing out. Each time the Ambassador 
 reached the door he looked down and, to his utter 
 amazement, found Mrs. Colborne s voluminous 
 train wrapped securely around his feet. After three 
 rehearsals we discovered what was wrong. As they 
 entered the room it was necessary for Mrs. Colborne 
 to be on the Ambassador s left so that they might 
 arrive properly before the King and Queen Mrs. 
 Colborne going to the Queen, the Ambassador to 
 the King. So far, so good. But when the time 
 came for the Ambassador to speak to the Queen 
 and Mrs. Colborne to the King, the Ambassador, 
 to pass back of his wife and reach the Queen, was 
 confronted with the feat of getting by her train. 
 
 "You see, Jenny, I can t jump over it; can I?" 
 The Ambassador stood looking down at the endless 
 folds of brocade as if they presented the most 
 stupendous problem he had ever faced. "And if I
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 127 
 
 walk all the way round it I might as well go home. 
 So what am I to do? Would you suggest that I 
 lean over it? If the Queen made a long reach we 
 might be able to touch fingers." 
 
 Atkins finally arrived and superciliously un 
 ravelled the knot. On such an occasion the man 
 invariably crosses in front of the lady; there is no 
 other possible way out. The Ambassador gave a 
 loud cheer and this time reached the door with his 
 legs quite free. 
 
 We arrived a little late at the Palace. All the 
 embassies staffs were already assembled in the 
 large antechamber, the men in their full diplomatic 
 uniforms, the ladies in evening dresses with all sorts 
 and conditions of Court trains. Some of them, I 
 could swear, had requisitioned their drawing-room 
 curtains; that the train should accord in color or 
 design with the costume did not appear to have oc 
 curred to the wearer. 
 
 It was an immensely brilliant sight, one that has 
 come up to what I expected of Court life more than 
 anything else I have seen. It was quite gay, too. 
 Every one ran around speaking to every one else. 
 Introductions were going on in every direction. I 
 met, for the first time, all our South American 
 colleagues. There must have been fifty of them 
 all of them brilliantly rastaquomre. The Orient was 
 out in full force, though in perfectly Occidental at 
 tire. We, as usual, were in our dismal head-waiter 
 suits, with a slight assistance lent by the gold lace 
 of our uniformed naval and military attaches, both
 
 128 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 of whom have returned to town for the opening of 
 the season. Any disappointment which we felt, 
 however, was offset by Mrs. Colborne s appearance. 
 She was really magnificent in a dazzling costume of 
 white-and-silver Venetian brocade. Her train may 
 have been a little overdone, but it was immensely 
 effective. I stood across the room and studied her 
 in comparison with the other women. There was 
 practically a woman of every nation under the sun 
 in the room, and not one of them, not even the 
 Spanish Ambassador s wife, with her severe, haughty, 
 Castilian beauty, could be considered a moment 
 beside Mrs. Colborne. She made them all look 
 commonplace; in most cases dowdy. As all hand 
 some American women, she has that characteristic 
 look of race, a trait our women appear to possess 
 exclusively. You rarely see an American man who 
 looks as if he had ancestors. We usually appear to 
 have been made in a hurry. This feeling was 
 brought home to me that night while I watched 
 Stanlau talking to the Ambassador and Dalton. 
 Though both of the latter two would be called good- 
 looking men, particularly Dalton, beside Stanlau 
 they appeared almost carelessly put together. His 
 features give the impression of having been worked 
 over, moulded, and chiselled with infinite pains. 
 
 As each Embassy s turn came to be admitted to 
 the audience-chamber, there was a great fuss made 
 over assembling before the double doors, trains 
 straightened out, and a general air of getting ready 
 to appear at one s best. At the appointed moment 
 the doors were thrown open, an Ambassador and
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 129 
 
 his wife sailed in, followed by their attaches, and 
 the doors closed behind them. For the time being 
 it was as if they had been swallowed up. Somehow 
 it made me think of prisoners, at the time of the 
 French Revolution, gathered in a room awaiting the 
 roll-call. 
 
 When our turn came and the doors were opened, 
 we, too, sailed in and found ourselves confronted at 
 once by the King and Queen. They stood in the 
 centre of the room with, back of them, a score of 
 ladies and gentlemen in waiting. The Ambassador 
 and Mrs. Colborne reached their Majesties safely. 
 Kate followed a little behind Mrs. Colborne; the 
 rest of us stood in a solemn row and tried to out- 
 stare the Court crowd who were having their share 
 of fun at our expense. 
 
 What the King said to the Ambassador was im 
 mediately afterward repeated to Mrs. Colborne; 
 and what each of them said to their Majesties was 
 exactly what every one else says at a formal Court 
 function. In discussing it that evening with other 
 diplomats we found that almost identically the 
 same words were used by the King to each one, the 
 only difference being that he always speaks to a 
 diplomat in the language of that representative s 
 country. The usual conversation between a royalty 
 and some one presented for the first time, as recorded 
 by more than a score of people, is substantially this: 
 
 KING : (After shaking hands} It gives me much pleasure to 
 welcome you to our country. I trust you will be very happy 
 here.
 
 ANSWER: (Perfunctorily enthusiastic. If an appreciative 
 American lady is being presented she replies ecstatically) I m 
 crazy about your Majesty s country. 
 
 KING: (Callous to such outbursts) All Americans appear 
 to love their country very much. 
 
 ANSWER: But it is so new, so banal, compared to your 
 Majesty s. 
 
 KING: I hope to have the good fortune some day to visit 
 America. 
 
 ANSWER: Ah ! If your Majesty only would ! 
 
 By this time the lady is given another royal hand 
 clasp and adroitly dismissed. 
 
 When the Ambassador had spoken to the King 
 and crossed to the Queen, and Mrs. Colborne had 
 changed places, we watched with bated breath the 
 result of the train rehearsal. As so often happens, 
 all our plans were upset by the King, who, after 
 speaking to Mrs. Colborne and Kate, came over to 
 Dalton and the rest of us. This, however, gave the 
 Ambassador and Mrs. Colborne an exceptional op 
 portunity to prepare for the backing stunt, which 
 went off perfectly. Until one has gone through it, 
 one has no idea that there can be such poignant re 
 lief as that experienced when, after a presentation, 
 one finally reaches the retiring door. 
 
 In the antechamber beyond we fell into the arms 
 of our colleagues, who had gone before and who 
 were now grouped about a buffet ready to give us 
 cheer and encouragement after our successful pas 
 sage through the valley of shadows. We got back
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 131 
 
 to the Embassy at half -past eleven with the feeling 
 that the evening was over before it had begun. 
 
 Two nights later was the first Court ball. It is 
 the formal opening of the season, and not an exclu 
 sive function, I am told, as almost every one of any 
 standing at all is invited. I have never been to an 
 inaugural ball at Washington, but I am sure that 
 could not be more of a crush. The King and Queen 
 sat on a throne at one side of the ballroom; on either 
 side of them sat the wives of ambassadors; a little 
 to the right were grouped the attaches and their 
 wives; and all around the room on benches were the 
 guests, at least all of those who had come early 
 enough to find seats. The others crowded the doors 
 and adjoining rooms. The dancing took place be 
 fore the King and Queen, only deux temps and 
 waltzes; no vulgar American innovations, mind you, 
 not even a thoroughly censored and emasculated 
 one-step. 
 
 Kate is quite a success with all the secretaries 
 and attaches; for that matter, with every one who 
 meets her. I think it is her camaraderie and a 
 capacity for carrying on an interesting conversation 
 which the young girls over here appear to lack. 
 Pierre de Coulevain, in her description of American 
 girls, speaks of them as innocent married women. 
 I suppose she means they have that self-confidence 
 which these girls are taught not to show until they 
 are married. Besides, Kate is so thoroughly charm 
 ing that no one could help loving her. I only had 
 the first dance with her at the ball, and that because
 
 132 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 I had made her promise me it days before. After 
 that I had to content myself with standing in the 
 crowd and watching her. She looked so much more 
 a woman that night than I had ever seen her. It 
 may have been due to the train it was obligatory 
 to wear one though for the past week she has grown 
 much more silent and serious. I think it is a reflec 
 tion of her father s attitude. Ever since the dis 
 covery that the cable was gone he has been a differ 
 ent man. He is much more dignified and reserved; 
 he has very little to say and has kept to himself 
 almost constantly. At the official functions he has 
 been quite distinguished in his aloofness. I am al 
 most inclined to think it an improvement; though 
 in not being his normal self he has lost some of his 
 charm. 
 
 Kate knows what has happened. The Ambassador 
 told her; indeed, I believe he is more confidential 
 with her than he is with his wife. She has men 
 tioned it to me several times, and each time I have 
 tried to make her believe it was not such a serious 
 affair. The last time we spoke of it she looked out 
 of her honest, frank eyes and said: "Don t treat 
 me as a child. I know everything. My father is 
 on the brink of ruin." 
 
 "I won t admit it," I insisted. "I have such 
 confidence in him that I know he will find some way 
 out. I remember you once said that if you counted 
 for anything he was going to be a success. I say 
 now, that if I count for anything this is not going 
 to ruin him."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 133 
 
 The glow of hope in her eyes was beautiful. 
 "What are you going to do?" she asked. 
 
 "I am going to find out who has that cable." 
 
 "Ah !" She gave me her hand. "I know it can 
 be done. There must be some way to save him. 
 Surely, together, we can do it!" 
 
 "Of course we can," I said, holding her hand to 
 my lips. "And it s not for you alone that I wish 
 to do it." 
 
 "You mean?" 
 
 "That I would do anything in the world for him, 
 even if he were not your father." 
 
 She turned away quickly, but not before I had 
 seen tears in her eyes. 
 
 Again we had spoken of him one afternoon when 
 we were alone at tea. She had mentioned the change 
 in his appearance. "He is so different. All the 
 fun seems to have been taken out of him. He has 
 never been this way before. If he should fall 
 ffl- 
 
 "Of course, he will do nothing of the sort. It is 
 only natural for him to be worried about it; it is 
 right that he should be." 
 
 "You have found out nothing?" 
 
 I shook my head, though wishing all the time that 
 it were possible to tell her my suspicions. But 
 that appeared to be going a bit too far, particularly 
 as they were only suspicions. Yet she looked so 
 pitiful in her anxiety, so really heart-broken, that I 
 came dangerously near to telling her everything. 
 
 "If he doesn t lose his courage !" she cried, clasp-
 
 134 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 ing her hands. "I can t bear the thought of his 
 failing. If we can only help him to keep up !" 
 
 I tried not to be selfish and thrust my own feel 
 ings on her at that moment, but I failed. I burst 
 out with the declaration that I had loved her since 
 the first moment I had seen her. She did not pre 
 tend to be surprised; how could she? I had shown 
 it too plainly for weeks. Nor did she answer me. 
 I must have talked on for an interminably long time 
 without her having said a word. When we separated 
 I still had no reply. She had only listened, but in a 
 way that made my heart pound with hope. 
 
 Until the night of the ball I had not seen her 
 again, except with others. She had not met my eyes 
 with her accustomed frankness. Whether that were 
 a good sign or a bad one, I did not know. She was 
 irritatingly pleasant to Dalton, too. Sometimes I 
 felt that she surely preferred him to me, though, on 
 second thoughts, I tried to console myself with the 
 belief that a woman never goes out of her way to be 
 nice to a man if she really cares for him at least 
 she doesn t do it frankly. In fact, I found her 
 entirely too agreeable to every one. I m sure 
 Comte de Stanlau thinks he has already won her. 
 I had even come to the conclusion that she was an 
 out-and-out flirt, playing all three of us, besides 
 several secretaries from other embassies. I didn t 
 really think so, but I was in a condition where every 
 imaginable thought entered my head for a few mo 
 ments. 
 
 The other night at dinner Mrs. Colborne said that
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 135 
 
 a woman by being attractive to other men could be 
 an immense assistance to her husband. 
 
 "And it must be so gratifying to a man," Kate 
 said, with downcast, innocent eyes, "to know that 
 the woman he loves inspires the same feeling in 
 other men. It seems to me it would make him feel 
 more confidence in his own judgment." 
 
 This was meant for me, as I had complained 
 rather insistently that afternoon of her receiving 
 so much indiscriminate attention. 
 
 "A man doesn t need another s approval of a 
 woman if he really loves her," I commented. 
 
 To go back to the ball. About midnight their 
 Majesties left the ballroom, and with them all tire 
 some formality. Every one began immediately to 
 enjoy himself, and there was a shockingly undignified 
 scramble to get to the supper-room. They say it is 
 the one annual occasion on which many of these 
 people get their taste of champagne and foie gras. 
 Their eagerness would appear to give the story 
 credence. 
 
 A special buffet was arranged for the diplomatic 
 corps, and as we were being conducted in that di 
 rection I slipped away and made for the large room 
 where deputies and senators, noblesse and haute 
 bourgeoisie, were grappling in an apparent death- 
 struggle to reach the buffet. It is said that each ex 
 perience we have will at some time in life prove 
 useful; I found out that night that my year of 
 training on the college football team could be of 
 inestimable advantage.
 
 136 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 When I got back to the room reserved for the 
 diplomatic corps, I found Kate surrounded by 
 practically all the secretaries. Their mission in life 
 at that moment appeared to be to shower her with 
 food. A Bulgarian and a Serb were on the point 
 of coming to blows over which should offer her 
 champagne. Only her refusal of both offers saved 
 bloodshed. A Brazilian had fetched an entire 
 platter of sandwiches and was standing before her 
 with beseeching, adoring eyes; a Britisher had char 
 acteristically brought her a cup of tea. Several 
 ambassadresses, forced to serve themselves through 
 the negligence of their secretaries, were sending 
 critical glances in her direction. Comte de Stanlau 
 was, of course, in the group; and Dal ton, too. 
 
 I tried to get up to her and failed. Then, quite 
 out of patience and furious with her for accepting all 
 this attention from people who could not possibly 
 mean anything to her, I suddenly thought of a ruse 
 to get rid of them, or at least to get her away from 
 them. 
 
 I pushed my way rather roughly through the 
 crowd and reached her side. "Mrs. Colborne is 
 looking for you," I said. 
 
 "For me? Where is she?" 
 
 "If you can tear yourself away from this" I 
 think I choked with fury "this admiring interna 
 tional gathering, I shall be glad to take you to 
 her." 
 
 My scowl caught her attention, and it must have 
 impressed the group, for they fell back enough to
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 137 
 
 let us pass; all of them except Comte de Stanlau. 
 He stood his ground, smiling and calm. 
 
 "Her Excellency is in the next salon," he said. 
 "I have just seen her. If you will permit me 
 
 Kate s hand was already on my arm. I pressed 
 it closer to me. "I am going to take you to her 
 myself," I said firmly, even a bit roughly, I suppose, 
 for I had no sooner spoken than Kate withdrew 
 her hand from my arm and looked at me in sur 
 prise. 
 
 "Is something wrong?" 
 
 "Yes a great deal." 
 
 She thanked Stanlau, gave him an unnecessarily 
 sweet smile, and walked with me across the room. 
 
 "What is the matter?" she whispered, a little 
 pale. 
 
 "Everything. I can t stand it a minute longer," 
 I blurted out. 
 
 "You!" 
 
 "Yes I. It makes me furious to see you wasting 
 yourself on all those those infernal secretaries." 
 
 Wasting myself ? She began laughing. Why 
 why, I believe you are jealous ! " 
 
 "Haven t I reason to be ? Aren t you flirting with 
 every one of them? As for Dalton and that con 
 temptible Stanlau, I believe you are engaged to 
 both of them. Are you? I ve got to know." 
 
 She stopped quite still and stared at me. I had 
 entirely forgotten that we were in a crowded room, 
 that about us, close to us, was a crowd of strange 
 faces, a babel of unfamiliar tongues. Kate appeared
 
 138 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 to have forgotten it, too. We stood there quite 
 unconscious of our surroundings. 
 
 "Do you mean to tell me," Kate finally said, 
 "that you used that excuse to get me away to say 
 insulting things to me?" 
 
 "It was an excuse, yes." 
 
 "Then take me back to Comte de Stanlau at 
 once." 
 
 "I ll never do that." 
 
 "Very well. I shall go alone." 
 
 "If you do that, Kate, this will be the end." 
 
 "The end of what?" 
 
 In a flash I realized what a fool I was making of 
 myself, and the realization brought calm. "The 
 end of everything for me," I said quietly. "You 
 know I didn t mean to be insulting; but I can t bear 
 seeing you give all your time, all your smiles, all 
 your favors, all your interest to a lot of other men." 
 
 "What right have you to talk to me this way?" 
 
 "The right every man has when he loves a girl. 
 And I do love you. I never knew what it meant 
 before. Can t you see? Can t you understand 
 that the uncertainty is unbearable? If there isn t 
 any hope for me, tell me so, and I ll go back home 
 at once. Only if there is a little hope the very 
 least tell me so. For I love you, Kate I love 
 you." 
 
 She shot a swift glance about the room. "Do 
 you want every one at the ball to know it?" 
 
 "I d be glad if they did. I m proud of it. I want 
 the world to know it.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 139 
 
 She wouldn t meet my eyes. All the time she ap 
 peared to be searching the room for some one. Then, 
 without a word, she laid her hand on my arm. "I 
 suppose you had better take me to my stepmother 
 now." 
 
 "She doesn t need you I do; and I know a 
 place out there in the corridor where we can sit 
 down." I did not give her time to answer this, but 
 led her straight out of the room and down a corri 
 dor at the end of which was a sofa screened by 
 palms. 
 
 How indelibly the surroundings of that evening 
 are recorded in my mind ! The Flemish tapestry 
 hanging just over us, a pictured battle of Lepanto, 
 the palms about us, the babel of unfamiliar tongues 
 now blending with the distant sound of music 
 and Kate, sitting there on the sofa beside me, listen 
 ing with downcast eyes and gently clasped hands to 
 my love story. 
 
 I must have talked on interminably; I haven t 
 an idea what I said. It must have been a series of 
 incoherent, reiterated phrases. 
 
 "I ll be the happiest man in the world, Kate, 
 if " 
 
 "If what?" 
 
 "If you ll only promise to marry me." 
 
 She smiled, then she laughed, very softly, very 
 sweetly. "If I did that I should be confessing that 
 I loved you." 
 
 "Yes that s true. Then are you afraid to 
 confess it?"
 
 140 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 She lifted her eyes and looked at me. 
 "No," she whispered. 
 
 An hour later we were still there. 
 
 "If there wasn t just one awful thing hanging 
 over me, Kate," I said, "I believe I d go off my 
 head with joy." 
 
 "What awful thing?" 
 
 I groaned aloud. "What under the sun am I 
 going to say to your father? Of course, he won t 
 consider me as a son-in-law! I can feel it in my 
 bones." 
 
 Her hand tightened in mine. "He would do any 
 thing that would make me happy. Only" her 
 eyes grew a little troubled "I don t want you to 
 mention it to him yet. In a way it will make him 
 unhappy. He has always said he should dread the 
 day I left him. And just now we ought not to 
 add to his worries; ought we?" 
 
 I agreed to this, but groaned again over the 
 prospect of having eventually to approach him. 
 
 Kate laughed a little, though her eyes were still 
 grave. "I don t see why you dread it so. Think 
 what a chance you have of showing him what you 
 are ! of helping him in the most desperate moment 
 of his career ! " 
 
 This is quite true. But how can I help him? A 
 simple answer to the question is find the cable, 
 or at least find out who has it. This thought has 
 almost obliterated a realization of my own happi 
 ness. The question springs up every hour of the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 141 
 
 day. If, by any chance, my suspicion of Mrs. Col- 
 borne is unfounded and heaven knows I sincerely 
 hope it is then who remains ? Atkins ? Surely, he 
 couldn t afford to risk it ! I have thought of ev 
 ery possible person, even Arturo, whose elaborate 
 mustaches certainly suggest intrigue. But always, 
 with a sinking of the heart, I come back to Mrs. 
 Colborne. Surely, there can be no doubt that she 
 alone did it.
 
 X 
 
 January 20, 19 . 
 
 KATE and I spent most of the afternoon ostensi 
 bly arranging the table diagram for the first official 
 dinner; actually, we did very little in that direction. 
 
 This dinner is to be next week, the first of a series. 
 Our official reception has been achieved; success 
 fully, too, I think. All of the Court circle and 
 prominent officials, if the list furnished by the 
 Grand Master of Ceremonies was correct, and a 
 goodly number of the American colony. Among 
 the latter were Mrs. Haynes and Miss Mary Brown 
 Baxter. Miss Baxter, who we had begun to think 
 was only a bad dream, appeared at the Embassy on 
 the morning of the reception, explained that she 
 had been ill ever since her first visit, and though, 
 much to her disgust, she found that the Ambassador, 
 after all, was not from her "home State," demanded 
 and received an invitation to the reception. Even 
 the Ambassador s devotion to his own people less 
 ened under her onslaught. 
 
 Mrs. Haynes might have been called the feature 
 of the evening. Her costume was stunning in the 
 literal sense of the word. She had evidently taken 
 to heart our advice about leaving cards, for she 
 made Mr. Haynes, a thoroughly respectable old 
 soul, carry a note-book and pencil all the evening, 
 
 142
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 143 
 
 and when introduced to any one she asked for the 
 name to be repeated, very distinctly, and the ad 
 dress given. This she conveyed to Mr. Haynes, 
 who wrote it down in the note-book. I m sure she 
 has been shooting cards ever since. 
 
 The Ambassador is a very satisfactory host. 
 He has a way of making a personal matter of each 
 introduction; and as the Master of Ceremonies, 
 who had come for that special purpose, presented 
 each guest he gave a hearty hand-shake and a 
 friendly, interested glance which was not in the 
 least perfunctory and which I believe all of these 
 people were quick to feel and like. Mrs. Colborne 
 was as resplendent as usual and carried off her part 
 effectively. 
 
 Later in the evening, after all the guests had ar 
 rived and been presented, the Ambassador went 
 about among them with his usual care-free, genial 
 manner. I saw him offer his arm to an old baroness, 
 one of the ladies in waiting to the Queen and an 
 important personage in political affairs, and carry 
 her off to show her the Embassy. Though she did 
 not speak a word of English, they appeared to hit 
 it off immensely well. The Ambassador would 
 point to a picture and say: "That s the Capitol at 
 Washington," and she would answer: "Ah! C est 
 un magnifique edifice; n est-ce pas?" "Yes, I sup 
 pose you would call it magnificent. Never been 
 there?" "Je regrette tellement. Man neveu y a ete, 
 aussi a New York. II m en a raconte des chases mer- 
 veilleuses!" "Yes, New York is a great place;
 
 144 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 everything there on the move." "Oui, c est-ce qu^il 
 m a dit beaucoup de mouvement" And so they 
 went on, each catching at a familiar word and using 
 it as a clew to the subject the other was discussing, 
 and both of them having a really good time. When 
 he had piloted her to a comfortable chair in the 
 dining-room and left her in charge of a sympathetic 
 waiter who evidently knew her taste and began 
 piling her plate with caviare by the way, they serve 
 it here in bowls and ladle it out he had made a 
 friend of her for life. As he moved toward some one 
 else she turned to a friend and said: "Le vrai type 
 americain! Mais, en meme temps, tout a fait char- 
 mant!" 
 
 Victoire was in her favorite ambiente. She is 
 quite confident that the success of our Embassy is 
 entirely due to her. She and Mrs. Colborne are 
 quite inseparable. She comes every morning and 
 spends an hour recounting the gossip one might 
 call it scandal of the town, which reaches us even 
 tually through Mrs. Colborne. The Ambassador 
 still looks upon her with suspicion and is frankly 
 disgusted with the stories she tells his wife. 
 
 "If you believe everything that woman tells you, 
 Jenny," he commented, "you wouldn t find a vir 
 tuous woman in this country." 
 
 "Their moral standards are slightly different from 
 ours, John," Mrs. Colborne protested. "As this 
 country is Roman Catholic, there are no divorces; 
 for that reason, what we should frown upon at home 
 and call irregular is accepted here as
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 145 
 
 "As what?" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne floundered. The Ambassador 
 frowned and put his hand on hers. 
 
 "Look here, Jenny, don t let that woman fool 
 you into thinking immorality s not immorality. 
 No matter what excuse you make for it, down at 
 bottom it s always the same thing. And, mind you, 
 the one who puts up the strongest talk in favor of 
 it is the worst rotter of the lot, every time. I never 
 did like that Stanlau woman. The cologne she uses 
 gives her away!" 
 
 Nevertheless, Victoire continues to be a constant 
 visitor. 
 
 After two hours Kate and I had succeeded in seat 
 ing three guests for the dinner. The great difficulty 
 had been where to put the Greek Minister s wife. In 
 the midst of our discussion a footman entered and 
 said that Mr. Dal ton would like to come in to tea. 
 Kate, of course, sent word that she would be de 
 lighted. She does it just to make me furious ! 
 
 She welcomed him with quite unnecessary warmth. 
 
 "I m so glad you ve come. We are having a 
 frightful time seating these wretched people for 
 dinner." 
 
 Dalton leaned over the placement board, pretend 
 ing to examine it; it was only an excuse to be nearer 
 Kate. 
 
 "I thought Comtesse de Stanlau was going to do 
 this for you?" 
 
 "She said she would. But I thought I might as
 
 146 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 well learn. It appears to be such an important part 
 of diplomacy." 
 
 "Indeed it is. If you were to place the wife of 
 the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the left of the 
 host she would probably leave the table. I re 
 member once the wife of one of my chiefs said she 
 was going to place the guests not according to rank 
 but beside people they would enjoy talking to. She 
 did; and all the guests left immediately after dinner 
 and never even left dinner-cards." 
 
 Kate laughed; then sighed. "Dear me, why are 
 they so exigeant about so small a thing! I shall 
 never learn all their foolish rules!" 
 
 Dalton looked at her admiringly. "You will 
 learn," he said warmly, "because you don t laugh 
 at what the foreigner considers important. The 
 great trouble with us is that we are too intolerant 
 of other peoples customs. They have had theirs 
 much longer than we have had ours and surely de 
 serve some consideration. It is just on that point 
 that most American diplomatists fail. If a certain 
 form is not used in America they don t see why it 
 should be in Europe." 
 
 Kate looked up at him, thoughtful. "You really 
 think there is some hope for me?" 
 
 "You would be an immense success " 
 
 "As what?" 
 
 "As a diplomatist s wife." 
 
 She colored and looked down. It was her own 
 fault. She had given him an exceptional opportu 
 nity and he was too sharp to let it go by.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 147 
 
 "I think we have the most important guests in 
 their proper places," she began hurriedly. "It is 
 the Greek Minister s wife who is bothering us." 
 
 Dalton examined the plan and finally indicated 
 the difficult lady s position. Kate wrote down the 
 name. 
 
 "Would you care to enter the Diplomatic Serv 
 ice?" Dalton asked after a slight pause. " I mean 
 permanently?" 
 
 Kate sent me a quick glance. "I m afraid it is 
 not certain enough as a career. I should hate to lose 
 my position with a change of administration." 
 
 " Only ambassadors and ministers do that. A sec 
 retary is fairly permanent." 
 
 This was getting entirely too personal to please 
 me. I found myself growing furious with both of 
 them and, making some inadequate excuse, I left 
 the room. If Dalton has reached the point where 
 he is going to propose, with or without an audience, 
 it will be better to help him get it over with at once. 
 
 When I returned the Ambassador and Mrs. Col- 
 borne were in the room. They had just returned 
 from riding. The Ambassador has taken up this 
 form of exercise as the least objectionable of all. 
 There is no decent golf course here, tennis for him 
 is out of the question, and, as he admitted himself 
 that he was getting seedy from too many dinners 
 and parties, he has gone in for riding. "Used to 
 do it when I was a kid," he said. "Never since." 
 
 He looks very well in riding-togs, though I fancy 
 the outfit, which was made here, is not, to his mind,
 
 148 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 the most comfortable for the purpose. Indeed, he 
 was complaining of it when I entered the room. Sit 
 ting in a low chair, with his booted legs stretched 
 out before him, he was using rather strong language. 
 
