We played the gentleman, Europe played the bully.

But Europe calls us "dollar chasers." That dear old Europe! Again, if any conquering General on the continent of Europe ever behaved as Grant did to Lee at Appomattox, his name has escaped me.
Again, and lastly--though I am not attempting to tell you here the whole tale of our decencies: Whose hands came away cleanest from that Peace Conference in Paris lately?
What did we ask for ourselves?
Everything we asked, save some repairs of damage, was for other people.

Oh, yes! we are quite good enough to keep quiet about these things.

No need whatever to brag.

Bragging, moreover, inclines the listener to suspect you're not so remarkable as you sound.
But all this virtue doesn't in the least alter the fact that we're like everybody else in having some dirty pages in our History.