brindle bull that some officer
had left on going to the front. He was promptly acquired, and given the
name of Max in honour of our Burgomaster. The Stores are to take care of
him for me until I return to Belgium.

When I got back to the Embassy, from my visit to the Stores, I found
Shaler waiting for me with the news that I was expected at a meeting at
Mr. Hoover's office in fifteen minutes, to discuss matters with the
committee which is being formed to handle the feeding of the Belgian
civil population.

I was surprised to find that I had been made a member of this committee,
and was expected to attend. It was a comfort to talk with men who know
what they are about and who can make up their minds right the first
time. Hoover is a wonder and has the faculty of getting big-calibre men
about him. We were not in session more than an hour, but in that time we
went over the needs of the Belgian civil population, the means of
meeting immediate needs, the broader question of finding food from other
parts of the world to continue the work, the problem of getting money
from public and private sources to pay expenses, and finally the
organisation to be set up in Belgium, England, America and Holland, to
handle the work. Before we left a tentative organisation had been
established and people despatched on various duties with orders to get
things started without loss of time, so that food could be pushed across
the line into Belgium at the first possible moment.

It is going to be up-hill work for many reasons, but it would be hard to
find a group of men who inspire as much confidence as these that
everything possible will be done, and occasionally a little that is
impossible.

[Illustration: Herbert C. Hoover
_Copyright by Underwood & Underwood_]

[Illustration: French Howitzer near H----]

[Illustration: German camp kitchen]

* * * * *

_October 24th._--Yesterday was another busy day. I did not know that the
entire population of Belgium could make such a crowd as I have had in
the waiting-room of the chancery. In some mysterious way the news of my
coming to London has got about, and swarms of people are coming in with
little errands they want done and messages to be delivered to their
friends and families in Brussels. It makes work, but that sort of thing
is a comfort to lots of people and is worth undertaking. I have made it
clear to all of them that anything to be d