 "Hanged if I ll ride again till I get some com 
 fortable things. First it s these infernal boots. 
 It s like having all my teeth pulled to get em on. 
 And it s a damned sight worse getting em off ! 
 And the horse hippity-hop, hippity-hop till I m 
 as sore as a boil. When I was a boy they had 
 horses that could pace and rack without shaking 
 all your insides out of place. These horses can t 
 do anything but trot. Why was I fool enough to 
 let Jenny rope me into all this tomfoolery! She 
 says all the ambassadors ride, so of course the 
 American Ambassador must ride! . . . She says 
 all the ambassadors get themselves up this way, 
 so of course the American Ambassador must, too! 
 . . . She says all the ambassadors drink tea" he 
 rose and pressed a bell-button with violence "but 
 I say, damned if the American Ambassador will ! 
 Bring me a high-ball quick!" he called to the 
 footman. 
 
 Of course we all laughed. It is good to see him 
 once more vigorous, if only with complaints. 
 
 "Poor dad !" said Kate. "A martyr on the altar 
 of diplomacy!" 
 
 The Ambassador looked at her with assumed 
 anger. "I tell you, I m getting sick of this job," 
 he went on, stamping up and down the room. 
 "Nobody to talk my own language to ! Newspapers
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 149 
 
 two weeks old ! Nobody who ever heard of Amer 
 ican politics ! Dinner at nine o clock and then noth 
 ing to eat but a la things ! Dressed up all the time 
 in the darnedest, most uncomfortable things you 
 can find ! Bowing and scraping to a lot of people 
 who d starve if they had to make a living ! Why 
 I can t even get a decent haircut !" He threw him 
 self heavily in a chair. " Two months of it have been 
 enough to show me there s only one place in the 
 world for me and that s the U. S. A." 
 
 We gathered about the tea-table and left the 
 Ambassador to his restless promenade and vociferous 
 complaints. When he had exhausted himself he 
 joined us. 
 
 " I don t see why you complain so bitterly of that 
 costume, John," Mrs. Colborne said in a voice meant 
 to be soothing. "I think you look quite chic in 
 it." 
 
 The Ambassador gave a loud roar, dug his hands 
 deep into the very full riding-breeches, and held 
 them out so as to accentuate the width; with feet 
 as wide apart as he could get them, he looked at 
 us through twinkling eyes. 
 
 "Chic!" he said, rolling the word with an unc 
 tuous sound. " Chic ! Yes I suppose I do look 
 chic. I guess it s my legs done up this way. Heard 
 a woman say once that if a man got his legs up fancy 
 enough he could have any woman he wanted." 
 
 A footman entered, bearing aloft with both hands 
 a large silver tray piled high with visiting-cards. 
 
 "What in the world !" exclaimed Mrs. Colborne.
 
 150 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The man placed the tray on a table and bowed 
 low. "Cards, your Excellency, left since luncheon." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne put down her tea-cup and went to 
 the cards, overlooking them with an expression on 
 her face that spoke plainly nothing more to be de 
 sired. At such times she gives me the impression of 
 a little child with a toy. The outward symbols of 
 this life represent to her the great things of existence. 
 Her mind appears occupied with consideration of 
 costumes, menus, visiting-lists; there is no room 
 left for more serious things. I must admit, though, 
 that, like all those who give much thought to the 
 subject which interests them most, she accom 
 plishes a great deal in that direction. Her face, as 
 she picked up the cards and read them, was beauti 
 ful in its contentment. 
 
 "All these people to-day! There must be a 
 hundred of them! La Marquise de Trabinsky 
 Princesse Planton " She turned to the Ambas 
 sador. "John, there s no doubt about our success !" 
 
 His face suddenly grew grave. "Your success, 
 Jenny not mine." 
 
 I saw Kate s face change quickly. She rose, 
 slipped her arm through her father s, and led him 
 toward the diagram of the dinner-table. Evidently 
 she was trying to divert him from the disturbing 
 thoughts. 
 
 "Here is the plan of our first official dinner- 
 table, father." She glanced up at him with an ex 
 pectant smile. "You take out the wife of the Min 
 ister for Foreign Affairs."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 151 
 
 "Not if I know it," the Ambassador answered 
 promptly. "She don t speak a word of American. 
 Give me something easy." 
 
 "But, John" Mrs. Colborne stopped her avid 
 reading of cards for a moment "she takes prece 
 dence." 
 
 "I don t give a hang what she takes. I won t 
 take her out to dinner!" 
 
 He got a great deal of pleasure out of refuting 
 their suggestions in this way. I always have the 
 feeling that he is only doing it to get a rise out of 
 them, see what arguments they will advance, and 
 in the end give in as if it actually meant a great 
 sacrifice on his part. As a matter of fact, I don t 
 think he considers the details Mrs. Colborne suffers 
 over one way or the other. He is a constant exposi 
 tion of the belief of live and let live. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne invariably takes him seriously; 
 Kate pretends to. 
 
 "But, John" Mrs. Colborne actually left the 
 tray of cards "you must take her in. It s diplo 
 macy ! " 
 
 The Ambassador shook his head doggedly. "If 
 it is then damn diplomacy!" 
 
 Kate tried to get hold of his hand. He drew it 
 away quickly. 
 
 "No. I said I wouldn t and I mean it. If you d 
 ever watched that woman eat you d feel the same 
 way. I don t believe she ever gets a square meal 
 till somebody gives it to her. She gobbles so fast 
 she gets choked every time."
 
 152 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Mrs. Colborne went dejectedly back to her cards. 
 Kate, however, finally got hold of the Ambassador s 
 hand and stood leaning against him and laughing 
 softly up into his face. It was delightful to see the 
 relaxing frown on his face. In the end he leaned over 
 and kissed her. "Oh, well anything to keep peace 
 in the family ! By the way, Jenny, guess who I met 
 on the street to-day. Old Jim Colt and his wife. 
 Here for a few days only, but I persuaded them to 
 stay over for our big dinner." 
 
 Again consternation showed on every one s face. 
 
 "But, John," Mrs. Colborne cried, "this is a diplo 
 matic dinner ! " 
 
 "They won t mind. Anyhow, I ve invited them; 
 and if you want me to pass an hour and a half 
 sitting by your distinguished Mrs. Foreign Minister, 
 you d better make a place for them." 
 
 Before further arguments on this subject ensued 
 Victoire was ushered in. 
 
 "Ah, bon jour, mes amis!" she cried, all over the 
 place at once. "But it is a family council!" This 
 last to infer that she felt that she was intruding, 
 though she gave no sign of withdrawing. She shook 
 hands in a most spirited way with every one and, 
 while waiting for Kate to pour a cup of tea, drew 
 Mrs. Colborne a little aside. 
 
 "Have you mentioned that little affair of the 
 check to your husband, ma cherie?" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne s eyes grew troubled. "Not yet. 
 I will, though." 
 
 "You are so gentille! When?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 153 
 
 "To-day." 
 
 "Merci infiniment! Delphine, horrid creature, is 
 pressing me. Otherwise I should not dream of 
 mentioning it!" Then, turning and seeing the dia 
 gram: "Ah, you have already done all the tiresome 
 work. Naughty girl!" to Kate. "You should 
 have left that to me. But" looking closely at the 
 names "I do not see the Baronne de Champville !" 
 
 I looked at Mrs. Colborne, she looked at Kate, 
 and Kate looked at her father. For a few seconds 
 we were silent, each a little anxious over the ex 
 planation that was bound to come. 
 
 "Surely she was invited!" continued Victoire. 
 "I wrote her name myself. Quelle tragedie! if she 
 were forgotten !" 
 
 "She was not forgotten." Kate finally spoke. 
 "Her name was cancelled." 
 
 " By whom ? " Victoire s face expressed incredulity. 
 
 "By my father." 
 
 "Mais pourquoi? She is one of the most impor 
 tant women at Court ! " 
 
 She turned and faced the Ambassador, who had 
 stood, since her entrance, a little apart, though 
 watching and listening to everything that was 
 taking place. Victoire with him was subtly dif 
 ferent from what she was with Mrs. Colborne and 
 Kate. Her graceful condescension, always her 
 manner to them, disappeared entirely before the 
 Ambassador. Confronted by his frankness and his 
 penetrating eyes, she was quite a different person, 
 almost timid and quite ingratiating.
 
 154 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador came forward a step or two. 
 "I do not consider the Baroness de Champville the 
 sort of woman I wish my wife and daughter to 
 know." 
 
 There was no doubt about the sincerity of Vic- 
 toire s surprise. "I don t think I understand!" 
 
 The Ambassador frowned. "I have heard sev 
 eral people recount her career. You, if I am not 
 mistaken, told my wife." 
 
 "That was mere gossip !" 
 
 " Not about this woman. It is admitted by every 
 one to be true. I left her name on the reception-list 
 because it was furnished by the Court and I did not 
 want a repetition of that incident which occurred at 
 Rome, when the wife of the American Ambassador 
 was so criticised for living up to her moral standards. 
 If the Court wants that sort of a woman, it can have 
 her. I am not here to reform society. But at my 
 private entertainments, where the guests are per 
 sonally invited by me, I am not going to have 
 women who ought to make their sex blush." 
 
 Victoire took refuge in forced laughter. "You 
 dear, charming Americans! Will you never learn 
 to separate morals from position!" Then, with a 
 quick, ingratiating change: "Perhaps you are right, 
 Monsieur VAmbassadeur. Especially when one 
 thinks of your beautiful, innocent daughter ! " 
 
 Though this was a fairly successful sop to the 
 Ambassador, it did not touch Kate. She poured 
 Victoire a cup of tea, rose to bid Dalton, who was 
 leaving, good-by, and signalled me to follow her to 
 the other side of the room.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 155 
 
 "Don t you love to see father with her?" she 
 said in a lowered voice. "He takes the wind out 
 of her sails every time. Let s watch them from here 
 and see what else he will say to her." 
 
 Mrs. Colborne had taken a chair beside Victoire, 
 and at the same time had reached out and put her 
 hand in the Ambassador s, drawing him nearer to 
 them. 
 
 "John, dear," she said, "you know the Comtesse 
 has been very, very kind in assisting me in arranging 
 my visiting-list, my dinners; indeed, she has done 
 everything for me. You haven t an idea how much ! 
 It is hardly a business arrangement" she looked up 
 at him, a little anxious "but I feel sure the Com 
 tesse would appreciate a small check." 
 
 Victoire, with eyes downcast, modestly stirred 
 her tea. 
 
 "All right," said the Ambassador. "How much, 
 Countess?" 
 
 Victoire still looked down, really embarrassed 
 beyond words that it should be necessary to discuss 
 such a vulgar subject. "I think it was Mrs. Col- 
 borne s suggestion that a thousand francs a week 
 would be shall we say adequate?" 
 
 The Ambassador gave an abrupt laugh. "Ade 
 quate ! Two hundred dollars a week for keeping my 
 wife posted on Court scandals !" 
 
 Victoire permitted herself to laugh, though in a 
 thoroughly discreet manner. "Scandals, your Ex 
 cellency, are the mainspring of diplomacy." 
 
 The Ambassador clasped his hands behind him.
 
 156 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Two hundred dollars a week!" His mouth shut 
 with determination. "It s too much!" 
 
 "But, John," Mrs. Colborne interrupted, "I 
 agreed to that price." 
 
 For a second he appeared to be debating; then, 
 with an abrupt movement, he pulled a check-book 
 from an inside pocket. "All right, Jenny; always 
 stand by your contract." He crossed to the writing- 
 table, sat down, and picked up a pen. Having dipped 
 it in the ink, he held it poised over a blank check 
 and looked at Victoire. "How many weeks, Count 
 ess?" 
 
 "Eight, your Excellency." 
 
 The Ambassador gave a low, expressive whistle. 
 "Sixteen hundred dollars! By golly, diplomacy s 
 getting expensive!" 
 
 Mrs. Colborne leaned nearer Victoire, pressed 
 her hand, and smiled deprecatingly. "Men never 
 understand the importance of such things." 
 
 "Jamais de la vie" sighed Victoire. 
 
 The Ambassador wrote out the check, tore it 
 from the book, and laid it aside. Then he took a 
 sheet of paper from the portfolio and wrote, evi 
 dently with great care, a few words. I saw him 
 stop, scratch his head, smile, and continue writing. 
 In the end he rose, holding the check in one hand, 
 the sheet of paper in the other, and went to the tea- 
 table. 
 
 "Here you are, Countess." 
 
 Victoire looked at both hands, and, making no 
 mistake, reached for the check.
 
 THE AMERICAN- AMBASSADOR 157 
 
 Before she had it the Ambassador drew back his 
 hand. "I almost forgot. First, you must sign this 
 paper. Shall I read it to you?" Victoire, her eyes 
 alert, nodded. The Ambassador cleared his throat. 
 " I, " he read, " Countess Victoire de Stanlau, 
 hereby sign my name in receipt for eight thousand 
 francs which I have received from the American 
 Ambassador for services rendered, namely: keeping 
 his wife informed of all the gossip, scandal, and com 
 promising events connected with the Court and 
 members of the Royal Family." 
 
 Victoire managed to keep her anger under control, 
 though it burned forth violently from her eyes. 
 She turned from the Ambassador with a cutting 
 laugh. 
 
 "Cest impossible! I could never sign such a 
 paper!" 
 
 The Ambassador, with every appearance of re 
 luctance, folded the paper and put it in his pocket. 
 a All right, Countess. You know best. But ever 
 since I began making barbed-wire fences I ve never 
 paid out money without having something to show 
 for it." 
 
 Victoire turned swiftly back to him. "If I signed 
 that paper and it were known I should be ruined ! 
 Surely you know that! Suppose suppose my 
 brother were to see it!" 
 
 The Ambassador smiled. It was a thoroughly 
 nice, friendly smile. He looked exactly like a big, 
 good-natured, simple boy. And the effect upon 
 Victoire was immediate. "You don t think I would
 
 158 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 show it to any one, do you, Countess ? It s just for 
 you and me our little secret the American busi 
 ness way; don t you see?" 
 
 Victoire looked at him searchingly, all the time 
 met by his warm, bland smile. Finally, with a quick 
 gesture of decision, she walked to the desk and sat 
 down. "I shall never, never understand your ex 
 traordinary American methods," she said. 
 
 The Ambassador, quick to understand her de 
 cision, was at once beside her and spread out the 
 receipt before her. She signed it with her dashing 
 handwriting, and he handed her the check. She 
 immediately crushed it into her gold purse and rose. 
 After a minute or two she left, pleading a sudden 
 headache. I m sure she was not altogether satisfied 
 with what she had done. 
 
 After he had seen her to the door the Ambassador 
 went back to Mrs. Colborne. She was sitting, 
 rather disconsolately, where Victoire had left her. 
 
 "I don t know that I am altogether pleased with 
 what you have done, John," she said. 
 
 The Ambassador threw back his head and laughed. 
 "What! You don t know what you are talking 
 about, Jenny ! I ve made you a friend for life. 
 After this she d be afraid to be anything else." 
 Digging his hands in his pockets, he proudly in 
 flated his chest and looked across at Kate and me. 
 "Just giving you youngsters a little lesson in Eu 
 ropean diplomacy. Who says I m not a first-class 
 intriguer!"
 
 XI 
 
 February 15, 19 . 
 
 DINNERS and luncheons and teas on and on 
 without end. I am beginning to hate the sight of 
 my engagement-book. It reminds me of a famous 
 physician I once consulted who looked over his 
 appointment-book and told me he could give me a 
 quarter of an hour in about three weeks. There is 
 only one thing that is encouraging: Lent comes early 
 this year, and then everything stops off short; the 
 season is finished; and those who have come to town 
 to open their houses and entertain for two months 
 return, in litters, I should think, to their country 
 estates, there to rusticate until the next year. If 
 one only had to give two months out of each year 
 it might be supportable; but it appears that diplo 
 mats stop on in town and keep it up one might 
 say "whoop it up" incessantly. 
 
 The Ambassador has begun his campaign in 
 earnest. He is entertaining all the Parliamentary 
 leaders and having long talks with them. Some 
 times I am present to act the part of interpreter, and 
 I am constantly amused to find these politicians 
 resembling our own I mean in appearance. They 
 all have what the French have so cleverly named 
 la gueule gouvernementale. I wonder if political ex 
 perience produces this cast of features, or if the 
 
 159
 
 160 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 possessor of such a countenance is unconsciously and 
 fatally adapted for political turmoil ! 
 
 The Ambassador is going at the matter in a per 
 fectly frank, straightforward manner. He has told 
 them exactly what he is here for and how he hopes 
 they will aid him. As he has told them, he is play 
 ing the game with his cards face up. This puzzles 
 them a bit. They don t understand it. They think 
 he has something else up his sleeve. I hear that 
 one of them said of him: "He s either a fool or an 
 exceptionally clever diplomat." The conservatives 
 and the circle immediately about the King are with 
 him; the radicals and socialists, a predominating 
 vote, are against him, as they have been against 
 this question for years. They form the opposition 
 which former ambassadors have been unable to 
 conquer. Comte de Stanlau makes the situation 
 unique and thoroughly interesting. Though he is 
 the leader of the opposing party he still gives ev 
 ery evidence of being devoted to the Ambassador. 
 Their conversations on the subject, up to the pres 
 ent, have been unsatisfactory. The Ambassador 
 tells me that Stanlau will not discuss the subject 
 with him, always avoiding it hi some clever way. 
 Of course, the one important factor is whether the 
 information contained in the cable has reached him 
 or not. If it has, he has the Ambassador wholly 
 in his power; it would be a very simple matter for 
 him to go before Parliament when the bill is pre 
 sented and kill our project as dead as Hector. 
 
 The uncertainty is telling on us all, except the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 161 
 
 Ambassador, who, strange to say, after the first 
 week or two of depression, has recovered in an amaz 
 ing way. I think it is the fight he sees before him 
 which has given him renewed vigor. He is the type 
 that finds repose in ceaseless activity. 
 
 After opening his mail the other morning he 
 called us into his office and beamed upon us. 
 
 "The cable has been found !" Dalton exclaimed. 
 
 For a second a shadow crossed his face, then dis 
 appeared. "No, not that, but something good all 
 the same. Remember my telling you about my visit 
 to the Foreign Minister before I was presented 
 how I told him about wanting to build those two 
 war-ships for them? Well" he flaunted an official 
 document in our faces "there s the contract!" 
 
 "You are the first ambassador," drawled Atkins, 
 "who ever interested himself in commercial matters. 
 That s the Consul s work." 
 
 The Ambassador s fist came down with a bang. 
 "And it s just what s the matter with our Diplo 
 matic Service. Relations between countries are held 
 together by different ties, among them commerce. 
 I ve got a contract for my country to build two 
 battleships that means twenty million dollars 
 and you can t tell me it isn t a damned sight more 
 important than having the Baroness Fiddlesticks 
 dine at this Embassy!" 
 
 I have told Kate my suspicions about the lost 
 cable and in consequence am somewhat bewildered 
 by the turn of events. In fact, a strange sort of
 
 1 62 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 fear has got hold of me. I am afraid to think what 
 may happen. 
 
 She and her father and I were in the garden hav 
 ing our coffee there after luncheon. It was one of 
 those spring days that come in the heart of winter 
 and deceive one into thinking the cold has defi 
 nitely gone. The conversation during luncheon had 
 been exclusively about the list of Americans to be 
 presented at Court. This problem is so much more 
 difficult for an American ambassador than for any 
 other, due to the fact that other ambassadors can 
 present no one who has not first been presented to 
 the ruler of his own country. As all Americans have 
 the freedom of the White House, that is no help in 
 pruning a list of applicants. Fortunately the pres 
 entation ceremony here is most simple. It takes 
 place in the afternoon and no special costume is 
 necessary. Neither Ambassador nor Ambassadress 
 has to appear with those who have been sponsored 
 by the Embassy; so, due to this disappointing sim 
 plicity, we have escaped what I understand is one 
 of the most difficult questions in London and Berlin 
 and Rome. In connection with this, the Ambas 
 sador told Kate and me, after luncheon, and with 
 considerable annoyance, that he had mentioned 
 that morning to the Minister for Foreign Affairs 
 that he wanted to include the Consul and Mrs. 
 Haynes in the list to be presented. 
 
 "By golly!" cried the Ambassador. "Will you 
 believe it ? he had the cheek to refuse ! Says 
 consuls have never been presented. If he made an
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 163 
 
 exception for me he d have to do the same for all 
 the others. But, mind you, I ll get those people 
 introduced to the King and Queen before I leave 
 this country by fair means or foul ! I ll show these 
 infernal snobs that every American, every last one 
 of em, has the same rights!" 
 
 "Don t you think you worry about them too 
 much, father?" Kate said. "You have so much else 
 that is more important." 
 
 "You are right there, Kitty; but that poor old 
 soul got hold of my sympathy when she said she 
 couldn t go home. Can you think of anything worse 
 than that ! I d rather be shot any day than not be 
 able to go back home. And yet His face sud 
 denly grew grave and he stopped abruptly. 
 
 "What, father?" 
 
 He put his arm around Kate and drew her down 
 on the arm of his chair. "Kitty, do you know, if 
 that cable by any chance has fallen into Stanlau s 
 hands, and he cares to expose me, I may not be 
 able to go back home, either?" 
 
 Kate listened with alarm. "You mean he could 
 use it against you?" 
 
 "Against me ! " The Ambassador laughed. " Well 
 
 I guess he could ! And against the whole United 
 
 States! Ruining me is the small part of it. If 
 
 Stanlau has that cable it may mean anything 
 
 even war between us and some European Power." 
 
 Kate s face suddenly grew white. "But surely 
 they can t blame you !" 
 
 "Why not? It s all my fault. My Government
 
 164 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 trusted me with the information and I was fool 
 enough to let it get out of my hands." 
 
 "You can explain!" 
 
 The Ambassador held out his hands with a ges 
 ture of futility. "What?" 
 
 Kate rose and looked at him with eyes full of 
 deep affection. Her hands, held before her, moved 
 nervously with interclasping fingers; her hair, 
 touched by the sun, gleamed against her pale face. 
 She remained silent a little while, her eyes gradually 
 changing into an expression of deep thought. "Then 
 you are in Comte de Stanlau s power!" She said 
 it with such gravity that both of us looked at her, 
 startled. 
 
 "Don t take it so to heart, Kitty." The Am 
 bassador tried to make his tone gayer. "All this 
 may be a tempest in a teapot. We talk about his 
 having it because he is the one man who would have 
 known anything about it and would try to get hold 
 of it. There is no doubt that he knows a part of 
 the information embodied in the cable because he 
 is involved in it; but he doesn t know the most im 
 portant part of it, and I dare say he would give any 
 thing to get hold of it. Do you see?" 
 
 Kate nodded. She had remained quite motionless 
 during the explanation. When the Ambassador had 
 finished she repeated her comment: "Then you are 
 in Comte de Stanlau s power!" It was as if she 
 were trying to impress the meaning of the words 
 upon her mind and found their full import difficult 
 to believe.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 165 
 
 Again the Ambassador attempted gayety . " There s 
 no telling what may happen before it comes to a 
 show-down. Parliament doesn t open till next month. 
 You can bet your bottom dollar I won t give in till 
 I go under!" 
 
 Kate did not respond to his lighter tone. She 
 watched him steadily through her increasing serious 
 ness. 
 
 "Have you talked to him about it?" 
 
 " About the cable ? Well, hardly ! " 
 
 "No no. I mean the matter as it is known 
 and as it will be presented to Parliament." 
 
 "I ve tried to, but it s always Excellency this 
 and Excellency that, an,d never a word about the 
 gist of the matter." 
 
 "Yet you feel he will oppose you?" 
 
 "I know he will." 
 
 She lowered her eyes for a moment. "I believe 
 if you talked to him very frankly about the whole 
 thing he would help you. Surely surely he gives 
 us every evidence of his friendship. If he knew 
 what it meant to you, I believe" she met his eyes 
 with a confident smile "I believe he would with 
 draw his opposition." 
 
 The Ambassador roared. "Foolish Kitty! Al 
 ways looking for the good in people !" He rose with 
 a noisy yawn. "Forget all about it, daughter. 
 Even if we can t go back home" he leaned close to 
 her and pinched her cheek "we can have a good 
 time travelling around over here ! Thank God ! 
 We ve got plenty of money!"
 
 1 66 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The tears began to show in her eyes. "Father 
 don t!" Then, eagerly: "Please talk to Comte de 
 Stanlau. If you don t I will." 
 
 He took her by the shoulders, almost roughly, 
 and looked closely and squarely into her eyes. 
 "Listen to me, Kitty. This is my affair, not yours. 
 Do you understand? Now, once for all, remember 
 this your hands off ! Don t you dare speak to 
 Stanlau!" He shook her playfully. "Promise me, 
 Kitty." 
 
 "I can t, father." 
 
 This took him by surprise. In a moment all the 
 affection had left his face. "Kitty you can and 
 you will." 
 
 It was strange to see the strength of their similar 
 natures battling against each other; and there was 
 no show of weakness on either side. They stared at 
 each other for an interminably long time. 
 
 Finally Kate spoke. "I will promise you this. 
 I will not speak to Comte de Stanlau until I know 
 positively that he has the cable." 
 
 The Ambassador s features relaxed. I believe he 
 was glad of a chance to end the test of their wills. 
 "That s safe enough," he said lightly. "We ll never 
 know for certain till the matter is before Parliament." 
 
 He left us a few minutes after this, and as he 
 walked off we both watched him. He has that ex 
 pressive feature of a strong man a broad, solid, 
 capable back. With his shoulders squared and his 
 head thrown back, he looked fit and capable to con 
 quer any situation.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 167 
 
 When I turned to Kate she had sunk down on 
 the bench and was crying softly. I cursed the 
 proximity of the house and its hundred watching 
 windows. All I could do was to stand near her and 
 try to make mere words sound sympathetic. It was 
 the first time I had seen her cry and it hurt me in 
 expressibly. I seem to remember having done 
 nothing but implore her to stop. When she did, 
 she looked up at me with the most dazzling look in 
 her eyes. 
 
 "Have you ever loved some one whose happiness 
 meant more to you than your own?" she asked. 
 
 "I do now." 
 
 She answered this with a compensating smile. 
 "Surely he will not be disgraced; will he? It can t 
 be as bad as he thinks ! " She searched my face for 
 encouragement. I fear she found none. "Don t 
 be afraid to answer me ! I can stand it. I want to 
 know exactly how bad it is going to be. If you 
 love me as you say you do now is the time to prove 
 it. Save my father !" 
 
 "Kate!" I cried, then stopped. If the time were 
 ever to come for me to tell her my suspicions, it was 
 surely now. I sat down on the bench beside her; I 
 tried to say something and failed; I ended by light 
 ing a cigarette. 
 
 "Kate," I began again. "Tell me do you think 
 a man ever has the right to come between a man and 
 his wife?" 
 
 She looked up surprised and began drying her eyes. 
 
 "I mean say something that would make a man
 
 1 68 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 lose faith in his wife, even if it were going to save 
 hun from ruin?" 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 I settled back on the bench and decided to take 
 the plunge. Be the result what it may, I cannot 
 help thinking it was the right thing to do. 
 
 "When I first came here," I said, "I overheard 
 two conversations. It was not exactly eaves 
 dropping at least not in the sense of my having 
 deliberately gone about it. The first was between 
 Comtesse de Stanlau and Atkins. It was about you 
 and Stanlau. It was the first intimation I had that 
 he had known you in Washington. The second was 
 between him and your stepmother." 
 
 Kate turned and faced me. Her eyes were dry 
 now and full of growing anxiety. 
 
 "Go on," she said in a low voice. 
 
 "He was talking to her of his love for you. He 
 was very much in earnest. He was urging your 
 stepmother to help him in winning your love. He 
 said he was willing and ready to do anything that 
 she might suggest." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "She said that you were let me see, I want to be 
 exact she said that you were very difficile, that it 
 would be necessary first to win your trust; this 
 once accomplished, he must do something to put 
 you under obligations to him." 
 
 I stopped short and watched Kate s face. It was 
 clear enough that she had not given the same sig 
 nificance to the words that I had.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 169 
 
 I started in another direction. " Your stepmother 
 was not opposed to your marrying Stanlau, was 
 she?" 
 
