Berlin Town (part 4 of 7)

The English Government sent an official inquiry as to some complaints they had received, and the answer proved that only one cigarette had been missing out of one box in one week; and considering the number of parcels that come from England for the prisoners each week, it does not seem so bad. Mr. and Mrs. Lay have just returned from Switzerland, where they were able to see the bakeries, and also the loaves which are sent every week from there to the English prisoners. The flour is sent to them from England. Mr. Lay played golf with eleven different nationalities, and he said that the war-talk between them was pretty lively at times, and that the wartalk here was child's play to their conversation.

Krieblowitz, September 1916. - For some three months I have written nothing, for it has been my lot to be the centre-piece in such an unusual series of events, following so fast on one another, that I found neither leisure nor inclination to sit down and write any account of them, or of my own feelings.

I had made up my mind to a quiet uneventful sojourn for some weeks alone in Berlin, when suddenly, on July 8, an event occurred which changed the whole course of our destiny. My father-in-law was killed by a fall from his horse, during a sudden attack of giddiness, whilst out riding in the park at Krieblowitz.

It is not easy to describe the difference which suddenly took place in our lives. After having existed for more than two years in a bed-sitting-room in a hotel, we all at once found ourselves in possession of several beautiful castles and estates, a palace in Berlin, and many rich acres of land in the country. In fact it all seems rather like some new phase of the Arabian Nights, as by reason of the unusual relations existing between the members of the Blucher family, we had not until now in any way shared in all these desirable things, and it seemed almost magical to wake up one morning and find oneself the owner of them.

The funeral of my father-in-law, which my husband attended, brought about a sort of reconciliation (or was intended to do so) between my stepmother-in-law and the other members of the family, then all meeting together at Krieblowitz for the first time for twenty-five years. On July 23 we officially left Berlin for Breslau, where we stayed in the Ballestrem Palace, which had been lent to us by Graf Ballestrem, until we could take up our residence in Krieblowitz, which was not made possible for us until September.

Every one else seemed to be leaving the "Esplanade" at the same time, either going off to Switzerland or retiring to their country places, tired of the ever-increasing scarcity of food in Berlin; and we shall probably never again reunite in the same manner as during the last two winters in Berlin, if only on account of this difficulty.

On our at last taking formal possession on September 9 of Krieblowitz (the estate presented by the nation to the old Marshal "Vorwarts"), we met with quite a solemn reception at the entrance to the castle, where all the household were assembled to greet us, each one presenting me with a bouquet of flowers; while the officials, in frock coats and white gloves, each delivered a separate speech of welcome to me. The widow and her family met with a similar ovation in farewell, and departed, leaving us to settle down in earnest.

It is impossible to describe all the beauties of my future home ; it is such a lovely old place, with its marble staircase and magnificent banquet-hall, its cloisters and vaulted arcades running round the castle, and the glorious views from the windows, over beautiful lakes and woods. And the people are so simple and natural in their kind way, with no display of bitterness or hatred towards the English nation; only full of gratitude for every kind word offered them, and resigned submission to their own personal losses in the war, eighty men having gone from the village of Krieblowitz alone, of whom no small number have already fallen.

The whole place was in deplorable need of repair; painters and decorators took possession, and began laying on electric light, putting up bath-rooms, etc., with the greatest speed possible, although, on account of the want of workmen and the shortness of all materials caused by the war, all sorts of delay were inevitable.

One of my husband's first acts was to create a chapel, as an offering of thanksgiving, and in memory of all our relations and friends who have died or fallen during the war. It is intended to form a place where perpetual prayer may be offered up for them all, and it will indeed be an exquisite little place of worship when finished and decorated, being formed out of a room already existing near the entrance to the castle, and which probably was originally intended as a chapel, having a vaulted Gothic roof and Pointed doorway.

It is as if some invisible curtain had fallen, separating us for ever from our nomadic life of unrest in Berlin, with all its political perplexities and vexations as to "fats and greases" (or rather the want of them), and the constant irritating absence of everyday needs. Here we are living on the fat of the land, as the monks of old themselves most probably did in this very same monastery. We are in fact self-supporting, which means that my husband and the keepers supply us with all manner of venison and game, such as wild duck, hares, partridges, and pheasants. We buy no butcher's meat ; the farm supplies us with milk and butter, flour and bread, and the garden keeps us in vegetables and fruit. As elsewhere, these things are more or less "beschlagnahmt," but after having experienced what it is to be starved, we can appreciate all these luxuries well enough.

