His voice was quiet and subdued; there were no indications of excitement in his manner or in that of his friends, and hardly of suppressed emotion.
The atmosphere was rather that of dumb stupefaction.

The news seemed to have dulled everyone's capacity for thought and even for feeling.

If any one spoke, it was in whispers.

Afterward, in the drawing room, this same mental state was the prevailing one; there was little denunciation of Germany and practically no discussion as to the consequences of the crime; everyone's thought was engrossed by the harrowing and unbelievable facts which the Ambassador was reading from the little yellow slips that were periodically brought in.

An irresistible fascination evidently kept everybody in the room; the guests stayed late, eager for every new item.