et off before the flag fell and, slipping on in front, had
appeared first and called out, "Good day, brothers," to which the
troops had lustily responded. It had upset the whole business. "The
young monkey!" said the Emperor.

He expressed the utmost detestation of the Germans in consequence of
their shameless conduct in Belgium and France, and he referred in
indignant terms to their treatment of Russian prisoners. If I inquired
of the Austro-Hungarian captives, of whom a number were employed on
road-mending and similar useful labours in Mohileff, I would find, he
said, that they were perfectly contented and were as well looked after
in respect to accommodation and to food as were his own troops. Of
Lord Kitchener and his work he spoke with admiration, and he asked me
many questions about the New Armies, their equipment, their training,
their numbers and so on. He talked with wonder of what our great War
Minister had accomplished in the direction of transforming the United
Kingdom into a first-class military Power in less than a year. In this
respect he, however, merely reflected the opinion held in military
circles right throughout Russia; one heard on all hands eulogy of the
miracles that had been accomplished in this direction. His Imperial
Majesty was also most appreciative of what our War Office was doing
towards assisting the Russians in the all-important matter of war
material, and he asked me to convey his thanks to all concerned for
their loyalty and good offices.

General Alexeieff had likewise pronounced himself most cordially with
regard to Lord Kitchener, his achievements and his aid to Russia, at
the conference which Hanbury-Williams and I had had with him that
afternoon. The general was not a scion of the aristocracy, as were so
many of the superior officers in the Emperor Nicholas's hosts; he
could not talk French although he evidently could follow what was said
in that language. He said he did not know German, so we had to work
through an interpreter, an officer of the General Staff, employing
French. Alexeieff was very pleasant to deal with, as he expressed
himself freely, straightforwardly and even bluntly with regard to the
various points that we touched upon. Our meeting was taking place late
in January 1916, and at a moment when active operations on both the
Western and the Eastern Front were virtually at a standstill; but he
was anxious to know when we should be in a position to assume the
offen