Boche and Bolshevik: Experiences of an Englishman in the German Army and in Russian PrisonsPrice, Hereward Thimbleby
History
Boche and Bolshevik: Experiences of an Englishman in the German Army and in Russian Prisons
Price, Hereward Thimbleby
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Russian
scandals about him as there are about the Crown Prince, who, to quote
the German phrase, departed from Bonn like the devil, leaving a smell
behind him.
Prince Oskar may be forgiven for the crudeness of his religion, because
his teachers were even worse than he. At the end of the Semester he
used to give a dinner to all his tutors. The chief guest was one Zorn,
a Prussian who had been imported from North Germany to teach the
Princes law, because the Rhinelanders were not supple enough. Zorn
twice represented Germany at the Hague Conferences, and I believe he
is a recognized authority on International Law. During the dinner the
Prince had occasion to speak of his sister’s aptitude for mathematics.
“Why,” he said, “she is quite silly; she actually loves the stuff.”
Zorn immediately chimed in. “My daughter is like that; my daughter is
silly too. She _likes_ mathematics. When I get home I shall tell her
how silly Her Royal Highness your sister is, and I am sure she will
be most sympathetically touched to hear that Her Royal Highness is as
silly as herself.” Thus are compliments paid in the Land of Culture.
Afterwards we went out on to the terrace, and Zorn monopolized the
conversation. He delivered two lectures, the first a warning against
humour. He advised us never to make jokes in our lectures, humour and
science being incompatible. He added, “I never joke.” Then he went
on to prove the impossibility of doubting the existence of God. He
railed against mathematicians for being atheists, although they every
day assume the existence of quantities without proof. Why could they
not assume the existence of God? Needless to say this champion of
Prussian piety was one of the first to rush into print with a defence
of Germany’s action in Belgium. I have no doubt that, if he is alive
now, he is still writing pamphlets in honour of frightfulness. When we
remember that their instructors, the very flower of the nation, men
with European reputations for scholarship, are of such common clay, can
we be surprised at what the Hohenzollerns do?
[SN: HAGUE CONFERENCES]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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