Krieblowitz, September 1916. - I have put off until now writing an account of a thrilling experience which I went through, and which sounds more like the plot of a shilling-shocker than an actual occurrence of every-* day life, although there is very little love in the story and a great deal of ill-feeling and hatred. Well, every one has to have some little affair in connection with the war, and so I have just had *'ma petite guerre a moi," and feel rather elated than otherwise, as I have decidedly come out of it with flying colours and routed the enemy hip and thigh.

Krieblowitz, September 191 6 147

Some ten days before the old Prince's death, I was suddenly and peremptorily summoned to appear at the Kommandantur, the centre of military legislation in Berlin. On my arrival there I was informed that my husband was not allowed to enter the room with me, so that during the two hours' investigation of my crimes which followed he was left to wait in an ante-room, not knowing what was going on, or if I was not going to be sentenced to the same fate as Miss Cavell for some unknown treason on my part.

On entering the room I asked for an interpreter, and was then put through a minute cross-examination, which amazed me more than anything else; most of it seemed to have so little do do with any possible reason for my being there.

I was informed that I was accused of having criticized the German treatment of prisoners of war in an unjustifiable manner. This had been overheard by a female informer, and I was asked to repeat what I had said. I was for the moment taken aback, for I could not recall having ever spoken of the matter to any one but my husband and my most trusted intimates. Wishing, however, to be perfectly truthful, I agreed that I might perhaps have discussed the matter at some time or other, upon which they proceeded to assist my memory by telling me I had been heard to use the words ''unglaubliche Unmenschlichkeiten" (incredible inhumanities) to Mr. Gerard, the Ambassador.

I pointed out that this was palpably false, as not only did I not know what the words meant, but I 'could not even pronounce them had I done so. Having convinced them of this through the medium of the interpreter, a very nice German officer, who took my part the whole time and thought the whole matter a storm in a tea-cup, they proceeded to question me on all sorts of vague things which had nothing to do with the affair at all.

age, but that of my parents as well, and were very curious about my mother's maiden name and the date of my father's birthday ; after which they suddenly sprang back to real business, and we did a little light fencing as to the exact position of the tables and chairs and the coffee-cups on a certain memorable night in the "Esplanade" garden, when my treasonable incrimination of the Prussian methods of treating their prisoners was supposed to have taken place. When we had agreed oh these various points the matter was settled as follows: Scene laid in the illuminated gardens of the Esplanade; my husband and myself sitting on the terrace drinking our coffee, as we always did in the evening; later enter Prince and Princess Braganza, and Baron and Baronin von Rath, who joined our party, as was their habit after dinner; conversation general and vague until the arrival of Mr. Gerard on the scene. One of us asks him to tell us something of his doings that day, to amuse us. Mr. Gerard, in his customary abrupt way, replies : "If I told you what I had been doing to-day, there would be a long article in all the German papers to-morrow, accusing me of being anti-German and pro-English. But I can tell you one thing," he added, "there will be foodriots in some of the prison camps very soon.'*

And I really could not remember anything more having been said after this, although I was alleged to have poured forth volumes of wrathful criticism on the subject. I was then not only questioned on the family history of my husband and myself, but also on that of Prince and Princess Braganza, of Baron von Rath and his wife, as well as of Mr. Gerard.

I was thereupon informed that the matter was finished, and returning to the hotel at once ran to my friends* rooms to laugh over tny experiences, and was at

Krieblowitz, September 1916 149

For the next ten days I had not much time to think of the matter, as in the meantime old Prince Bliicher had died, and I was laid up in bed with influenza. Then, on the very day when my husband was away at the funeral, I received a second order to appear at the Kommandantur. I at once rang up my doctor, who wrote out a certificate saying that I was too unwell to appear. My judges gave me two days to recover, and on my then presenting myself I was curtly informed that I was to quit Berlin within three days. For the moment there was nothing to be done but obey, as no one knows what procedure this military dictatorship may employ next. But once established in Breslau, my husband immediately proceeded to set all strings in motion to get behind the matter and have the sentence rescinded. He drew up an appeal to High Quarters, and travelling back to Berlin demanded imperatively to see General von Kessel personally. He was put off with all manner of excuses for several days, when losing further patience he sent in an "ultimatum" to the Commandant, saying that if he did not see him within twenty-four hours he would go personally to the Kaiser. He then took the next train for Breslau, but before even arriving there telegrams and telephone messages came raining in from terrified officials begging my husband to return at once and see the General.

