in the rain and
mud, until cold, hunger, and sorrow had made her light-witted. Then
while roaming aimlessly over the fields she had come upon the body of
her dead son.

* * * * *

On this trip I have travelled along the front from Lassigny to a point
near Arras, or about fifty-five miles of battle-line.

* * * * *

We left Amiens at six o'clock in the evening and passed through
Abbeville on the coast, this being the point before mentioned from
which the Germans were at the time only thirty-eight miles distant and
which they might have reached in two days had they advanced as rapidly
as they did at times during August, or as rapidly as they now seem to
be doing farther north in Belgium. I continued up the coast some forty
miles through Etaples to Paris-Plage, which I reached at ten o'clock.
I went immediately to the residence of the Countess X. and found to my
great satisfaction that the French chauffeur whom I had sent on ahead
to prepare the family for the trip to Paris had arrived safely with
the limousine the day previous and that the children and nurses were
all ready to leave at daybreak tomorrow.

Before going to bed I called on the Mayor and after a long conference
arranged for proper passes to get my charges out of the town the next
morning.

* * * * *

_Thursday, October 15th._ We all got started this morning at half-past
six. I had told the chauffeur to warn the nurses to provide milk,
food, and everything the children would need for the long day's run,
as I planned to make Paris in one day and did not wish to stop except
for emergencies. I put the five youngest "kids" and the two nurses
inside the limousine and took the English governess and the two older
children in the back seat of my own car.

Despite my papers from the Mayor of Paris-Plage, my personal passes,
and a large sign across the front of the automobile reading, "In the
Service of the Ambassador of the United States," I had an exciting
time getting past the gendarmes of the town and the Prefecture of
Montreuil. The difficulty lay in the nationality of the children and
of one of the nurses, all of whom were Hungarians and therefore
officially enemies of France. As such they were not supposed to travel
about, especially not behind the French battle-line. The details of my
struggles are too numerous to relate, but finally we got through
successfull