But when peace came it was another affair. An officer's life in garrison had little to content me, and was full of ceremonials and amusements, for which I had no taste.

I asked leave to resign. My request was granted on the understanding that I should rejoin in case of another war.

I returned to Entrevaux, and there learnt that our gracious king had presented me with a fine and well-stocked farm, which I have ever since cultivated.

One of my uncle's daughters, with her husband and their only child-the little Maria whom you rescued from the flames,-in course of time came to live with me and help me to cultivate the farm.

RIGHTLY considered, the most important executive newspaper post in the world is that of the Paris correspondent of the C Times.' It has great traditions, and Paris has during the past few years become the very centre of diplomacy. I remember the late Lord Northcliffe once telling me that, from the British point of view, he put the capitals outside Great Britain in the following order: 1, Paris; 2, Washington; 3, Tokio. Afterwards came Berlin and other European capitals. What was surprising about his list, as it seemed to me, was the place which he gave to Tokio. Doubtless this reflected the mood of a moment, and it should be remembered that we were talking of capitals not so much in terms of their intrinsic importance as in terms of their news value.

Certainly the years since the Armistice fully justify the position which was ascribed to Paris. The period which I spent in the service of the 'Times' may be properly said to have been the most critical period in modern history. Since the duties of a correspondent of a newspaper in a foreign capital are little understood, it may be interesting to set down a few notes.

It is popularly believed that the correspondent is a man who

recklessly telephones or telegraphs rumours and unverified information. He is constantly in search of news, and all is grist that comes to his mill. This is an entirely erroneous conception. The newspaper correspondent, speaking generally, is conscious of the need of accuracy; and for myself, I found many hours of each day consumed in attempts to confirm facts which in themselves were trivial, but which were nevertheless deserving of attention. It is not enough that a Paris newspaper should have published a piece of news; it is necessary to make personal inquiries and be assured of its strict truth. Nor can one ride off by merely quoting a French journal and explicitly repudiating any personal responsibility. That would be too easy. The harm which might be done by the reproduction of false news always haunts the conscientious correspondent. Three-quarters of the messages which he contemplates sending, and which have perhaps necessitated careful investigation, he does not send at all. If the public were aware aware of the infinite pains that are taken to assure accuracy there would be a better appreciation of men who, because they usually must write quickly, are regarded as slapdash in their methods.

The ordinary writing man,

as I know from a varied experience as author and journalist, lives a quiet, simple, desirable life as compared with the correspondent, who is never free from cares. There is nothing more wearisome and remorselessly wearing than the day-by-day gathering, verifying, and sending of news, especially the diplomatic news; and my strong view is that no daily newspaper correspondent in an important post should ever, in modern conditions, be allowed to stay for more than a limited number of years. If he has not the good sense voluntarily to seek a changekept to his task perhaps by his passionate interest in diplomatic events, his sense of duty, his inability to escape from the terrible round of grinding habits, then it should be arranged, if he is to maintain his efficiency and not break down, that he be transferred from time to time to lighter posts. The pace of the world's affairs is too much for the daily correspondent in Paris unless he is relieved at intervals.

The statesman, though obliged to put forward the most strenuous efforts in these critical days, can occasionally sit back and leave the conduct of affairs to others; but the correspondent in a city like Paris is essentially-to use a colloquial expression-a oneman show, and there is something happening every day, month after month, year after year, that demands his immediate and most earnest attention. His reactions must be

swift; he must see the significance of this or that event without hesitation; he is there to interpret as well as to record. On this quick interpretation much may turn; the current of national opinion may possibly be directed by what a responsible correspondent thinks in the first five minutes after learning a piece of news. A sure and swift eye is necessary. That is why I think that an overworked man should never, as is now often the case, be permitted to continue indefinitely. Either his judgment will fail him, or he will play for safety, and instead of giving his own downright views, will be content to quote the views of the Temps' or the Journal des Débats,' or some other partisan French journal. On this point I feel strongly, and I insist upon the overwhelming national and international importance of having first-rate men who technically know their business, and diplomatically know as much as the experts, and who are not tired.