 "No I should say not." She shook her head 
 with impatience. "She has even urged it since we 
 have been here. I had to tell her that I would not 
 listen to her on that subject any more." 
 
 "What are her arguments?" I asked, anxious to 
 see if they fitted in with my theory. 
 
 "Oh, what you might imagine! A fine title 
 picturesque chateau a position at Court all the 
 things that mean absolutely nothing to me." She 
 ended with a little laugh. 
 
 "Nothing else?" 
 
 "What else could there be?" 
 
 "I mean the advantage it might be to your 
 father?" 
 
 Her brows grew slowly together. "Once she said 
 something about such a marriage being a reclame 
 for my father his having successfully landed me 
 with a good title." 
 
 I lighted another cigarette and smoked a short 
 while in silence. 
 
 "Has it never occurred to you, Kate, that your 
 stepmother might consider your marriage to Stanlau 
 very helpful to your father in accomplishing what 
 he came here to do?" 
 
 A dull scarlet began to show in her cheeks. For 
 the first time she was beginning to catch the drift 
 of my meaning. I hurried on. 
 
 "She may not have considered that cable very
 
 170 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 important when your father showed it to her. 
 Some people might not realize its significance; that 
 is quite reasonable. She might have thought it a 
 good opportunity for Comte de Stanlau to gain 
 your appreciation and show his friendship for your 
 father." 
 
 She turned quickly and grasped my hand. "You 
 mean ?" 
 
 "Mrs. Colborne was the last one who had the 
 cable." 
 
 Neither of us spoke again for a long time. With 
 Kate s hand clasped in mine I looked straight ahead, 
 fearing to meet her eyes. I was not sure that she 
 would not resent my suspicions, though, since our 
 engagement, I had become fairly sure that her love 
 for her stepmother consisted entirely of loyalty to 
 her father. 
 
 "It is quite impossible !" she said at last. 
 
 "I sincerely hope so." 
 
 "And yet if it were true She broke off with 
 a sob. "Poor dad!" 
 
 "He ought to be told at once," I went on. "He 
 ought to ask her and know the truth. It might 
 save everything." 
 
 Again we were silent. After a while Kate got up 
 and walked away from me. I watched her go 
 slowly down the gravel path, pass the fountain, and 
 disappear in the shade of the ilex grove. I waited 
 patiently, knowing that she would return after she 
 had mastered the doubts that were troubling her. 
 
 It must have been a quarter of an hour before
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 171 
 
 she returned, walking as slowly as when she had 
 gone. Her whole expression gave me the feeling 
 that she had suddenly grown away from me. She 
 was almost cold and remote. 
 
 She sat down on the bench beside me. 
 
 "I will ask her to-night; and I will find out the 
 truth." She said this with cold determination; then 
 her voice softened. "But it must be between you 
 and me only. No one else must know of it. My 
 father never ! You said he should know; that 
 must never be. If she has done this and he were to 
 know it, he would never trust her again he would 
 hate her he would She stopped in an excess 
 of emotion. "It would ruin his life and accomplish 
 nothing. Public disgrace is far better than shattered 
 faith!" She rose and held out her hand to me. 
 Once more I had the feeling that something had 
 come between us. "You will not mention this to 
 my father?" 
 
 I tried to convince her that I would do nothing 
 without her approval. 
 
 "You will let me know what you find out?" I 
 asked. 
 
 She nodded without speaking. 
 
 We were walking back to the house now. The 
 sun had disappeared behind some clouds and the 
 garden had suddenly grown cold and dreary. 
 
 "And your promise to your father?" 
 
 We had reached the door. I held it open for her. 
 With a very gentle, sweet gesture she put her hand 
 on my shoulder and let it rest there a moment.
 
 172 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Of course I will keep my promise to him." Her 
 voice touched me deeply; it was so gently pathetic. 
 "Until until I know."
 
 XII 
 
 March i, 19 . 
 
 SINCE my talk with Kate in the garden she has 
 been strangely different. I have hardly seen her 
 at all. Of course we meet at many houses, sur 
 rounded by hundreds of people, but I have not had 
 a conversation a deux w r ith her since that day. I 
 have tried to make engagements with her; and even 
 though I have pinned her down once or twice, she 
 has managed each time to make some excuse. I 
 have complained bitterly; I have even been reduced 
 during the past week to writing her furious notes, 
 which I regretted as soon as I had sent them to her; 
 I have spent hours trying to explain her attitude, 
 and always end with the conviction that she resents 
 my suspicions of her stepmother. Probably it s the 
 same old story of meddling in other people s affairs 
 and earning their whole-hearted contempt for 
 doing so. Still, I had the right; she gave it to me 
 when she consented to become my wife; and I should 
 do the same thing again. Indeed, even if she grows 
 to despise me, I shall go on until I unravel this 
 situation. I feel now that I am quite prepared to 
 repeat my suspicions to the Ambassador if things 
 come to the worst. All this sort of reasoning is 
 pure piffle, I know; there must be something else 
 which has changed Kate s attitude toward me. I 
 am more troubled over her not telling me frankly 
 
 173
 
 174 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 what it is than anything else; it is not in character 
 for her to act this way. 
 
 In desperation I have been frequenting the Hunt 
 Club, of which all the diplomats are members, and 
 it may lead to some interesting developments. 
 Every evening, after they have fulfilled their dinner, 
 reception, and ball engagements, most of the secre 
 taries and smart men of the town assemble there. 
 By two o clock in the morning it takes on quite a 
 jolly air. The roulette-room is the most popular, 
 though there are always several tables of bridge 
 where the stakes are sufficiently high to interest 
 even South Americans. 
 
 Being thrown with my colleagues in the informal 
 ity of club life which, by the way, does not corre 
 spond in any sense to the American conception of a 
 club; I mean, it is not used as a meeting-place to 
 exchange ideas and make friends I have become 
 better acquainted with them and have even made 
 something of a study of them. It has been said that 
 diplomatists to-day do not represent the strongest 
 men of their country, that such are needed at home 
 and prefer to remain there. Judging from my col 
 leagues, I have come to the conclusion that this 
 statement is true. None of them are particularly 
 clever except in a superficial way; they appear only 
 moderately interested in international questions; in 
 fact, their main object in life seems to be to have a 
 pleasant time with the smallest possible expendi 
 ture of effort in any direction. Occasionally you 
 will find one who is well read, though he is looked
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 175 
 
 upon by the others as a bore to be avoided at all 
 costs. As for their conversations, they are banal to 
 an extreme degree. A few days ago I had a letter 
 from a friend at home in which she said that she 
 envied me the stimulating talk I must hear at diplo 
 matic dinners. I immediately wrote her a conver 
 sation which had taken place during the dinner I 
 had attended the night before. It was between two 
 ambassadors, with an occasional diversion now and 
 then from the wife of one of them. It was entirely 
 on the subject of how many hours off duty each 
 servant demanded. Human and important enough, 
 I admit, but hardly what one goes into diplomacy to 
 hear. I suppose, though, one might call it an inter 
 national topic, and there is no doubt that it is dis 
 cussed with every bit as much entrain in the heart 
 of Africa. It recalls the story of the servant who, 
 when he returned to the pantry between courses, 
 was asked by the kitchen-maid what ah 1 those fine 
 folks at table were talking about, and his laconic 
 reply: " Bout us." 
 
 The younger secretaries are quite smart, at least 
 from a Continental conception of smartness, which 
 is different from that of England and America. 
 They wear ruby and emerald studs in their eve 
 ning shirts, have their clothes cut ridiculously tight, 
 and are decidedly rastaquouere. Still, they have a 
 certain elan that isn t bad. There is no drinking 
 to excess; usually vermouth and seltzer, or some in 
 sipid cordial, and most of all a sweet syrup with 
 water. I don t think I have seen ice since I have
 
 176 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 been here, except in the Ambassador s high-balls. 
 The European idea of drunkenness is interesting. 
 You may steal all the money you can get hold of, 
 you may run off with as many married women as 
 you please, break up families, and flaunt your mis 
 tresses in every one s face, but if you get drunk you 
 are at once kicked out of the clubs and looked upon 
 as anything but a gentleman. 
 
 I find Comte de Stanlau is an habitue of the Hunt 
 Club. I find also that he is one of the most reckless 
 players. Every night when I arrive he is already 
 installed at a bridge table and is almost continu 
 ously successful. The rumor goes that he keeps 
 the wolf from the door with his winnings at bridge. 
 When he is dummy he strolls about, talking gen 
 erally and always in an interesting way. He is 
 immensely clever and has a great deal of charm. 
 He has been particularly nice to me, always invari j 
 ably courteous and solicitous, and went so far the 
 other night as to ask if it would amuse me to go with 
 him the next day to one of his estates near town. 
 He was going only for the day; we should be back 
 in time for dinner. I accepted. 
 
 It was a beautiful castle of the eleventh century, 
 built on the crest of a solitary hill which rose abruptly 
 out of a flat plain. Clustered about the castle and 
 clinging to it for protection its original purpose- 
 was a small village. Across the flat plain, miles 
 away, was the sea; in the other direction rose a mass 
 of rugged mountains, some of the peaks covered with 
 snow.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 177 
 
 We entered by a portcullis, crossed a drawbridge 
 swung between massive walls where one could see, 
 in the arches above, the openings through which 
 defenders used to pour boiling oil upon besiegers, 
 and entered a bare, gloomy courtyard. It was in 
 every way a fighting castle. We lunched in a tower 
 room which Stanlau had fitted up for his own use, 
 made comfortable through an artistic use of old 
 furnishings. The rest of the castle appeared quite 
 desolate and gone to ruin. 
 
 After luncheon he excused himself in order to 
 have some consultations with his tenants. I was 
 left alone for an hour or two, and all the time my 
 thoughts centred about this man. There are few 
 things as interesting as the study of a man who loves 
 the same woman you do. I could hardly keep from 
 laughing at myself as I grudgingly admitted, one by 
 one, Stanlau s attractive qualities. He has so much 
 that a simple American like myself can never have. 
 Most of all, he has such an extraordinary back 
 ground. Think of owning a castle which has been 
 in your family since the eleventh century ! To 
 a woman of imagination, that would appear quite 
 enough attraction for one man to possess; and Kate, 
 I am beginning to regret, has imagination. He is 
 unusually well educated one might say gracefully 
 so. He is familiar with the literature of every coun 
 try. His understanding of the history of the United 
 States is much deeper than mine; he even discussed 
 the influence of "Uncle Tom s Cabin" on our Civil 
 War. He has a discriminating taste in art, knows
 
 178 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 music thoroughly, and yet withal in no way sug 
 gests a pedant. Add to this an exceptionally at 
 tractive physical appearance, strongly masculine, 
 and you will have a fairly correct idea of what Comte 
 de Stanlau is like. 
 
 Our conversation was animated yet very care 
 fully impersonal. I tried to get him to express how 
 he felt on many subjects. His answers were inva 
 riably what he thought. My failure to get beneath 
 the skin is the same experience I have with all for 
 eigners. They never bridge the chasm which sepa 
 rates us; they never let us know what they feel. 
 
 Only once did he make a remark which may throw 
 some light on his character, and even that was more 
 a characteristic of race than of individual. We had 
 been discussing an American singer and her success, 
 which we both agreed was due more to her beauty 
 than to her voice. He laughingly said: "Mais, c est 
 toujours la meme chose, les yeux du monde sont tou- 
 jours plus intelligents que les oreilles! And your 
 American women how shall I say it are such 
 perfect animals!" I hardly think it would be 
 exaggerating to say that every woman, to a Euro 
 pean man, is invariably how shall I say it a 
 physical matter. 
 
 There are several American women here married 
 to men who bear the best names and titles of this 
 country. They have been interesting to know and 
 to observe. So much has been written on the sub 
 ject of international marriages that I have wished to
 
 179 
 
 obtain a personal opinion on the question. The 
 marriages here appear outwardly successful; and 
 yet, recently, a woman to whom I had letters of in 
 troduction, and whom my family had known as a 
 girl, told me a most amazing story of her life with 
 her husband. Her excuse for narrating it in all its 
 bare details was her hope that the Embassy in some 
 way might assist her in evading the laws of this 
 country. She has been married to a well-known 
 and apparently much-liked man for eighteen years. 
 From the beginning she has known nothing but 
 unhappiness with him, due principally, I think, to 
 the fact that she loves him and thus suffers through 
 his infidelities. An extraordinary quality which 
 these European husbands possess is that of retain 
 ing the love of their American wives in spite of any 
 thing they may do. This woman has two daughters, 
 one twelve, the other sixteen. She tells me her 
 husband lives most of the time with his mistress, 
 whom he has installed in a handsome villa bought 
 with the wife s money, and that once a week he 
 insists upon taking his daughters there so as to 
 become better acquainted with their half-brothers, 
 his illegitimate sons. When the wife threatened 
 separation, he only laughed and told her that, as the 
 children are invariably given to the father, he would 
 take them with him to be brought up by his mis 
 tress. It seems impossible that any civilized coun 
 try should have such a brutal law; yet, after looking 
 into it, I find that the husband s statement was quite 
 correct. There is nothing for the wretched wife to
 
 i8o THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 do but remain with him and protect her daughters 
 as best she can. 
 
 I am told that this is not an unusual case, and 
 that many of our friends who come back home on 
 short visits and impress us with their resonant titles 
 and castellated estates are hiding very similar family 
 skeletons. 
 
 The raison d etre for all this rather gloomy re 
 counting is purely personal. I went in to tea this 
 afternoon, hoping to find Kate there, and instead 
 found Mrs. Colborne and Victoire. Both of them 
 were enjoying cigarettes after their tea, though the 
 former s pleasure was somewhat handicapped by 
 the necessity of watching the door for the Am 
 bassador s entrance. He is violent on the subject 
 of women smoking. 
 
 It was plain enough to see in fact, they took no 
 pains to hide it that I had interrupted a confiden 
 tial talk. Mrs. Colborne languidly poured me a cup 
 of tea; Victoire extended her limp left hand to be 
 kissed, which I didn t do. She was half reclining on 
 a sofa and watching cigarette smoke curl up to the 
 ceiling. 
 
 The silence remained unbroken for quite a while. 
 I suppose they expected me to gulp my tea and run; 
 but they were doomed to disappointment. 
 
 "Yes he is a charmeur." Victoire finally spoke, 
 as if she were in the middle of a sentence. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne is not yet accomplished with her 
 cigarette. She choked a bit before replying. "He 
 is quite the most charming man I ever met. I
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 181 
 
 adore the way he looks at one. American men 
 never do it that way." 
 
 Victoire laughed. Her whole attitude was par 
 ticularly patronizing. "American men haven t the 
 first idea of how to look at a woman. But my 
 countrymen ah!" She blew a cloud of smoke be 
 fore her and assumed a pose of sensuous exaltation. 
 "Their glance burns into one s soul. We are to 
 them either a Madonna or a female ! " 
 
 I would have given anything if the Ambassador 
 had been there; it would surely have been Victoire s 
 last visit. 
 
 "It is strange," Victoire continued, evidently 
 determined to ignore my presence and addressing 
 herself exclusively to Mrs. Colborne, "that your 
 stepdaughter has resisted my dear brother so long. 
 I suppose, though, it takes a femme experimentee to 
 appreciate him." 
 
 "He will win her in the end," Mrs. Colborne re 
 plied. "I have noticed a change in her during the 
 past week haven t you ? " This last was addressed 
 to me. I ignored the question. 
 
 "Of course, that means only one thing," she went 
 on blandly. "She is making up her mind." 
 
 Again Victoire laughed patronizingly. "What a 
 droll expression making up her mind ! Why should 
 a young girl consider anything if she is in love ! You 
 dear, delightful, practical Americans ! Besides why 
 shouldn t her father, or her mother, make up her 
 mind for her!" 
 
 The Ambassador and Kate came in at this mo-
 
 1 82 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 merit and the atmosphere was, morally, at least, at 
 once cleared. Kate was flushed and appeared ex 
 cited. Her hand, which I insisted upon shaking, 
 though she tried to avoid it, was icy cold. 
 
 The Ambassador sat down with a comfortable 
 sigh. He and Kate had ridden out to the Chateau 
 de la Cascade with Stanlau. "Not much of a water 
 fall," he said, " after you ve seen Niagara. In fact, 
 I call it a blamed poor show to ride eight miles to 
 see. How was it from the castle, Kitty? Your 
 brother, Countess, insisted on taking Kate up in 
 the tower to see the view. Too much of a climb 
 for me. Was it worth it, Kitty?" 
 
 "It was very beautiful," she answered quietly. 
 
 The conversation lagged. No one had anything 
 to say that interested either himself or a listener. 
 Finally, Victoire rose to leave. The Ambassador 
 and Mrs. Colborne went with her through the suite 
 of reception-rooms. My chance had come. 
 
 I turned swiftly to Kate and found her already 
 standing. Her face was deadly pale; her eyes looked 
 strangely large and glowing. I have never seen such 
 an expression of passionate pleading as was in them. 
 
 "Don t don t please don t say anything," she 
 murmured as I tried to take hold of her hands. "I 
 have just written you a note. It will explain every 
 thing." 
 
 I stared at her, my heart still with fear. Before 
 I could speak she had turned swiftly and reached a 
 door. 
 
 "Kate," I cried. "You can t leave me this way !"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 183 
 
 She looked at me out of her miserable eyes. "My 
 note will explain everything." 
 
 "But, Kate this isn t fair!" 
 
 "I cannot help it. I am sorry." 
 
 "Are you putting me out of your life forever?" 
 
 She put up both hands as if to ward off a blow. 
 "Please please go. My note will tell you every 
 thing." 
 
 When I reached my rooms her note was there. 
 It was written in pencil and evidently in a hurry. 
 
 "I must ask you to release me from my engage 
 ment to you. We were both mistaken. I have 
 suddenly realized that I do not love you. Please 
 don t think I am heartless to write you in this way; 
 but it is so much better to be frank and honest. I 
 have only one thing to ask of you: please be my 
 friend still. You can if you will only forgive me. 
 It will help me so much. I know I am asking a 
 great deal of you but if you care for me you give 
 me that right. I am going away to-morrow for a 
 fortnight. When I come back it will be easier for 
 us both." 
 
 I tore the note to pieces, threw it into the fire, 
 watched it flame up and crumble into ashes. 
 
 So this is the end of my happiness; it is the end, 
 too, of my experience in diplomacy. I shall go to the 
 Ambassador to-morrow and ask him to release me. 
 I regret leaving him just as he is in the midst of 
 breakers, but I can be of no service here any longer. 
 I haven t the heart to go on with it. I suppose
 
 1 84 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 she has treated Dalton the same way, and many 
 others. After all, every woman is the same. They 
 want to see a certain expression in a man s eyes 
 the look that tells them nothing in the world is 
 of any consequence except themselves and then, 
 whiff, out of their lives you go. Still, I can t seem 
 to believe she is that sort. Yet her note was so 
 damnably cold. It simply told the truth and left 
 it at that. 
 
 Yes there s nothing for it but to break away 
 from the whole thing and go home. Why did I 
 ever come over here, anyhow? Damn diplomacy!
 
 XIII 
 
 March 10, 19 . 
 
 "WHAT the dickens is the matter with you? 
 You look like you had been pulled through a key 
 hole!" 
 
 This was the Ambassador s greeting to me when 
 I went in to see him the next morning. I knew it 
 was meant to be sympathetic, but it made me feel 
 like a fool. I tried to manage a smile it must have 
 been a poor and sickly one and sat down. 
 
 "May I talk to you on a purely personal matter, 
 sir?" I said. 
 
 His expression changed quickly; a sort of quick 
 ening into gentleness. "Something gone w r rong?" 
 
 "Yes a good deal. I want to go home." 
 
 He whistled softly. "That bad?" 
 
 I nodded. "If you don t mind please don t ask 
 me to tell you what it is." 
 
 He let his eyes rest on me a full minute, then 
 shifted them to the window. In the silence that 
 followed he sighed. "Love-affair of course." 
 
 His comment made me start. Had Kate told 
 him? 
 
 "What makes you think that, sir?" 
 
 His smile was not one of amusement; it was of 
 real human understanding. "My dear boy, the 
 signs are unmistakable. You take me back thirty 
 
 185
 
 1 86 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 years when I was trying to marry Kitty s mother." 
 He rose, crossed to where I was sitting, and laid his 
 hand on my shoulder. "Has she thrown you 
 over?" 
 
 I nodded. 
 
 "For another fellow?" 
 
 "I don t know." 
 
 "You don t know! Pon my word! Didn t she 
 give any excuse?" 
 
 "She said she had found out she was mistaken." 
 
 "And you believed her?" This with increasing 
 incredulity. "By golly! You ought to be thrown 
 over ! Wake up ! Don t you see she s only putting 
 you to the test?" 
 
 I shook my head. "No she is not that sort." 
 
 At this he laughed. "Oh come, now. You are 
 putting her on a pedestal. We all do that when we 
 are in love. It s the greatest mistake in the world. 
 A woman s just as much of a human being as a 
 man only sweeter and more fractious. Your 
 girl s trying you out to see what s in you; and, bless 
 goodness, you ve fallen down at the first fence." 
 
 All this time I was sitting, dejectedly, huddled in a 
 large leather chair, with the Ambassador standing 
 beside me, patting me now and then on the shoulder. 
 It must have been a humorous sight. I wish I might 
 have been in a mood to enjoy it. 
 
 "American girl?" he asked after a pause. 
 
 I nodded. 
 
 "Over here?" 
 
 Again I nodded.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 187 
 
 He turned away and went to the window, stand 
 ing there with his back to the room and looking out. 
 I watched the outline of his solid back in silence. 
 During the long pause it gradually drifted in on me 
 that he probably knew what I meant, had known 
 all along. Indeed, it was preposterous to imagine 
 that he didn t know. He was too keen to have let 
 such an obvious situation pass unnoticed. 
 
 When he came back to the desk he avoided look 
 ing at me. 
 
 "Well," he said, pulling some letters toward him, 
 "if you feel you don t love her enough to stop on and 
 fight for her, I shan t stand in the way of your 
 going. You d better clear out at once." 
 
 His words stung me to the quick. I sprang up and 
 went to him. 
 
 "You don t understand," I said, my voice shak 
 ing with anger. "I m not a coward." 
 
 "If you aren t that then you re a fool." 
 
 I turned toward the door, furious. 
 
 "Look here," he called after me. I stopped, with 
 my hand on the knob. "No come back here and 
 look at me. I never talk to a man s back." I 
 turned slowly and faced him. "How old are you?" 
 
 "Twenty-six." 
 
 "H-m-m ! I had been married four years when I 
 was your age. And since then I ve been married 
 again. You ll admit that makes for a little experi 
 ence; won t you? Well. You say you love this 
 girl, and yet you give her up just because she wrote 
 you a note and said she was mistaken or something.
 
 1 88 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Why, boy, that ought to make you love her all the 
 more. If you had received a note like that a couple 
 of hundred years ago, do you know what you would 
 have done? You d have gathered all your friends 
 together and gone and got her out of her home and 
 carried her off with you. . . . That girl s put you 
 to the test and you ve shown yourself a quitter ! 
 Not only a quitter to her but to me. Here I am in 
 the darnedest hole a man ever found himself in, 
 needing all the help I can get, and you, my private 
 secretary, are the first to want to fail me. . . . But, 
 go along I m through with you good-by!" 
 
 He turned away and pressed a bell-button, and, 
 while waiting, began opening some personal letters. 
 Arturo entered and, having bowed, awaited orders. 
 The Ambassador looked up, glanced at Arturo and 
 then at me. 
 
 "Well?" he said to me. "Something else you 
 want to say?" 
 
 "Yes alone." 
 
 "Come back later, Arturo." 
 
 Arturo bowed and hesitated. "Your pardon, 
 Excellency, but a lady is waiting to see you." 
 
 "Tell her to wait!" roared the Ambassador. 
 
 "Yes, your Excellency; she has waited one 
 hour." 
 
 "Then she s used to it by this time. Get out!" 
 Then to me: "Well?" 
 
 I cleared my throat. "I ve decided to stay." 
 
 He got up and patted me on the back. " Good ! 
 I thought you needed an eye-opener. It ll be a good
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 189 
 
 lesson to you. When everything looks like it was 
 against you, make up your mind that that s the 
 time to begin your fight. There s my hand." I 
 took his in both my own. "Now let s get busy. 
 The pouch is just in from Washington. First 
 you go out and get rid of that woman. No time for 
 females this morning." 
 
 The extraordinary part, and perhaps the most 
 fortunate, too, of diplomatic life is that no matter 
 how much engrossed one may be in one s own af 
 fairs there are always so many other people s af 
 fairs demanding attention that one doesn t have 
 time to bother with one s own. I went out of the 
 Ambassador s office obsessed with my hopes and 
 came bang up against Miss Mary Brown Baxter 
 equally obsessed with hers. 
 
 I bowed, shook hands cordially, even smiled, and 
 received only her customary disapproving glance. 
 From her manner I m sure she thinks every one 
 connected with this Embassy is lying in wait to 
 assassinate her. 
 
 "I want to see the Ambassador," she stated. 
 
 "Yes, I know," I replied with real suavity. I 
 am acquiring it. In an embassy one either does or 
 loses the little one ever had. "The Ambassador 
 asked me to see you." 
 
 She looked me up and down and then levelled 
 her eyes on mine. I had the feeling of looking 
 straight down a double-barrelled shotgun. 
 
 "I came to see the Ambassador. Subalterns 
 won t do."
 
 190 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 I took this standing on both feet, though I may 
 have wavered a bit. When I felt sufficiently steady, 
 I said: "I am sorry the Ambassador can t see you. 
 He is exceedingly occupied this morning. Couldn t 
 you tell me what it is that you wish? I ll do my 
 best to to accommodate you." 
 
 Again I faced the double-barrelled glare. After a 
 portentous silence she spoke. "I could not possibly 
 bring myself to tell you." 
 
 All sorts of vague ideas flew through my mind of 
 telling her that I was an old married man, an ex 
 perienced physician, anything that might draw from 
 her the intimate reason of her visit. However, I 
 didn t attempt anything of the sort; my next ques 
 tion was very meekly put. 
 
 "Then you will come back to-morrow?" 
 
 "Not at all. I ll remain to-day and until I see 
 the Ambassador." 
 
 I debated. "It must be quite important?" 
 
 "It is the most important thing that has ever 
 come into my life." 
 
 There was nothing for it but to retreat, and I did, 
 to the Ambassador s room. 
 
 "I m awfully sorry, sir," I explained when he 
 looked up from a weighty official document, "but 
 I m no good as a buffer. She will see you. Time 
 doesn t count. She s willing to wait all day. It 
 concerns the most important thing that has ever 
 come into her life." 
 
 He put down the document and looked at me. 
 
 "What do you infer it is?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 191 
 
 "With her the Lord only knows." 
 
 The Ambassador pushed aside his letters with a 
 gesture of clearing the field for action. "Show her 
 in," he said abruptly. "And don t you dare leave 
 this room while she is in it." 
 
 He met her graciously, shook hands with her, 
 asked her to sit down all of which she accepted 
 frigidly. In the end her glance settled on me. 
 
 "I wish to see you alone." She spoke to the Am 
 bassador, though still trying to scare me out of the 
 room with her glance. 
 
 "My private secretary remains always," he said 
 positively. "He makes a record of every conversa 
 tion that takes place in this office." 
 
 As a matter of fact, I don t; but I was glad he 
 was standing up to her. 
 
 "I wish no record made of my conversation," she 
 said, still adamant. "It s purely personal." 
 
 "Then all the more reason, madam, that it 
 should be recorded. I learned in Washington never 
 to have a conversation with a lady except in the 
 presence of a third party." 
 
 Miss Mary Brown Baxter rose to her full height. 
 "Do I understand that you mean to be insulting?" 
 
 It was really splendid the way he maintained a 
 patient, even pleasant attitude. Any one else would 
 have blazed away at her and given her what she 
 deserved. 
 
 "No. It is never my intention to insult a lady 
 certainly not an American lady. I am only trying 
 to be on my job. Now, if your matter is so per-
 
 192 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 sonal that you cannot tell it before my secretary, 
 perhaps the Embassy is not the place for it to be 
 told." 
 
