Agreement as to that exploded in every direction. The speaker strained his voice to dominate the din:
"They didn't specially love us—the Germans. No; nor we them, perhaps."
He was forced to wait till the enthusiasm which greeted that view had spent itself.
"Now, just think a moment. The Germans—I'm speaking of before the war, remember—they believed theirs was the only true civilization."
Wild derision from the English cockneys. The few soldiers scattered through the crowd appeared to have less emotion to expend than did the civilians. They listened stolidly. In the first lull the speaker went on:
"Now, why—why did these notorious home-lovers turn their backs on what for them was the only true civilization? Why did they come here in such numbers?"
"To spy!"
"To steal our jobs!"
"'Peaceful penetration' for the ends of war!"
"Listen! They overran us and other countries because we prevented the legitimate expansion of the German Empire."