There is the story of the Britisher who visited Sweden and in
going through customs found himself confronted by two lines, one
marked for Swedes, the other for foreigners. After a while an in-
spector came by and found the Britisher sitting squarely in the middle.
He said: "Sir, would you kindly move into one line or the other." The
Britisher replied: "That is just my trouble. I am not a Swede and I
am obviously not a foreigner."

The story could serve as the theme of tonight's honored guests.
We are not so presumptuous as to claim John and Catherine Freeman as
Americans; but we emphatically agree to the proposition that they are
not foreigners. They came here under the most incredibly difficult circumstances. John was clearly not the most obvious choice for this Administration. In less than two years, they have become part of our lives. Something of us will leave with them.

How is one to explain this extraordinary impact of a British
radical on a Republican Administration? Why do we feel that Washington will become so much lonelier with the parting of John and Catherine?

John was British Ambassador during one of the most difficult
periods in our history. Some say we are divided over Vietnam; others
blame the environment or race. I believe that the cause of our anguish

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is deeper and more intangible. All through our history we have believed
that while struggle was inevitable, effort was its own reward. We have
had a deep faith that good intentions were an assurance of a good out-
come. Utopia was not a dream for us but the end of a road. Our
generation is the first to have found that the road has no end, that it
may not lead anywhere, that in travelling it we will find not Utopia but
only ourselves. The realization of our essential loneliness accounts
for so much of the frustration, the bitterness, the rage of our time.

And this is why John has been so important to us all. Not by
words but by his action he has shown to us that our solitude while stern
can be beautiful. He has proved by his bearing that the peace we seek
must begin within us. He has demonstrated that compassion is more
profound than righteousness, that humaneness is something other than
sentimentality, that true love of man does not deny reality but transcends
it. We have been moved by John though he is the most reticent of men --
in his two years here I have had only one brief personal word with him
and that last week when he visited me in San Clemente. In a world where
there has never been more talk and never less dialogue, he inspired by
his diffident passion and his sly, almost inarticulate persuasiveness;
his is a triumph of rectitude.

And so it seems to me that only the formal part of John's embassy
is ending next week. As long as we are here, we shall ask ourselves

Toast at Henry Brandon's Dinner for John and Catherine Freeman

January 8, 1971

The story could serve as the theme of tonight's honored guests.
We are not so presumptuous as to claim John and Catherine Freeman as
Americans; but we emphatically agree to the proposition that they are
not foreigners. They came here under the most incredibly adverse
circumstances. John was clearly not the most obvious choice for *this*
Administration. In less than two years, they have become part of
our lives. Something of us will leave with them.

How is one to explain the extraordinary impact of a British
radical on a Republican Administration? Why do we feel that Washing-
ton will become so much lonelier with the parting of John and Catherine?

- 2 -

[w]

And this is why John has been so important to us all. Not by
words but by his action he has shown to us that our solitude while stern
can be beautiful. In a world where there has never been more talk and
never less dialogue, he has proved by his bearing that the peace we seek
must begin within us. He has demonstrated that compassion is more
profound than righteousness, that humaneness is something other than
sentimentality, that true love of man does not deny reality but transcends
it. We have been moved by John though he is the most reticent of men --
in his two years here I have had only one brief personal word with him
and that last week when he visited me in San Clemente. He inspired by
his diffident passion and his shy, almost inarticulate persuasiveness;
his is a triumph of rectitude.

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at crucial junctures: "What will the Freemans think?" And while we
cannot guarantee the validity of the answer, the question will lift us
from the urgent to the important. It may give us the moment's pause
that our souls need to catch up in the frenzy of everyday activity.

This is what I want to say personally to my friends John and
Catherine.

But there is, too, an official part to this evening. Yesterday
the President asked me what I would do this weekend. I said that I
planned to visit Washington for a dinner. "With the Georgetown set?"
he asked dubiously. When I indicated it was for John and Catherine he
brightened noticeably. Just before I left this morning he called me
into his office and handed me this letter:

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

Mrs. Nixon joins me in conveying to you and Mrs.
Freeman our genuine sense of loss at your departure
from this country.

You have truly been an Ambassador extraordinary.
Our natural relationship which the Prime Minister
described on his recent visit has prospered during
your stay in no small measure due to your sharp
perception of the American scene and your forthright
presentation of British views. To your professional
skills you have added a personal dimension that has
won you both respect and affection.

With your diplomatic qualities you have deepened the
ties between our countries. With your human qualities

you have enriched the lives of those who have known
you.

America and Americans will miss you.

/s/ Richard Nixon

There now remains only to propose a toast: John and
Catherine -- may your lives be as rich as you have made ours.

And selfishly: may the frequency of our meetings bear some relationship to the frequency with which we shall think of you.

January 8, 1971

The story could serve as the theme of tonight's honored guests.
We are not so presumptuous as to claim John and Catherine Freeman as
Americans; but we emphatically agree to the proposition that they are
not foreigners. They came here under the most incredibly adverse
circumstances. John was clearly not the most obvious choice for this
Administration. In less than two years, they have become part of
our lives. Something of us will leave with them.

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- 3 -

There now remains only to propose a toast: John and
Catherine -- may your lives be as rich as you have made ours.
And selfishly: may the frequency of our meetings bear some relation-
ship to the frequency with which we shall think of you.

January 8, 1971

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Dear Mr. Ambassador:

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/s/ Richard Nixon