In order to tune the audience into perfect accord with
the occasion, Mr. Hahn had also engaged three monster bands, which,
since early in the afternoon, had been booming forth martial melodies
from three different platforms draped in national banners.
The hour was now approaching when Germania was to lift up her voice to
celebrate the glorious achievements of her sons. The audience, which
consisted largely of soldiers and officers, were thronging forward to
the tribune where she was advertised to appear, and the waiters, who
had difficulty in supplying the universal demand for beer, had formed
a line from the bar to the platform, along which the foam-crowned
schooners were passing in uninterrupted succession. Fritz, who was
fond of fraternizing with the military profession, had attached
himself to a young soldier in Austrian uniform with the iron cross
upon his bosom. They were seated amicably together at a small table
near the stage, and the soldier, by liberal treats of beer, had been
induced to relate some of his adventures in the war. He was a tall,
robust man, with a large blonde mustache and an open, fearless
countenance. He talked very modestly about his own share in the
victories, and cooled Fritz's enthusiasm by the extreme plainness of
his statements.
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