1 66 How to Pay for the Wur 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Russia at the Parting of the Ways, 



The Dukl between Autocracy and Democracy to 

 Dominate the World and the Tropics. 



Tropical Life, March, igi8. 



The evening of Friday, March i, found one of the 

 reception rooms of the Piccadilly Hotel crowded to 

 overflowing with a distinguished company anxious to 

 welcome as their guests our Ambassador at Petrograd, 

 Sir George Buchanan, G.C.B., together with Lady and 

 Miss Buchanan, who had recently arrived from Russia. 



The occasion was a dinner given by the United Russia 

 Societies' Association in honour of the new arrivals, and 

 as this was the first occasion which had offered itself to 

 "the uncrowned King of Russia " to lay his views on the 

 situation in that country before an English audience, it 

 was little wonder that all who had the chance of thus 

 bidding the world-famous Ambassador welcome were also 

 on the tip-toe of expectation to hear what he had to tell us. 



The Speaker of the House of Commons (Rt. Hon. 

 James Lowther, M.P.), President of the Association (of 

 Russian Societies), was in the chair, and among those 

 present I noticed Mrs. and Miss Lowther ; Colonel Yate, 

 M.P. ; Lord Sanderson, who proposed the health of the 

 President and Chairman for the evening ; Sir Robert 

 Perks; Lord Blyth ; Mr. A. E. Brayley Hodgetts (the 

 Hon. Sec.) ; Sir Bernard Mallet ; Sir Henry and Lady 

 Primrose; Mr. Alexander Onou, the new Consul-General 

 for Russia in London ; Mr. James A. Malcolm, the founder 

 of The Russia Society, now merged in the Association ; 

 Mr. Zinovy Preev, Editor of Tiventieth Century Russia : 

 Lord Carnock; Dr. Ronald Burrows, Principal of King's 

 College; Sir J. T. Agg-Gardner, M.P. ; Sir Donald 

 Mackenzie Wallace; and Sir Albert Spicer, M.P. 



As the Chairman reminded us, in the course of his 

 opening remarks, Sir George Buchanan, whilst in Russia, 

 won the conhdence of everyone — of the British Gbvern- 

 inent, of successive Russian Governments, and, he believed, 

 of the Russian people. Whilst at Petrograd he had piain- 

 tained British interests with discretion, with great know- 

 ledge, and with extreme ability. We knew that shortly 



