The
things that interested me did not appeal to them, and vice versa.
They seemed to me dull youths, heavy alike in mind and body. From
lack of sufficient fresh air and exercise they had all dull eyes,
and flabby, white faces that quivered like blancmanges when they
walked. In addition, they obstinately refused to talk German with
me, looking on me as affording an excellent opportunity for
obtaining a gratuitous lesson in English. One of Hentze's pupils
was a great contrast, physically, to the rest, for he was very
spare and thin, and seldom opened his mouth. I was to see a great
deal of this silent, slim lad later on.
Mr. Spiegelberg was a prominent member of the so-called English
and French Club in Brunswick. This was not in the least what its
name would seem to indicate; the members of the Club were not
bursting with overwhelming love for our language and institutions,
nor were they consumed with enthusiastic admiration for French art
and literature. They were merely some fifteen very practical
Brunswick commercial men, who, realising that a good working
knowledge of English and French would prove extremely useful to
them in their business relations, met at each other's houses in
rotation on one night a week during the winter months, when the
host of the evening provided copious supplies of wine, beer and
cigars.
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