 She sat down again and for the first time lowered 
 her eyes. It was a plain case of being bluffed at her 
 own game, and it did my heart good. Up to this 
 she had carried her point every time; even when she 
 had called on the Ambassador and demanded an 
 invitation to the reception, she had won; but now 
 she was facing her Waterloo. Momentarily freed 
 from her disturbing glance, I looked at her with 
 new curiosity. It is not exaggerating to say that she 
 is the most unattractive woman I have ever seen. 
 She has everything that a woman has no business 
 having and into the bargain a fully developed 
 grouch. Goodness knows, though, she has a right 
 to be at odds with the world. Nature has not been 
 gentle with her. Viewing her there, I began to feel 
 sorry for her. She must have missed every soft 
 thing in life; and as for love 
 
 The Ambassador waited an appreciable time. 
 Seeing her still silent, still with downcast eyes, he 
 grew impatient. 
 
 "Well, madam, what can I do for you?" 
 
 She raised her eyes. 
 
 "I want to get married." 
 
 By an extraordinary display of will-power he 
 quelled an explosion. The effort left him scarlet. 
 
 "Well, madam, what have I got to do with that?" 
 
 She burst forth with a long list of difficulties. 
 First of all was the necessity of a birth certificate.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 193 
 
 The Ambassador encouraged her by saying he did 
 not know a single American who had one. 
 
 "Exactly what I told them!" she cried. "Be 
 sides, I m good enough evidence that I was born!" 
 
 Then there was the matter of calling out the banns 
 in the church. It had to be done three times, on 
 three successive Sundays. That took three weeks. 
 It was so embarrassing, too, having it published 
 that way; everybody would know about it; and it 
 was such a loss of time. And then well, it was all 
 a lot of foolishness, anyhow. She had to promise to 
 become a Roman Catholic, too. Did the Ambassador 
 think this really necessary? Couldn t he let her be 
 married in the Embassy, and in real American fash 
 ion, and thus avoid all the silly laws of this coun 
 try? 
 
 "The first visit I made to this Embassy they 
 told me that this was American soil and that any 
 thing that happened here was native American." 
 
 The Ambassador listened, growing more and more 
 bewildered, as Miss Baxter, once more her militant 
 self, hurled her hymeneal difficulties at him. When 
 she stopped for breath he stepped in. 
 
 "Ask Mr. Dalton to come here," he said to me. 
 
 I told Dalton of the problem to be faced, and be 
 fore leaving his room he armed himself with several 
 huge volumes bound in calf. His greeting of Miss 
 Baxter and hers of him were extraordinarily cordial 
 almost effusive. She has evidently not forgotten 
 the first interview and Dalton s soothing influence. 
 
 The Ambassador stated Miss Baxter s case in an
 
 194 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 amazingly succinct way, considering all he had heard, 
 and asked Dalton what could be done about it. 
 
 "The law will have to be observed very strictly if 
 you wish the marriage to be legal," Dalton spoke 
 with authority. "In regard to your birth certifi 
 cate, the Ambassador will have to give you a nulla 
 osta." 
 
 "What s that?" Miss Baxter demanded, at once 
 suspicious. 
 
 "It is a document which sets forth the fact that 
 in the United States birth certificates are not 
 necessary to obtain a marriage license and a few 
 other evasive things which appear to satisfy the de 
 mands of the authorities here." 
 
 Miss Baxter took a more militant attitude. "I 
 don t want anything evasive about my marriage, 
 I ll give you to understand." 
 
 In the end she appeared reassured, and was on 
 the point of leaving when she turned suddenly to 
 the Ambassador. "So I can be married here?" 
 
 This caught him unprepared, though he was quick 
 to find an intrenchment. 
 
 "Do I understand, madam, that you are marry 
 ing an American?" 
 
 She drew up proudly. "Indeed I m not! I am 
 marrying the Baron Claude de Xavier, one of the 
 most distinguished gentlemen in this country. He 
 has six castles all his own!" 
 
 "Land-poor!" commented the Ambassador. 
 
 Miss Baxter came nearer. I m sure her fists 
 clinched. "Why do you say that?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 195 
 
 "Most of these counts and barons and dukes 
 are." He turned abruptly to her. "Known him 
 long?" 
 
 She appeared both flattered and surprised by his 
 interest. Dalton and I wondered at his having the 
 patience to go into the more personal side of the 
 question. Yet, from the way he was looking at her, 
 it was obvious that he had decided to take some part 
 in the matter. 
 
 "I ve only known him three months. He is pass 
 ing the winter in the same pension with me." This 
 she appeared to consider might belittle him, so she 
 hastened to add: "He prefers it to a hotel. It is 
 so much more quiet and refined. He says hotels, 
 crowded with vulgar tourists, are too trying on his 
 nerves." 
 
 The Ambassador listened, for all the world as 
 though his sympathies were in the case. 
 
 "H-m-m," he reflected. "So you are another one 
 of those American women who want to give up their 
 citizenship." 
 
 "Not at all. I shall always be an American." 
 
 "Not if you marry a foreigner. You become of 
 his nationality; you no longer are American and you 
 can no longer demand any help from the American 
 Embassy." 
 
 This appeared to surprise her greatly. "I never 
 heard of such a thing ! If you married a French 
 woman you wouldn t be a Frenchman, would you?" 
 Her reasoning, in spite of her appearance and man 
 ner, was entirely feminine.
 
 ig6 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Of course not. But, you see, being a woman, 
 your position is dependent on the man you marry." 
 
 "I ve never been dependent on any one in my life; 
 and just because I m getting married isn t going to 
 change me that way." 
 
 "Still, you will no longer be an American." 
 
 She gathered her forces. "I ll show you about 
 that. Besides I don t see that you are helping me 
 to get married, anyhow." 
 
 The Ambassador showed the first signs of growing 
 a little weary. "I ll give you the He stopped 
 and turned to Dalton. "What do you call it?" 
 
 "Nulla osta." 
 
 "I ll give you the nulla osta, madam, but only 
 on one condition." 
 
 "Name it." 
 
 "That you bring the Baron What s-his-name 
 here to see me. As long as you remain an American 
 citizen it is my duty to protect you. He has got to 
 prove to me that he is all he says he is ! " 
 
 She smiled patronizingly. "There s nothing easier 
 than that. I ll bring him this afternoon." 
 
 "Very good, madam. And now will you excuse 
 me." The Ambassador extended his hand and used 
 it as a lever to get her to the door. 
 
 When we were alone Dalton gathered up his 
 volumes bound in calf. 
 
 "May I ask, sir," he said, "what you intend to 
 say to the gentleman when he comes?" 
 
 The Ambassador was at his desk again, leaning 
 over it in deep thought.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 197 
 
 "Haven t you always heard, Dalton, that women 
 could twist men around their fingers just as much as 
 they pleased? Well it s an historical lie. It s 
 exactly the other way. Let a man tell a woman 
 he loves her, and he might as well tie a thick bandage 
 over her eyes and around her mind. She ll believe 
 anything under the sun he tells her after that. 
 This woman is a shining example of what you can 
 do with them. Six castles, and living in a pension ! 
 It s all stuff. I suppose he has found out she gets a 
 check from home once a month. That s what he s 
 after. What shall I say to him? I shan t have to 
 say anything. Ten to one she ll never get him to 
 come here." 
 
 A week has now passed since her visit; she has 
 never returned. 
 
 Kate is still in Paris. I did not see her before she 
 left. She expects to return, so the Ambassador tells 
 me, in about a week. In the meantime we have had 
 our George Washington s birthday. It almost 
 brought on a row between the Ambassador and Mrs. 
 Colborne. Just before the reception he was looking 
 about the rooms; he stopped in the hall where the 
 guests were to be received and glanced up at the 
 flag draped over the door. Suddenly, in a loud voice, 
 he called Arturo. " Where s that bust of George 
 Washington? I told you to place it right there, 
 facing the guests, so they can see it when they come 
 in." 
 
 Arturo bowed, all apologies. "I m sorry, your
 
 198 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Excellency, but her Excellency told me she thought 
 the flag was enough without Mr. Washington." 
 
 The Ambassador looked him up and down. Ar- 
 turo s bows reached quite to the ground. 
 
 "Well it isn t. Bring the bust, at once." 
 
 All of which goes to prove that Mrs. Colborne, 
 particularly in matters of national spirit, is not om 
 nipotent. 
 
 The reception, a sort of enlarged tea-party, went 
 off with great success a real orgy in red, white, and 
 blue. The chic orchestra of the town played what 
 they considered our national anthems "The High 
 School Cadets," "The Washington Post," and "Wait 
 ing for the Robert E. Lee" all in perfect waltz time. 
 On the tea-table a glorified lunch-counter were 
 piles of national food: Lady Baltimore cake, ham 
 sandwiches, champagne punch, and yes, really 
 grape juice. The Ambassador would have had 
 griddle-cakes if we had not protested. And the 
 guests? Americans only. A personally conducted 
 tour swept through the rooms commenting loudly 
 on everything; a large "finishing school for young 
 ladies" giggled in corners and made havoc with the 
 refreshments; one lady came without her hat; as 
 she explained to Mrs. Colborne: "It made it so much 
 more informal." Mrs. Colborne s face was an in 
 teresting study as she received these guests and 
 listened to their elaborate greetings. Why is it 
 that so many provincial Americans seem to feel 
 that to be really polite one must make an extraor 
 dinary number of grimaces when speaking ? And the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 199 
 
 Ambassador ! I had never seen him so happy before. 
 He reminded me of a great Saint Bernard who had 
 made a successful trip across snow-covered passes 
 and had brought back to his hospice all the foot-sore 
 and soul-weary travellers. His laugh resounded 
 above the Sousa "waltzes"; he "jollied" every one, 
 male or female; he told his pet story of the barbed- 
 wire-fence factory a hundred times; and ended the 
 afternoon in such glorious hilarity that we suspected 
 the champagne punch. 
 
 Jolly, hearty, fine old fellow ! I hope he is the 
 vrai type americain. We couldn t have a better 
 one. And if he can only come out on top ! The 
 time is creeping up, entirely too fast, when he will 
 be put to his test; but I know that he will not be the 
 quitter I came so near to being.
 
 XIV 
 
 March 15, 19 . 
 
 A FEW days ago we received from the Palace an 
 ominous black-bordered envelope informing us that 
 his Majesty s aunt s second cousin had died and 
 that the Court would mourn for ten days. This 
 doesn t mean exactly sackcloth and ashes, but it 
 does mean that no one entertains for the next fort 
 night and that not only the Court but the whole 
 diplomatic corps must wear mourning during the 
 period. Dalton and Atkins, veteran diplomats, 
 were already possessed of a complete outfit and 
 immediately appeared in crepe-swathed hats, bands 
 on their sleeves, and black suits. Neither the Am 
 bassador nor I had a black garment, except dress 
 clothes, so we are both now in "hand-me-downs" 
 more mournful as to fit than as to coloring. Mrs. 
 Colborne has put the immediately bereaved family 
 to shame. I have never seen such a magnificent use 
 of crepe as she has appropriated to herself. Her 
 veil, besides being voluminous, is immensely be 
 coming. The Ambassador told her he would post 
 pone his demise if she were going to be such a fetch 
 ing widow. 
 
 Kate returned yesterday. We went to the sta 
 tion to meet her, which turned out to be a miserable
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 2OI 
 
 mistake. She has been ill and looks wretched. 
 She greeted us with an effort, smiled in a way that 
 hurt me to the quick, then clung to her father and 
 searched his face for some clew to present condi 
 tions. 
 
 Dalton and I had intended to drive back with 
 them. We saw, however, that we were not wanted 
 and decided to walk. Poor old Dalton ! He was as 
 dejected as I. 
 
 "It will kill her," he said after we had walked a 
 long way in silence. 
 
 "What?" I asked. 
 
 "If her father is ruined." 
 
 "She has talked to you about it!" I exclaimed, 
 stung with jealousy and with the fear that she had 
 thrown me over for him. 
 
 "Yes," he went on, calm enough. "A few days 
 before she left she asked me what I thought of the 
 situation." 
 
 " What did you tell her?" 
 
 "The truth. She is not the sort of girl one need 
 hide it from. It was her right to know. She asked 
 me if her father s salvation rested absolutely in 
 Comte de Stanlau s hands. I told her it did. Noth 
 ing else under the sun can save him if " Dalton 
 gave a swift look about us "he has the cable." 
 
 "Yes but it is if." 
 
 "No. As a matter of fact, there is no if. He 
 has it." 
 
 I started. "You know that?" 
 
 "I practically do. I told the Ambassador this
 
 202 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 morning that there appeared only one thing left to 
 do: thrash out the whole thing with Stanlau and 
 pay him his price." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 "He wrote to him and asked him to come to the 
 Embassy this afternoon at four o clock." 
 
 I stopped short and faced Dalton. 
 
 "Good God! Do you mean we shall know to 
 night whether the Ambassador is saved or not?" 
 
 "That is exactly what I mean." 
 
 And now I hardly know how to tell it. The end 
 of everything has come for me. If I had only gone 
 home two weeks ago, when I first thought of it, it 
 might have been easier to bear. At least I should not 
 have had the details of a scene before me which will 
 always be just there confronting me, biting its way 
 into my memory like a corroding acid. I might have 
 known it; indeed, I still have balance enough left 
 to see that it is quite a natural result. Still, it 
 hurts more than anything that has yet come into 
 my life more, much more, than Kate s note to me 
 and that was bad enough. 
 
 I went into the Ambassador s room just before 
 luncheon and found him sitting at his desk in deep 
 thought. His strong, broad hands were clasped 
 before him and resting on the large sheet of blue 
 blotting-paper which Arturo places there fresh 
 every morning. He looked at me without saying a 
 word. I sat down at the side of his desk in the 
 chair always occupied by visitors on official business.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 203 
 
 After a long silence he spoke. "Did Dal ton tell 
 you?" 
 
 "You mean about Stanlau? Yes, sir." 
 
 He unclasped his hands and gripped the arms of 
 the chair. "I m no good as an old-fashioned diplo 
 mat," he said slowly, more as if talking to himself 
 than to me. "I m used to handling things straight 
 from the shoulder. All this intrigue business bores 
 me to death. I suppose it had its day; but damn if 
 I can see the use of it now ! And yet" his hands 
 slapped the arms of the chair "that fellow Stanlau 
 doesn t seem to know any other way. He knows 
 what I m up to; and I think I know what he s up 
 to. Beyond that we diverge. But things have 
 got to come to a head. Parliament meets in a month, 
 called by the King for a special session to vote on 
 our question. We ve talked that threadbare, so 
 there s no use wasting words over it again. The 
 fact still remains that, with the King, the Prime 
 Minister, and the Conservatives all in favor of us, 
 that infernal left wing of the Socialists, headed by 
 our friend Stanlau, is not only against us but holds 
 the deciding vote. I ve done my best to find out 
 how to handle Stanlau and I ve failed. He ap 
 pears to be playing a strong game for his party. 
 They are back of him to a man; and nobody seems 
 to be able to suggest how to checkmate him. Of 
 course, he has a price; but damn if I can find out 
 what it is!" 
 
 He stopped, ran his hand through his hair, and 
 stood up.
 
 204 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Well, sir," I said, "what have you decided on?" 
 
 He took a step nearer me and dropped his clinched 
 fist on the desk. "I m going to do this: I m going 
 to lay the whole thing before him, every card face 
 up, and then ask him how much he considers his 
 opposition worth." He stopped a moment and 
 breathed deeply. "Thank God I ve got enough 
 money to tempt him; and I m ready to pay over 
 every cent I possess !" 
 
 "Of course you are counting on his having the 
 cable?" 
 
 "Naturally. Otherwise 
 
 "But how will you know?" 
 
 "I m going to ask him." 
 
 "Still," I debated, "can you believe what he 
 will tell you?" 
 
 He smiled confidently. "I ve never yet put a 
 direct question to a man and failed to know if his 
 answer was the truth or a lie." 
 
 "If he teUs you he has it?" 
 
 His face grew suddenly hard and very old. "If 
 he has that cable my Government must know it at 
 once. And then I ll probably be relieved of my 
 job in a few days." 
 
 "You will go home at once?" 
 
 He looked at me steadily through a long, painful 
 minute. 
 
 "Not at once no." He sat down in his chair 
 and, with a visible effort, changed the subject. 
 "Now to business. I m going to receive Stanlau 
 in the library. There s a door with a curtain over
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 205 
 
 it that leads into my smoking-room; you know 
 it?" 
 
 I nodded. 
 
 " Good ! I want you to put a chair back of that 
 curtain, sit there through the interview, and make 
 notes of everything that is said; not in your head, 
 mind you, but on paper. It s going to be too im 
 portant for any part of it to be forgotten. Be here a 
 little before four; he s coming at that time. That s 
 all." 
 
 I got up and held out my hand. 
 
 "Mr. Ambassador you know how much I want 
 you to win!" 
 
 "Of course I do, my boy, and I thank you for it. 
 We ll come out on top yet !" 
 
 And in a way he has won; if he will accept the 
 situation as it now confronts him. But for me it is 
 dire, dismal failure ! 
 
 I arrived a little before four and arranged my seat 
 behind the curtain. The Ambassador was already 
 in the library, walking up and down, with his hands 
 clasped behind him. He had hardly anything to 
 say. In a few minutes Comte de Stanlau was an 
 nounced. I took my seat behind the curtain. 
 
 The Ambassador welcomed Stanlau cordially and 
 offered him a cigar, which he refused, lighting a cig 
 arette of his own; then they sat down, Stanlau 
 comfortably on a sofa, the Ambassador facing him 
 in a straight chair. 
 
 "I m glad you could come this afternoon. Saves
 
 206 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 heaps of time when you can get a fellow the day 
 you want him." The Ambassador cut the end of 
 an unusually long cigar and reached for a match. 
 Stanlau was quick to light one for him and, rising, 
 held it to his cigar. " Thank you." The Ambassador 
 blew a thick cloud of smoke between them. "Now 
 we can talk!" 
 
 Stanlau resumed his seat on the sofa. "Yes, your 
 Excellency." 
 
 The Ambassador drew again at his cigar. "If 
 you don t mind, would you just as soon drop that 
 Excellency business? It bothers me. I want to 
 talk to you man to man. You re Stanlau I m 
 Colborne." 
 
 "That is agreeable to me; indeed, I am much 
 flattered." 
 
 "Well. Now The Ambassador got up. Stan 
 lau promptly did the same. "No no. You sit 
 where you are. I ve got to be on my feet when I 
 talk. Got the habit in the Senate." 
 
 Again Stanlau sat down. The Ambassador stood 
 immediately in front of him, and with hands deep 
 in his pockets looked him squarely in the eyes. 
 
 "You know, Stanlau, that a special session of 
 Parliament has been called for next month. You 
 also know that the Prime Minister will place before 
 it a bill in which my Government is deeply inter 
 ested. For the act resulting from the passage of 
 this bill we have offered to pay your country an 
 enormous price. We have also stated that we are 
 prepared to make important tariff concessions.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 207 
 
 All this I have put very concisely before the Prime 
 Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. 
 Both of them inform me that the Conservatives are 
 in favor of the bill as it provides them with a means 
 of paying off the national debt. The King is for it 
 because it will give him funds to carry on his hobby 
 armament. In spite of this, I am given to under 
 stand that the bill will not pass Parliament due 
 to the controlling vote of the Socialist party, with 
 you at its head." 
 
 Stanlau waited until he saw that the Ambassador 
 had finished, then lighted another cigarette. He 
 settled back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and to 
 all appearances intended to make no comment on 
 what had been said. 
 
 The Ambassador stood the silence as long as he 
 could, then broke out: "Well, Stanlau, I ve asked 
 you to come here to discuss the matter with me." 
 
 "Yes," said Stanlau, entirely non-committal. 
 
 "With your opposition, I am told, I shall be un 
 successful." This was followed by a slight pause. 
 "If your opposition is withdrawn I shall win. What 
 I want to know is this: What will persuade you to 
 take sides with me?" 
 
 Stanlau still maintained his composed attitude. 
 During the silence that followed the Ambassador 
 sat down, though not for a second taking his eyes 
 from Stanlau s. The room grew so quiet that I 
 could hear my watch ticking. 
 
 "If I withdrew my opposition," Stanlau at last 
 began, his voice very low and each word spoken as
 
 208 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 if it were first carefully considered, "I should be 
 forfeiting the confidence of my followers. That is 
 very dear to me, for my followers are the real people 
 of this country, and they, as I, look upon this bill, 
 in which you are so interested, as something that 
 will be a lessening of their national honor. If I 
 favored it I should probably have to leave here 
 forever; it would mean a virtual exile. I should be 
 called a traitor to my party; I should be detested 
 and cursed!" He stopped with an expressive ges 
 ture, then continued, even more reflectively: "Be 
 sides now that other governments know 
 
 The Ambassador sprang up from his chair. His 
 face was scarlet; his hands were clinched in a vain 
 attempt to control himself. 
 
 " So you have the cable ! That s what I wanted 
 to know ! " 
 
 Stanlau smiled. "What cable?" 
 
 "Don t try to beat about the bush! You would 
 never have known about any other government if 
 you hadn t seen it!" 
 
 For a few seconds Stanlau drew at his cigarette. 
 "Well even if I admit having seen the cable 
 
 "I wonder if you know what you are admitting !" 
 the Ambassador interrupted, his voice loud and full 
 of stinging contempt. "You have pretended to be 
 my friend, you have accepted my hospitality, you 
 have broken bread with me time and time again, 
 and yet you set spies on my house and ferret out 
 private information which you can use against me 
 which which may ruin me ! And then, by God,
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 209 
 
 you have the nerve to come here and admit it to 
 me!" 
 
 Stanlau had risen at this outburst and stood 
 facing the Ambassador, quietly waiting for him to 
 finish. "I admit having seen the cable, your Ex 
 cellency." His dignity and composure were per 
 fect. "I do not admit having put spies here to ob 
 tain it. It was given to me." 
 
 "By whom?" 
 
 "That, unfortunately, I am not at liberty to say." 
 
 "I demand to know." 
 
 "I beg of you not to insist. It can do no good." 
 
 Strangely enough, this appeared to calm the 
 Ambassador. He turned away from Stanlau for the 
 first time since the interview had begun and walked 
 across the room. In a minute he was back again. 
 
 "If you give out that information, Stanlau, it 
 will cost your country the enormous sum We are 
 offering. I suggest that you consider that." 
 
 Stanlau smiled. "Even if another country 
 
 "No other Power will do anything. They un 
 derstand our Monroe Doctrine pretty well by 
 now." 
 
 "Perhaps though one of them might be willing 
 to go to war over a matter of such vital importance." 
 
 This appeared to amuse the Ambassador. " We ve 
 licked one big Power twice. We can do it again." 
 Then, with a quick change of voice: "Look here, 
 Stanlau, my offer is of great advantage to your 
 country. You know that as well as I do. Your 
 party may not see it to-day; but they will in a few
 
 210 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 years. It is a chance for you to show your fore 
 sight." 
 
 Stanlau appeared to consider this idea, and for a 
 few minutes neither of them spoke. 
 
 I am recording this conversation just as it took 
 place. As I look back on it, now that I am in my 
 room, I see so much more clearly how each one was 
 playing the other; and yet, at the time, I would 
 have sworn that each was sincere. 
 
 "If it were known that I had possession of the 
 information embodied in that cable and had not 
 used it Stanlau left the sentence effectively un 
 finished. 
 
 "No one except my Government, you, and I know 
 its contents." 
 
 "Can we be sure of that?" 
 
 "We can unless you have shown it." 
 
 "I have shown it to no one." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 They were both smiling at each other now. 
 
 "What are you going to do?" the Ambassador 
 finally asked. 
 
 Stanlau s expression grew serious. "It would be 
 rather precipitate of me to pledge myself to you 
 before I know what other governments would do." 
 
 Without a word the Ambassador went to a bell 
 and pressed it. While waiting, he pulled out his 
 watch and looked at it. 
 
 " It has taken me a full half-hour to find out what 
 I wanted to know whether or not you were in
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 211 
 
 communication with any other government." Ar- 
 turo, entering at this moment, he turned to him. 
 "Ask Mr. Dalton to come here at once." 
 
 For the first time Stanlau spoke quickly. "Just 
 one moment, please." This was addressed to Ar- 
 turo, who bowed and waited. Then to the Am 
 bassador: "I beg your pardon, but may I ask what 
 you intend to do?" 
 
 "Cable my Government at once." 
 
 "Before you do that, would it not be better to 
 hear what I have to say?" 
 
 The Ambassador nodded to Arturo. "Never 
 mind; I ll ring for you later." 
 
 Stanlau walked to the window and stood for a 
 little while with his back to the Ambassador. I 
 was beginning to feel that the crucial part of the 
 interview was passed. Surely the important fact 
 was now known. The Ambassador had found out 
 that Stanlau had the cable and, more important 
 still, that he was in communication with another 
 concerning the information contained in it. As 
 disconcerting as both discoveries were, it at least 
 made certain what was before only surmise. Stan- 
 lau s next word, however, put international questions 
 considerably in the background. To me they were 
 as if they had never existed. 
 
 "There is something of much more vital impor 
 tance to me," Stanlau said, "than this matter be 
 tween our governments." He stopped, permitting 
 a slight pause to give importance to his words. 
 "I mean your daughter. I love her."
 
 212 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador flicked his cigar with impatience. 
 " That s changing the subject. Let s stick to busi 
 ness." 
 
 "I beg your pardon; it is not changing the sub 
 ject. I have the honor to ask you for her hand." 
 
 Again the Ambassador made an impatient ges 
 ture. "Stanlau Kate s just like me. She d no 
 more think of marrying any one but an American 
 than she d think of jumping into the fire. She re 
 fused you in Washington; it will be just the same 
 here. I m sorry for you but He spread out 
 his hands as if the subject were settled once and for 
 all. 
 
 Stanlau smiled. It was not an altogether pleas 
 ant smile; it was too much the result of assured 
 complacency. His voice, too, though thoroughly 
 polite and considerate, had in it a quality too ex 
 pressive of certainty to be agreeable. 
 
 "When a man loves, discouragement only feeds 
 the flame." I wondered if the Ambassador remem 
 bered having expressed exactly the same sentiment 
 to me a few weeks before. "I have something to 
 offer your daughter which is not altogether neg 
 ligible. My name is a very old one; it is known all 
 over Europe. Your daughter, as my wife, would be 
 received at every Court. She would have four 
 castles " 
 
 The Ambassador interrupted with a yawn so 
 frank and full of ennui that it cut Stanlau short 
 in the enumeration of his attractions and left him 
 standing, flushed with indignation.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 213 
 
 "Stanla*u, let s cut this out. None of it s what 
 the right sort of an American girl wants." 
 
 It was extraordinary how Stanlau kept his bal 
 ance. "No?" he said half -inquiringly. "What, 
 then, does she want?" 
 
 "Good honest faithful love!" The Ambassa 
 dor punctuated each word by letting his hand fall 
 on the arm of his chair. 
 
 "But that goes without saying!" 
 
 "Not on your life not with you Europeans! 
 I d want it put in the marriage contract. I ve had 
 my eyes open since I ve been over here. I don t 
 blame you so much personally as I do your laws and 
 your traditions. I suppose you can t know how to 
 treat a woman if you ve never seen them given a 
 fair chance." 
 
 Stanlau received this thoughtfully. "That is the 
 usual American opinion, I know," he answered 
 slowly. " It is quite wrong. I believe the European 
 wife is happier and more of a home-maker than the 
 American. There is no doubt that she is much more 
 contented. You are bound to admit that. And do 
 you know why? it is because we demand certain 
 things of her. Give a woman too much freedom, 
 either of thought or action, and she is ruined. Her 
 happiness depends upon her subordination. The 
 normal woman wants her husband to be her master." 
 
 The Ambassador laughed with genuine amuse 
 ment. "That s a good enough theory for your 
 women; but, by George, I d like you to show me an 
 American girl that would stand for it. No, Stan-
 
 214 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 lau" seriously "I ve seen too many nice girls 
 come over here, marry, and return home after a few 
 years, health, happiness, money, everything gone 
 . . . You see, I m not like the American we ve all 
 heard about who was so glad to have his daughter 
 marry a titled foreigner that he consented to a 
 clause being introduced into the marriage contract 
 which permitted the husband to keep a mistress 
 without it s being a cause for divorce." 
 
