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The Citadel Quebec

Mrs Carruthers 8 Gower Street London W.C

4th August, 1936.

My dears,

My dears,

We have emerged successfully from the President's visit. We were marvellously fortunate, as it was sandwiched between two bad days, and the weather was perfect. We had a terrific time before he came. The house was always full of USA Secret Service men, and the head of the latter was always quietly but politely upsetting Eric Mackenzie's carefully arranged plans. Only when he said that the car, in which the President would be, must be driven by the President's own chauffeur in a Homburg hat, did Eric say that this was impossible! It would spoil the look of the procession.

The President's lameness makes things very difficult for him, and rather for his hosts. We had to put sloping bits of wood everywhere where there was a step. He is marvellously brave about it, and his son and Gus, his confidential servant, rush to his side the moment he wants to get up. Between them they make it all seem easy and natural.

Quebec filled up with people, and there were a great many American tourists too. The G. men, who always accompany the President, went in a car after him and John, literally armed to the teeth. They even had a machine-gun! Two of them stood on the running-board of their car and it made one feel very safe, though I must say it does spoil the look of a procession a little bit. It took forty-five minutes to drive from Wolfe's Cove, where the President was landed. The slopes of the hill were covered with G. men. Michael Adeane remarked, "We shall hear nothing but their howls, as the hill is covered

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ed with poison ivy"- a particularly nasty North American weed that brings you out in most painful spots. The boys got immense fun out of the G. men, who stood round us while John and the President were speaking. There were hundreds of spectators at the windows of the Chateau Frontenac Hotel (near which we were stationed), and they all had to give an account of themselves beforehand.

As I have said, the day was perfect. The hills were blue, and the Stars and Stripes, which had never been flown in Quebec before blew straight out in the wind.

We had a luncheon of over fifty people, and a large tea party . John and the President went for a drive together in the afternoon and had a very nice talk. I must say I liked the President very much indeed. He does not tell you things; but listens to what you have to say, and he gives you the impression of being a most attractive and intelligent human being. We all breathed rather a sigh of relief when it was all over, and he was safely on his train. The betting is that he will get in again in November, and I am sure I hope he will, because, though he may have made mistakes, he seems to me to be the right sort of person for America. He belongs to a family who have given so much to the public service, and he is utterly disinterested and not out for himself.

We go tonight to Indian Lorette, where John is going to be made an Indian Chief, and on Thursday get into our train and leave for the West.

[ST: the following is a hand written addendum]

We had a marvellous Indian evening. John was made a chief & wore for a brief moment a coiffure of feathers. He was presented with two addresses written on birch bark. Susie

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