The Black Swans 



the war that means the re-birth, the 

 re-consecration of America. And this 

 brings vividly to mind that there are 

 other fires that differ from all others 

 herein mentioned; the sulphurous 

 flames of Hell itself let loose by one 

 man's hand without so much as "by 

 your leave" from subjects blind to 

 their own misconception of their des- 

 tiny and deaf to the voice of liberty and 

 law. 



It seems not very long ago I made a 

 daily official call at the United States 

 Government Building on the Rue des 

 Nations on the banks of the Seine, in 

 the heart of Paris, while the last of the 

 series of Universal Expositions held 

 by the French was in progress in 1900. 

 The world was not yet disillusioned. 

 Germany was there our neighbor on 

 one side, and Italy on the other. 

 Around the Champ de Mars were 

 grouped the buildings that housed the 

 products of the arts and industries of 

 every clime; a brilliant artistic triumph 

 [186] 



