in a state of anarchy. There was no choice
but to drop everything and try to get back to Petrograd if possible.
But this was not easy to do. Everything was in complete turmoil, no
regular train service and the revolutionary soldiers in complete
control of everything. The greatest danger was for the Finnish Baron
who as an officer was in danger from the soldiers. So a stratagem had
to be invented. Nelka went and declared that the Baron was
desperately ill and had to be sent to Petrograd without delay, and
that for that she needed a special permit. This she managed to secure
and was assigned a compartment in the overfilled train. The perfectly
healthy Baron was brought in and arranged lying down all the trip of
several days, while Nelka had to take care of him, bring him food and
look after the 'invalide.' He said afterwards that he had a 'very
pleasant trip.' While lying in his berth he kept with him the kitten.
Finally they arrived in Petrograd. The Baron then returned to Finland
taking with him the kitten where it lived on their estate to a ripe
old age.

Nelka, upon her arrival, stopped as usual at my mother's. Soon after
that I returned from the front. Now we were all together once more
and all together tried to survive in the Revolution, which was not an
easy matter. I then joined the British Military Mission with the
offices at the British Embassy.

About that time the Kerensky Government was overthrown by the
Bolsheviks and a lot of fighting took place in the city. Nelka used
to say how pretty the city looked with the streets completely empty,
when she would be returning home, sometimes skirting the walls of the
buildings when some shooting would start along the street. We all
soon got used to that kind of existence, which became a normal way of
life.

But the Revolution was going on and things were getting worse from
day to day. The Bolsheviks were killing right and left and the Red
terror was in full swing. My work with the British Mission was at
that time of some protection for the Bolsheviks were not yet sure of
themselves to the extent of daring to molest the foreign missions. My
work with the Mission took me away on various trips accompanying
British officers.

In the spring of 1918, one of these trips took me to Mourmansk on the
Arctic Ocean and where fighting was in progress between White
Russians and other foreign units and the Bolsheviks.

All that area was not exactly a very healthy place to be