Some one who interviewed him at that time on the subject told us that the General had realized his mistake when it was too late, but was unable tO' draw back. On being directly asked what my real offence was, he was obliged to admit that I had not said the things I was accused of, but that I had shown anti-German inclinations; and on its being put to him that this was not a grave military offence, he agreed, but said, **I mean to teach German princes not to marry English wives.*' Wonderfully diplomatic, is it not? On the other hand, in High Quarters they say: *'We want the foreign wives of our nobility to be encouraged to live in our country, and not to be driven out of it one by one.'*

By this time all the figures who had been dancing to General Kessel's tune began to see their mistake also, and proceeded to try and mend broken pitchers. One of the principal marionettes, the woman who had stooped to play the part of an informer, wrote and apologized, saying that she had "overheard incorrectly" ; but she met a well-deserved fate, and having served their ends, she and her husband were flung aside by the military authorities like tools of no further service. They were, of course, cut dead by every one, and had to leave the hotel, and the husband had to resign his post on the Staff into the bargain. The General, who was by this time in a state of abject fear, implored my husband not to let the affair get to High Quarters, and he would rescind the sentence at once. But it was already known there, causing intense indignation. I received all sorts of nice messages and letters from High Quarters, and from various high officials, apologizing for the idiotic affair and regretting the inconvenience it may have caused me. I am therefore glad to be able to express my appreciation of the kindly, chivalrous feeling existing amongst many men of the highest position in this country.

The conclusion of the affair was rather amusing than otherwise, for General von Kessel, feeling he had put his foot in it rather badly, became quite friendly with my husband, and in a moment of confidence told him some interesting details as to their methods of watching the doings of women of foreign birth. He said that we were all under strict supervision, and that descriptions of our lives and doings were all entered in books for this purpose.

Gebhard asked him what proofs he had of my so-called "anti-German inclinations.** He thereupon produced a letter which I had written to my cousin. Captain Trafford, four months ago. Two incriminating sentences were marked in it, and the letter had been sent by the Com- mandant of Crefeld to the Commandant at Miinster, who was so shocked that he sent it on to Kessel, who, still more shocked, showed it to Bethmann-Hollweg, who, however, was obliged to admit that he could not see anything so very terrible in them.

The inoffensive letter had, however, grown into a State affair, and they had all been pondering deeply on its meaning for the last four months. The twO' extracts run as follows :

1. 'The Tennis Club is now open again, and we sometimes go there in the afternoons; but it is not amusing as it was last year, as every one seems in low spirits and has no energy or keenness for anything." German note at the end : "The writer evidently means to convey to her cousin that the German nation is depressed about the ultimate result of the war."

2. "When the happy day of peace arrives, what a lot of new nephews and nieces you and I will have to be introduced to when we meet again in England." German note: "The writer seems to be discontented with living in Germany, and intends to go back and live in England as soon as she possibly can, and seems to infer that she would like peace at any price, so that that moment should arrive for her." .

It seems hardly possible that so' much fuss should be made about such harmless Httle sentences, and many Germans laugh at it themselves. I myself can hardly help being amused, although I am so angry. But if this is all that they can bring against me after two years, I feel rather complimented than otherwise, particularly when I think of the things I might have been accused of saying, which perhaps it would not have been so easy to explain.

Krieblowitz, September 191 6. - The great topic of interest which is hypnotizing the mental powers of all Germany, and putting great strain on the national sagacity, is the best way of preserving human life on a minimum of albumen and farinaceous foods. Letters received from friends reveal the desperate plight they are in to cope v^ith the necessities of the day. We hear too of food-riots in Berlin and other big towns, but in order to prevent a panic they have all been hushed up.

Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, a nephew of the Emperor, and the Landrat not very far from here, was shot at last week, the people blaming him for the shortness of food, etc. ; and an official in the Board of Provisions here told my husband, a month ago, that if the war lasted another six months it would be impossible to keep the people in hand at all, the disquietude is increasing so alarmingly.

There has been food enough during the last year, but it seems that so much has been stored up that whole cart-loads have had to be thrown into the Rhine, as it has all gone bad. This is what enrages the people so fearfully.

Although the battle on the Somme has proved to be of much longer duration than any one expected, no decisive action has taken place up to now. Bloodier and more costly as it has proved to be than any other phase of this murderous war, Germany remains determined not to be crushed by the Allies, as these in their turn are shrill with assertions of its being the final move towards her destruction.

An officer back from the front told us to-day that the flyers in the West are causing the most appalling havoc there. The French flyers come down to within 300 metres of the lines, and throw bombs on to transport and hospital trains. Only the day before he had himself seen an engine blown up, and the engine-driver killed together with all the other occupants of the train. How thankful I feel that my husband no longer accompanies the wounded on the transport-train, as the very one he was on has to go into the thick of the fighting in the West. In fact, no one is safe anywhere, it seems, and

Krieblowitz, September 19 1 6 153

The death of Prince Emanuel Salm affected us deeply. It was only a few short weeks ago that he was relating to us his experiences in an English concentration camp, and how kind every one had been tO' him there. He had been a prisoner for some eighteen months, his friends working hard the whole time to set him free; and on this finally being accomplished, he was at once sent to the Russian Front, where he was killed within a very short space of time after his arrival.

The relations between Austria and Germany are becoming very strained, the Germans complaining that the Austrians lose all the ground gained by the Prussian troops, and the Austrians grumbling that they are never given credit for any victories, but are always accused of muddling and making mistakes. The Austrian Archdukes, who invariably arrive too late on the scene, are the most popular butt for the criticisms of the German comic papers.

The Austrians, on the other hand, affirm that Germany would have been in a sad plight now had they not stopped the Russians from pouring into Silesia in the commencement of the war. The agitation in Bohemia and Lower Austria is said to be increasing alarmingly, the people clamouring for bread and peace, even at the cost of handing over Galicia or any other territory to Russia, if they only be left unmolested.

The feelings amongst the people here in Germany, in the interior, are a mixture of stoical submission to their present desperate plight, and a certain conviction that Germany can never be really humiliated.

A great movement is being organized to ensure the co-operation of the Reichstag in the field of work especially monopolized by the Foreign Office until now. In fact, a more democratic form of government on English and French lines is being dreamed of and worked for already by the more liberal party in the Reichstag.

To-day is one of the critical days in the Reichstag, as the Socialists are going to speak, which generally means more street riots. Men coming home from the front are beginning to murmur, and the authorities are in fear of their causing disturbances. We also hear that Herr von Jagow, the head of the police, has been suddenly promoted (?) to the same post in Breslau, on account of the Emperor's displeasure at the drastic measures taken by the police during the last bread and peace riots in Berlin when women are said to have been wounded. The Emperor said he would have no more of it, and that some other method than that of shooting women must be found for quelling street-riots.

The unprecedented English artillery fire on the Somme is filling the hospitals more than ever, all those on the Rhine being over-filled, so that wounded are being transported straight from the front to the Tempelhofer Hospital in Berlin, which has never occurred during the war before. Cases of overstrained nerves and temporary insanity are the order of the day. Only yesterday I spoke to an official who told me that within the last week both of his sons had been sent home insane, having gone out of their minds at the awful things they had witnessed.

Krieblowitz, Sept.-Oct. 19 16 155

The reduction in pay of all officers in the German army, from the Minister of War down to the youngest lieutenant, though regarded with satisfaction by the civil population and the rank and file of the army, has been received with very mixed feelings by the officers themselves. They look upon the moment as too critical for such trenchant measures, and those who have had to bear the whole of the hardships of two years' fighting feel themselves very much injured. To the simple lookeron the system seems to be one of burning injustice.

