A collection of essays and speeches, mostly published as newspaper and magazine pieces before and during the Great War, that mix patriotic exhortation, moral critique, and social commentary. The author argues against the romanticisation of armed conflict while urging national unity, charity for occupied and starving peoples, and energetic civil mobilisation; she praises naval strength, the civic and moral virtues of women, and volunteer efforts, and criticises governmental incompetence, economic mismanagement, and radical agitation. Interwoven are religious reflections, appeals for aid, and meditations on national character and public duty.