The intimate papers of Colonel House arranged as a narrative by Charles Seymour.

356 INTIMATE PAPERS OF COLONEL HOUSE

it seems to us, it would not surprise me to see this maddened
nation-in-arms go to lengths however extreme.
GERARD
VIII
Before sailing, House spent another twenty-four hours in
Washington, partly to make final arrangements, chiefly to
have the pleasure of personal farewell with the President,
who at no time in his career showed himself more appreciative of the Colonel's efforts.
'January 24, 1915: I left to-day on the 12.08 for Washington. There was no one I knew on the train and I had a quiet
and restful trip. Dr. Grayson met me in a White House car.
The President was waiting for me and we immediately began
to work and remained at it continuously for more than an
hour, delaying dinner ten or fifteen minutes, which is a most
unusual thing for the President to do....
'He insisted upon arranging for my expenses abroad and
for those of my secretary, Miss Denton. I let him know how
trustworthy she was, so he would not think me indiscreet in
writing through her about matters of an important and confidential nature. He asked me to tell Sir Edward Grey his
entire mind, so he would know what his intentions were
about everything.... He said, "Let him know that while
you are abroad, I expect to act directly through you and to
eliminate all intermediaries."
'He approved all I had in mind to say to Sir Edward and
to the Germans. He said, "There is not much for us to talk
over, for the reason we are both of the same mind and it is
not necessary to go into details with you."
'I asked if it would be possible for him to come over to
Europe in the event a peace conference could be arranged
and in the event he was invited to preside over the confer