ng for her
life, and that she and all her companions would suffer great hardships
and sleep on dirty straw in awful places. She was offered a job at the
Farmers' hospital in Belgrade. She refused. It is a great grey building,
and we now heard that Belgrade was being violently bombarded and all had
to escape. Rumours came of great German attacks on Shabatz and
Obrenovatz.

The next day Serbian refugees arrived from Belgrade itself: they said
that the town was in flames and that fierce fighting was taking place in
the streets. Posheravatz was deserted, and a great battle was raging
about its outskirts. There were reports that the King of Bulgaria had
abdicated and that the Germans at Chabatz had been defeated, leaving
8000 prisoners in Serbian hands. Neuhat came to Jan in great glee.

"We have captured a German major," he said, "and he says that never was
there a soldier like the Serb. He has fought English and French and
Russians, but he says our troops are the most wonderful of all."

"Jolly sensible chap," said Jan. "I'd say the same myself if I was a
prisoner."

Major Gaschitch told Dr. Berry that if the Serbian army retreated we
were to retreat with them. Blease and Jan got hard at work putting rope
handles to the packing-cases and labelling them for special purposes.
One of our lady doctors was valued in the morning. In the outpatient
department a question arose about marriage. A Serb patient said--

"I can marry any time I like. Pah! In Serbia one can get two maidens for
twopence, and three widows for a mariasch (1/2_d._)."

Everybody was now running about with maps, violently explaining the
situation to everybody else, and all explaining differently. Major
Gaschitch had fixed Novi Bazar as our probable haven, and Mr. Berry
borrowed our map to see if there were a direct road over Gotch mountain,
and suggested that Jan might get a horse and ride over to see. Alas,
only a fourth-class road was marked, and heaven knows what that may be
like: lots of country and choose for yourself probably. A woman was
brought in with what she said was a bullet through the breast; it
occurred during the celebration of the marriage ceremony, which lasted a
week. The girl was brought by her father, the bridegroom having rushed
off to the church to pray. The wound looked very like a dagger thrust.

The new slaughter-house was a fine erection. The walls were almost
finished and the roof was being assembled. One of the Austrian pris