16 DECEMBER 1916, Page 10

A GERMAN OMEN.

[To TM EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") 8m,—The Dresdner Nachrichten comforts its readers with the assurance that the omens favour the Central Powers, having dis- covered that by somewhat arbitrary treatment their names may be made to yield the word Sieg (victory), while those of the Allies under similar pressure give Niederlage (defeat) :-

Runall, Ital Mont

N I E

ien en negro

Englan D

Deut S chland Belgi E n Oesterre I ch-Ungarn Se

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J Porto Franke L A G E and pan al ich Bul G arien This would be depressing, but for the fact that other inter- pretations are possible:— Mon B Jape T E N enegro Winn

Ser V is Aust R is Human

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