A Woman's Experience in the Great War

such high spirits, for we had

peculiar psychic force seemed to spring to life

ype than the old Liège profess

old

s man, dressed in deep black, the most pronounced mourning you can possibly imagine, with a great black pot-hat coming well down on his huge face. His big frame quivered

s of freedom means loss of companionship. Ruin, danger, cold, hunger, heat, dirt, discomfort, wounds, suffering, death, are all dashed with glory, and become acceptable as

phenomenon I thought it would take

ought, I found the explanation revealing its

s, the irksome isolation of

ll talk to each other, we all know each other's histories, we pour out our hopes and fears, we receive the warm, sweet stimulus of human comradeship multiplied out of all proportion

that I tell you is not true, that the battle-field, apart from its terrific and glorious

and it was nearly dark, and

tter," said the young lawyer, whom

in a minute l

urther!" he said. "There's

stood there on the platform in the redde

nd said he was expecting an automobile to meet him here, a

didn't turn up, and that

nd down, smiling intermittently, a queer distr

t the authorities. He had a word here with an officer, a

rview the stationmaster,

apers, and Julie produced hers, and the old professor fr

ionmaster hastened off into the dark with a little lantern and told us to follow him right across the train lines, and we came to a bewildering mass of lights, and at last we reached a spot in

d the night grew cold and

us step, and then we found ourselves in a little wooden van, with one dim light burning, and one wooden seat

p-hole, I suddenly st

t at me were the

rain is doing. It is taking guns to Ghent.

aken nearl

owly that we scar

or heard of before, in a remote, far-off portion of the town, and then we had to find our way back to th

nt to the H

e-faced porter rudely. "No ro

s something to

The kitchens

raordinary man who never slept, an

m; he looked the ugliest, stealthiest creature, shewing a covert rudeness tow

of Ghent, a determined little party now, with our high spirits quite unchec

body of troops had arrived at Ghent that day. But, finally, at one

felt certain it would be impossible to get accommodation there. But other

e got within we found lights burning, and great companies of Belgian cav

oing on," said Jean. "This is the firs

d my two friends from Aer

begged me to go and see his father and sister, if

pper I have ever eaten soon pulled us all round again. Cold fowl, red wine, delicious bread and butter. Then we went up to our

had our café-au-lait in the restaurant, and then st

r so

get into a train and be ca

ated when we Went to the ticket

to us wi

tionmaster here says that the trains may not run into Brussels to-day. He won

ness of that statement passed me by. I did not realise where Grammont was. And it did not occur to me t

as to whether it would not be better to

tedious idea, so I d

agr

nt and see what happens there. Perhaps by the time w

ed away from Ghent, out into

as I looked from the train windows everything seemed so peaceful that I could scarcely imagine there was danger. There were no ruins here, t

s leaning from the next window, spoke to me in Engl

r you? I guess you're Eng

one quick

that raked a face wi

depend absolutely on t

d, "and you

ted that

y we fell into ta

ink it will last?"

ow, what do

x weeks. I'll

the general opinion of thos

ing in this train?"

to Br

uss

t me with a

d you say goin

es

w are you going to

going

u are E

es

man passport to get into B

aven't g

at to get into Brussels you have g

discuss th

business. His name was Richards. He was a kindly nice man. He could spe

hink I ought t

ou prisoner. And even if you do get in," he added, "you will never ge

ng to ch

to get into Brussels safely, you go to the American Consulate, and shew t

he Australian H

ricans do that for

le American boy said, 'I'm neutral! I don

dea occurred t

with an English passport about you

o hide," I said. "He's the conducto

in Brussels without it, I can satisfy our Consul that I have seen it, and that you are

ined it carefully and promised to do

rrived at

the wors

cut, and we could g

we must drive by th