Krieblowitz, September-October 19 16. - ^The air raid on Karlsruhe was hushed up, but a witness told me it was terrible. The aeroplanes were so high that nothing was to be seen; one only heard the uncanny buzz in the air and watched the fire drop. The man who described it was a watchmaker, and very indignant at this attack on an open town. **Well," he said, *T wonder what we shall do in return - a few more attacks on England !" - -----

On September i, all people having meat in any form were required tO' send in an exact return of the kind, amount, etc. Several society ladies of a certain kind immediately gave big dinner-parties, saying, "We would rather let our friends eat it than give it up to the authorities as we did our stores of sugar." There is a peculiarly unpatriotic undertone there, whereas the following is a case of misplaced patriotism. A man back from the front on leave was asked in the train when he thought the war wou4d end. "Why," he replied, "when the Emperor has to eat bread and jam like us." A lady who heard this had the man arrested. The poor devil meant no harm, though of course he should have been more guarded, but he was tired and fresh from horrors that I should have liked to send the patriotic lady to share.

A friend of mine wanted to buy some woollen underwear, and her experiences are typical of war-shopping now in Germany. She saw what she wanted in a shop and went in. The girl who attended her was very obliging and got everything ready, but when the bill was made out she turned to my friend and said, "Where is your 'Bezugschein* (permit of purchase) ?" *'Oh," said my friend, "I have none." The girl told her it was a trifle, and that she would reserve the goods for her until she had obtained one; she need only go to the police station. Off went my friend, and when she arrived at the police station they told her to go to a stationer's, and get a form which is filled in as a kind of control when one moves about. So she departed and returned with this form. "What shall I write on it?" she asked. The answer was, your name, your age, where you were born, what subject you are, and last, but not least - not how much material do you want, but what faith do you profess? My friend filled in all this, whereupon the official stamped her paper, which meant that he guaranteed for the truth thereof, and then sent her off to the place where she might receive the permit. This was a good walk from where she was, and she decided to go next day. When she got there at 4 o'clock in the afternoon she was told the ofiice was only open from 8 to I o'clock. Patiently she trudged home, to start again next day. When she arrived this time she was asked what the permit was to be for. "For three pairs of combinations," she told the official (there are no discreet secrets from officials here in war-time). "What!" he exclaimed, "you want three pairs? You cannot have more than two, one to wear while the other is in the wash!" Shopping becomes a strange thing when controlled by Prussian officialdom.

Cheese has nm out - why? There has been a quarrel with Switzerland, whilst Holland exports to England, for Germany will not pay enough. Germany says : If we pay so much for cheese, the public must pay so much too; the poor will then not be able to buy cheese. The rich, however, will. Then, as the poor consider cheese their right, they will revolt if they see that only the rich can buy it; whereas if there is no cheese at all, there can be no cheese riots !

Austrians are in despair. Their freedom is gone anyway, for they cannot defend themselves against all these enemies alone; and, after all, is it so much worse to be under England's sway than under that of Germany, which seems their only prospect? Austria wants peace at any cost.

One dark night the village policeman passes a butcher's house and hears queer sounds; he also sees a light streaming through the chinks of the door. He determines to knock and ask what the butcher is doing so late at night. The butcher's wife says she is getting her meat ready for the next morning. The next day he appears at the same butcher's, and lo! there he finds a freshly slaughtered calf. "What!" says the policeman. "This is forbidden. You will have to pay a fine." The butcher's wife protests perfect innocence; her neighbour had called her in to kill the calf, for the poor beast had been cHmbing a ladder, got its head between the rungs, and hung in awful agony. It was a good excuse, but the policeman decided that a fine must be paid, and that calves which climb ladders must be left to hang until the permit for slaughter is procured!

This is not an exceptional case, and no wonder evasion goes on. The greater the number of prohibitions, the greater the amount of swindling.

A soldier home on leave tells me about the life the officers lead. Why, he said, the officers were having the time of their lives even now. Every day for dinner the tables are decorated with flowers; the officers have butter in quantities, eggs, meat, all most beautifully prepared, and the table laid as if they were in a first-rate hotel. Following each regiment there is always sufficient baggage among which are crockery and glass, forks and knives of the best kind. One officer had even his dishes in silver. His view was, I suppose, that it was less breakable! The men get nothing of all this, neither butter, eggs, nor forks and knives; but that was just it - war!

