A Wash, a Feast and a Night’s Rest on the Ocean Bottom
“We have submerged and placed ourselves on the bottom. We are in no hurry. Why should we not for once give ourselves a little rest? Our resting-place was rather deep, but therefore safer and calmer.
“This night on the bottom of the sea was truly a recreation for us all. One could for once take a good wash and go to bed in peace, without fearing to be frightened at the next moment with a ‘Hey-a’ in the speaking-tube.
“But before resting we had a regular banquet. Both the phonographs were playing and the glasses were raised, filled with French champagne.
“Our good Stücke, who was our steward, kitchen boy, and maid of all work, at the same time served us in such a dignified manner as if he were still a steward in the dining-room of the Kronprinzessin Cecile, as if he had never been in French captivity for nearly a whole year, in order to develop his ability in our company at the bottom of the sea.
“Again we come to the surface the next morning. The pump is working with a hissing noise as we climb upward. On the twenty-meter depth the boat loses its stability.
“First, we can see it on the manometer, then it is noticed on the depth rudder, which becomes more difficult to handle. And as the boat at times moves in unexpected jumps we realize there must be a considerable sea above.