Religion  came  to  its  own  in  some  troubled  quarters  of  the  world
even  though,  at  times,  the  difficulties  of  realizing  Christian  princi-
ples amid  the  world-wide  dominance  of  the  cruellest  war  had  a
negative  effect.  Women  in  the  AlHed  countries  reached  new  stand-
ards of  sacrifice,  labour,  efficiency,  and  obtained  a  political  power
undreamed  of  before  this  vast  upheaval  of  elemental  forces.  The
British  Empire  grew  more  and  more  into  a  close-knit  Common-
wealth of  nations,  while  international  friendships,  such  as  those  of
Britain  and  France  and  the  United  States,  found  new  and  blood-
knit  spheres  of  sentiment  and  action.