They had bad losses near Verdun. The Major had got the Iron Cross ist Class - why? Because he had remained in a protected position and received the ammunition from a lieutenant in a protected position on the other side. Between these two was about 300 yards of ground over which the waggons had to go backwards and forwards with the ammunition, and each journey cost so many lives which were rewarded by the Iron Cross the said Major received for his bravery. This seemed to me very like a suppressed grumble, but actually there are no more faithful and loyal soldiers than these stolid Prussians, whose sense of duty and obedience is indomitable.

Krieblowitz, January 19 17. - We are all growing thinner every day, and the rounded contours of the German nation have become a legend of the past. We are all gaunt and bony now, and have dark shadows round our eyes, and our thoughts are chiefly taken up with wondering what our next meal will be, and dreaming of the good things that once existed.

Krieblowitz, January 19 17 159

upon to serve his country in some way, and even those who were passed as physically unfit a few months ago are now being trained for military service.

One curious feature in the mental condition of the people is the way in which feehng towards England and everything English has veered round. Men who were scoffing and railing at England twelve months ago are beginning to express their admiration, and even dare to display a certain affection and attachment publicly. A popular speaker, addressing a large assembly the other day, declared that the talk about Germany's splendid organization was all nonsense; she was nowhere in it with England, and that England was the only country which could organize at all. Another acquaintance. Count B., offered help for English people to the emergency society here, declaring that he had only learnt to love England since the war, and that he would never allow a word to be said against her by any one in his house.

The truth is, the soul of the people is sick unto death of the useless carnage and hateful sinfulness of it all. In the Reichstag the same old bombastic phrases still bring down a volley of applause, so that the quiet observer is astonished at the childishness of these representatives of the nation; but the man who would bring peace and not war would be hailed as a real leader and king. One intrepid Socialist, goaded to despair at the artificiality of the speeches, shouted out the truth in the face of the whole assembly: "The people don't want war; what they want is peace and bread and work" - but he was only snubbed by contemptuous derision in reply.

Herr von Jagow's resignation of his post as Foreign Secretary was a great sorrow to us. He was a personal friend of ours, and a clever, cultivated man, a pacifist, which, of course, rendered him abhorrent and suspect to the military party. In his own quiet way he contravened many ruthless orders of the militarists, and regretted many more which he was helpless to prevent. He is probably a victim of inimical forces over which he had no control. He v^as not relentless and uncompromising enough for the military party, and he did not trouble himself enough to play to the democratic party which is daily acquiring power. He was too much a diplomatist of the old school, and lacked the power of forcing his own personality on his hearers when speaking.

Perhaps one of the most pathetic central figures playing on the stage of the European War is the German Emperor, brilliant as his role may seem to superficial lookerson. In reality he is but a lay figure, crowned and clad in shining armour, and moved here and there at the will of the military power which he has created.

I think people in England hardly realize the covert scorn with which people speak of him here. The remarks made often astonish me. "Let him talk as if he had won these victories, and let him believe he is running the whole army." ''Send him to the East when there are some prisoners to march past, and he will be pleased; and again to the West when there is a little success to show him, and he will be as pleased as ever." Whilst the Emperor himself complains sadly in the same words : "I never know what I am going to do from one day to another," he says. "To-day I am packed up and sent off to the East, and to-morrow to the West."

Summing up his character it may be said of him that he is to a certain degree a tyrant, and is not always to be depended upon to keep his promises. As regards his friendships, he takes people up easily and drops them again just as easily, and further possesses certain qualities which go to make up the bully. Yet in spite of these drawbacks he has a great charm of manner which endears him to all those who really know him; and his real friendships are genuine and lasting, and if he only possessed the courage of his friendships he would be a happier man.

