er doubted by his playmates."

There is an excellent American slang word, which is "poppycock." The
Century Dictionary speaks disrespectfully of it as a "United States
vulgarism," but personally I consider it a first-class word. The Century
Dictionary defines it as meaning, "Trivial talk; nonsense; stuff and
rubbish," which is about as near as a dictionary can get to the elusive
meaning of any slang word. English readers will understand the exact
shade of meaning of the word when I say that the paragraph above quoted
is most excellent and precise poppycock. Every American who read that
paragraph when the book was published must have chuckled inwardly, just
as every Englishman would chuckle. But the point which I wish to
emphasise is that it is not at all poppycock from the author's point of
view. I doubt not that his countrymen have been most edified by that
excellent dictum, and the trouble is that one could never make a typical
German understand wherein it is wrong. No, Mr. Muensterberg, it is not
that the sentence is untrue--far be it from me to suggest such a thing.
It is merely absurd; and you, sir, will never, never, never comprehend
why it is so.

It is in the presence of such a remark, seriously made by so excellently
capable a foreigner, that the Englishman and American ought to be able
to shake hands and realise how much of a kin they are and how far
removed from some other peoples.

* * * * *

I have dwelt on this subject of the games of the two peoples at what may
seem to many an unnecessary length, because I do not think its
importance can well be exaggerated. It is not only desirable, but it is
necessary, for a thorough mutual liking between them that there should
be no friction in matters of sport. No incident has, I believe, occurred
of late years which did so much harm to the relations between the
peoples as did the Dunraven episode in connection with the _America's_
cup races. I should be inclined to say that it did more harm (I am not
blaming Lord Dunraven) than the Venezuelan incident.

On the other hand, it is doubtful whether the more recent attempts to
recover the cup, and the spirit in which they have been conducted, have
not contributed as much as, say, the attitude of England in the Spanish
War to the increased liking for Great Britain which has made itself
manifest in the United States of recent years. Few Englishmen, probably,
understand how much is made of