CHAPTER X.
THE ENGLISH POSITION A Quiet London--The Call to Arms--No Mourning--The Zeppelin Scare--German Spies--The German Landing--Kultur War Indemnities.
It is worth a winter trip across the Atlantic to stand with a London audience and hear it respond to the call, "Are we downhearted ?" with a thunderous "NO!" It is then you first realize that the British Empire is at war; and what that war means; and that that Empire has piped to its defense a free people inhabiting one fifth of the territory of the globe.
The British Empire has war upon its hands a major part of the time.

It may be in the Soudan; it may be in South Africa.

From some quarter of the globe war is almost always before the Empire.

But a war summoning the whole British Empire to arms on land and sea,--that has not been dreamed of for a hundred years.
You expect to find in London an armed camp, the flags flying, the drums beating, the troops marching; an excited people discussing causes and effects of the military and naval programmes; military encampments with white tents over the plains.

But you find nothing of the sort.