Berlin, February 19 17 161

all the touching anecdotes of the sacrifices of the Empress in sending six sons to the front, where other mothers had only one to offer, have long disappeared from the papers. The monster of war has always had a way of passing over the six princes, and preferred the only son of a widow. People are beginning to murmur that they are being too carefully guarded; and granted that they did run into danger at the beginning of the war, they always seem to be now more or less on the Staff - and, funny as it may seem, a great many people seem to take it specially amiss that one or other of them is always getting married. "The fact of the matter is," said one of the ministers in a very high position here not long ago, "one of the Kaiser's sons ought to be sacrificed - to appease the people.'*

Berlin, February 191 7. - After an interval of peace and quiet in the country for six months, Berlin again with all its unrest and harrowing problems. Krieblowitz, with its docile Silesian peasants and their somewhat cringing manners, characteristic of the mixed breed of Slav and the East German race, was a soothing experience.

There is intense cold here as there, such as has not been known for more than half a century. But there one had the wide expanse of ploughed acres walled in by great game-haunted forests, whilst here there are shivering throngs of hungry care-worn people picking their way through the snowy streets, and anxiously watching for some isolated waggon of briquettes, which may offer a chance of buying ten or twenty, and thus having a warm room for at least one day.

Coal, or at least the want of it, is the one subject of the moment. It seems suddenly to have disappeared from the face of the German empire; or is at least not available, and is lying shunted off in innumerable waggon-loads on obscure side-lines somewhere or other in the coal districts.

bed and refusing to be comforted, or hurrying ofif from their own flats to meet with a very frigid reception in the hotels and pensions where they seek refuge.

Of course, there is a perfect epidemic of burst waterpipes all over Berlin, and as there are no plumbers to repair the damage, people are beginning to think that the torments of Dante's inferno are capped by the hardships of this deadly winter of 1916-17.

Berlin the cleanest town in Europe is of course a thing of the past. The snow lies unmolested until the boys' schools are turned out to shovel it away, or some few enterprising females do' their best to aid in making the roads clear.

There are practically no motors to be had, and the few antediluvian droshkies are being dragged wearily along by half -starved beasts, who, if they happen to stumble and fall, don't even attempt to rise, but lie still, humbly thankful for the respite from work, on the cold frozen ground.

As for the mood of the people, the heroic attitude has entirely disappeared. Now one sees faces like masks, blue with cold and drawn by hunger, with the harassed expression common to all those who are continually speculating as to the possibility of another meal.

If by chance one does happen to dine well it is always with more or less of a bad conscience, as everything is in reality forbidden and belongs to the nation at large.

At Krieblowitz we tried now and again to kill one of our pigs, but it won't do as a rule. There is none of the feasting and revelry which generally accompany this solemn ceremony. The whole province of Silesia watches the act with hungry faces, counting how many mouthfuls we each appropriate for our own share, and Hindenburg stands sternly in the background, demanding a portion of it for his munitioners, whilst we are deprived of our meat-tickets for weeks to come as a punishment for the few succulent morsels we may manage to get.

Berlin, February 19 17 163

so that if we are lucky we are doled out one egg every three weeks. Our bread is being "stretched" in every way possible, and is now mixed with some of those numerous subterranean vegetables coming imder the rubric of the turnip, of whose existence we never dreamed before.

On our return to the "Esplanade" we met with a very cold reception, for some of the men who attend to the heating apparatus had refused to leave their beds, saying that their food-tickets had been appropriated for the guests and they intended sleeping until they were restored to them. The whole hotel was in a great state of excitement, moreover, several of the managers having been arrested for appropriating food and butter entrusted to them for the wounded soldiers, and selling them at an enormous profit to guests in the hotel.

On the whole, all the conscientious scruples which really did hinder many people from storing up underhand supplies of food some six months ago have disappeared before the pangs of hunger, and the feeling prevalent in all classes is: every man for himself and the devil for us all !

The princes have come up for the opening of the Herrenhaus which is about to meet, and my husband's first appearance there is looked upon as quite an event, the seat having been in abeyance for twenty years.

Prince and Princess Miinster were here for a few days, she rather depressed, as her eldest son, Freddie, is being ordered ofiP to the East Front after being at home on sick leave for one and a half years. But now practically every one who can manage to creep on all fours is being called back. And as her second son, Paul, is also leaving Lichterfelde and going out later on, the Princess will be in the painful position of seeing her husband and sons joined in fighting against her own relations and countrymen.