 "Need we discuss such improbable cases?" 
 
 The Ambassador pulled himself together and 
 stood up. "I don t think we need discuss any part 
 of this matter any longer. We re losing time." 
 His voice grew very much gentler, and he laid his 
 hand on Stanlau s arm. "I don t blame you for 
 loving Kitty; everybody does. God knows, she s 
 all the world to me. But as for my giving my con 
 sent to her marrying any one but an American 
 never, sir!" 
 
 Stanlau drew back with such a quick movement 
 that the Ambassador s hand slipped abruptly from 
 his arm. 
 
 "Then, your Excellency," he said, his voice for 
 the first time showing emotion, "I regret to tell you 
 that your Government s wishes are doomed to fail 
 ure." 
 
 The Ambassador was caught thoroughly unpre 
 pared for such a statement. His first gesture was 
 an abrupt, short laugh; then followed a long, con 
 centrated stare into Stanlau s eyes; and finally an 
 ominous clinching of the fists and a step nearer.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 215 
 
 "You damned scoundrel!" he said at last, with 
 heavy, labored breathing. "Have you got the 
 cheek to stand there and insult me ! " 
 
 Stanlau did not flinch. A deep flush was the only 
 emotional sign he gave. "I have meant no insult." 
 
 "You have attempted to bribe me!" 
 
 "You misunderstood me. I love your daughter. 
 I am willing to stake everything on winning her 
 even if it is necessary to betray my party. That 
 is what love means to men of my country!" 
 
 "And you expect such a declaration to win 
 Kitty s love!" The Ambassador s words rang with 
 contempt. 
 
 Stanlau lowered his eyes and smiled. "I have 
 already won her love, your Excellency. She has 
 consented to become my wife." 
 
 The Ambassador s laugh rang out loud and clear. 
 "My Kitty marry you ! That would be a joke!" 
 
 "You have only to ask her," came the quiet re 
 sponse. 
 
 Still laughing, the Ambassador went to a bell 
 and rang it. While waiting, he pulled out a hand 
 kerchief and mopped his face, chuckling to himself 
 all the time. 
 
 "Tell my daughter I must see her at once," he 
 said when Arturo entered. "Hold on! Tell her 
 not to keep me waiting. I want to see her in- 
 stanter." 
 
 Neither of them spoke another word while they 
 waited; and it was a long, miserable, portentous 
 ten minutes.
 
 2i6 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Kate came in very quietly, the black of her Court 
 mourning accentuating her pallor. She went straight 
 to her father without seeing Stanlau. Laying her 
 hand on his shoulder he had sat down by the 
 table she looked at him and smiled. 
 
 "Did I keep you waiting very long?" 
 
 He reached for her hand, clasped it between his 
 own, then held it against his cheek. 
 
 Suddenly she saw Comte de Stanlau and started. 
 " I thought you were alone, father ! " She drew away 
 from him and bowed to Stanlau. 
 
 The Ambassador still held her hand. "Kitty 
 I sent for you because " He broke off and began 
 laughing again. " It s the biggest joke yet ! Count 
 Stanlau says you are going to marry him!" 
 
 She looked at Stanlau; he bowed in a way which 
 signified that the statement was correct; then her 
 eyes came back to her father and dwelt on him af 
 fectionately. 
 
 It was an interminable time before she spoke. 
 
 "Yes, father I am." 
 
 The Ambassador struggled up from his chair. 
 "Stop joking, Kate! I m serious!" 
 
 She met his eyes squarely. "I am serious, too, 
 father." 
 
 Suddenly he grasped her arm in a tight hold. 
 She winced with pain. 
 
 "What! You, my daughter, would marry a 
 foreigner ! " 
 
 She did not reply at once. His hand tightened on 
 her arm.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 217 
 
 "You would! Answer me! Why?" 
 
 "Because" her words were hardly audible 
 "because I love him." 
 
 The Ambassador s free hand swung out and 
 grasped her other arm. He turned her roughly 
 about so that she was facing him; then he drew her 
 closer to him until their faces were only a few inches 
 apart. 
 
 "Look at me!" 
 
 She made an effort to lift her hands and rest 
 them against him, but his hold of her arms was too 
 tight. 
 
 "Look at me, Kitty straight in the eyes !" His 
 voice dropped to a lower pitch. When he continued, 
 it was full of the gentleness of deep love. "You ve 
 never lied to me in your life. You are not going to 
 now." He paused, breathing hard. "Why are you 
 marrying this man? You can t love him!" 
 
 Her eyes fell. A smothered sob escaped her. 
 
 "Father I m sorry 
 
 "You are not looking at me!" He lifted her 
 chin with his hand. "For God s sake, Kitty, tell 
 me the truth !" His voice could not have held out 
 much longer; it was already breaking. "Do you 
 love this man?" 
 
 She looked straight into his eyes and answered: 
 "Yes." 
 
 The Ambassador let go her arms, drew out his 
 handkerchief and mopped his face, looked around 
 in a bewildered sort of way; then, quite suddenly, 
 he sank down in the chair, stretched his arms out
 
 218 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 on the table before him, and bowed his head on 
 them. 
 
 "I don t understand it. I don t believe it." 
 
 Kate gave a quick signal to Stanlau. He came to 
 her, raised her hand to his lips, and left the room 
 without a word. 
 
 She waited until the door was closed, then knelt 
 down beside her father and laid her head against 
 his knee. 
 
 I left them there, no words spoken between them. 
 What is the use of words at such a time ! And 
 why should love be called a gift from God when it 
 brings us only bitterness !
 
 XV 
 
 March 18, 19 . 
 
 A nidi blanche followed Kate s avowal that she 
 loved Stanlau. After I had finished writing the 
 record of the interview I went out on my little ter 
 race. As I sat there in the soothing darkness the 
 larger street-lamps went out one by one; gradually 
 the trams stopped running; the sounds of the city 
 died away, and I was left alone in the oppressive 
 silence. There is something ominous in the sleep 
 of a great city. I wondered how many there were 
 about me who were sitting through these long, 
 black hours with eyes wide open and staring toward 
 the dismal day that would eventually come. 
 
 As I sat there all sorts of thoughts surged through 
 my mind. The most insistent of all was what I 
 still think is a true explanation. Kate does not 
 love Stanlau. She is only doing this to save her 
 father. With the information that I gave her she 
 must have gone to her stepmother, forced the truth 
 about the cable from her, and made Stanlau promise 
 to save her father as the condition upon which she 
 would marry him. As I went back and traced her 
 change of manner to me, I grew more and more 
 convinced of the certainty of my deductions. It 
 was almost immediately after I had confessed to 
 her my suspicions that the change had come. 
 Each detail enforced this belief. And her note to 
 
 219
 
 220 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 me was only the culmination of her decision that she 
 alone could save her father. It seemed fantastic 
 that she should have taken it upon herself to make 
 this sacrifice, and yet every time she had spoken 
 of her father, from our very first meeting, each time 
 she had talked to me of him had shown a depth of 
 affection which would make such a sacrifice a sort 
 of compensating expression of her love. 
 
 One goes along so placidly through life that one 
 becomes blunted to the big sacrifices that are taking 
 place on all sides and every day. Indeed, one is 
 and most of all am I inclined to scoff at such things 
 and say they are not done; that human nature is 
 too practical these days; that common sense and 
 reason lead one safely past such precipices. And 
 yet suddenly we are brought face to face with a 
 situation, and know then that our scoffing was only 
 blindness. The realization brings with it a tremen 
 dous thrill. It did to me. I walked on through 
 the night much stronger and more deeply under 
 standing than I had ever been before. What Kate 
 was willing to do stirred me out of the mere com 
 monplace existence I had been leading. I lifted my 
 head and drew in the cool night air with a sense 
 of exhilaration. She had shown me what could be 
 done; she had done more than that she had brought 
 to life in me a determination to save her which 
 nothing will now quell. I thought I loved her be 
 fore; I worship her now. 
 
 The city lights, paling in the dawn, found me on 
 the terrace. Still I did not go in. The gradually
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 221 
 
 increasing distinctness of my surroundings came 
 with messages of hope. The rugged mountains 
 looming invincible out of the mists were full of words 
 of strength; the soft pale pinks and grays of the sea 
 spoke calm; the tingling vibrations of the awakening 
 city rose to me with that feeling of inward force 
 and life which means vanquished discouragement. 
 The day had come, and with it strength and cour 
 age. . . . 
 
 I went to the Embassy before office hours. My 
 room adjoins the Ambassador s. The green baize 
 door which separates our rooms was closed. I 
 opened it carefully and looked in. The Ambassa 
 dor was already at his desk, though evidently he 
 had not yet begun the day s work. He was sitting 
 motionless, staring straight before him, the pile of 
 unopened mail lying unseen and untouched. His 
 attitude was poignantly expressive of his thoughts. 
 There is nothing more tragic than a man sitting 
 alone, silent, motionless, brooding upon his sorrows. 
 
 I closed the door without his having seen me. I 
 was not ready yet to talk to him. 
 
 Without a moment s delay I sat down and wrote 
 Kate a note. I wasted no words in argument; I 
 demanded an interview and told her I would ac 
 cept no excuses. Having sealed the envelope, I 
 rang for Arturo and, while waiting for him, turned 
 toward the window. 
 
 It is spring now: resplendent, gorgeous, sudden 
 spring; so different from the timid advances and
 
 222 
 
 withdrawals of our spring at home. Here it comes 
 in one night. Looking through the window I saw 
 the garden en fete : lilies, crocuses, hyacinths, bor 
 ders of fragrant violets, flaming crimson Judas-tree; 
 and over all this dazzling, joyous sun. In the midst 
 of this beauty I caught sight of a black-robed figure 
 bending over and picking violets. It was Kate, with 
 the sun gleaming on her hair. 
 
 I went straight out to her, holding the note in 
 my hand. She saw me coming, rose, smiled in the 
 silent way I love so, and gave me her hand. She 
 looked brighter than on the day before; she was not 
 so pale, and her eyes, though still strangely sad, 
 glowed with calm determination. 
 
 "Kate," I said, "I have just written you this 
 note. I wish to speak with you. I must do so at 
 once." 
 
 She looked at me with a quick change of expres 
 sion a sort of sudden fear that made the little 
 color fade from her face. Without speaking, she 
 led the way to the stone bench by the fountain and 
 sat down. Putting the violets in her lap, she began 
 picking them up one by one and arranging them in 
 a bouquet. Her attitude was one of patient waiting. 
 
 "I overheard your conversation with your father 
 yesterday," I burst out. "I mean when you told 
 him you were going to marry Comte de Stanlau." 
 She flashed a look of scorn at me. I hurried on. 
 "It was at your father s request. He wanted a 
 record of his talk with Stanlau. Your part in it 
 was unexpected."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 223 
 
 The explanation appeared satisfactory. She re 
 turned to the violets. "I am glad that you know," 
 she said after a pause. "I was going to write you." 
 
 Suddenly I bent forward and took her hand 
 firmly in mine. "Kate, this can t go on. You 
 don t love him. I know why you are doing this." 
 
 She drew her hand away and stood up. "Do 
 you expect me to let you talk to me in this way? 
 By what right 
 
 "The right you gave me when you promised to 
 be my wife. The right I have because I told you 
 about the cable. It is all very plain. You know 
 your mother gave Stanlau the cable, and you are 
 sacrificing yourself to save your father. I am going 
 to tell him everything." 
 
 She sat down quickly and let the violets slip un 
 noticed to the ground. "You would not dare to 
 tell my father!" 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Because She stopped helplessly. 
 
 "Because you know he would not accept your 
 sacrifice. That is the reason I shall tell him. You 
 have made him miserable enough already. Do you 
 think, when he found out that you do not love 
 Stanlau and he is bound to find it out sooner or 
 later that he could bear it? That would be 
 worse to him than any disgrace!" 
 
 She met my eyes as steadily as she had met her 
 father s the day before; she even went further- 
 she smiled. "You are wofully mistaken. I do love 
 Comte de Stanlau."
 
 224 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Oh, Kate! why say such a thing to me?" 
 She looked away and was silent a little while as 
 if choosing carefully the words that followed: "You 
 must listen to me; and you must try to understand." 
 She stopped. I saw her hands clasp together with 
 the effort at continuing. "I thought I loved you 
 when I promised to marry you. We were both like 
 children together, weren t we ? Everything was gay 
 and light and care free. We had both come into 
 this life at the same time. It was to us both a sort 
 of joke, full of amusement and interest, heaps of fun 
 only that, until my father s honor was at stake 
 Then, quite suddenly, it all became desperately 
 serious ... I knew that my father was much 
 more involved than he admitted. I love him too 
 much for him to hide anything from me . . . Then 
 you told me of your suspicions. I went to my step 
 mother and demanded to know the truth. She 
 laughed at the serious way in which I took it ... 
 When I talked to Comte de Stanlau about it he 
 told me that it had never been his intention to ruin 
 my father; but that if he did not use the informa 
 tion contained in that cable it would mean that he 
 would be a traitor to the people who were trusting 
 him not only to them but to his country. Then he 
 told me" her voice grew very low and less steady 
 "that he would be willing to do that through his 
 love for me. It would mean his having to leave 
 his country forever; but he was willing to do this, 
 and much more, if it would save my father and 
 make me happy." Her voice died away to a whisper.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 225 
 
 "And you believe him?" 
 
 " I must. Why shouldn t I ? " 
 
 "And you will marry him for that reason alone?" 
 
 "No not for that reason alone." 
 
 Her calm answer to my questions made me feel 
 that I was losing ground. This feeling brought 
 exasperation. 
 
 "You mean to insist that you love him?" 
 
 Quite unexpectedly, and with a sudden flare of 
 excitement, she turned and faced me. "Why 
 should I not love him! Has he not shown himself 
 worthy of any woman s love ! What better proof 
 could I have of it ! " Her voice rose to a nervous, 
 trembling pitch and suddenly broke. "I can t 
 talk to you any more now," she began, again calm. 
 "But you must understand now; forgive me if you 
 can, for I must seem heartless and capricious; and 
 surely" this with an anxious look of inquiry "you 
 see how wrong it would be to tell my father?" 
 
 I shook my head. "I don t believe you." 
 
 She held out her hands with a gesture of helpless 
 ness. "Then there is nothing more for us to say. 
 If you insist upon telling my father you will only 
 break his faith in his wife, you will add shame to his 
 sorrow at losing me, you will make him suspect 
 Comte de Stanlau, you will make me very unhappy, 
 and what will you gain ? Nothing now can prevent 
 me from marrying the man I love nothing noth- 
 ing!" 
 
 She rose and looked toward the house. Seeing 
 her father at the window, she struggled with a smile
 
 226 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 and waved her hand. Then she turned back to me 
 and looked at me through a short silence. 
 
 "Do you believe me now?" 
 
 I shook my head. 
 
 "Is it because you don t want to believe me?" 
 
 I did not answer. 
 
 "Forgive me for hurting you !" She came nearer 
 and held out her hand. There were tears in her 
 voice, and I thought I saw them shining in her eyes. 
 "I never thought you would take it this way." 
 
 "Why not?" I questioned hotly. 
 
 "Because because it seems such a long time 
 ago when we were both children." She stopped and 
 let the extended hands which I had refused fall to 
 her side. " I need your help now. I need your con 
 fidence, too. Please please don t fail me!" 
 
 I dropped my head in my hands. The whole 
 wretched affair grew every moment harder to bear. 
 
 "Kate Kate!" I cried, miserable in the battle 
 between doubt and belief of her. "What do you 
 want me to do?" 
 
 "Only say nothing and save every one s happi 
 ness ! . . ." 
 
 "And my happiness! What of that?" I cried; 
 but she had gone. 
 
 When I got back to my office the Ambassador 
 w r as there impatiently waiting for me. 
 
 "I saw you talking to Kate," he burst out before 
 I had closed the door. "Were you talking about "- 
 he stopped and looked at me closely "about yester 
 day?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 227 
 
 "Yes, sir; we were." 
 "What did she say? : 
 
 "The same thing." 
 
 "That she is marrying that scoundrel because she 
 loves him?" 
 
 I nodded. 
 
 "I won t believe it; I won t." He bit viciously 
 at his cigar and threw it away. Then he began walk 
 ing up and down the room. "Do you believe it?" 
 he suddenly threw at me. 
 
 I did not know how to answer him; I don t know 
 what I think. Her arguments have thrown me quite 
 out of balance. She was so reasonable in all her 
 statements that I cannot dismiss them from my 
 thoughts. If Stanlau were a different sort, it would 
 be easy enough to believe that she was marrying 
 him solely to save her father. But he is attractive, 
 clever, and has a good deal of charm. Any one who 
 has seen him as I have is bound to admit it. Why 
 should he not attract Kate as he does every other 
 woman? I expressed something of this to the 
 Ambassador and was met with impatient con 
 tempt. 
 
 "You don t know what you are talking about! 
 You don t know her ! I m not fool enough to pre 
 tend I understand women; but I do think I under 
 stand my daughter. I ve brought her up myself. 
 I ve had my eyes on her all the time even when 
 she was off at school. I ve taught her myself lots 
 of things; I ve made her read with me; I ve dis 
 cussed everything with her. And I know how she
 
 228 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 thinks." He kicked a chair out of his way so as to 
 walk more freely. "This isn t like her. There s 
 something else back of it. And, by God" he 
 stopped and pounded on my desk "I m going to 
 get it out of her!" 
 
 He resumed his thundering promenade. I leaned 
 against the desk, wondering if he could be right. 
 
 "Then you don t think she loves him?" I sug 
 gested after a long pause. 
 
 He stopped and scowled at me. "Damnation!" 
 he cried. "Don t talk piffle!" And with another 
 contemptuous glance at me he went out of the room 
 and slammed the door. 
 
 The rest of the morning was fairly busy, fortu 
 nately for us all. A number of people called to see 
 the Ambassador; in fact, there is a constant stream 
 of people at the Embassy every day. There is a 
 prevalent belief at home that an embassy has very 
 little work to do. I thought so, too, until I was part 
 of one. There is a great deal to do. What ? people 
 ask. To begin with, there is always a large stack 
 of mail every morning. Begging letters from in 
 digent Americans; letters asking for information on 
 every subject under the sun: letters from business 
 concerns in America asking for statistics on this, 
 that, and the other thing; letters from provincial 
 school-teachers demanding an exhaustive and ex 
 hausting report on how schoolrooms in this country 
 are ventilated; letters from naturalized Americans 
 asking us to look up their family trees; and, beyond 
 all this, once a week there is a pouch from the De-
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 229 
 
 partment of State with all sorts of official business, 
 and one which we send off filled with reports on 
 political and financial questions. All this is prima 
 rily Dalton s duty. He opens, sorts, and distributes 
 the mail. Atkins is requisitioned as much as possi 
 ble, and there are two stenographers at work all 
 the time. If this work could be done without in 
 terruption it would be easy enough; but there is the 
 endless line of visitors with passports to be vised, 
 requests for letters of introduction to every one from 
 the King down, tickets of admittance to places 
 which are never open to the public, complaints 
 against custom regulations; indeed, they come for 
 every imaginable and unimaginable reason. And, to 
 add to our task, the Ambassador has several letters 
 of introduction presented to him almost every day. 
 They seem to come, too, from intimate friends, and 
 of course mean a luncheon or dinner invitation to 
 the bearer. He must know every living soul in the 
 U. S. A. Indeed, if any one scoffs at the work of 
 an embassy, let him try it for a while ! 
 
 This afternoon I took the bull by the horns, as 
 the Ambassador would express it, and went in to 
 see Mrs. Colborne. I suppose it was desperation 
 that made me do it; nothing else could have made 
 me so rash. I knew that she would be alone at tea, 
 and I decided to act quickly. After all, I do not think 
 I have made a mistake. 
 
 She gave me tea in a little room she has furnished 
 with Venetian Louis XV things, a charming room,
 
 230 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 essentially feminine and thoroughly uncomfortable. 
 She was as handsome as usual in a tea-gown with 
 a discreet concession toward the Court mourning 
 which she so consistently maintains. We discussed 
 only the social side of things, her obsession; and all 
 the time she was talking fluently on this subject 
 I was wondering what exactly her association with 
 the Ambassador could be like. I suppose her at 
 titude toward him is that world-old one of love for 
 the one who gives her everything that her heart 
 desires; his toward her is probably equally primitive: 
 the love that comes from the pride of being the 
 possessor of something beautiful. My reasoning re 
 calls a comment a man once made when asked 
 what his friend, a rich old banker, found to love in 
 his silly but very pretty young wife. "Oh, he s 
 proud of her looks and the way she spends his 
 money." I hate to think that the Ambassador s 
 attitude toward his wife is a similar one; yet, up to 
 the present, I have discovered nothing to suggest 
 anything deeper. 
 
 While she was lighting her delicately scented 
 cigarette my opportunity came. 
 
 "So Miss Colborne is going to marry Comte de 
 Stanlau," I commented. 
 
 She smiled, though with just a bit of effort. 
 
 "Then she has told you! Isn t it delightful? 
 I think she is really to be congratulated. And think 
 what a reclame for her father !" 
 
 "Reclame! How?" 
 
 " There are not many American ambassadors who
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 231 
 
 marry their daughters so successfully. Of course, 
 you know Comte de Stanlau is quite the best parti 
 here." 
 
 "I hardly think that will have much effect on 
 the Ambassador." 
 
 "Perhaps not now, but later, when he sees the 
 inestimable advantages for Kate that will result from 
 such an alliance." 
 
 "Then you think she loves him?" 
 
 She avoided my eyes, looked away, and drew 
 daintily at her cigarette. "I am inclined to think 
 I believe in the European idea of love for a young 
 girl. They assert she doesn t know what it means 
 until she is married." 
 
 I let a few seconds pass in silence. Having been 
 present at the scene which had taken place between 
 her and Dalton about the cable, I was not sure that 
 my next remark would not cause a similar outburst. 
 However, I took the plunge. Officious or not, I did 
 not care provided something were gained. 
 
 "Then you do not think that Miss Colborne s 
 discovery that Comte de Stanlau has the cable, 
 and that it is in his power to ruin the Ambassador, 
 had anything to do with her decision?" 
 
 She listened, first with a flush of anger; then, as 
 I continued, the color faded and her eyes opened 
 wide in sincere amazement. 
 
 "What do you mean by Comte de Stanlau ruin 
 ing my husband?" 
 
 "Surely," I exclaimed, "you read the cable!" 
 
 Her indecision, her resentment, her fear were
 
 232 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 plainly visible in her expression. In the end fear 
 conquered. 
 
 "I don t know anything about political affairs," 
 she said in a low voice. "Was was it very im 
 portant?" 
 
 It was my turn now to stare in amazement. I had 
 never thought her clever, but that she could be so 
 stupid as this seemed incredible. 
 
 "You must have seen how worried the Ambassa 
 dor was when it disappeared?" 
 
 At this she appeared a little relieved. "John is 
 always frightfully worried over any business af 
 fair." 
 
 "But, Mrs. Colborne," I cried, "don t you know 
 that cable contained the most important information 
 with regard to the United States ! Don t you know 
 that if it were made public your husband would be 
 disgraced for life ! He would be looked upon as a 
 man without honor! He would be shunned by 
 every one!" 
 
 She rose from her chair and started quickly across 
 the room, then stopped short and stood perfectly 
 still. Her movements were undecided and without 
 object. It was evident that she was struggling to 
 control herself, and perhaps, too, to understand what 
 I had told her. Her face, when she turned toward 
 me, was strangely altered with conflicting emo 
 tions. 
 
 "I don t understand," she said as if to herself. 
 "I don t understand at all! Why wasn t I told 
 about this? If I had only known, if I had been
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 233 
 
 . advised! Surely" the tears began to show in her 
 eyes "surely it is not so bad as you say !" 
 
 She sank down in a chair and covered her face 
 with her hands. It was a strange sight to see her 
 give way so completely. She is always so well 
 poised and self-satisfied and pleased with her sur 
 roundings that, to see her sincerely distressed, was 
 almost fantastic. It seemed abnormal. And yet 
 it was rather touching to see her brought face to 
 face with her own deficiency. After all, one cannot 
 condemn a human being for the qualities or lack 
 of them for which nature is responsible. 
 
 After a little while she dried her tears and looked 
 up. 
 
 "What is going to be done? What can I do? 
 This marriage cannot take place! I am beginning 
 to understand it all better now. I know why Kate 
 is so strange and sad. How foolish I have been!" 
 She clasped her hands on her breast; the tears 
 rolled down her cheeks. "How stupid I have been ! 
 I shall never forgive myself ! " 
 
 One of her phrases made my heart leap. 
 
 "Why did you say the marriage could not take 
 place?" 
 
 "Because she does not love him. She never has. 
 She is only doing it to save her father." 
 
 I grasped her hands warmly. "Mrs. Colborne, 
 can you make her admit that?" 
 
 "Of course I can," she exclaimed, surprised at 
 my question. "She realizes that I know she 
 doesn t."
 
 234 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Then then if you can do that " I broke 
 off, hearing the Ambassador s voice in the next 
 room. . . . 
 
 This conversation has left me strangely disturbed. 
 Have I misunderstood her? Have I been judging 
 her wrongly all this time? Did she give Stanlau 
 the cable? Somehow I have the feeling now that 
 perhaps she did not. Could she have been acting ! 
 Her distress appeared sincere. And her sudden 
 assertion that the marriage must not take place ! 
 What does that mean? It is quite beyond me to 
 understand women. 
 
 Her expression, as I left the room, startled me. 
 It was still puzzled, yet, beyond bewilderment, I 
 caught a new look of determination. She is evi 
 dently going to act and at once. Perhaps she is 
 going to confess to the Ambassador that she did 
 give the cable to Comte de Stanlau !_,
 
 XVI 
 
 March 25, 19 . 
 
 Two weeks more and Parliament meets; yet 
 everything appears to be in exactly the same state 
 that it was a fortnight ago, with this exception: 
 the Ambassador has had several long interviews 
 with Comte de Stanlau. As far as I can make out, 
 the Ambassador is letting him think that he has 
 accepted Kate s decision as final. Stanlau has out 
 lined very frankly his plan. When the vote is cast 
 there will be a preponderance in favor of us enough 
 to pass the bill at once. 
 
 "Then we are practically safe," I said. "You ve 
 won!" 
 
 "My Government has won," he answered, looking 
 at me with a new expression in his eyes. "/ have 
 lost." 
 
 I knew what he meant, for, strive as hard as he 
 has done, he has been able to get nothing more from 
 Kate than what she had told him at first. He has 
 given all of his free time to her; they have ridden 
 together; they have taken long walks. I have seen 
 them often sitting in the garden when I arrive in 
 the morning at the Embassy; yet each time that 
 he leaves her I know that he has not succeeded in 
 getting her to modify her first statement. Even 
 Mrs. Colborne, who was so assured in my interview 
 
 235
 
 236 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 with her that Kate did not love Stanlau, has begun 
 to believe she was mistaken. 
 
 "I won t believe it! I won t believe it!" the 
 Ambassador would exclaim from time to time. 
 "I ll break her down yet." 
 
 "Even if you do, what then?" 
 
 He looked at me as if wondering that such stu 
 pidity could exist. "Don t you see? Hasn t Stan 
 lau, in his assurance and confidence in Kate, put 
 himself entirely in my power ! " 
 
 "He can well afford to do that," I commented 
 bitterly. 
 
 "Don t I know that!" he frowned perplexedly. 
 "That is what is tying my hands now. If she would 
 only tell me the truth I could go straight ahead and 
 plan my campaign. It s all here" he tapped his 
 forehead "clear enough. Only" he sat down and 
 lowered his head in his hands "if she loves that 
 man I won t do anything. I couldn t." 
 
 He sat so long silent, in this unusually despondent 
 attitude, that I began to wonder if he too had not 
 given up all hope yet would not confess it. Then, 
 quite without any leading up to the subject, he be 
 gan to talk about his first wife, Kate s mother. He 
 did it very simply and with touching ingenuousness. 
 He described the beginning of his love for her, the 
 courtship, their marriage, and the few years they 
 had lived together. There was something very 
 tender and sweet, almost poetic, in the way he told 
 it; and I saw that it was the real part of his life, 
 that idyl that every man carries with him to the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 237 
 
 end, and perhaps beyond, in his secret heart. Kate, 
 to him, is the living symbol of that memory. No 
 wonder he clings to her more than to anything else 
 in his life. 
 
