all colleagues or
officers. Military motors and motor-cycles came and went, and orderlies
dashed up on horseback and delivered messages; it looked like war.

The proprietor of the hotel, who has given one hundred thousand francs
to the Red Cross, rolled up in his motor from a trip to the front and
got out with an armful of Prussian helmets and caps, which he had
collected. A crowd gathered round the motor and displayed as much
pleasure as though he had brought in a whole German Army corps. The
novelty of these souvenirs has not yet worn off.

Women with big tin boxes came by every few minutes to collect for the
Red Cross or some other fund. Finally the Colonel protested, and asked
if there was no way of buying immunity. That was quickly arranged by
giving up five francs, in return for which we were given tags of
immunity. Dozens of collectors came by during the evening, but our
ostentatiously displayed tags saved us.

We ate at our leisure--out of doors--the first unhurried and unharried
meal I have had for days, and then got back to the Legation.

This afternoon the Minister and I went over to see Sir Francis Villiers,
the British Minister, and spent half an hour with him. He is evidently
all ready to make a quick get-away whenever it looks as though the
Germans would come to Brussels. A number of the other diplomats are also
prepared to depart. Those who are accredited at The Hague will probably
go there, and the others will go to Antwerp. We are too busy here to
enjoy the luxury of spending a month undergoing a siege, so no matter
what happens, we shall probably not go along. The Minister and I shall
take turns from time to time, going up to pay our respects.

Having some things to talk over, the Minister and I went for a drive
after our visit, and it was well we did, for when we got back, we found
the hall filled with callers. As the tourists and the Germans leave, the
war correspondents begin to come in, and in a few days we shall probably
have the place full of them. I heard to-day that there were 200 of them
in London, and that most of them want to come on here.

Maxwell, the British correspondent, told me this afternoon that he
looked for a big engagement at Diest to-morrow or the day after. He has
been down through the fighting zone ever since the trouble began, and
probably knows more about pending operations than any other civilian.

While I was writing, Z---- came in, suffering from a bad case of panic