At the next station we received another influx of passengers, including a number of females, the scarcity of the seats and the preoccupation of the gentlemen occupying them forcing the latter to stand. This gave me the opportunity for a cheap triumph, lessened somewhat by the fact that there was no one beside myself to enjoy it.
I arose gallantly and grasped a strap.
“In England,” I said loud enough to be heard throughout the carriage, “the men are glad enough to stand when there are ladies without seats!”
I was the cynosure of piercing glares, but after an awkward pause, the men of the “superior” race began one by one to follow my example.
I grinned inwardly, but my outward mien preserved the due humility of a Kriegsgefangener, and my eyes rested on the distant fields.
FOOTNOTES:
[15] Germany is beaten.
[16] Dead.
[17] Nothing.