Whether another will ever be held is problematical, for the occasion was an inevitable part of the trappings of Hohenzollernism.

Despite the gravity of the occasion, Colonel House's chief memory of this function is slightly tinged with the ludicrous.

He had spent the better part of a lifetime attempting to rid himself of his military title, but uselessly.
He was now embarrassed because these solemn German officers persisted in regarding him as an important part of the American Army, and in discussing technical and strategical problems.

The visitor made several attempts to explain that he was merely a "geographical colonel"-- that the title was constantly conferred in an informal sense on Americans, especially Southerners, and that the handle to his name had, therefore, no military significance.

But the round-faced Teutons stared at his explanation in blank amazement; they couldn't grasp the point at all, and continued to ask his opinion of matters purely military.
When the lunch was finished, the Kaiser took Colonel House aside, and the two men withdrew to the terrace, out of earshot of the rest of the gathering.