ry outside the ring of
forts.

At noon, day before yesterday, I found a man with a copy of the _London
Times_, and carried it in my overcoat pocket to the Palace Hotel when I
went there to lunch. Last night, a lot of German civil officials were
sitting at a table near by and holding forth in loud tones on the
punishment that should be meted out to people who had forbidden
newspapers in their possession. The most vehement one of the lot
expressed great indignation that the _Amerikanischer Legationsrath_ had
been seen in that very restaurant the day before with an English
newspaper in his overcoat pocket. Pretty good spy you have, Fritz.

A telegram has just been received from Liege, saying that Shaler and
Couchman have been released and are on their way to Holland. A Dutch
messenger was in after lunch, and told me that he had seen the two men
at headquarters yesterday afternoon, and that they were far from happy.
He said he did not blame them, as the Germans are dealing out summary
justice to anybody who falls into their hands that they do not take a
fancy to.

A.B. has been after me for a couple of days to take her up to the
chateau near Louvain, where Countess R. is left alone with twenty-eight
German officers quartered on her. A man cousin was sent up to defend
her, but was so badly frightened that he spent all his time in the
cellar and finally ran away and came back to Brussels. Now she wants to
go up to the rescue, and stay there. I have asked von der Lancken for a
pass, and shall try to take her up to-morrow. She certainly has good
nerve, but I am not sure how much protection she would be able to
afford.

The supply of flour is getting pretty well used up, and I may have to
clear out to-morrow afternoon or the next day to go to Antwerp and
negotiate to have some supplies sent down for the relief of the civil
population. The Government has volunteered to do this, if the Germans
would promise that the food would not be requisitioned for the troops.
We have been given these assurances, and it only remains for me to go up
and complete the arrangements.

When the Minister came back from Louvain he went over to headquarters
and talked about the subject of my trip to Antwerp. He has been nervous
about each of my trips and has worried a lot more about it than I have,
but when he saw von der Lancken, that worthy made things worse by saying
that there was artillery ready to begin business in every part of the
country