 "Everything was a long way from moving 
 smoothly in those days," he said with a far-off, re 
 flective look in his eyes. "We were mighty poor at 
 first. But she knew how to save and how to make 
 me think she had everything she wanted. And 
 when I began to get up in the world and things were 
 coming easy, she still made me think everything 
 was just as it ought to be." Again he sat through a 
 long silence, his head once more lowered in his 
 hands. "I didn t know until a month before she 
 died that she had been ill for two years. She had 
 known all along that she could not last long, and yet 
 she wouldn t tell me until I had to know . . . 
 Men are always bragging about how strong they 
 are; but beside a fine, brave, noble woman we are 
 nothing but babies." 
 
 He got up, brushed his hand across his eyes, and 
 reached for his handkerchief. "So, you see, that s 
 the sort of a mother Kate had and that s the sort of 
 spirit I m up against now. She ll stand anything 
 if she feels she has got to. So there we are!" 
 
 Once more I put my question of what could be 
 done if Kate admitted she did not love Stanlau. 
 
 "Wait and see, young man," he said, suddenly 
 aglow with enthusiasm. "I said I was no good at 
 this foreign intriguing. But I m going to show them 
 that a straight, uncultivated American oh, I know
 
 238 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 well enough they all call me that every last one 
 of them can play their game just as well as they 
 can. It isn t my profession, thank God, but if I m 
 forced into it to protect my country and, more than 
 that, save my daughter, you can be sure I ll play 
 it!" 
 
 "Even if she loves him she ought to be saved from 
 him." 
 
 He turned on me swiftly. "Do you know some 
 thing you haven t told me?" 
 
 I was thinking of that conversation between Vic- 
 toire and Atkins the day of my arrival. 
 
 "I suppose, though," I went on slowly, "he has 
 to consider a wife who will bring him a large dot. 7 
 
 "What do you know about Kate s dot, as you 
 call it?" 
 
 "I heard that there was a story current in Wash 
 ington that you said you would give her an enor 
 mous marriage portion." 
 
 "Who told you that?" 
 
 "A woman." 
 
 "Of course which one?" 
 
 "Comtesse Victoire." 
 
 "I wonder how she got hold of that !" 
 
 "Her brother heard it when he was in Washing 
 ton." 
 
 "H-m-m." He held his chin reflectively and 
 gradually his expression changed into a smile. 
 "I m glad you told me that." 
 
 "Why, sir?" 
 
 "It all helps in building up the case against him
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 239 
 
 the case which I m steadily presenting to Kate. 
 Don t you see what a ticklish matter it is? I ve 
 got to work all the time to get Stanlau in a place 
 where he can t get out; and still I ve got to do it so 
 that I can either hold him or let him go." 
 
 "Let him go!" I exclaimed, incredulous. 
 
 "Yes, let him go," he repeated slowly. "For 
 that is what I ll do if she loves him." 
 
 From day to day the situation grows more and 
 more interesting; it would be amusing if I could look 
 at it impersonally and if it were only free from its 
 tragic element. The Ambassador was sent for by 
 the King a few days ago and they had a long talk 
 on the coming meeting of Parliament. It appears 
 that his Majesty is keener than any one to get the 
 bill through and also has less power than any one 
 to accomplish it. 
 
 "What s the use of this king business, anyhow!" 
 exclaimed the Ambassador. "He s nothing but a 
 figurehead ! Has to do whatever his Prime Minister 
 tells him to, besides being worried to death all the 
 time for fear he ll be kicked out of the Palace and 
 his country made a republic ! Why, the President 
 of the United States is a mediaeval tyrant beside 
 him!" 
 
 It seems that he spent two hours urging the Am 
 bassador not to leave a stone unturned to get the 
 bill passed. It has been the same with the Prime 
 Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. All 
 of them are anxious for it and yet know that Stan-
 
 240 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 lau will defeat them. The Ambassador leads them 
 on, no doubt getting more of an insight into their 
 politics than any American has ever done, yet know 
 ing all the time that everything has been arranged. 
 Laughing in his sleeve at them, too, for he has been 
 careful to appear as much in doubt about the out 
 come as ever. 
 
 Of late several ambassadors have been assidu 
 ously cultivating us all. Mr. Colborne feels sure that 
 Stanlau is leading them on in the belief that his in 
 terests are all in favor of their governments; and 
 they, no doubt, are counting on the Ambassador 
 letting slip something that will throw light on the 
 subject. 
 
 It has been interesting to see the British and 
 American ambassadors together, both representing 
 nations that speak the same language with rather 
 violent differences of accent and uses of words 
 both of them, broadly speaking, standing for the 
 same ideals. It has made me realize how far we 
 have grown away from our cousins across the sea. 
 In reality we are no longer similar. It may be due 
 in great part to climatic influence, but, undoubtedly, 
 side by side with the Englishman an American has 
 a certain impressive virility which the other lacks. 
 We approach people and things with a geniality, a 
 frank interest, a bluff breeziness which, though often 
 wrongly called cock-sureness, is merely an expres 
 sion of our sincerity; whilst an Englishman advances 
 with a carefulness that suggests timidity and dis 
 trust. Lord Gerald Taskerton and John T. Col-
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 241 
 
 borne, side by side, make this contrast striking. 
 Their physical differences accentuate it. One thin, 
 tall, awkwardly correct, and cold, suggesting a wa 
 ter-color; the other sturdy, big, friendly, and warm 
 an oil-painting in vivid colors. 
 
 In fact, my Ambassador bears comparison to 
 those of other nations with the advantage all in his 
 favor. I had the feeling, as a great many people at 
 home still have, that our ambassadors are a great 
 source of amusement to other diplomatists and to 
 the people of the countries to which they are ap 
 pointed. It may be in some ways due to change of 
 customs, et cetera, but to-day the American am 
 bassador is far from being a laughing-stock. Wher 
 ever he goes he is accepted as a generous, broad- 
 minded, intelligently quick-witted, and active man; 
 more than that, he is looked upon invariably as a 
 man of high moral standards and integrity. Even 
 if he is a bit gauche in a drawing-room, Europeans 
 are beginning to realize that his other qualities are 
 what have made us the great nation we are to-day. 
 
 Lately the Ambassador has fallen into the habit 
 of sitting alone in the little room up-stairs, the 
 Tower of the Dwarf. Several times during the past 
 fortnight I have dined with them enfamille, and im 
 mediately after dinner he has left us and gone up 
 there. Not that I blame him very much, for the 
 dinners have been far from gay. Mrs. Colborne has 
 grown nervous and distraite even social matters 
 appear to have lost their zest for her; Kate, pale
 
 242 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 and determined whenever I see her face in repose, 
 attempts to keep up the conversation, but it is such 
 an obvious effort that no one has the heart to re 
 spond; and the Ambassador himself has developed 
 a taciturnity that throws a wet blanket over us 
 all. Dalton s agreeable, sympathetic manner has 
 become perfunctory. Indeed, Atkins is the only one 
 who goes happily on in his care-free, scoffing way. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne was roused to a renewed interest 
 yesterday when a royal messenger arrived from the 
 Palace with a note from the Court Chamberlain 
 informing the Ambassador that their Majesties 
 the King and Queen would dine at the Embassy 
 on the evening of the ist of April at seven o clock. 
 It is their custom, I understand, to dine with each 
 Ambassador once every year, and, as seven o clock 
 is the royal dinner-hour, they demand the same time 
 of their hosts. I have been struck with the differ 
 ence in the dinner-hour here. Almost all of the 
 official houses I mean the officials of the Govern 
 ment at which I have dined invite one anywhere 
 from half -past six to eight; all the embassies use 
 half -past eight; and the hour of the natives changes 
 according to their fashionable standing the smarter 
 the house, the later the hour. In many, one never 
 gets to the table until nine o clock. And the dinners ! 
 It is amusing to compare them to those in New 
 York. The food is primarily better. One doesn t 
 have the feeling that everything has been stored 
 away in ice for months. The same amount of 
 thought is probably not bestowed upon the vintage
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 243 
 
 of the wines, but on the whole they are excellent; and 
 I like the idea of bringing in a special claret, warmed 
 and already poured into the glasses. The correct 
 temperature for such wine, I understand, is the 
 temperature of your sweetheart s hand. A discon 
 certing rule, for surely every one s sweetheart hasn t 
 the same temperature. Another iron-clad rule here 
 is to have a large table placed in the drawing-room 
 while you are at dinner, so that when you rise, 
 with a supreme effort, after having eaten heartily 
 of fifteen courses, and manage to get back to the 
 drawing-room you are confronted with another 
 table groaning with sweets, tea, coffee, lemonade, 
 orangeade, et cetera, which a man servant is ready 
 and anxious to serve. It is an ancient custom, this 
 postprandial feast, and no one is quite at liberty 
 to leave until he has partaken of it. This explains 
 why it is rushed on immediately after dinner, as so 
 many of the guests are "going on" to other places. 
 
 The Ambassador, after reading the royal announce 
 ment, slapped his knee and smiled contentedly. 
 
 "I suppose, as no list of guests is included, the 
 High Mucky-Mucks will condescend to let me in 
 vite whom I please." 
 
 "Only, you must submit your list to the Grand 
 Master of Ceremonies first," Atkins replied. "But 
 that is mere form. No one would think of asking 
 any one to dine with their Majesties who had not 
 been presented at Court." 
 
 The Ambassador looked at him with eyes full of 
 determination. "Well, young man, I am going to
 
 244 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 do exactly that thing. This is my one chance to 
 get even with this royal red tape. My first guests 
 are going to be Mr. and Mrs. Haynes the American 
 Consul and his wife." 
 
 Atkins smiled superciliously. "Their names will 
 surely be struck off the list." 
 
 The Ambassador leaned back with considerable 
 complacency. "I ll bet they won t." 
 
 It is extraordinary how he remembers such de 
 tails at a crisis like this. All the rest of us had for 
 gotten Mrs. Haynes s first visit and the slight which 
 rankled in her heart. Not so the Ambassador. He 
 had evidently pigeonholed it away in his mind, 
 and it was there, all ready to be remembered when 
 the propitious time came. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Haynes have been invited to the 
 dinner. Their names were included in the list sent 
 to the Master of Ceremonies, and the list was re 
 turned by that august functionary, approved. 
 
 This afternoon the Ambassador sent for me to 
 come up to his room. He was in the little tower 
 room, seated in a deep chair and looking out of the 
 window. He glanced up when I entered, nodded, 
 and motioned toward a chair. I sat down, struck 
 by the appearance of his face; it was old and lined. 
 
 "I ve just talked to her," he said, not meeting 
 my eyes but looking straight out of the open win 
 dow. "I ve about given up all hope. I can t 
 make her deny it. She says she loves him." 
 
 There was such finality in the way he accepted
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 245 
 
 it that I felt, more deeply than ever before, that 
 there was no longer any hope for me. As long as 
 he felt so confident of making Kate confess, I, too, 
 had been confident. It is strange how another s 
 hopefulness boosts up one s own ! 
 
 "What s the name of that jeweller in Paris?" he 
 asked abruptly. I had no idea what he was lead 
 ing toward. 
 
 "Cartier?" I suggested. 
 
 "Yes, that s it. I want you to telegraph him to 
 send a man here with some tiaras the kind count 
 esses wear. I want a lot of them to choose from. 
 Do you know the kind I mean? They have seven 
 or eleven points to them, I can t remember which." 
 
 "The coronet of a countess seven points." 
 
 "Well, whatever it is. Telegraph him to send 
 them at once. All sorts." 
 
 I rose, utterly disheartened. 
 
 "Then it is all settled?" 
 
 "It looks mighty like it, my boy." His mouth 
 twisted into a wry smile. "We are a pretty poor 
 lot, aren t we?" He held out his hand and clasped 
 mine. "To think of us letting a foreigner get the 
 best of us at every turn ! And to think of my Kitty, 
 of all women in the world, being caught, just like 
 all the rest of em, by fine feathers."
 
 XVII 
 
 March 31, 19 . 
 
 PARLIAMENT has been in session four days. We 
 have all attended, sitting in the diplomatic box and 
 trying to understand what was being said. Thanks 
 to Dalton, who has made some progress in the lan 
 guage, we are able to get a vague idea of the gist of 
 the discussions, though words seem to be of much 
 less importance than gestures. I should say that 
 acrobatic efficiency was the first requisite for any 
 one with political ambitions in this country. Lead 
 ing an orchestra is a stationary pose compared to 
 one of these deputies making a speech. Even 
 Comte de Stanlau, who spoke yesterday "an in 
 spiring patriotic burst of eloquence/ to quote from 
 the Socialist paper reverted to national type and 
 threw himself about with impressive emotional ex 
 altation. I suppose he had to, to be effective. It 
 is quite beyond me to understand how a man of his 
 cleverness and exceptional ability can lower himself, 
 if only in his own estimation, to pretend to up 
 hold his party with such magnificent sincerity and 
 yet know all the time that it has already been be 
 trayed, and by him alone. It makes me gnash my 
 teeth with rage to think of Kate marrying this 
 man. It convinces me, too, that she can t love him, 
 and that she is only making puppets of us all when 
 
 246
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 247 
 
 she insists that she does. We are a "poor lot," as 
 the Ambassador put it; and yet, what can we do? 
 Nothing absolutely nothing ! 
 
 The King and Queen dine at the Embassy to 
 morrow night. It is to be a small dinner, at least 
 small by comparison with those one is accustomed 
 to attend here only eighteen invited. This is at 
 his Majesty s request he abhors big dinners. Wise 
 King ! About fifty are invited to come in after 
 ward. 
 
 This afternoon Dalton brought us the discon 
 certing news that the vote should be taken to 
 morrow night, about ten o clock, at the evening ses 
 sion of Parliament. This is a great disappointment 
 to us all, as, of course, none of us shall be able to 
 leave the house with the King and Queen here. The 
 Ambassador raged for an hour over the stupidity of 
 the whole thing, and was on the point of threaten 
 ing to ask their Majesties to put off dining until a 
 day later, when Dalton suggested that it was, per 
 haps, a very clever stroke of the King, suggested 
 to him no doubt by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 "I don t follow you at all, Dalton," the Ambassa 
 dor exclaimed. 
 
 "It is probably known how long the discussions 
 will take," Dalton explained, "and it was decided 
 that it would have a calming effect on those who 
 might make some demonstration before this Em 
 bassy to know that their Majesties were here." 
 
 "What sort of a demonstration are you talking 
 about?"
 
 248 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "These Socialists are a nasty lot when they are 
 aroused. There are always some ready to throw 
 stones." 
 
 "I d like to see them try it!" cried the Ambassa 
 dor. 
 
 Dalton went to the window and drew back the 
 curtain. "Probably you haven t noticed that 
 there are quite a few gens d armes in the Place. 
 They have been there these last few days and are 
 to guard our Embassy." 
 
 The Ambassador looked through the window, 
 then turned away with a doubting smile. 
 
 "You are getting to be a sensationalist, Dalton. 
 They wouldn t dare trouble us." 
 
 "Not the better classes no. But there is always 
 a mob ready to be directed. You have seen that the 
 Socialists state that our bill is asking their country 
 to do something which will mean sacrificing national 
 honor. There are a good many who believe that." 
 
 "I ll hang out the Stars and Stripes to-morrow," 
 said the Ambassador with a squaring of the shoul 
 ders, "and then I ll bet they ll think twice before 
 doing anything rash." 
 
 Later in the afternoon the man from Cartier s 
 arrived. He carried with him an important-looking 
 package covered with seals the assortment of 
 tiaras the Ambassador had ordered. He opened 
 the package and arranged the leather cases in a 
 row on the Ambassador s desk. I have never seen 
 such a gorgeous display of jewels ! One tiara, of 
 diamonds and sapphires, was truly magnificent, the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 249 
 
 stones suspended so that with the least motion of 
 the wearer they would move and glitter in a dazzling 
 way. 
 
 The Ambassador sat before them a long time in 
 deep silence. The man attempted to explain the 
 relative value of each but was peremptorily silenced 
 by the Ambassador and was finally though after 
 long and voluble protest sent out of the room. 
 
 Left alone, the Ambassador again sat down before 
 the jewels and stared at them. He was so long 
 silent, so long motionless, that I looked at him 
 anxiously and found him gazing straight before him 
 with that same dumb expression of misery that I 
 had seen before. He is suffering; indeed, he has 
 suffered more in this past month, I m sure, than he 
 has in his whole past life. It is not alone sorrow at 
 giving her up, either, but a bitter disappointment, a 
 deep mortification, that she, whom he has loved so 
 devotedly, should wish to do a thing directly in 
 opposition to all that he thought he had instilled in 
 her. It is a proof of his extraordinary breadth of 
 character that he has not actually forbidden the 
 marriage. It never seems to have entered his head 
 to do so. I suppose that, too, is a proof of his trust 
 in Kate and his wish to do nothing which might 
 mar her happiness. 
 
 Half an hour must have passed before he spoke, 
 and then it was to himself rather than to me. 
 
 "I brought Kitty up to look things in the face and 
 tell the truth. I don t believe my daughter knows 
 how to lie. She can t she can t! And yet, by
 
 250 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 God" he got up, passed around the desk, and closed 
 each one of the cases with a bang "she keeps on 
 telling me she loves Stanlau ! She keeps on telling 
 me she loves him!" 
 
 He went to the window, threw it open, and drew 
 in a long draft of air. When he turned around 
 his eyes were full of a sort of despairing determina 
 tion. 
 
 "Go tell her to come here," he said abruptly. 
 "This is my last card. It may be an old fool s crazy 
 notion, but it may win. God grant it may ! Go along 
 and bring her here. And come back with her. 
 Your being here may help some." 
 
 I sent word to her by Arturo and waited in the 
 hall. She came down in a few minutes, dressed to 
 go driving with Mrs. Colborne. It was the first 
 time I had seen her in spring attire and her beauty 
 struck me with a new, painful force. Women are 
 always so much sweeter, so much daintier and more 
 feminine in spring and summer ! She wore a broad- 
 brimmed straw hat covered with pink roses all 
 shades from the deepest to the palest rose; and 
 across her shoulders she had thrown a thin white 
 scarf. She was pale and slighter than I had ever 
 seen her, and infinitely sweeter. 
 
 I made an impulsive step toward her and held 
 out my hand, then as quickly drew back. She evi 
 dently saw the effort I made to control a torrent of 
 words, hesitated, then finally came toward me and 
 gave me her hand. I took it in mine and found it 
 icy cold.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 251 
 
 "You haven t forgiven me," she said, her hand 
 still in mine but her eyes looking beyond me. It 
 was the first reference she had made to our conversa 
 tion in the garden. In fact, we have rarely met 
 since then, and never alone. It was the only way to 
 make the situation endurable. 
 
 "Can t you?" she went on, almost a pleading 
 note in her voice. "Won t you?" 
 
 "There are some things a man can t forgive." 
 
 She drew her hand away. "I m sorry. I I 
 wanted you to go on being my friend." 
 
 "It s impossible," I said, turning away from her. 
 "No man can love a woman one week and be her 
 friend the next." 
 
 "Perhaps not now but later." 
 
 " I shall not see you later. I am going home next 
 month." My decision had come in that moment. 
 I can t stop on here and see her all the time an 
 other man s wife. It would be unbearable. 
 
 "Home!" she murmured, barely a whisper. 
 "Ah!" Then, with a quick movement, she started 
 across the hall. "My father sent for me." 
 
 "Yes; he asked me to bring you to his office." 
 
 The Ambassador met us, wreathed in smiles. 
 The change in him during the few minutes in which 
 I had left him was astounding. It was only later 
 that I realized that all his gayety was assumed. 
 
 "Got a surprise for you, Kitty; great surprise! 
 You must sit down in my chair first, though, and 
 compose yourself. Don t want to take your breath 
 away ! "
 
 252 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 She looked at him, surprised and pleased at his 
 manner. Taking his chair before the desk, she 
 smiled up at him; then her eyes fell on the row of 
 leather cases. I think she knew in a moment what 
 they were, though her face gave no clew to her 
 thoughts. She, too, may have been playing up to 
 her father s gayety. Indeed, I m sure she was. 
 
 "Now let me see," he went on. "First I think 
 you ll have to take off your hat." 
 
 Smiling, she drew out the pins, lifted her hat, and 
 laid it on the desk. 
 
 "That s right. Now you must make your 
 choice." He tapped the closed cases one by one. 
 "\Vhich?" 
 
 Her eyes dwelt on the cases for a moment. Finally 
 she indicated one. The Ambassador picked it 
 up. 
 
 "This one? Very good. But you mustn t see it 
 yet. No, indeed. Now shut your eyes. I wonder 
 if I can trust you ! Cross your heart and promise 
 me you will keep your eyes shut until I tell you to 
 open them." 
 
 She leaned back in the chair, still smiling sweetly, 
 perhaps a bit patiently, and closed her eyes. 
 
 "I promise. See! They are closed." 
 
 The Ambassador opened the case. It contained 
 the tiara of sapphires and diamonds. Picking it up 
 helplessly, he viewed it and then glanced at me. 
 "Come here and help me. Devil take the thing! 
 Which is the front?" 
 
 I showed it to him.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 253 
 
 "That!" he exclaimed. "Who d have thought 
 it!" Then, with another glance at it and one at 
 Kate, he held it out to me. "Here, you put it on 
 her!" 
 
 I turned away. " Never!" 
 
 He looked at me quizzically before seeing what I 
 meant. For a bare second there was a flash of 
 deep sympathy in his eyes. Then he went up to 
 Kate. "Well, I guess I ll have to try and do it 
 myself." 
 
 He placed the tiara on her hair, settled it un 
 necessarily firmly, and stood off a little way to look 
 at the effect. 
 
 "Now, Kitty," he cried. " One two three ! 
 Open your eyes ! " 
 
 She opened her eyes slowly and looked at her 
 father; then her hand went up to the tiara and 
 felt it. 
 
 "I can t see it." 
 
 "There s a mirror. Take a look at yourself." 
 
 She rose and crossed the room to a mirror set in 
 the wall. The tiara was not becoming to her. The 
 gleam of her abundant hair, her youth, her girlish- 
 ness made the jewels tawdry and somehow out of 
 place. She stood with her back to us, looking at her 
 self for a few moments in silence. The Ambassador 
 never took his eyes from her. 
 
 "A tiara!" she said finally, as if with an effort. 
 "How beautiful!" 
 
 "Hmp!" said the Ambassador, assuming disap 
 pointment. "It s a lot more than that! I had it
 
 254 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 made for you in Paris. Don t you see what it rep 
 resents?" 
 
 Her back was still toward us. 
 
 "I can t make out the design." 
 
 " Pon my word ! Turn around. Do we have to 
 tell you what it is?" 
 
 She turned and, I being nearest, she stopped 
 directly before me and met my eyes. "What is 
 it?" 
 
 I hesitated, showing, no doubt, all the bitterness 
 that was in me at that moment. "It is the coronet 
 of a countess." 
 
 The smile with which she had waited for my 
 answer faded from her lips. Without a word she 
 lifted the tiara from her head and replaced it in its 
 case. As she did this I caught the Ambassador s 
 expression: it was one of triumphant happiness. 
 
 "What !" he cried, for all the world as if he were 
 sorely disappointed. "You don t like it!" 
 
 She went up to him and laid her hand very gently 
 on his arm. "I have no right to wear it yet," she 
 said in a very low voice. "I will, though on my 
 wedding-day." 
 
 The Ambassador took both her hands in his and 
 drew her to him. "I was hoping you d wear it to 
 morrow night when the King and Queen dine with 
 us. Won t you ? " He waited for her to answer, and, 
 seeing her so long silent, lifted her chin with his 
 hand so that he could look into her eyes. "What ! 
 A tear ! " He drew out his handkerchief and wiped 
 away her tears as tenderly as a woman could have
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 255 
 
 done it. "There now. You are all excited. Too 
 much of this royal business. Our American nerves 
 aren t used to it. We ll have to cut it out for a 
 while." 
 
 She drew closer to him as if clinging to him for 
 support. "Father," she said, a mere whisper; 
 and I caught the sound of a suppressed sob. 
 
 His arm went around her waist and held her firmly. 
 "There there! Have a good cry. It does us all 
 heaps of good at times." He threw me a glance I 
 did not understand, then went on, almost cajolingly: 
 "Soon you ll get to thinking about those fine castles 
 you re going to have when you re a countess and 
 then you ll be smiling again. Countess Kate ! My ! 
 My ! Think of it ! What will they say when I go 
 back home and tell em my daughter, little Kate, 
 is a countess with all sorts of castles ! A real bona- 
 fide countess no fake business about it." 
 
 She pulled away from him and turned toward the 
 window. It was growing dark, so that I could not 
 see her expression, only the outline of her figure 
 silhouetted against the twilight. 
 
 The Ambassador watched her a few moments, then 
 continued in a voice which he struggled to make 
 jovial. "Why they ll expect me to wear a silk 
 hat all the time. I can hear old Jim Bones greet 
 ing me right now: Hello, John ! What in the devil 
 do you mean by letting your girl marry one of those 
 foreign fellows ? See mine doing a thing like that ! 
 Well, I guess not ! She s got the right sort of an 
 American chap for her husband." He stopped,
 
 256 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 turned on the desk-lamp, and threw me a glance 
 of inspection. " Nice young fellow," he began 
 again. " Tall, clean, broad shoulders, honest gray 
 eyes. Good worker, too. Gave em a pretty place 
 over on Long Island big garden view of the 
 ocean mighty nice place. He goes to town in the 
 morning oh, yes, he s in an office on Wall Street; 
 and she she stays at home and plays with the 
 kiddies. Two of em already and another on the 
 way. All mighty simple but it s real, and it s 
 true, and it s their home ! He stopped, leaned 
 heavily against the desk, and looked through the 
 gathering dusk at his daughter. Then he sighed. 
 "That s the way old Jim Bones looks at things. 
 But I ll say to him: It sounds pretty good, Jim, 
 but it wasn t what my daughter wanted ! 
 
 We both waited anxiously. If ever he were going 
 to force a confession from her, it would surely be 
 now. While we stood there, silent and hoping 
 against hope, the shadows gathering into darkness, 
 she made a slight movement. It may have been a 
 shudder, it may have been a suppressed sob. Then, 
 quickly following it, came a sound of nervous laugh 
 ter. It jarred on the stillness. 
 
 "You you are so funny, father!" 
 
 The Ambassador drew himself up as though 
 some one had struck him; then, to my amazement, 
 he broke into a loud laugh. 
 
 "It is funny, Kitty, isn t it! That sort of sim 
 ple life at home when over here you can have 
 castles, and titles, and kings and queens, and all
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 257 
 
 sorts of fine things ! The folks at home haven t a 
 notion how fine it all is, have they?" 
 
 Her answer was barely audible. " No they don t 
 know." 
 
 "And yet, Kitty," he went on, reflective now 
 and as if debating the question, "somehow I used 
 to think you would have been happy in that sort of 
 life?" 
 "I I thought so, too." 
 
 "But you don t think so now, do you, Kitty?" 
 He waited for her to answer, drawing nearer to her. 
 Taking her hand in his, he patted it gently. "You 
 know, Kitty, I want you to be happy; it s the only 
 thing in the world I do want. Nothing else counts. 
 You know that, don t you?" 
 
 She nodded, silent. 
 
 Still patting her hand, he drew a long breath. 
 "I suppose there s no use hoping you might change 
 your mind and go back home with me?" 
 
 "No, father; it s too late now." 
 
 "Too late!" he exclaimed, his voice full of hope. 
 " It s never too late. If, Kitty" now he was plead 
 ing with all the force in him "if things were differ 
 ent do you think you could be happy back there? 
 I mean, could you go back home give up all these 
 castles and titles be just a plain American girl- 
 could you do that and be happy?" 
 
 She turned slowly and slipped both her arms about 
 his neck. In the darkness I could only see her 
 eyes, glowing with passionate, imploring love. She 
 looked at him through a long minute which seemed 
 to throb with things unsaid.
 
