Wilbraham, being a sentimentalist and an idealist, suffered more from
this general disappointment than most people. He had had wonderful
relations with the men under him throughout the war. He had never tired
of recounting how marvelously they had behaved, what heroes they were,
and that it was they who would pull the country together.
At the same time he had a naive horror of bolshevism and anything
unconstitutional, and he watched the transformation of his "brave lads"
into discontented and idle workmen with dismay and deep distress. He
used sometimes to come around to my rooms and talk to me; he had the
bewildered air of a man walking in his sleep.
He made the fatal mistake of reading all the papers, and he took in the
Daily Herald in order that he might see "what it was these fellows had
to say for themselves."
The Herald upset him terribly. Its bland assumption that Russians and
Sein Feiners could do no wrong, but that the slightest sign of
assertion of authority on the part of any government was "wicked
tyranny," shocked his very soul.
Pages:
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543