It certainly cannot be said that the standard of British journalism abroad has been as high as it should have been, This is largely because the key position of the foreign correspondent has not been adequately realised, and no serious effort has been made to recruit the best type of man. The representative of a leading British newspaper on the Continent or in America may be fairly described as an unofficial ambassador, and perhaps his

rôle, properly fulfilled, is greater than that of the official ambassador. To live in Paris without the smallest break for the whole six years which have followed the Armistice, as I have done, was to be conscious of a perpetual crisis in the world's affairs centring on Paris. One stood in the very midst of the unceasing agitation. In Paris there has been one long controversy concerning reparations, concerning security, concerning Franco-German relations, Franco-British relations, Franco-Italianrelations,FrancoRussian relations, and the relations of France with every country in Central Europe and with America, ever since the beginning of 1919. The

end is not yet; the end will not be reached for some time to come. Partial settlements will doubtless be effected, but whether there will be peace or war cannot yet be deter mined. There was a constant crash of Cabinets German, French, British, Italian, all of which had their repercussions in the French capital. There was and will be a continuous rumour of lively discussion, experts clamouring against experts, and Prime Ministers busily scratching out new notes. Now and again, it is true, we would set out on little excursions from Paris ; we would visit some little casino town or health resort, where the turmoil could be conducted with variations; but indeed Boulogne, San Remo, Spa, and other places were, in this con

VOL. CCXVI.-NO. MOCOVII.

nection, mere suburbs of Paris. Sometimes while the statesmen were elsewhere, the real interest lay at Paris. Thus, while Mr Lloyd George and M. Briand were at Cannes, it was not what they said and did at Cannes that was interesting; it was what the French Parliament and the French President were saying and doing at Paris that really mattered.

Paris has dominated the big news, the permanent news, as no other city has ever dominated it for so long a period before. If the American President made a declaration, one immediately asked, "What does Paris think?" If the German Chancellor drew up a diplomatic document, the question was, "How will Paris receive it ? If the British Prime Minister made proposals, instantly the cry was, "But how will Paris take them?" Did bankers meet and elaborate their plans; did experts conduct investigations and make recommendations, the problem was still the same, Will Paris accept or reject them?" In the meantime Paris was making declarations, drawing up diplomatic documents, putting forward proposals, and asserting its own policy.

66

As a successor of the great de Blowitz in this stirring city, one might well wonder in all modesty how de Blowitz, the undoubted king of newspaper correspondents, would have coped with the work to-day. In his time conditions were surely easier, partly be

N

cause the technical resources were limited and nothing like so much was expected, and partly because there has never been such passionate public discussion as now. The development of the telephone has made it possible for the Paris correspondent to enter into communication with the London office of the Times' at all hours of the day and night. If London chooses to do so, it can inform Paris of something that has occurred in Great Britain-perhaps in the late evening-with a view to the Paris impressions being recorded together with the event in the same issue of the newspaper which will be published a few hours later.

It may surprise many readers to learn that the telephone has become almost the sole method of transmission of messages from the Continent to the London office of the Times.' A few years ago the telegraph was still largely used, but I found it to have disadvantages as compared with the telephone. One did not know what delay there might be; one was never certain that a message had been received. With the long-distance telephone one knows that one's despatch has been delivered. Special padded boxes are erected in the Paris office of the 'Times,' and at fixed hours, from six o'clock in the evening until midnight-and whenever necessary at other times,-a professional telephonist (for it requires a trained man to transmit the copy) reads over the tele

phone the messages which have been prepared. At the London end a staff of stenographers takes down from this dictation the messages in shorthand.

Nor is it Paris alone which thus employs the telephone. Paris has become a centre with which which Madrid and Geneva, Milan and other places communicate. Rome telephones in two stages to Paris. Sometimes Brussels, and occasionally Berlin in bad weather, forward their messages through the French capital. It is the business of Paris, of course, to take down in shorthand the messages from these cities, and to transmit them to London. Thus Paris has become a busy clearing-house. Seldom indeed does the service break down. There is a large number of telephone lines from Paris to London, and even after the worst storm there are always some lines available. In my experience, not more than two or three emergencies have arisen, and I am convinced that with the inevitable further development of long-distance telephoningcable telephone and wireless telephone,-the day will soon come when every newspaper which has an office on the Continent will rely upon the spoken word, which is safer and surer and can be easily checked, rather than upon the telegraphed word. It may well be that New York and Washington, too, will communicate directly with London.

It was not so necessary in the days of de Blowitz to send off the news the same night.