'The Days of a Man 



possible means of saving Europe from the "patriotic" 

 press, with its reckless incitement of international 

 hate. Certain newspapers in Germany, France, 

 and Great Britain doubtless in Russia also were 

 stoutly maintaining that war being inevitable, the 

 sooner it came the better. In this connection Bourdon 

 Need of presented an elaborate tentative plan for an inter- 

 nat i na l journal so endowed and controlled as to be 

 safeguarded against the assaults of nationalism, and 

 present only the truth. But no one appeared hopeful 

 as to the future. Curti, a man of large intelligence, 

 seemed disturbed at the conditions in Germany, 

 and Eyschen broad-shouldered and genial as 

 frankly worried over the position of Luxemburg and 

 Belgium. 



Meanwhile an important international congress 

 of business men was holding a session in Paris. With 

 the Boston delegation had come my friend Bryant 

 in the interest of world peace, a matter which deeply 

 concerned most members of the conference. 



One evening we attended a dinner given by the 

 distinguished physiologist, equally eminent as a 

 pacifist, Charles Richet, professor in the University 

 of Paris. Present on this occasion was Albert of 

 Monaco. I sat between two brilliant women, both 

 admirably witty, one of them being Madame Puech, 

 formerly professor of French at McGill University, 

 now wife of the editor of La Paix par le Droit. Never 

 before had I had so severe a conversational trial, for 

 clever epigrams sparkled on both sides of me and in 

 my attempts to translate and frame answers I was 

 always many laps behind ! 



1 See Chapter xxxvi, page 291. 



C6i6 3 



