But such is the hypnotic effect of any music with religious associations, and so powerful is the simple act of singing vigorously in unison as a generator of sentiment and solemnity in those who sing, that by the end of the third stanza they had forgotten that they were being funny, that the whole thing was a ridiculous joke, and discovered themselves, to Stephen’s intense dismay, chanting with long faces and tones of inexpressible fervour the pious resolution that the military domination of Prussia must be wholly and finally “destroy-e̍d.” They finished, almost with lumps in their throats, so moving was it all, and stood for a moment in a sheepish hush, half feeling that someone should say, “Let us pray,” or give out a text before they might sit down. Then someone cackled in the background, and the spell was broken with peals of insane laughter.