MRS. THEODORE McKENNA, all of London, England, who assembled our rich English contributions for us; to MR. WILLIAM DE LEFTWICH DODGE for the cover design, a rare and beautiful tribute to our defenders; to MR. MELVILLE E. STONE, without whose personal influence we could not have secured contributions from all of our Allies in so short a time; to MR. J. JEFFERSON JONES and MR. WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT, who have devoted time and thought without stint to the making of the book, and have given the committee the advantage of their technical knowledge and distinguished taste entirely as a patriotic service; to MISS LILIAN ELLIOTT for her many translations from Portuguese and Spanish writers; to MISS LA MONTAIGNE, CHAIRMAN of THE CARDINAL MERCIER FUND; to MR. TALCOTT WILLIAMS, MR. ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON, MR. DANIAL FROHMAN; to THE BRITISH WAR MISSION, THE FRIENDS OF FRANCE AND HER ALLIES COMMITTEE, and to THE RUSSIAN AND SERBIAN CIVIL RELIEF COMMITTEES. To ALL we give our heartfelt thanks.

THE EDITORS.

Preface

This beautiful book is the expression of the eager desire of all of the gifted men and women who have contributed to it and of the members of the Militia of mercy to render homage to our sailors, soldiers, nurses and physicians who offer the supreme sacrifice to free the stricken people of other lands and to protect humanity with their bodies from an enemy who has invented the name and created the thing "welt-schmerz"--world anguish. But we want it do more than extol their heroism and sacrifice, we want The Defenders of Democracy to help them win the war. It has been the thought of those who planned the book to meet three things needful, not only to the army at the front, but to that vaster army at home who watch and work and wait (and perhaps we need it more than they who have the stimulus of action)--to strengthen the realization that our soldiers of sea and land, though far away, are fighting for a cause which is vitally near the heart of every man and every woman, and the soul of every nation--human freedom; "to forge the weapon of victory by fanning the flame of cheerfulness," and to be the means of lifting the burden of anxiety from those who go, lest their loved ones should suffer privation, bereft of their protecting care. So truly is this an Age of Service, that the response to the scope and spirit of our work was immediate and within four months from the day we sent our first request for co-operation in carrying out our plans, we had received the rich contributions contained in this book from men and women of letters and other arts, not only from our own generous country, but from our allies.

Perhaps the most difficult task fell to those who were asked not to write of the war but to practice the gentle art of cheering us all up--an art so easily lost in these days of sorrow, suspense and anxiety--yet we have received many delightful contributions in harmony with this request, and so the cheerful note, the finer optimism, recurs again and again, and is sustained to the last page.

Such a book is historic. It is a consecration of the highest gifts to the cause of human freedom and human fraternity. The Militia of Mercy, in expressing its gratitude to the men and women so greatly endowed who have made this book possible, trust they will find a rich reward in the thought that it will give both spiritual and material aid to those who are fighting in the great war.

The book will be sold for the benefit of the families of the men of the Naval Militia now in the Federal Service and taking part in sea warfare. John Lane Company have published the book at cost, so that the publisher's profits, as well as our own, will be given to the patriotic work of the Militia of Mercy.

It has been repeatedly said during the past year that America had not begun to feel the war. If America has not, how many Americans