. The whole party were
detained for nearly an hour before they were finally set at liberty.
Among the distinguished members of the party were: M. Chafford, the
Swiss Minister, M. Bekfris, the Swedish Minister, M. Lelerche, the
Norwegian Charge d'Affaires, M. Carpion, the Roumanian Charge
d'Affaires, MM. Guignous and Segesser, Swiss Secretaries.

Several ladies were with the party, which numbered a dozen in all. The
affair was started and led by a colonel in the army who resented the
fact that the diplomats were conversing in French, a language they
were forced to employ since they were of many different nationalities.
The crowd at the railroad station where the "incident" took place was
not hostile and did nothing except stand by in idle curiosity. Up to
the present time the only action taken by the Austrian Government has
been to send regrets, not apologies, to the various diplomats. The
colonel who was responsible for the assault offered his resignation,
which was promptly refused. I know of no such disgraceful incident
ever having taken place in France or Great Britain.

* * * * *

Captain Briggs returned from the front this morning.

* * * * *

_Berlin, Thursday, January 21st._ I arrived in Berlin last night after
an uneventful journey. I went to the theatre this evening with Charles
Russell. We walked around through the lobby during the intermission
and among other things saw a young man, perhaps nineteen, very blond,
with the nicest, simplest, most straightforward face, the face of a
quiet, retiring boy, who would grow up into a thinking man. He was
with his mother. He was in civilian clothes, but in his lapel he wore
the broad ribbon--black with two white bars--of the Iron Cross.
Somewhere, sometime in these recent months, this quiet lad had
performed coolly some feat of great personal valor. The look of
unsuppressible pride upon his mother's face, as she walked on his arm,
was wonderful to behold.

* * * * *

_Sunday, January 24th._ I am to leave early Wednesday morning for
London or The Hague, I do not yet know which. From either one it is
probable that I shall be sent to Brussels.

* * * * *

_Tuesday, January 26th._ I visited the prison camp at Doeberitz today.
In a military automobile I was conducted there with much ceremony by
Captain Freiherr von G----, Iron Cross and Red E