r destination, Osnabrueck. At first it looked as if we
should have to walk to the camp, but the German officer was, luckily,
able to hire two brakes, and away we went. Osnabrueck is an old town
with a population of about 60,000. We drove past numbers of children
and dogs revelling in the first winter sports, utterly regardless of
their country's serious condition. On our arrival an officer and
several N.C.O.'s took all particulars and descriptions. It was only
then that I discovered, to my astonishment, that my eyes were blue.
Next we found a hot shower-bath in store for us, during which
procedure all our clothes were taken away on the excuse that they were
to be disinfected. We enjoyed the bath very much and were longing for
a clean change, but were disgusted to find that this was not
forthcoming, and that we had to put on the same torn and muddy clothes
once more, which the Huns had only removed to search. We were then
locked in a room for ten days and told that we were in quarantine, no
account being taken of the three weeks or a month that some of us had
already spent in the German lines. The whole thing was a farce. We
could then buy a change of underclothing, and daily consumed
prodigious quantities of Dutch chocolate, also procurable from the
canteen (which I afterwards bought in Holland for one-tenth of the
price). Some of the British who had been in the camp for some time
managed to get books and a little food in to us. A great deal of our
time was occupied in making out orders for things we wanted from home,
edibles taking by far the most important part. Every evening after
supper we always drank the King's health in tea. Though the quality of
the beverage was weak, our loyalty had never been stronger. When extra
dull our home-made band played some rousing selection; my special
instrument required much skill, and consisted of the dustbin lid and a
poker. The climax was reached one day when the sentry entered with a
paper from the canteen, announcing that the British claimed to have
shot down two Zeppelins in flames over London.

Eventually the tenth day passed and we were free to go in with the
others, who at once made us welcome. Owing to the monotony of camp
life it is very difficult to write a consecutive account of the daily
routine, which would be of any interest to the reader. I shall
therefore only outline certain points under various headings, which I
venture to hope may not prove a source of boredom,