 258 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Father," she murmured at length, "you are 
 breaking my heart! You are ruining everything 
 for me. You are taking all the joy out of my 
 She stopped and let her head slip down on his shoul 
 der. 
 
 "Out of what, Kitty?" 
 
 An interminable time passed before her voice 
 came, low but resolute. 
 
 "Out of my love." 
 
 The Ambassador pushed her roughly away from 
 him, and turning back to his desk he sank heavily 
 into his chair. She was beside him in a moment, 
 but before she could speak the door opened, letting 
 in a flood of light from the hall, and Mrs. Colborne 
 entered. 
 
 "I ve been waiting for you, Kate," she said im 
 patiently. "Are you ready?" 
 
 Before I knew it Kate had slipped past me and 
 gone out of the room. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne stopped at the door and turned 
 on the electric light. "Why are you sitting here in 
 the dark?" She paused abruptly and stared at the 
 Ambassador. He was leaning forward over the 
 desk, his head bowed on his hands. "John!" she 
 cried. "John what is it?" She came forward and 
 bent over him. "John what is wrong? What has 
 happened?" 
 
 He answered without looking up: "I ve lost, 
 Jenny; I ve lost everything!" 
 
 She glanced at me, pale and anxious. 
 
 "I ve played my last card" he lifted his head
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 259 
 
 and stared out into the lighted hall "and I ve lost. 
 Go along with Kate, Jenny. I ve got to fight it 
 out alone and learn how to face it. None of you 
 can help me. I want to be alone." 
 
 And so this is to be the end of my love-story. 
 "I ve got to fight it out alone and face it." The 
 Ambassador s words ring in my ears as a special 
 message to me. They are small comfort but they 
 are full of courage. At least there are no longer 
 any disturbing doubts. She could not have re 
 sisted her father if she had not been sincere. How 
 could she have listened to his pleading and refuted 
 it unless she loved Stanlau? It would have been 
 beyond human endurance. Duty and conscience 
 may carry one far, but there is a limit to their power. 
 I am trying to think of her as loving so deeply that 
 nothing else counts. Poor solace, when a man is 
 losing everything that was dearest to him. 
 
 I shall pull out as soon as it is possible. Why did 
 I ever consider Walter s suggestion? If I hadn t 
 I should never have known this infernal feeling of 
 having the most beautiful thing that will ever come 
 into my life snuffed out like a birthday candle. 
 
 Damn diplomacy !
 
 XVIII 
 
 April 7, 19 
 
 THE most extraordinary thing has happened. 
 Everything is topsyturvy in consequence. I don t 
 believe one of us has actually taken in what has 
 occurred; it came too suddenly, too unexpectedly, 
 too much out of a gloomy, ominous sky. The 
 amazing part is that we have Mrs. Colborne to 
 thank for it. That she should have thought of 
 doing such a thing, not only thought of it but 
 actually carried it out, is too much to take in at 
 once than that she should have originally given 
 the cable to Comte de Stanlau. As I look back on 
 this drama which has been playing itself out among 
 us I am forced to admit, even if I do it with laughter, 
 that Mrs. Colborne has been the leading lady right 
 straight through it. The Ambassador swears she 
 made him go in for diplomacy, though I don t as a 
 whole accept this statement; no one can deny that 
 she got us into the dramatic situation, every one of 
 us even Atkins, who is now involved with Victoire 
 then, having created the situation, she, as casually 
 as she has done all of her part in it But I must 
 try to record it in sequence else there will be no 
 head nor tail to it. Indeed, I doubt if there will be, 
 anyway, as I feel as light-headed as a dreamer. 
 
 It is a week old now the story of the evening 
 when the King and Queen dined at the Embassy. 
 
 260
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 261 
 
 It seems a thousand years ago. Since then hearts 
 have been broken, hearts have been mended, and 
 some history has been made. 
 
 I remember the day only as a vague, miserably 
 unhappy period which I got through somehow. 
 At six o clock I arrived at the Embassy, fully dressed 
 for the evening; this at the Ambassador s request, 
 as the guests were to arrive before their Majesties 
 and there might be some things to be done at the 
 last moment. 
 
 I found Atkins in the ballroom with a group of 
 what appeared to be carpenters in the uniform of 
 gens d armes. They were pounding away with 
 hammers at the wainscoting, sounding the plaster, 
 examining carefully every piece of furniture in the 
 room, one even going so far as to climb into the 
 chimneypiece and reappear in a full suit of soot. 
 
 I was on the point of asking Atkins to explain 
 this peculiar proceeding, when the Ambassador ap 
 peared. Just as he entered the room the man 
 emerged from the chimney and, evidently recogniz 
 ing the Ambassador, took an erect position on the 
 hearth and began a series of impressive bows. His 
 face, covered with soot, and the Ambassador s, a 
 study in amazement, were the funniest things I ve 
 ever seen. 
 
 The Ambassador turned to Atkins. "What in the 
 devil does this mean? And what is this infernal 
 noise I ve been hearing for the last hour?" He 
 stopped short, watching with fascinated eyes one 
 of the men who had placed a ladder near a large
 
 262 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 painting, climbed up to it, and holding it from the 
 wall was now peering behind it. 
 
 "Is this a lunatic asylum or am I just cracked 
 myself!" 
 
 "These are secret-service men," Atkins explained. 
 
 "They look like a lot of dern fools! What are 
 they doing here?" 
 
 "They have been sent by his Majesty to find the 
 bomb that has been secreted in this Embassy." 
 
 The Ambassador viewed Atkins placidly. " You re 
 off your head, too, eh ! What s the matter with all 
 of you ! Bomb in this Embassy ! Who said so?" 
 
 "It is a foregone conclusion that there is always 
 an attempt to assassinate his Majesty when he goes 
 into a strange house. For that reason these men are 
 sent to examine everything very carefully before 
 his Majesty arrives. It is always done." 
 
 The Ambassador glanced again at the men. They 
 had finished their examination of the room and 
 were standing in a group near him bowing to the 
 ground every time he looked toward them. 
 
 "I don t care how much it s done," he cried, so 
 vehemently that the men made their bows even more 
 profound. "This is American soil and it s an insult 
 to the United States to suspect it ! Who ever heard 
 of our trying to assassinate any one !" 
 
 "Unfortunately" and Atkins s face took on the 
 smile which he wears when he thinks he has made a 
 point against the United States "the journals here 
 have published rather long accounts of the assas 
 sinations of McKinley, Garfield, and even Lincoln."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 263 
 
 "And the first two of them were killed by men 
 from over here," the Ambassador answered quickly. 
 Anyhow, get rid of em. I won t have this sort of 
 thing going on in my house." He pulled out his 
 cigar-case and lighted one of the longest cigars I 
 have ever seen. Evidently he was reinforcing him 
 self for the evening. Blowing the smoke luxuriously 
 before him, hands in both pockets, he watched Atkins 
 approach the men and speak to them. 
 
 "Vous avez fini, maintenant?" 
 
 The men bowed in unison. "Oui, monsieur." 
 
 "Vous etes completement persuades qu il n y ait 
 aucun danger pour leurs Majestes?" 
 
 More bows. "Parfaitement, monsieur." 
 
 Atkins turned to the Ambassador. "They are 
 quite satisfied that you have permitted no plot to 
 assassinate their Majesties to be arranged in this 
 Embassy." 
 
 The Ambassador shifted his cigar impatiently. 
 "Well, why don t they go? Why do they stand 
 there bobbing like a Punch-and-Jud y show?" 
 
 "They are waiting for a souvenir from you, sir, 
 in the form of a pourboire." 
 
 "What s that?" 
 
 "I believe, in America, it is called a tip." 
 
 The Ambassador walked to the mantel and 
 brushed the ashes from his cigar. "I might have 
 known it," he said. "If a man steps on your foot 
 over here he expects you to tip him for it. How 
 much do they want?" 
 
 "I think a thousand francs would be sufficient."
 
 264 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "You do, do you? Two hundred dollars to be 
 insulted in my own house ! I ll be dead broke when 
 I get through this job !" 
 
 Atkins drew himself up with what he considered 
 hauteur. "I think you could hardly afford to give 
 them less. They are employed by his Majesty." 
 
 " And paid by me," the Ambassador cut in. "All 
 right. Tell em to come around in the morning and 
 I ll pay em their wages." 
 
 After the message had been delivered by Atkins 
 each man approached the Ambassador separately, 
 bowed to the ground, murmured an unctuous 
 "Bon soir, wire Excellence," and backed out of 
 the room. The Ambassador watched them in con 
 temptuous silence. When they were gone he took 
 the mammoth cigar from his lips and carefully 
 examined it. 
 
 "Now I know exactly how big a fool the King 
 feels when people back away from him. What a 
 lot of tojnmy-rot all this is ! I wonder how much 
 longer people will put up with it!" 
 
 At half -past six Dalton came in. "I ve just come 
 from Parliament," he explained. "I m sorry to be 
 late. Is everything satisfactory?" 
 
 "Was Stanlau there?" asked the Ambassador. 
 
 "Yes. He left just before a recess of three hours 
 was declared. Excitement was running pretty high. 
 There may be some trouble." 
 
 "When will the vote be taken?" 
 
 "About half -past nine; as soon as the evening 
 session begins."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 265 
 
 The Ambassador looked at his watch and smiled. 
 " Three hours more. Funny thing! my having 
 every one most interested in this deal dining with 
 me on the same evening that it s to be decided. 
 It ought to be mighty interesting to-night to watch 
 the faces of the King and Stanlau and one or two 
 ambassadors to say nothing of my own." 
 
 "That reminds me," Dalton broke in. "Comte 
 de Stanlau drove away from Parliament with two 
 ambassadors. It is the third time I ve seen them 
 together to-day. Does that look to you at all 
 suspicious?" 
 
 "Everything s suspicious at this moment. I sup 
 pose they are having a last fling at trying to make 
 Stanlau block our game." 
 
 "Of course you are sure of Stanlau?" Dalton s 
 question was full of frank anxiety. 
 
 "I m sure of nothing, Dalton, till I know it s 
 finished." 
 
 At a quarter to seven we were all assembled in the 
 large reception-room. Mrs. Colborne caught my at 
 tention as soon as she entered the room. She was as 
 handsome as ever, as perfectly dressed, but there 
 was a subtle difference in her expression. She was 
 very quiet, almost silent, and I received the im 
 pression that some element of determination was 
 absorbing her entire attention to the exclusion even 
 of entertaining royalty. 
 
 With a gesture unseen by the others she called 
 me a little to one side.
 
 266 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "I understand the vote is to be taken to-night," 
 she said in a low voice. 
 
 "At half -past nine," I answered. 
 
 "Then Comte de Stanlau will have to leave here 
 immediately after dinner to be present?" 
 
 I nodded. She stood a moment as if wishing to 
 tell me something, then evidently changed her mind 
 and crossed the room to Kate, who had just entered. 
 
 I was startled at Kate s appearance. Her cos 
 tume was much more elaborate than anything I 
 had seen her wear before. It made her strikingly 
 older. Somehow I thought of her no longer as a 
 girl; she was now a thorough femme du monde, 
 and an exceptionally brilliant-looking one. When I 
 shook hands with her I received another shock 
 her vivid color was artificial; she was painted. 
 
 She was speaking to Dalton when I came up. 
 "Then it will be decided to-night?" she said to 
 him, searching his eyes with anxiety. 
 
 "Yes. I should say at about ten o clock. I have 
 the cable all ready in cipher to send to Washington. 
 To-morrow morning your father s name will be on 
 the lips of every American. You will have reason 
 to be very proud of him." 
 
 She looked at him, almost reprovingly. "I have 
 
 reason now." 
 
 The Ambassador joined the group. "Don t let 
 the band forget to play America when the King 
 and Queen come in," he said to Atkins. 
 
 "Their Majesties are accustomed to hear their 
 own national anthem at their entrance."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 267 
 
 "All right," cried the Ambassador, with a good- 
 natured laugh. It was extraordinary how he was 
 making the best of things and giving every appear 
 ance of carrying only the gayest of hearts. "But 
 get in America somewhere!" 
 
 "John, dear, don t forget to ask his Majesty to 
 play bridge," Mrs. Colborne said. "Comtesse Vic- 
 toire says he adores it." 
 
 The Ambassador nodded. "I m just waiting to 
 double anything he makes." 
 
 Arturo appeared at the door, which was a sign 
 that the first guests had arrived. His livery for 
 special occasions is nothing short of sumptuous. 
 Satin knee-breeches, a coat made almost entirely 
 of gold braid, white silk stockings, and very smart 
 slippers with buckles of brilliants, and all this topped 
 by a white peruque. I m sure his ambition is to 
 outdress the Court Chamberlain, and he has suc 
 ceeded. How he loves the "king and queen busi 
 ness," as the Ambassador calls it; it is the raison 
 d etre of his existence. Standing at the door he an 
 nounced the guests hi a very resonant, if unusual, 
 French accent. 
 
 Of course the Hayneses were the first to arrive: 
 he was in the evening suit which he had bought to 
 be married in twenty-five years ago; she was up 
 holstered in a most striking costume of red satin 
 covered with black lace. Her train was important 
 enough for a function at St. James s. Neither of 
 them had the slightest idea what Arturo was saying 
 when he announced them. And I m sure I m not
 
 268 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 surprised. "Monsieur le Consul-General des Etats 
 Unis d Amerigue et Madame Haynes" doesn t sug 
 gest them in the least. 
 
 After them: "Son Excellence VAmbassadeur de la 
 Grande Bretagne et Lady Taskerton, Comtesse Victoire 
 de Stanlau, Son Altesse le Prince de Carigni, I Am- 
 bassadeur de sa Majeste le Roi d ltalie" et cetera, 
 and, last of all, "Monsieur le Comte de Stanlau" 
 
 A few minutes of lively conversation, then Ar- 
 turo appeared bearing aloft a three-branched candle 
 stick with lighted candles. This, we had been in 
 formed, was to signify that their Majesties were 
 arriving. With Arturo leading the way, the Am 
 bassador and Dalton, Atkins and I, and then Mrs. 
 Colborne and Kate proceeded to the entrance-hall. 
 The ladies remained at the top of the stairs while 
 the rest of us went down to the porte-cochere. 
 
 I have tried to find out the reason for the use 
 of the three-branched candlestick. There must be 
 some tradition connected with it. So far I have 
 only Arturo s explanation, which is that it has al 
 ways been used and that s all there is to it. 
 
 The royal coach rolled up with considerable clat 
 ter, a lot of Royal Guardsmen surrounding it, the 
 Grand Master of Ceremonies sprang out, then the 
 King, followed by the Queen. After the greetings 
 the Ambassador gave his arm to the Queen and 
 led her up the steps, followed by Dalton with the 
 King, and Atkins and I supporting the Grand Mas 
 ter of Ceremonies. Mrs. Colborne, having made 
 her courtesies, took the King s arm and followed the
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 269 
 
 Ambassador and the Queen to the reception-room. 
 Here the guests had arranged themselves in a half- 
 circle, ladies on one side, men on the other. All of 
 them bowed low and courtesied as their Majesties 
 entered. The Ambassador conducted the Queen 
 around the entire circle, her hand all the time on 
 his arm, as she greeted each guest separately. 
 This successfully accomplished to the accompani 
 ment of the national anthem and not " America "- 
 the Ambassador led the Queen straight out to the 
 dining-room. He said afterward he d be hanged 
 before he d again go through such an ordeal. 
 
 The King and Mrs. Colborne were going through 
 the same procedure just back of them, and as both 
 the august presences disappeared toward the dining- 
 room the rest of us followed with considerably less 
 form. I don t believe these people take their royal 
 ties a bit more seriously than we do. 
 
 The dinner was long and inexpressibly dull. 
 Royalties appear to be an insurmountable wet 
 blanket. Sitting at the foot of the table, I had a 
 good view of every one, and every now and then I 
 would pinch myself in an attempt to get some sort 
 of sensation out of the fact that I was sitting at the 
 same table with a real, live King and Queen. But 
 try as hard as I could to stir my imagination it was 
 not exciting. Mrs. Colborne appeared to hit it off 
 successfully with the King on her right and Lord 
 Taskerton on her left. Opposite, the Ambassador 
 struggled hard with the Queen. Mrs. Colborne was 
 right when she said her Majesty was a frump. She
 
 270 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 is, as far as her personal appearance goes; even her 
 superb jewels seemed to consider it improper to 
 glitter on her modest person. Veteran diplomatists 
 tell me it is always this way with queens; they in 
 variably fail to look the part. They admit, however, 
 two exceptions Alexandra and Margherita. 
 
 When we got back to the drawing-room the guests 
 formed in a circle, while the King and Mrs. Col- 
 borne, the Queen and the Ambassador, stopped for 
 a brief conversation with each guest. I could see 
 from the expressions that it was the stereotyped list 
 of questions and answers. There was one burning 
 exception, however Mrs. Haynes. As the King 
 approached her she plumed herself from head to 
 foot, shook out the voluminous black-and-red train, 
 and crossed her hands primly on her stomach. It 
 was Kraco s proudest moment. 
 
 Mrs. Colborne saw she was in for it, gritted her 
 teeth, and stood it like a soldier. 
 
 "Will your Majesty permit me to present the 
 wife of our Consul- General Mrs. Haynes," she 
 said. 
 
 Mrs. Haynes gripped his Majesty s hand and 
 achieved a courtesy that would have put to shame a 
 lady in waiting. I held my breath, fearing that she 
 would never be able to rise again. But she did, 
 and, not waiting to be addressed by the King, burst 
 straight into conversation. 
 
 "I ve been just crazy to meet you. I ve seen 
 you and the Queen driving in the street; and one 
 night we were going to the opera because they said
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 271 
 
 you were going to be there. But Mr. Haynes and 
 I couldn t go it was on Sunday night. We cer 
 tainly were disappointed, for we were sure you would 
 wear your crown at the opera. Don t you ever 
 wear it?" 
 
 The King looked at her a bit puzzled; then his 
 pleasant, wrinkled old face began to beam. I be 
 lieve he was enjoying himself for the first time that 
 evening. "No, madame," he replied very gra 
 ciously, "I don t wear it any more. It s too un 
 comfortable." 
 
 "I certainly am sorry," Mrs. Haynes went on 
 placidly, "for I was going to ask you to give me a 
 photograph of yourself for the Ladies Civic Club 
 of my home town. But how will they know you 
 are a King if you haven t got your crown on?" 
 
 At this his Majesty laughed gayly. Mrs. Haynes 
 had become the centre of attention. The King was 
 speaking much longer to her than to the others; 
 more than that, he was actually laughing with her. 
 "I shall send you one of our coronation photographs. 
 Perhaps that will be convincing proof to your 
 American friends." Then, with the training of a 
 lifetime the set phrase came to his lips. "We hope 
 that you are very happy in our country." 
 
 Mrs. Haynes s training of a lifetime also asserted 
 itself. "Indeed, I m not happy here. I m as un 
 happy as I can be. I most die of homesickness." 
 
 Again his Majesty appeared in doubt. He looked 
 at Mrs. Haynes most sympathetically. "Of course 
 I see. Americans love their country very much.
 
 272 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 I hope I shall have the pleasure of seeing it some 
 day." 
 
 "You d be sure to like it. This kind of a place 
 is good enough to see once; but give me Texas to 
 live in every time." 
 
 Once more the King laughed gayly, said something 
 about real patriotism and that he would not forget 
 the photograph, shook hands with Mrs. Haynes, 
 waited until she had successfully performed her 
 courtesy, and moved on to the next guest. Even 
 Mrs. Colborne and Atkins had to admit that Mrs. 
 Haynes had achieved a succes fou. 
 
 Every one having now been spoken to, the Queen 
 sat down and a group immediately formed about her. 
 The Ambassador approached the King, asked if he 
 would play bridge, and conducted him to the library, 
 where tables had been arranged. The after-dinner 
 guests began to arrive and the chilling formality 
 lessened. 
 
 I slipped out to another room, lighted a cigarette, 
 and drew a long breath of relief. Standing in a re 
 cessed window, I saw an ambassador and Comte 
 de Stanlau come into the room together. They sat 
 down on a sofa and lighted cigarettes. After smok 
 ing in silence a few moments, Stanlau drew out 
 his watch and looked at it; then he rose with a 
 start. 
 
 "It is ten o clock. I must return to Parliament," 
 he said. 
 
 "You still refuse my offer?" 
 
 "I regret exceedingly that we could not make
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 273 
 
 the necessary arrangements. I should have been 
 glad to favor your Government." 
 
 "I did all that was possible. I cabled your price. 
 I ve been expecting an answer all day." 
 
 Stanlau smiled and held out his hand. "Thank 
 you. It is too late now." 
 
 As he said this and started to leave the room 
 Arturo entered, carrying a telegram on a silver 
 tray. He went directly up to Stanlau s companion 
 and presented it. 
 
 "One moment, Stanlau," said this Ambassador. 
 He tore the telegram open, laughed contentedly, 
 and held it out to Stanlau. "Just in time. A mo 
 ment more and it would have been too late." 
 
 Stanlau s face flushed and for a few seconds he 
 appeared undecided. Then, folding the telegram 
 very carefully, he slipped it into his pocket, and 
 extended his hand. "You have won." With a 
 quick, nervous gesture he turned away. "I must 
 bid my host good night and hurry away." 
 
 "Have you time? You need not worry about 
 Colborne; I ll make your excuses for you." 
 
 Stanlau was already at the door. "It will only 
 take a minute," he said, and disappeared. 
 
 Their words could only mean one thing: Stanlau 
 was a traitor. He had sold himself to a higher 
 bidder. But now, at the last moment, what could 
 be done to stop him? My one idea was to get to 
 the Ambassador and tell him before Stanlau had 
 said good night. Intent on this purpose I rushed 
 through the room where the Queen was seated and
 
 274 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 on into the library. I was too late. Stanlau was 
 already bowing to the King and making his excuses 
 for leaving. Just as I came up to the table I heard 
 him say to the Ambassador: "Could I possibly see 
 you for a moment before I go?" 
 
 The King, intent on the hand he had just picked 
 up, nodded to the Ambassador. "Of course I shall 
 excuse you; but give me a good man in your place. 
 This hand is too good not to be played." 
 
 The Ambassador saw me and signalled me to take 
 his place. As I slipped into the chair he vacated I 
 touched him on the arm. He leaned near enough for 
 me to whisper: "Don t let him get away." 
 
 I could not tell from the expression of his face 
 whether he had caught my meaning or not. As I 
 picked up my cards to play my first game of bridge 
 with a King for partner I saw the Ambassador and 
 Stanlau, arm in arm, leave the room by a door which 
 led into the hall. 
 
 Such a game of bridge was never before played, 
 I m sure. I could hardly see a card. Kate, Stanlau, 
 the Ambassador ruined, our mission irretrievably 
 lost, everything gone to smash was all I could 
 think of. By the most extraordinary good luck I 
 was dummy almost every hand; otherwise the game 
 could not have gone on. Once, while we were dealing, 
 Dalton came up, bowed to the King, and asked if 
 any one knew where Stanlau was. 
 
 "Who wants him?" asked his Majesty. 
 
 "They are telephoning for him from the Chamber, 
 your Majesty."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 275 
 
 The King looked at his watch. "He is prob 
 ably there now. He left half an hour ago. Sans 
 atout." 
 
 I was vaguely conscious of Dalton moving away; 
 then, long after, of his reappearance. 
 
 "Do you know where the Ambassador is?" he 
 whispered to me. 
 
 I shook my head. 
 
 "And Mrs. Colborne?" 
 
 I shook my head again. 
 
 "Something has happened," he continued. "I 
 can t find either of them." 
 
 Another interminable time passed, with cards and 
 incoherent scenes passing before me. Finally, with 
 a relief that was painful, I saw the King push back 
 his chair and rise. 
 
 "A very good game," he said, with a smile of 
 contentment. Evidently he had won. Then, with 
 a nod toward me: "I congratulate you on your game. 
 Do all Americans play so well?" 
 
 I suppose I replied, though I don t remember 
 doing so. I was too intent upon getting back to 
 the others and rinding out what had happened. 
 
 In the drawing-room the Queen was still sur 
 rounded by her circle and in the midst of it the per 
 son I saw first was Mrs. Colborne. Deadly pale and 
 making a visible effort to talk, she gazed steadily 
 at the door which led into the hall. 
 
 Dalton drew me quickly aside. 
 
 "I have not found the Ambassador yet," he said, 
 his voice full of anxiety.
 
 276 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 " It doesn t matter," I answered. " We are ruined. 
 Stanlau has betrayed us." 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 Before I could answer I saw the Grand Master of 
 Ceremonies come hurriedly into the room and go 
 up to the King. A few words passed between them, 
 then the King crossed to Mrs. Colborne and held 
 out his hand. 
 
 "I congratulate you, madame. The United 
 States have won." 
 
 She sta-red at him, pale and frightened. She put 
 her hand on a chair for support and swayed un 
 steadily. "Your Majesty," she murmured, "I I 
 don t understand." 
 
 "The vote has been taken. It was in your favor." 
 
 Again she swayed as if she were going to fall. I 
 made a quick step toward her. She saw me and 
 quickly extending her hand she thrust into my 
 fingers a key. "The tower room, quick!" she mur 
 mured, and crumpled down in the chair in a dead 
 faint.
 
 XIX 
 
 April 10, 19 . 
 
 IN order to tell what was taking place during my 
 first, and I sincerely hope last, game of bridge with 
 royalty, it is necessary to piece together what Mrs. 
 Colborne and the Ambassador told us afterward. 
 
 It appears that when the Ambassador left the 
 library with Comte de Stanlau he went straight to 
 his office. The chancery, however, having been ar 
 ranged that evening as a dressing-room for the 
 guests, afforded no place for a private interview; 
 and the Ambassador with quick decision had sug 
 gested that they go up to his private study in the 
 tower room. Mrs. Colborne, at that moment in 
 one of the outer reception-rooms, saw them go up 
 the steps together and, for no reason that she has 
 yet given, followed them at a discreet distance. 
 Seeing them go into the tower room and close the 
 door after them, she followed and listened at the 
 door. 
 
 The Ambassador said that my expression, as he 
 pushed me into the chair he had vacated at the 
 bridge table, had told him something was wrong. 
 My words, followed by Stanlau s, convinced him of 
 it; so that by the time they had reached the tower 
 room he had had a few minutes in which to gather 
 his wits and brace himself for an emergency. 
 
 The room was dark when they entered it. The 
 
 277
 
 278 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Ambassador turned on the lights, drew his cigar- 
 case from his pocket, and offered it to Stanlau. 
 
 "By George, I m glad to get away from all that 
 hubbub and kowtowing for a few minutes!" He 
 sighed and sank comfortably into a chair. "Sit 
 down, Stanlau; make yourself at home." 
 
 Stanlau glanced at his watch. " I am sorry, your 
 Excellency," he said with an excess of formality. 
 "I must go at once to the Chamber." 
 
 "No reason to hurry," the Ambassador went on 
 placidly. "You ve got everything fixed. They 
 wouldn t do anything without you." 
 
 Stanlau gave a slight gesture of impatience. 
 "The vote will be taken this evening." 
 
 "You don t think for a minute I m forgetting 
 that! But you ve given your men their orders; 
 haven t you? As a matter of fact, I don t see any 
 reason for you to be there at all." 
 
 Stanlau s smile was one of patient condescension. 
 He was probably wondering at the guilelessness of 
 the American mind. "If I did not appear at Parlia 
 ment this evening I would have to be across the 
 frontier by morning." 
 
 "Why?" The Ambassador s incredulity was 
 sincere. 
 
 "Because it would be a frank confession that I 
 had deserted my party. If they ever thought that, 
 it would no longer be safe for me here." 
 
 "How about the two men you are counting on?" 
 
 "They leave here to-night." 
 
 "You don t fear their squealing?"
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 279 
 
 "I beg your pardon. Sometimes I don t under 
 stand your expressions." 
 
 The Ambassador smiled. "You are not afraid 
 they will tell the truth?" 
 
 "Why should they? They would gain nothing 
 by it." 
 
 The Ambassador leisurely lighted a cigar and 
 stretched out his legs before him. "Well you take 
 risks over here that we don t dream of at home." 
 Then, still as if they had the whole evening at their 
 disposal, he went on: "You said you wanted to 
 speak to me. What s up?" 
 
