that we were held at each barricade
while all the men on duty took turns reading it. The only ticklish part
of the trip to the Belgian outposts was working our way through the
villages which had been mined in anticipation of a German invasion. It
is bad enough working one's way through there in a motor with everybody
helping you to keep out of harm's way, but it must be a trifle worse to
do it in a mass with a man on a hill a little way off waiting for you to
come up to the signal post so that he can touch a button and send you in
small pieces into the next world.

We struck out through St. Nicholas, Hamme, Termonde and Assche, and got
into Brussels from the west without mishap. We have got quite used to
having people poke bayonets in our faces and brandish revolvers at us,
so the latter part of the trip with only that to contend with seemed
quiet and almost boring.

On the road in from Assche, we passed near Eppeghem and Vilvorde, where
the fighting had been going on for a couple of days. After news had been
received in Antwerp of the defeat of the French and English at Mons and
Charleroi, the Belgians were ordered to fall back on Antwerp and had
left these little villages to be occupied by the Germans. As they
occupied them, they had set them afire and the flames were raging as we
came by. They were quaint little towns, and had excited our admiration
two days before when we had gone through--despite the fact that we had
other things on our minds beside admiring the beauties of architecture.
Now they are gone.

The Germans gave us no trouble, and we got back to the Legation by a
little before five. Everyone poured out to meet us, and greeted us as
prodigal sons. When we had not come back the day before, they had about
made up their minds that something dreadful had happened to us, and the
rejoicing over our return was consequently much greater than if we had
not whetted their imaginations just a little.

I found that the situation in Brussels had undergone big changes while I
was away. General von Jarotzky had been replaced by General von
Luettwitz, who is an administrator and has been sent to put things in
running order again. There was no inkling of this change when I left,
and I was a good deal surprised. Guns have been placed at various
strategic points commanding the town, and the Germans are ready for
anything. The telephone wire they had put through the town to connect
the two stations and headquarters was c