From: Salvatore_B (Salvatore_B@BLS.GOV)
Date: Fri Feb 05 1999 - 14:54:20 PST
> Around 10:00 p.m. on December 31, 1918, Londoners were noticeably gathering to welcome in the New Year.. As it was the first such opportunity after the Armistice, it was especially exuberant. Two gentlemen > of exceptional wit were standing on a balcony above Trafalgar Square, > observing the celebratory crowds passing by below. Suddenly seized by > inspiration, one of the men stepped to the rail of the balcony and > announced to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the German > Ambassador!" The crowd, falling into the spirit of the moment, applauded > vigorously. The second gentleman, very much on the spot but not to be > outdone, stepped to the rail and replied, "It is the Kaiser's express wish > that you not think of yourselves as a conquered people!" >