this purpose
hostages have been taken from all localities near the railway line
thus menaced, and at the first attempt to destroy either the
railway line or telephone or telegraph, _the hostages will be
immediately shot_. Further, all the troops charged with the duty of
guarding the railway have been ordered _to shoot any person with a
suspicious manner_ who approaches the line or telegraph or
telephone wires.

VON DER GOLST.

And Von der Golst was recalled from Brussels later on because he was too
lenient!

There is no reparation the Germans can ever make for iniquities of this
kind--and they cannot deny these things as they have others, for they
stand condemned out of their own mouths. Their own proclamations are
quite enough evidence to judge them on.

One cannot help wondering what the German standard of right and wrong
really is, because their private acts as well as their public ones have
been so unworthy of a great nation. Some Belgian acquaintances of mine
who had a large chateau in the country told me that such stealing among
officers as took place was unheard of in any war before between
civilized countries. The men had little opportunity of doing so, but the
officers sent whole wagon-loads of things back to Germany with their
name on. My friends said naturally they expected them to take food and
wine and even a change of clothing, but in their own home the German
officers quartered there had taken the very carpets off the floor and
the chandeliers from the ceiling, and old carved cupboards that had been
in the family for generations, and sent them back to Germany. They all
begged me to make these facts public when I got back to England. Writing
letters was useless as they never got through. Other Belgian friends
told me of the theft of silver, jewellery, and even women's
undergarments.

It was not etiquette in Brussels to watch the Germans, and particularly
the officers. One could not speak about them in public, spies were
everywhere, and one would be arrested at once at the first indiscreet
word--but no one could be forced to look at them--and the habit was to
ignore them altogether, to avert one's head, or shut one's eyes, or in
extreme cases to turn one's back on them, and this hurt their feelings
more than anything else could do. They _could_ not believe apparently
that Belgian women did not enjoy the sight of a beautiful officer in
full dress--as much as Ge