Another sign which may be mentioned in this connection is
the fact that the Germans who surrender in many cases use a new phrase in declaring their willingness to be taken prisoner. They no longer say " Kamerad ! " but " War finis ! " No doubt by com- bining a French word with an English word they hope to be safely understood whether the troops in front of them happen to be English- speaking or French-speaking men. It is almost a theme for Lewis Carroll, who, in his preface to The Hunting of the Snark, suggested that a man in a tight corner when required to declare which king he served, Richard or William, would be tempted to exclaim " Rilchiam ! " Probably the Germans hope to keep their retreat slow enough to find themselves safely established on the Hindenburg line for the winter, with the British, Americans and French huddled on the inhospitable and ruined areas of the Somme and the Aisne. We shall know better how high we may pitch our hopes when we see whether it is possible to /rash the Germans across the Hindenburg line well before the campaigning season is spent. Though if we play the part of wise men we shall assume that a long and terribly hard struggle is still before us, we need not be weakened, but rather en- couraged, by the reflection that, after all, sudden and complete collapses are well known in war.
