MADISON, Wis.—My current 10-day trip in the Middle West has caused me to think that I had better be doing some preparation for my short trip to Europe and Israel next month. So far I have read only one or two books in preparation for this little jaunt!

In London I hope to see some old friends, and Mrs. Trude Lash, who will be with me, hopes to see some of the courts that handle children's cases. I have visited those in the past but would be interested to go again and observe any changes.

On Thursday of the past week Mrs. Zena Harman, with whom I had worked in the United Nations, and Miss Esther Herlitz, one of three Israel consuls in New York City, came to lunch with me.

I explained to them that my coming trip to Europe and Israel was entirely a business trip to gather material for two articles I had been asked to do and to observe what changes have come about in the three years since I last visited Israel. I also will be gathering material for speeches in England, France, and Italy during my brief stops in those countries, so that I can have fresh impressions of present-day conditions and not only observations that are three years old.

I saw my granddaughter, Mrs. Van Seagraves, off on the train for Carbondale, Illinois, on Thursday afternoon late and was very reluctant to see her go. Having had my young niece, Mrs. Edward Elliott, with me in New York for five days and then my granddaughter for five days has spoiled me completely.

It is much fun to have young people around the house. Even though a good many people may come and go at all times, it is not quite the same as having someone really staying with me and thinking and planning each day together at the breakfast table.

Luckily for me, both my young people wanted to see the United Nations and some of New York's museums. The Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan seem to fill so many days of joy.

On Friday the mild weather in New York seemed to come to an end and so when Miss Corr and I left Saturday on this lecture trip we took along all the warm clothes we could find. We expect that Wisconsin and Michigan and Iowa are going to be quite cold.