Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-25
Fl GOWNSMAN
Has the German Leopard Changed
His Spots?

49, W" "fNS
vivaclty. between the old barbarian chief of
"A Baltic tribe who overran Spain and cross
ing into Africa in the year 427 founded there
the empire of the Nandals, and the present
marauders into western Europe. Genseric
was more or less an upstart the Hohen-
Zollerns are likewise u~pstarts, except for the
blood that they have contrived to inrorpo-
rate by means of polite marriages. IL must
be hard for the naughty Hapsburgs-who
are at least somebody-to endure some things
at the hands of the descendants of the crafty
burgher counts Of Nuremberg who built a
dynasty on a mortgage thriftily foreclosed.
But Mr.. Bigelow's analogies are not only
biological and historical they extend, with
some striking results. into the barbarian war
fare, the conscienceess politics, the mouth
ings of religion, the megalonanta and brutal
materialism and the ute" faithlessness OF
the Teutonic Junker of tho ifth century ana
his reincarnation. through Frederick, pre-
| posterously called the Great" and some
other like worthless. in the present Kaiser.
The book is a triumphant REPUTATION OF the
wire-drawn distinction between good old
Germany of the years prior to 1913 and the
ravening beast that we now know.
| THERE was an old fellow In the days OF
i Queen Elizabeth, just Of the years Of
! Shakespeare. who held a travelling fellow
ship of his University of Cambridge and
spent several years abroad, among other
countries, in Germany The traits that ne
observed are the traits of the people today;
tnOugn the JunkeT Il \ Sucn "ho
from excellent old Fynes Moryson. He noted
the German addiction to gross living, for
example, and to bibulous sittings. He noted
the Teutonic heaviness and the Teutonic
savagery when aroused. He told how the
German people ran after a third-rate London
| company of actors that he was ashamed
to acknowledge because the German had
no drama-nor much literature of any
kind for that matter-at that time. Moryson
was. no prophet, only a clever traveller with
bic A,yaa ,,,nr l. sttttnnry' l. - "A NpTV diver =
ing book.
A STORY used to be told in Dresden-but
"A not by Germans-of how, on the narrow
footway of the bridge between the old and
the new town. an American gentleman was
accustomed to meet a German officer every
morning. coming the other way. The officer
marched straight on his way and, TO AVOID
collision, the American had stepped aside
for several mornings. But the American was
a man of spirit. SO. one day. he did not
step aside, and the inevitable collision took
place. To the astOnished officer he said
Tomorrow, sir. shall make way for you;
the day after, you will make way for me. |
wish you good morning. on the morrow,
the American kept his word. stepping
politely aside for the officer to pass. But
the next day there was "A violent collision,
and the officer drew his sword. which the
| American snatChcd out of his hand ana
tossed into the river. The sequel tells that
the officer committed suicide, as he could
not challenge so low a thing as an American.
IITHEN the Gownsman was a very young
w man he once got lost in Germany-but
that story will keep for another time. 1t
was then that he met and walked with two
young, students of Breslau who were mar
velously curious about the strange, new
variety of being, an American.
THAT pencil with which you write. what
is il made Off"
Gold"
They eyed each other skeptically.
HOY do you carry all the money that
you need for so long "A Journey
II don't carry it
And a long explanation ensued as to the
nature of a letter of credit, an explanation
which they credited not.
And how large did you say is the city in
which you live?"
Nearly two millions"
They exchanged Glances. and one Of them
perceptibly shrugged his shoulders. At last
your embryo Gownsman said:
Lock here you don't seem to believe a
word that tell you. IN my country when
one man implies that another is a liar, the
reply is a blow the replier knocking down
the implier if the imrlicr is not too quick
for him.
-Oh, W. don't feel that way about it." said
one of my young rma W. were only
admiring your nerve. You tell us all these
impossible things precisely as if they were
really So"
What a German does not personally know
does not exist. Another way of putting 1t
is: Nothing Sfists which a German does
not know.
az same journey. a young American
was sitting alone at breakfast, rather
late. in one of those large semiopen rooms
which abroad they designate a garden II
was in Halle and a somewhat cool morning
wherefore the young ("the Gownsman")
American kept on his hat. The wind always
blows in the university town of Halle. and
so do some of its students that the Gowns.
man has known, even though not of German
birth. There were few people in the room
and presently the young American was
amazed to have the big head-waiter or some
such functionary come up to him and ask
impudentiy IL people kept on their hats In
rooms in America. Looking up the Ameri,
can saw in a moment the reason for thi:
impertinence. Two German officers and a
civilian were seated at some distance, evi
iently observing the result of what they ha6
started. The American retorted very quietly
"Ill remove my hat when those officers across
the room take off their caps" He looked
for something to happen. Nothing happened
TOUR months before the opening of the
II war, the ,Gownsman was asked to go tc
Weimar. to take part in the celebration OF
the fftieth anniversary of the founding OF
the German Shakespeare Society. DR.. Pau
Shorey, of Chicago, the '"exchange professor
of the year at Berlin. was the only Other
representative from 1.-The wilds of NORTH
America" Some of the d~iverting things thai
happened on this occasion belong to times
they can never come again-when we could
only laugh at the Among thes,
were their condescension to Shakespeare ant
scholarship about him in his own tongue
and the literal performance of Richard tn,
Third" to the bitter end on Bosworth Field
not reached until long after midnight. Il
was about this performance that a learned
authority from Leipsic said confidentially L
the Gownsman. Nov, after all, how mucl
better Shakespeare sounds in German" An,
the Gownsman responded heartlessly an,
obviously: Yes, to a German"
THE moment was that, 1t will be remem
bered, when Mexico was making herself
particularly unpleasant. and all the Teddie
were urging unspeakable things. The func
tons of this celebration of the anniversar,
of a German learned society involved