, and price the articles that you find in the
shops and compare them with the Berlin prices. The merchants of Brussels
are not having to sacrifice their stock by cutting prices, and, equally
important, there are people buying. I can unhesitatingly say that things
are progressing favorably in Belgium."

The conversation turned upon Belgian and English relations before this
war. The Governor General mentioned documentary evidence found in the
archives in Brussels, proving an understanding between these countries
against Germany. He spoke briefly about the point that the subjects of
King Albert had been betrayed into the hands of English financiers and
then laconically said: "The people of Belgium are politically
undisciplined children.

"They are the victims of subtle propaganda that generally takes the form
of articles in French and neutral newspapers," and General von Bissing
looked me straight in the eyes, as though to emphasize that by neutral
he meant the newspapers of the United States. "I can understand the
French doing this," he said, "because they always use the Belgians and
do not care what happens to them. It is beyond my comprehension, though,
how the Government of any neutral country permits the publication of
newspaper articles that can have but one effect, and that is to
encourage revolt in a captured people. A country likes to call itself
humanitarian, and yet it persists in allowing the publication of
articles that only excite an ignorant, undisciplined people and lead
them to acts of violence that must be wiped out by force," and the
Governor General's mouth closed with a click.

"Do you know that the people of Brussels, whenever a strong wind carries
the booming of heavy guns miles in from the front, think that French and
English are going to recapture the city? Any day that we can hear the
guns faintly, we know that there is an undercurrent of nervous
expectancy running through the whole city. It goes down alleys and
avenues and fills the cafes. You can see Belgians standing together,
whispering. Twice they actually set the date when King Albert would
return.

"This excitement and unrest, and the feeling of the English coming in,
is fostered and encouraged by the articles in French and neutral
newspapers that are smuggled in. I do not anticipate any uprising among
the Belgians, although the thoughtless among them have encouraged it. An
uprising is not a topic of worry in our councils. It could do u