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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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many people had worked on it, and he believed it had now gone forward.”

At any rate, this went on for quite a while. This interview wasn't very long, but I mean this backing and filling. Finally he telephoned me one day. I began to be on quite good terms with him. Our personal relationship became sort of friendly in a superficial way, and he began to drop an occasional English word or sentence. I remember saying to him once, “Oh, your English is improving, Mr. Ambassador.”

He hadn't been here long. It could be conceivable that he was studying English. He looked a little embarrassed, but nothing more.

Finally there was a period when I hadn't called him up for two weeks, and his office called up and said that he would like to call upon me. I was surprised, but I was delighted, and said, “Of course--very happy to have him come-- would he come tomorrow afternoon, or today at 3:00 o'clock? Whenever it was convenient for him.”

So he came, and to my surprise he came alone. Didn't have any guide, protector or friend. He dropped all pretense--he had no interpreter--he dropped all pretense of not being able to understand English, and he came into the office and was polite to the ladies in the outside reception room, and was shown in at once, of course, because he was expected and he was an Ambassador, after all.





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