Undated — probably March 6, 1919

The event of the week, with all its social, political, and economic repercussions, is the expected arrival any day now of the beautiful Queen Marie of Rumania. While like almost everyone else she comes a-borrowing, the ceremonial officer has decided that in homage to protocol some important member of our delegation should be at the station to greet her, to see that the red carpet is worthy of royal feet and properly spread. Frazier and I discussed the matter without any particular personal enthusiasm and we decided that a flip of a coin would decide who should perform this diplomatic chore. Gordon Auchincloss, son-in-law and secretary of our Colonel, overheard this conversation, at least in part, and, “getting us wrong,” advised the Colonel that in his judgment the most beautiful woman in Europe should not be greeted on her arrival in “gay Paree” by men whose hair was gray or at least on the “graying side.” And he offered to go to the station himself.

This remark started quite an uproar in the “family.” It was promptly quelled by the Colonel deciding that as the Queen was coming to borrow money for her bankrupt country and food for her unfortunate subjects we might well await her appearance at the Crillon. He was confident she would not fail to put in appearance, and soon.

So the affair was settled by our chief with his usual wisdom, but the remark about the graying hair rankled. Then a copy of the Temps and an article which spread over several columns arrived which exalted us and gave sweet revenge. It was written by Mentchikof, the great scientist, biologist, and anthropologist, and the present head of the Pasteur Institute. He said that for some years now (in the midst of the greatest war in history) he had indulged himself in an intensive and extensive study of mammals. One of the discoveries he had made was that the superior animals of the fauna family, with the passing of the years and the coming of age, turned gray, while the inferior animals “molted.” We placed many copies of this informative article on Auchincloss’ desk and others came to him by mail and special messengers.

And was he angry! The joke, at least from our viewpoint, is that while A. is quite young and, as some think, even juvenile, his head is as bare of hair as a billiard ball. He, like other members of the inferior tribes, must have “mounted” years ago. Jests such as these relieve the tension of world-shaking events.