" Voltaire was not ashamed at Berlin, when the Prussian
soldiers did not enact the Roman legions to his mind, to exclaim in the
midst of German princesses, "F----j'ai demande des hommes, et on me
donne des Allemands!" Marechal Schomberg, to whom the impertinent
steward, on committing a fault, said, "Parbleu, on me prendra pour un
Allemand!" would long ago have set them to rights with his answer, "On a
tort, on devrait vous prendra pour un sot!"
To be, not to seem, is still the fairest feature in the character of
my--I had almost said nation--of my quiet, thrifty, contented, diligent,
honest countrymen. The German, at first glance, appears rarely what he
is, and strikes the stranger as awkward and heavy. Yet, behind this
plain quiet outside, there often dwells a cultivated mind, reflection,
and deep feeling of duty, honour, diligence, and domestic virtue. In our
father-land, honesty is universally at home; and during the night, you
are safer on the highways and in the forests, than in the streets of
Paris or London.
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