h, where our confidences
were necessarily cut short, and we took an affectionate leave of one
another." (p. 123.)

The following incident also shows simple folk made clear-sighted by
kindness of heart: "On another occasion Christine and one of the ladies
in our hotel went into a shop to buy some beautiful lace which was being
sold at half-price. 'We have to sell it cheaply because of the war,'
explained the assistant: 'ach! it is terrible! We never wanted this war,
and I am sure you did not either. You and I are not enemies, it is
ridiculous. Let us shake hands to show we are friends. Yes!' And they
did."[66] Good! That handshake, let us hope, will outweigh many a
hysterical outburst on both sides.

An English schoolmaster was, with his wife and family, in Germany at the
outbreak of war. He testifies to the quite wonderful kindness he
received. Almost daily he was taken by his hosts to other houses, and at
the _Kaffeeklatsch_ which ensued there was never anything but a finely
chivalrous courtesy. So grateful did the schoolmaster feel that (just as
with Germans befriended here) he felt he must make some sort of return
to the "enemy." He explained the situation, and obtained permission to
take two interned enemy nationals into his house. They in their turn
felt that movement of gratitude which the preachers of hate refuse to
believe in. They wanted to make some return to the schoolmaster, for
schoolmasters are usually poor men. "If you do that," he said, "I shall
feel I am doing nothing." There was a dispute of kindness, and in the
end a _modus vivendi_ of gratitude was arrived at. How strange the
methods of force seem by comparison. The two men are now interned once
more--surely a sorry end to a story of such fine humanity.

From Mrs. K. Warmington: "There are two little instances that stand out
in my mind very clearly, and I think speak for themselves. The first
relates to an English lady, her husband, and her son, with whom I made
acquaintance at the English Consul's office. Later on I met the same
lady at the American Consul's office; she was in deep distress, as her
husband and son had been arrested and put into prison. Through the
influence of an American that we met at an hotel, we got a permit to go
and see a military commandant at the barracks to see if anything could
be done for them. When we arrived, he treated us most courteously, and
listened patiently to what we had to say. He rang a doctor up on the
tele