OCR Text |
Show THE CROWN PRINCE AND HIS VALET HE crown prince (in bed and J yawning) Is that you, Fritz? Fritz Yes, your Royal Highness. What uniform shall I lay out for his Royal Highness? I The C. P. You can lay out the best I I have the one of the Death's Head Hussars, with all my stars and medals. I am expecting an important visit. Fritz (with a meaning smile) If I might venture so far, I would suggest I to his Royal Highness that he should wear the Trench uniform, which I ar-' ar-' ranged with the bullet holes and the mul splashes. It creates a greater effect, ef-fect, especially if the visitor be a lady. The C. P. Fritz, you dog, how dare you? Very well, have it your own way and let it be the Trench uniform. Fritz I am only anxious to promote his Royal Highness' interest in every . possible way. . The C. P. I know, I know. Only we shall have old Hindenburg growling growl-ing and grunting and looking as black as a thundercloud. I cannot imagine what my revered father sees in that y--i i- old wooden effigy, whose only idea of strategy is to retreat from strong positions. That, at any rate, is not the fashion in which I have learnt war. I'm thoroughly tired of hearing of all these Hindenburg plans, which come to nothing. Fritz Your Royal Highness is, of course, right. But what I say to myself my-self is that the All-Highest, your Royal Highness' most gracious father, has in all this a deep laid design to show conclusively con-clusively that all these Hindenburg plans mean nothing, so that in the end true skill and merit may have a chance, and the chief command may be placed in the only hands that are fit to exercise it. Oh, yes, I know what I'm talking about, and everyone I meet says the same. The C. P. I have always felt that that must be so. No matter, a time will come. By the way, Fritz, have you packed up the Sevres dinner service? ser-vice? Fritz I have already packed six from as many different French and Belgian homes, and have sent them to Berlin, according to your Royal Highness' directions. Which does your Royal Highness refer to? The C. P. I mean the one with the simple pattern of pink flowers and the coat-or-arms. Fritz Yesr that I have packed and like the rest and have sent off. The C. P. And the silver dishes and the lace? Fritz Yes, they have all gone. The C. P. Good. And the clocks? Fritz Yes, I did in every case what your Royal Highness ordered me to do. " The C. P. And you packed them, I hope, with the greatest care? Fritz I did; nothing I am certain, will suffer damage. The C. P. Excellent. War is, no doubt, a rough and brutal affair, but at least it cannot be said that we Prussians do not behave like gentlemen. gentle-men. Fritz Your Royal Higness speaks, as always, the plain truth. How different dif-ferent from the degenerate French and the intolerable English. The C. P. Yes, Fritz; and now you can go. Stay; there was something I Avanted to ask you. Dear me, I am losing rrv memory. Ah! I have it. How is , offensive getting on? Has any neA s come in from the Chemln des Dames? Fritz Your Royal Highness' offensive offen-sive has not advanced to any great extent. ex-tent. The French last night recaptured recap-tured all their positions and even penetrated pen-etrated into ours. The C. P. Did they? How very annoying. Somebody bungled, of course. Well, well, I shall have to put it right when I have time. Have you finished laying out my uniform? Yes. Then you can go. Punch. |