222 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



all tired," Haig had written to his army, nearly 

 three months before, and part of the nation 

 was showing signs of strain, worn out by nearly 

 four years of sacrifice and disappointment. A 

 new impetus was sorely needed, a new enthu- 

 siasm to help us to endure to the end. Some 

 were getting almost callous, seeing no light ahead. 

 Suddenly, through the open window of my 

 office came from a distance a sound like the 

 roar of a tidal wave or of surf, mingled with 

 the shrill cries of sea-birds. It mounted in a 

 great crescendo. The pavements filled with 

 people, all heads turned towards the direction 

 of the sound which came surging into my room, 

 mounting to a climax of uproar, until the 

 mystery was solved. Hundreds of American 

 soldiers, cheering, yelling and waving flags, 

 were driving through Whitehall in big brakes, 

 smothered with bunting the Stars and Stripes. 

 The counter-cheers of Londoners, of soldiers, 

 of seamen and of airmen, belonging to all 

 parts of the British Empire, resounded from 

 the pavements and windows and re-echoed 

 from the surrounding buildings. The Fourth 

 of July. What a memory, and what an out- 

 come ! In the presence of the great world- 

 menace a wave of good will was uplifting, for 

 the time being, the Allied peoples ; it carried 