 Before answering Stanlau lighted a cigarette, in 
 haled deeply, then, still standing, faced the Ambas 
 sador. "Your Excellency," he began, very calm, 
 his voice perfectly controlled, "I regret to inform 
 you that I am forced to withdraw from my promise 
 to you." 
 
 "What promise?" 
 
 "I cannot let the bill pass to-night." 
 
 The Ambassador pulled out his watch, an old- 
 fashioned one, snapped the case open, and looked at 
 it. " Pretty short notice, Stanlau," he said, quite 
 as calm as the man he faced. "What does it 
 mean ? " 
 
 "I have been offered double the amount I should 
 receive from you if I stop the passage of this bill." 
 
 "Double the amount the United States has offered 
 your Government ! " 
 
 "No. Double the amount that would come to 
 me personally from you."
 
 280 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador wrinkled his brow in perplexity. 
 "I don t follow you! I don t remember promising 
 you anything." 
 
 "Your Excellency " Stanlau began with a depre 
 cating gesture, and stopped. "It amounts to the 
 same thing. I refer to your daughter s dot" 
 
 It was extraordinary how the Ambassador con 
 trolled himself. He said afterward that he knew 
 "something inside of him had popped" from the 
 strain. 
 
 "We have not discussed what I would give my 
 daughter." 
 
 "You and I have not discussed it; that is true. 
 But every one in Washington knew that you had 
 said you would give her twenty-five million francs 
 the day she was married." 
 
 The Ambassador broke into a loud laugh. 
 "Twenty- five million francs! Do you know how 
 much that is ? It s five million dollars ! My dear 
 fellow you flatter me! If I had it there s no one 
 in the world I d give it to quicker than Kitty." 
 He smiled reflectively. "I may have said it; if I 
 did, it must have been about seven o clock at the 
 Metropolitan Club the time all of us get the 
 idea we are John Rockefellers." He managed to 
 keep up his laughter. "So that s what some other 
 country offers you to put the kibosh on my deal, 
 is it?" 
 
 "I did not mention any names." 
 
 "You ll have to, if you expect me to believe you." 
 
 Stanlau flushed. He glanced at his watch again
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 281 
 
 and moved toward the door. "If the amount is out 
 of the question, your Excellency, I see no further 
 use of our discussing the question." He put the 
 sentence tentatively and awaited an answer. 
 
 "Five million dollars!" The Ambassador re 
 peated the words as if turning the amount over in 
 his mind. "I might be able to scrape together that 
 amount but it would take every cent I have." 
 
 Stanlau moved away from the door. "Does that 
 mean that you will consider my proposal?" 
 
 The Ambassador drew his chair to the table, 
 pulled a writing-pad and pencil to him, and began 
 jotting down figures. After a few moments he 
 threw down the pencil and looked up at Stanlau. 
 
 "Yes," he said, "I can do it. But, hold on" as 
 Stanlau s expression changed into warm cordiality 
 "I ll have to insist on some proof of the offer you 
 claim to have." 
 
 Stanlau took the telegram from his pocket and 
 laid it on the table. The Ambassador read it and 
 tossed it indifferently aside. 
 
 "So," he said slowly, "if I double what you call 
 my daughter s marriage portion, the bill will go 
 through?" 
 
 "I can assure your Excellency of that!" 
 
 The Ambassador took refuge in scratching his 
 head. "I U have to think it over." 
 
 "I beg your pardon, we only have a few minutes 
 left." 
 
 " In which to raise ten million dollars, eh ? That s 
 a pretty large order!"
 
 282 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Stanlau s Olympian calm was beginning to lessen. 
 "If it is impossible my offer is withdrawn." 
 
 For the first time the Ambassador rose from his 
 chair and faced Stanlau. "You mean, you release 
 my daughter from her promise to marry you?" 
 
 "I regret it more than I can express." 
 
 The Ambassador looked him up and down with 
 such scorn that Stanlau moved back a step. "I 
 am sincere," he said hurriedly. "I regret it exceed 
 ingly. Now I shall bid you good night." 
 
 Quite without hurry the Ambassador s hand closed 
 over the telegram which lay on the table between 
 them. He picked it up, smiled, and put it in his 
 pocket. Stanlau saw the confident expression on his 
 face and started. 
 
 "I shall have to ask you to return me that tele 
 gram," he said with extreme politeness; and the 
 Ambassador answered with equal formality: "I 
 regret exceedingly, Count Stanlau, that I am not 
 able to do that." 
 
 Stanlau came quickly around the table and up 
 to the Ambassador. "You mean?" he asked, his 
 voice ominously low. 
 
 "Exactly what I said." 
 
 They stood a few inches apart, their eyes glaring 
 into each other s: no longer subterfuge, only primi 
 tive passions blazing forth confessed enemies. 
 
 Stanlau was the first to speak. "You know that 
 I can ruin you ! " 
 
 "Yes I know that; I know also that in doing 
 so you will ruin yourself."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 283 
 
 Stanlau smiled. 
 
 "Laugh if you please," cried the Ambassador. 
 "To-morrow morning will be a very different story. 
 Do you think I ve trusted you for a minute ! Do 
 you think me fool enough to trust any of your kind ! 
 I know American honesty and frankness makes 
 most of us easy marks for your crooked methods 
 but it hasn t this time. I ve got all the proofs I 
 need against you. I ve got the receipts of your 
 tools their pledged votes; I ve got a nice little 
 piece of incriminating paper signed by your sister; 
 and now I ve got this telegram. The first thing 
 I heard when I arrived here was that the King had 
 been looking for a good excuse to exile you for 
 years. Well I m going to give him that chance 
 to-morrow. You can go to Parliament, you can 
 call off your paid voters, you can block my game; 
 but while you are doing that you had better buy a 
 ticket on the first train that will take you across 
 the frontier." The Ambassador pulled out his 
 handkerchief, mopped his face, and went toward 
 the door. "Now you had better hurry to Parlia 
 ment. I m going back to my guests." 
 
 He went to the door, grasped the latch, and gave 
 it a vigorous pull. The door was locked. For a 
 moment he appeared dumfounded, turned quickly 
 toward Stanlau as if suspecting him of foul play, 
 then swung back to the door and began knocking 
 and kicking it with impatient violence. Meeting 
 no response, he put his mouth close to the crack be 
 tween the door and its facing and roared out orders
 
 284 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 for some one to come. This went on for a few 
 minutes without any result. Suddenly the Am 
 bassador crossed to the window and looked out. 
 The street, fifty feet below, was quite empty and 
 still. When he turned back to the room a resonant 
 string of oaths on his lips, he stopped short, struck 
 by the pallor of Stanlau s face. With a sudden 
 outburst of laughter he threw himself heavily into 
 a chair and went on laughing until the tears streamed 
 down his face. 
 
 Stanlau, in the meantime, tried the door, went 
 to the window and looked out, and finally began 
 running his hand along the wall, feeling for a possibly 
 secreted door. The Ambassador, all this time, was 
 still shaking with laughter. His face grew redder 
 and redder; his tears mingled with sweat; he had 
 lost all self-control and he did not care. 
 
 Finally Stanlau returned to the Ambassador and 
 stood before him with a threatening attitude. " You 
 know what my being kept here means ! If I were 
 sure it was a trick He stopped short, listened, 
 then went to the window. A crowd was assembling 
 in the Place. Already a murmur was rising from 
 their midst. 
 
 At last the Ambassador grew calm. Pulling him 
 self together, he rose and leisurely lighted a ciga 
 rette, one of Stanlau s left on the table. He said 
 afterward that nothing else could have shown better 
 the state he was in. "You are in for it, Stanlau," 
 he saidgayly. "Be a sport. Sit down and smoke. 
 Some one is bound to miss us soon and find out where 
 we are."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 285 
 
 Once more he sank down in the chair and, hi 
 spite of every effort, began again shaking with 
 laughter. . . . 
 
 It was an hour later that Kate and I found them 
 there. She had seen Mrs. Colborne give me the 
 key and had followed me out of the room. In the 
 hall there was suppressed excitement among the 
 servants. Near the entrance I noticed three foot 
 men peering through the window. Arturo came up 
 to us with a really human expression. 
 
 "There is a demonstration in the Place, sir," he 
 said. "They are calling for Comte de Stanlau." 
 
 "Who are they? " I asked quickly. 
 
 His expression was at once contemptuous. "Only 
 some Socialists, sir. Quite harmless!" 
 
 I ran up the steps two at a time. At the top I was 
 surprised to find Kate still beside me. We did not 
 speak until we had stopped before the door of the 
 tower room. When I put the key in the lock I felt 
 her hand on my arm. 
 
 "Wait please," she murmured. I looked up and 
 found her trembling. "I am frightened! If some 
 thing has happened to father " she stopped, drew 
 a long breath, and nodded. "Go on unlock the 
 door." 
 
 The Ambassador was placidly smoking, seated 
 comfortably in a chair; Stanlau, with folded arms, 
 was at the window. 
 
 Kate rushed to her father and sank down on her 
 knees before him. 
 
 "Father!" she cried. "You are all right?"
 
 286 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador drew her close to him. "Never 
 felt better in my life, Kitty. As a matter of fact, 
 I m feeling as fine as a fiddle." 
 
 Stanlau wheeled about and faced us. His face, 
 during the hour he had passed in that room, had 
 changed subtly. Though he still had himself under 
 perfect control, he looked like a man who had lost 
 and knew all that it meant. With a formal bow he 
 went toward the door. Kate sprang up quickly. 
 
 " Comte de Stanlau ! " she cried. "One moment ! " 
 
 He stopped and looked at her. 
 
 "Don t leave by the front entrance. Go through 
 the garden. It is dangerous out there ! " She 
 nodded toward the window. 
 
 He looked at her as if not sure of her sincerity; 
 then, quite calmly, as if he were entering a drawing- 
 room, he went to her and lifted her hand to his 
 lips, kissed it, looked at her once more, and then 
 left the room. It was tremendously well done- 
 even if a bit stagy it was still graceful and effective. 
 Any one seeing him at that moment would have 
 felt constrained to give him a "Bravo!" 
 
 When he was gone the Ambassador caught Kate 
 by the arm. "Why did you do that ? " he demanded, 
 with a scowl. 
 
 "Because, father," she answered, looking him 
 squarely and proudly in the eyes, "he is the man I 
 am going to marry ! " 
 
 The Ambassador took her arm and drew it within 
 his own, patting her hand very gently all the while; 
 then he led her toward the door.
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 287 
 
 "Goodness, gracious me!" he said, drawing her 
 along with him down the hall. "It had clean gone 
 out of my mind. Kitty, do you know it, there s a 
 King and Queen down-stairs!"
 
 XX 
 
 May i, 19 . 
 
 "WELL, Arturo, what do you think of it?" 
 
 Arturo drew himself up and turned an expression 
 less countenance toward me. 
 
 "I have been in diplomacy twenty-five years, 
 sir." 
 
 That was all he said, quite without inflection, 
 quite without any facial expression which might give 
 one a clew to his meaning. Yet to one who knew 
 Arturo, diplomacy, and the present situation, he 
 could not have been more eloquent. However, I 
 was determined to get a personal opinion from him. 
 
 "Does having been in diplomacy twenty- five 
 years mean that you have lost the power of thinking 
 or that you never knew anything to equal it?" 
 
 He never brooked familiarity. My jocularity was 
 met with a cold stare. "A successful diplomat, sir, 
 never expresses his opinion." 
 
 "Still," I insisted, "you" I laid a flattering 
 emphasis on the word "have opinions, I fancy?" 
 
 For a second I thought his expression was going to 
 be human; I was mistaken. "I try to crush them, 
 sir," he answered. "It s safer." 
 
 "Perhaps you are right, Arturo. But this is 
 surely a case to test your discretion. You know 
 the Ambassador is leaving to-morrow!" 
 
 288
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 289 
 
 "I suppose he is doing what he wishes to, sir." 
 
 "Tut, tut, Arturo!" My lack of success was 
 making me impatient. "After seven months here 
 he suddenly decides to leave. Surely that is an 
 extraordinary incident, even in your twenty-five 
 years of diplomatic life!" 
 
 He listened now with frank ennui. "After a year 
 is passed, sir, it will be like all the others. They 
 come, sir and they go, sir." 
 
 "And what is left of all these ambassadors, Ar 
 turo?" 
 
 He turned and swept his hand toward the row of 
 framed photographs of former ambassadors. "Their 
 portraits, sir, on the Embassy walls!" 
 
 It is discouraging but it appears to be true. One 
 never hears anything of one s predecessors. Per 
 haps at first a few of his enemies will speak to you 
 of him; but even they are soon bored with the sub 
 ject. On the whole, though, I suppose it is rather 
 satisfactory to know that no matter how many 
 gaffes one may have made while en paste in a certain 
 capital, they will not be remembered ten days after 
 one s departure. 
 
 Yes, the Ambassador is going home; so is Mrs. 
 Colborne, so is Kate and so am I. We are all so 
 happy about it that it amounts to a breach of diplo 
 matic etiquette. Even Mrs. Colborne has admitted 
 that she thinks the U. S. A., everything con 
 sidered, is a more comfortable place to live in than 
 Europe.
 
 290 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Look here, Jenny," said the Ambassador, "you ll 
 soon be running a close second to Mrs. Haynes !" 
 
 The evening the King and Queen dined at the 
 Embassy, now a month ago, was the climax of every 
 thing for us. When I think of that evening my most 
 distinct impression is always of the Ambassador 
 entering the reception-room with Kate beside him. 
 He showed the effects of the past hour only in his 
 slightly disordered hair; otherwise he was resplen 
 dent with victory, and not so much the victory of 
 his country, he afterward told me, as the victory of 
 Kate s happiness. He went straight to the King, 
 shook hands with him, and for a few minutes they 
 talked together much as two boys would have done 
 over some successful escapade; then he turned to 
 the Queen who was sitting on a sofa holding Mrs. 
 Colborne s hand in a thoroughly womanly, warm 
 hearted way. After that I remember very little 
 until all the guests had gone and we were left alone 
 with the family Dalton, Atkins, and I. We sat 
 in the large reception-room, filled now with dazzling 
 lights, heavy scents, and the penetrating silence 
 which floods a room after many people have left it. 
 Every one was rather dazed and too absorbed with 
 disturbing thoughts to say anything. Arturo broke 
 the spell by coming in and turning off the lights in 
 the large chandelier. This appeared to arouse the 
 Ambassador. He sprang up, ordered his whiskey 
 and soda and some champagne sent to the library, 
 and called to us all to follow him there. It was
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 291 
 
 then that I heard the story of his interview with 
 Stanlau; also Mrs. Colborne s version of it and her 
 decision to lock them both in so that Stanlau could 
 not go to Parliament. 
 
 I watched Kate s face during the Ambassador s 
 story. He addressed her more directly than the 
 others and dwelt upon the details in such a way 
 that I have been able to give a rather accurate ac 
 count of what happened. Kate listened with deep 
 interest but without emotion. Leaning back in a 
 deep chair, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, 
 her whole figure expressing utter fatigue, she looked 
 steadily down at the floor. 
 
 When the Ambassador finished and we burst out 
 with numerous questions Kate still remained silent. 
 After a little while the Ambassador rose, poured 
 out a glass of champagne, and handed it to Mrs. 
 Colborne. 
 
 "Jenny," he said, turning away and filling the 
 other glasses, "we are all going to drink to your 
 health. You ve disgraced us but you ve saved us, 
 too!" 
 
 "Disgraced you ! What do you mean, John?" 
 
 "Didn t you faint in the presence of royalty ! I ll 
 bet no other American ambassadress has that to her 
 credit!" He laughed happily and turned to Kate. 
 Seeing her so quiet and still, he looked at her, puz 
 zled. "Kitty!" he said, going to her and holding 
 out his arms. She rose quickly and put her arms 
 about his neck; his tightened about her. "Kitty!" 
 
 I vaguely remember seeing Dalton signal to me;
 
 292 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 a moment later he and Atkins slipped quietly out of 
 the room. I remained. 
 
 For a little while the Ambassador and Kate did 
 not speak; then he took her hands from about his 
 neck and held her away from him so that he could 
 see her face. Through tear-dimmed eyes she showed 
 a vague, trembling little smile. It made my heart 
 leap. As the Ambassador saw it an expression came 
 into his eyes that I have never seen before. It was 
 at first as if he had been bowled over with surprise; 
 this was followed by a look of intense anxiety; and 
 at last came wild, uncontrollable joy. 
 
 "Kitty!" he cried. "It s going to be all right 
 with you; isn t it, darling?" 
 
 I held my breath for her answer. When it came 
 it was only a nod. 
 
 "Kitty," the Ambassador began again, though 
 now his voice broke with emotion, "Kitty you have 
 been lying to me?" 
 
 Again she nodded. 
 
 He pulled her to him in a crushing embrace. " Oh 
 my God!" 
 
 Finally Kate lifted her head, saw the others had 
 gone, and, though still clinging to her father, held 
 out her hand to me. 
 
 Three days later the Ambassador called on the 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs and was handed an 
 official document signed by the King. All the rest 
 of the day we worked on a cipher telegram to 
 Washington which is an old story now, but which
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 293 
 
 made John T. Colborne a name that will live for 
 ever in the history of the United States of America. 
 
 That night the Ambassador threw a bomb into 
 our midst. He was going home. 
 
 "I ve been out of God s country going on seven 
 months," he said, "and that s just twice as long as 
 I ever intended to be. I m getting too old to miss 
 one precious moment at home. Now, I don t want 
 to hear one word of protest ! Do you understand ? " 
 He swept the table with a glance that was unneces 
 sarily defensive. The announcement was heard in 
 silence, but I verily believe with sincere satisfaction 
 by us all. 
 
 The next morning plans had been made. The 
 Ambassador, once his mind is made up, is not a man 
 to brook delay. The Department of State has been 
 informed of his resignation and Dal ton is again to 
 be Charge d Affaires. 
 
 And now we are quite ready and are leaving to 
 night. 
 
 This morning, while looking through the drawers 
 of my desk to be sure that no incriminating papers 
 were left for the delectation of my successor, a card 
 was brought in by a footman. I looked up surprised. 
 
 "Where is Arturo?" I asked. 
 
 "I don t know, sir. He did not come this morn- 
 ing." 
 
 "111!" I suggested. 
 
 The man looked at me stolidly. "I don t know, 
 sir." 
 
 I looked at the card and at once sensed trouble.
 
 294 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 Under a coronet ran the legend "Victoire de Stan- 
 lau." 
 
 I went into the Ambassador s room and laid the 
 card, without comment, on his desk. He picked it 
 up, read it, and, without saying a word, threw it 
 into the waste-paper basket. 
 
 "Tell her I ve gone home," he said. 
 
 "She has come to say good-by, sir," I said. 
 
 "The devil!" cried the Ambassador. "Well I 
 suppose it s the only way of getting rid of her! 
 Show her in and stay by me with a shotgun, if you 
 have one. I m afraid of that woman !" 
 
 Victoire appeared radiant and received me most 
 graciously. None of us had seen her since that 
 memorable night. To the Ambassador she was quite 
 affectionate. 
 
 "I am desolee!" she cried, clasping his hand with 
 both her own. " You are leaving ! It is too terrible ! 
 We shall never forget you !" she hurried on in spite 
 of the Ambassador s cold manner. "I come not 
 only to say good-by but to ask a favor." 
 
 The Ambassador abruptly drew away his hand. 
 "If it s about your brother, Countess 
 
 "It is about my dear brother!" 
 
 "Then we d better say good-by right now. * 
 
 "But it is important tres important! Your wife 
 refuses to see me. And your daughter my dear 
 brother s fiancee 
 
 The Ambassador cut the remark short with up 
 lifted hand. "My daughter is no longer engaged 
 to your brother."
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 295 
 
 "But she has given him her word !" 
 
 "And I ve broken it for her." 
 
 Victoire s affection began to show signs of cool 
 ing; her eyes expressed incredulity. "You cannot 
 do that ! My dear brother has told his creditors that 
 you would pay them ! He is waiting at this moment 
 in Paris. He cannot return here ! You know ces 
 betes socialistes threaten his life if he returns ! So 
 the marriage must take place in Paris!" 
 
 The Ambassador listened under protest. At the 
 end of patience he finally sat down in his chair and 
 waited for Victoire to finish. 
 
 "Look here, Countess," he said, leaning on the 
 desk and looking straight at her, "tell your brother 
 that if I hear any more about that marriage and my 
 paying his debts that I ll put a bigger crimp in him 
 than I ve yet done." 
 
 "But surely- 
 
 "Yes surely. Now, Countess, have you any 
 more favors to ask? I m mighty busy this morn- 
 ing." 
 
 I saw Victoire reach for her handkerchief and 
 knew what was coming. Another moment and she 
 was sobbing as if her heart were broken. The 
 Ambassador sprang up from his chair and went to 
 the window. With his back turned to the room I 
 caught the sound of a thoroughly exasperated "Oh, 
 hell!" 
 
 Victoire sobbed through an unsympathetic silence. 
 "Surely," she murmured, "you will intercede with 
 his Majesty so that my dear brother may return !"
 
 296 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 The Ambassador turned from the window with 
 an evident determination to cut the interview short 
 at all costs. He went straight up to Victoire. 
 
 "My dear Countess, you may not know it, but I 
 have your country s interest very much at heart. 
 You see, it s the only country I ve ever been Am 
 bassador to, and it s the only one I ll ever be Am 
 bassador to so help me God ! So naturally I have 
 a pride in seeing it succeed. And the only way for 
 it to prosper is to get along without your dear 
 brother." 
 
 Victoire rose, splendidly handsome in her righteous 
 fury. "You mean to insult me," she cried, "but 
 you cannot ! What are you but an American ! a 
 vulgar, crude barbarian! All of you are that!" 
 This with a scorching glance at me. "Nothing you 
 could say would mean anything to me ! I am happy 
 that you do nothing for me ! It would be too great 
 a supplice for me to accept anything from you ! You 
 are nothing but canaille all of you you Amer 
 icans!" The contempt in that last "you Amer 
 icans" was beyond description. She went toward 
 the door with effective scorn. 
 
 The Ambassador let her reach the door, then 
 spoke: "One moment, please." With a meaning 
 look at me he waited. Victoire stopped and stood 
 with her back to us. Evidently she found it difficult 
 to bring herself to look once more upon "you Amer 
 icans." 
 
 The Ambassador took out his pocket-book and 
 drew a check from it. "My wife," he said, "asked 
 me to send this to you for services rendered. After
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 297 
 
 your remarks I suppose I had better tear it up. Of 
 course, you could never bring yourself to take money 
 from an American." 
 
 Victoire turned, walked straight across the room 
 up to him, looked squarely in his eyes, and lifted 
 her hand for the check. However, the Ambassador 
 was too quick for her; he had already withdrawn it 
 from her reach. 
 
 "Excuse me," he said, controlling his expression 
 with an effort. "I see you can bring yourself to 
 take money from an American. I wanted to be sure 
 of that first. Now, I have just one question to ask." 
 
 By this time Victoire s eyes were blazing. 
 
 "I want to know who took that cable." 
 
 Victoire s head lifted. "You will never know 
 that." 
 
 "Very well, then," the Ambassador began fold 
 ing the check in his hand. "Of course, if you are 
 afraid I ll tell, you are mistaken. I ve done all the 
 harm I am going to do here. Whoever took that 
 cable will not be molested. Only I d like mighty 
 well to know. After all, as it turned out, it was a 
 pretty good thing to have done." 
 
 I saw Victoire s expression change; she even be 
 gan to smile. "If you really want to know 
 
 I made a quick step toward her and caught her 
 hand. "For God s sake don t tell him," I cried. 
 
 Even in my excitement and fear I did not miss 
 her look of surprise. She turned on me as if I had 
 insulted her. "Why shouldn t I tell him?" Then 
 quickly, to the Ambassador: "You will never see 
 him again."
 
 298 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 "Him!" I exclaimed. 
 
 She did not deign to answer my question. In 
 stead she looked at her wrist-watch. "He crossed 
 the frontier an hour ago." 
 
 The Ambassador began unfolding the check in a 
 most tempting way. "And his name?" 
 
 Victoire burst into laughter. "You ridiculous 
 Americans ! You employ people who are already 
 employed in the secret service of another govern 
 ment. You trust them with your most secret affairs. 
 The man who took that cable has been in this Em 
 bassy for many years." 
 
 "You mean Arturo?" 
 
 "Of course. Any one but an American would 
 have known." 
 
 The Ambassador extended his hand with the 
 check in it. "There s your money, Countess." 
 
 This time Victoire jerked it from his hand before 
 he had time to change his mind, even if he had in 
 tended to do so. With her head up and not an 
 atom of dignity gone she swept out of the room. 
 It was magnificently done. A goddess, receiving 
 sacrifice from mere mortals, could not have man 
 aged it better. 
 
 The Ambassador sat down heavily. " Who d 
 have thought that popinjay had sense enough to do 
 a thing like that ! Well that s over. Now what s 
 left?" 
 
 There were a thousand things to do to-day that 
 no one had thought of before; and to make matters
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 299 
 
 worse there was a steady stream of callers. Even 
 the Consul and Mrs. Haynes came to make a long 
 visit. She is genuinely distressed at the Ambas 
 sador s departure, said he was the only Ambassador 
 she had ever liked, and that she knew he was the 
 only one who had ever lived up to the real American 
 spirit. 
 
 While she was there he opened the drawer of his 
 desk and took out a large, very important-looking 
 envelope. "When I paid my good-by visit to the 
 King," he said to her, "he gave me this package 
 and asked me to deliver it to an American lady he 
 had met at my house. He didn t remember her 
 name, but he said she was the most patriotic lady 
 he had ever met. I m inclined to think he meant 
 you, Mrs. Haynes," he ended, handing her the en 
 velope. 
 
 Mrs. Haynes beamed and opened the envelope. 
 It was a signed photograph of his Majesty in coro 
 nation attire. 
 
 After the photograph was sufficiently admired, 
 restored to its envelope, and addressed to the Ladies 
 Civic League of Kraco, and laid aside to be conveyed 
 in the diplomatic pouch to its distant destination, 
 the Ambassador asked Mrs. Haynes if she were 
 ready to go home with the rest of us. Her reply 
 brought a tremendous shock. It appears that, since 
 her acceptance of European customs, she has be 
 come quite contented; one might go so far as to say 
 she was enjoying herself; and as for returning to 
 Kraco well, she had come to the conclusion that,
 
 300 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 
 
 after all, she might find it a little lacking in ro 
 mance. 
 
 At sunset Kate and I went out in the garden and 
 wandered about bidding farewell to the scenes that 
 would always remain so indelibly stamped on our 
 memory, for in them the deciding moments of our 
 lives have been cast. We did not speak of the 
 miserable period we have been through; indeed, we 
 have decided not to mention it. That belongs to 
 the past and should be forgotten. We are only 
 looking toward the future and planning all sorts of 
 happy times. The Ambassador threw out a hint 
 to-day that it might be good for us to go in for 
 diplomacy for a few years. He may have only been 
 joking or doing it to test us. Anyhow, Kate and I 
 have been discussing it ever since; and when we had 
 left the garden and come into the reception-room 
 of the chancery and stood surrounded by the sym 
 bols of our own country, I felt sure Kate was think 
 ing of the same thing as I. 
 
 "I suppose there is nothing in the world so 
 thrilling," she said, looking up at the pictures of 
 former ambassadors, "as to feel that you personally 
 are representing to another nation all that your own 
 stands for ! " 
 
 We thought it over in silence a little while; then, 
 with her hand slipped into mine, I immediately 
 forgot national enthusiasms for more personal 
 ones. 
 
 "After we are married, Kate" I began, then
 
 THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR 301 
 
 stopped, struck by the thoughtful expression of her 
 face. 
 
 "It s an awful responsibility, though, isn t it?" 
 She said this, not looking at me, but at the Houdon 
 bust of Washington. 
 
 "Getting married!" I exclaimed, a bit alarmed. 
 "Why?" 
 
 "No no!" Her glance came back to me and 
 she laughed gayly. "I was thinking of representing 
 the United States of America."
 
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