THE GERMANS ABASHED
A British naval officer, home on short leave, told a North Sea story. “We had taken some prisoners aboard, three of them officers; one of their torpedoes had missed us by nearly ten feet.
“We made the officers as comfortable as we could, gave them food and drink, and talked about ordinary general matters; hardly a word was said about the fight.
“The Germans seemed ill at ease, suspicious. At last one of them said, ‘We don’t understand you treating us like this. We tried to torpedo you.’
“‘Oh, that’s all right; that’s over now,’ said a navigating lieutenant, handing him a cigarette.
“‘We’d like to show you that we appreciate your goodness,’ went on the German.
“There was a long pause. Then the lieutenant burst in with great cheerfulness, ‘Well, sing us the “Hymn of Hate.”’
“That was one of the rare moments when I have seen German officers look abashed.”