Some years before the war the German Crown Prince got a very neat
call-down from Miss Bernice Willard, a Philadelphia girl. It was during
the Emperor's regatta, and the two mentioned were sitting with others on
the deck of a yacht. A whiff of smoke from the Prince's cigarette
blowing into the young lady's face, a lieutenant near by remarked:
"Smoke withers flowers."
"It is no flower," said the prince, jocularly, "it is a thistle."
Miss Willard raised her eyes a trifle.
"In that case," she said, "I had better retire or I shall be devoured"