Peck's bad boy abroad : $b Being a humorous description of the bad boy and his dad in their journeys through foreign lands: 1904Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)
General
Peck's bad boy abroad : $b Being a humorous description of the bad boy and his dad in their journeys through foreign lands: 1904
Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)
American wit and humor; Boys -- Fiction; Practical jokes -- Fiction; Voyages and travels -- Fiction
I suppose there is somebody working in Berlin, but it seems to us that
the whole population, so far as can be seen, is bent on enjoying every
minute, walking the streets, in good clothes, giving military salutes,
and drinking beer between meals, and talking about what Germany would do
to an enemy if the ever-present chip on the shoulder should be knocked
off, even accidentally. But they all seem to love America, and when we
registered at the hotel, from Milwaukee, Wis., U. S. A., citizens began
to gather around us and ask about relatives at our home. They seem to
think that every German who has settled in Milwaukee owns a brewery, and
that all are rich, and that some day they will come back to Germany and
spend the money, and fight for the Emperor.
We did not have the heart to tell them that all the Germans in Milwaukee
were going to stay there and spend their money, and while their hearts
were still warm towards the Fatherland, they loved the Stars and
Stripes, and would fight for the American flag, against the world, and
that the younger Germans spoke the German language, if it all, with a
Yankee accent. Gee, but wouldn't the people of Berlin be hot under the
collar if they knew how many Germans in America were unfamiliar with the
make-up of the German flag, and that they only see it occasionally when
some celebration of German days takes place.
Well, when dad saw the German Emperor drive down the great street, and
got a look at his face, he said, “Hennery, I have got to see that
young man and advise him to go and consult a doctor,” and so we made
arrangements to go to the Palace and see the Emperor and his son, the
Crown Prince, who will before long take the empire on his shoulders, if
William is as sick as he looks. You don't have to hire any masquerade
clothes to call on the Emperor of Germany, like you do when you visit
royalty in Turkey and Egypt, for a good frock coat and a silk hat will
take you anywhere in the day time, and a swallowtail is legal tender at
night; so dad put on his frock coat and silk hat, just as he would to
go and attend an afternoon wedding at home, and we were ushered in to a
regular parlor, where the Emperor was having fun with his children, and
the Empress was doing some needlework.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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