believe so far as I can see him--no more.

AMERICAN. Now that 'pears to me kind o' blasphemy. I believe in
heroism. I opine there's not one of us settin' around here that's
not a hero--give him the occasion.

LITTLE MAN. Oh! Do you believe that?

AMERICAN. Well! I judge a hero is just a person that'll help
another at the expense of himself. Take that poor woman there.
Well, now, she's a heroine, I guess. She would die for her baby any
old time.

GERMAN. Animals will die for their babies. That is nothing.

AMERICAN. I carry it further. I postulate we would all die for that
baby if a locomotive was to trundle up right here and try to handle
it. [To the GERMAN] I guess you don't know how good you are. [As
the GERMAN is twisting up the ends of his moustache--to the
ENGLISHWOMAN] I should like to have you express an opinion, ma'am.

ENGLISHWOMAN. I beg your pardon.

AMERICAN. The English are very humanitarian; they have a very high
sense of duty. So have the Germans, so have the Americans. [To the
DUTCH YOUTH] I judge even in your little country they have that.
This is an epoch of equality and high-toned ideals. [To the LITTLE
MAN] What is your nationality, sir?

LITTLE MAN. I'm afraid I'm nothing particular. My father was
half-English and half-American, and my mother half-German and
half-Dutch.

AMERICAN. My! That's a bit streaky, any old way. [The POLICEMAN
passes again] Now, I don't believe we've much use any more for those
gentlemen in buttons. We've grown kind of mild--we don't think of
self as we used to do.

[The WAITER has appeared in the doorway.]

GERMAN. [In a voice of thunder] 'Cigarren! Donnerwetter'!

AMERICAN. [Shaking his fist at the vanishing WAITER] That flash of
beer!

WAITER. 'Komm' gleich'!

AMERICAN. A little more, and he will join George Washington! I was
about to remark when he intruded: In this year of grace 1913 the
kingdom of Christ is quite a going concern. We are mighty near
universal brotherhood. The colonel here [He indicates the GERMAN] is
a man of blood and iron, but give him an opportunity to be
magnanimous, and he'll be right there. Oh, sir! yep!

[The GERMAN, with a profound mixture of pleasure and cynicism,
brushes up the ends of his moustache.]

LITTLE MAN. I wonder. One wants to, but somehow--[He shakes his
head.]

AMERICAN. You seem kind of skeery about that. You've had experience,
maybe. I'm an optim