XXVII THE END
WWI Document Archive > Diaries, Memorials, Personal Reminiscences > Walter H. Page > Chapter XXVII
PAGE came home only to die. In fact, at one time it seemed
improbable that he would live to reach the United States. The
voyage of the Olympic, on which he sailed, was literally
a race with death. The great-hearted Captain, Sir Bertram. Hayes,
hearing of the Ambassador's yearning to reach his North Carolina
home, put the highest pressure upon his ship, which almost leaped
through the waves. But for a considerable part of the trip Page
was too ill to have much consciousness of his surroundings. At
times he was delirious; once more he lived over the long period
of "neutrality"; again he was discussing intercepted
cargoes and "notes" with Sir Edward Grey; from this
his mind would revert to his English literary friends, and then
again he was a boy in North Carolina. The Olympic reached
New York more than a day ahead of schedule; Page was carried down
the gangplank on a stretcher, propped up with pillows; and since
he was too weak then to be taken to his Southern home, he was
placed temporarily in St. Luke's Hospital. Page arrived on a beautiful
sunshiny October day; Fifth Avenue had changed its name in honour
of the new Liberty Loan and had become the "Avenue of the
Allies"; each block, from Forty-second Street north, was
decorated with the colours of one of the nations engaged in the
battle against Germany; the street was full of Red Cross workers
and other picturesquely clad enthusiasts selling Liberty Bonds;
in its animated beauty and in its inspiring significance it formed
an appropriate setting for Page's homecoming.
The American air seemed to act like a tonic on Page; in a short
time he showed such improvement that his recovery seemed not impossible.
So far as his spirits and his mind were concerned, he became his
old familiar self. He was able to see several of his old friends,
he read the newspapers and discussed the international situation
with his customary liveliness. With the assistance of his daughter,
Mrs. Loring, he even kept track of his correspondence. Evidently
the serious nature of his illness was not understood, for invitations
to speak poured in from all quarters. Most of these letters Mrs.
Loring answered, but there was one that Page insisted on attending
to himself. The City of Cleveland was organizing some kind of
a meeting dedicated to closer relations with Great Britain, and
the Mayor wrote Page asking him to speak. The last thing which
Page wrote with his own hand was his reply to this invitation;
and it is an impressive fact that his final written word should
have dealt with the subject that had been so close to his heart
for the preceding five years.
.
To Harry L. Davis, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio
I deeply regret my health will not permit me to attend any public function for some time to come; for I deeply appreciate your invitation on behalf of the City of Cleveland for the meeting on December 7th, and have a profound sympathy with its purpose to bring the two great English-speaking worlds as close together as possible, so that each shall thoroughly understand the courage and sacrifice and ideals of the other. This is the greatest political task of the future. For such a complete and lasting understanding is the only basis for the continued progress of civilization. I am proud to be associated in your thought, Mr. Mayor, with so fitting and happy an occasion, and only physical inability could cause absence.
Sincerely,
WALTER H. PAGE.
Page's improvement was only temporary; a day or two after this letter was written he began to sink rapidly; it was therefore decided to grant his strongest wish and take him to North Carolina. He arrived in Pinehurst on December 12th, so weak that his son Frank had to carry him in his arms from the train.
"Well, Frank," said Page, with a slightly triumphant
smile, " I did get here after all, didn't I?"
He lingered for a few days and died, at eight o'clock in the
evening, on December 21st, in his sixty-fourth year. He suffered
no pain. He was buried in the Page family plot in the Bethesda
Cemetery near Aberdeen.
He was as much of a war casualty as was his nephew Allison
Page, who lost his life with his face to the German machine guns
in Belleau Wood.
.
WWI Document Archive > Diaries, Memorials, Personal Reminiscences > Walter H. Page > Chapter XXVII