[7.] I am indebted to Commander C. C. for the above rough translation of Karl's effusion.--ETIENNE.
At sea.
We are bound for the same old spot as last time.
Alten must have been drinking like a fish lately; his breath smells like a distillery; he is apparently partial to schnapps, which he gets easily in Bruges.
I can't help admiring the man, as he is a rigid teetotaller at sea, though he must find the strain well nigh intolerable, judging from the condition he was in when he came on board last night. He was really totally unfit to take charge of the boat, and I virtually took her down the canal, though with sottish obstinacy he insisted on remaining on the bridge.
This morning, though his complexion was a hideous yellow colour, he seems quite all right. I shall play a little trick on him at dinner to-night.
I have begun to get to know some of the crew by now; they are a fine lot of youngsters with a seasoning of half a dozen older men. The coxswain, Schmitt by name, is a splendid old petty officer who has been in the U-boat service since 1911.
His favourite enjoyment is to spin yarns to the younger members of the crew, who know of his weakness and play up to it.
He has a favourite expression which runs thus:
"His Majesty the Kaiser said Germany's future lies on the sea; I say Germany's future lies under the sea."