One small spark of pleasure amongst us has been the engagement of Countess Pourtales (the widowed daughter of Count Bernstorff) to Prince Johannes Lowenstein. Such small faint rays of happiness light up the lives of us exiles who have been sharing one another's lot for two years and a half.

The Great Headquarters have, we hear, been changed from Pless to Creuznach (?), as it is expected that the decision will come shortly in the West. It is a somewhat exposed position for flyers, and fears are expressed for the person of the Emperor.

Every one is excited about the submarine question. We all know and feel that Germany is playing her last card; with what results, no one can possibly foretell. The resolution for sharpening up the submarine war was received silently by the commission in the Reichstag. The middle-class Chauvinists and the Pan-Germans hail it as an infallible step to a final victory; whilst the pessimists and wise men who are discontented with the war assert that God has struck the German nation with blindness before utterly ruining it, and predict that all the neutrals will follow the lead of America, who has just handed over her Note threatening war.

One astute man declares the whole move to have been purposely provoked by England, who intentionally phrased her refusal of the peace proposals in such insolent terms as to provoke Germany into doing something rash in retaliation.

We, however, think the situation looks pretty serious for England, as the U-boats can starve her out partially. On the other hand, rumours are rampant as to the mysterious inventions presumably planned by England for frustrating the devilish workings of the submarines.

and yesterday, when news of the rupture of diplomatic relations was announced at the Embassy, during a luncheon-party there, several of the women lost all control over themselves, and faints and hysterical weeping seem to have been the order of the day. The American ladies married to Germans, who have undertaken to pay their princely husbands' bills, are in a sad plight, as all financial connections will be broken off between the two countries.

Mr. Gerard, the Ambassador, will be regretted by few. He was a man of disagreeable, tactless manners, and managed to offend every one. In fact, he was not the person to have been chosen to act as negotiator between two hostile powers at such a critical period of the world's history. Mrs. Gerard, his wife, on the contrary, will be regretted by all of us. With her quiet tact and patience she endeavoured to gloss over the many breaches of good manners committed by her incorrigible husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Grew were very popular here. She, poor woman, was torn between regret at leaving her best friends here and joy at seeing her children again, who have been living in America since the beginning of the war. Mr. Grew, in spite of his pronounced sympathy for England, never betrayed his political feelings by word or deed, and with his really gentlemanly instincts bore the brunt of all the diplomatic affairs. Without him the Embassy would have smashed up long ago.

Mr. Dresel and Mr. Osborne will also be missed. So will Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, as they have lived in Europe for twenty-seven years and have all their personal friends here, so that the present rupture means a decided crisis in their life. As they are not in with the present Government they are quietly returning to Switzerland, the work of their Hfe being over.

The Prisoners' Department was entirely organized by Mr. Jackson, and the welfare of the prisoners was much improved by his efforts. Now, with one stroke, his work has come to a close, and his business has been transferred to the Dutch Legation. But no one can manage the intricate workings of the organization as well as Mr. Jackson did, and although we sometimes criticized his apparent want of feeling for the sufferings of the prisoners, he has since assured us that this hardness of heart was only assumed so as to appear absolutely just and unbiassed.

Berlin, April 19 17. - -It is April again, and, looking through my window on to the Tiergarten, I can see the snow falling incessantly, whirled past by those awfui east winds which torment us this year and bring all sorts of disagreeable reminders of the long Russian winter and the revolution which is running its bloody course there.

The chief subject of interest is, of course, the great spring offensive on the West Front, and I hear exciting details from acquaintances now and then passing through BerHn. The English are said to have broken through the third German line, but the general impression here is one of confidence in Hindenburg's leadership and the strength of their own iron wall, which they say no human power can ever overcome.

Count Radolin gave us a graphic account of the storming of Arras. He said it was the ist Garde regiment which saved the situation, but not a single officer survived it. The Bavarians gave way, it seems, before the furious attack.

Ammunition seems to be running short, and trains filled with wounded arrive at the towns in the south and west of Germany every ten minutes. None, however, are sent to Berlin. Bissing, the Belgian Governor, has just been buried, and we have heard that by some strange hazard the same chaplain who officiated at Miss

Berlin, April 19 17 167

Young Count Schaffgotsch told us that he ran forward to pick up an English wounded officer, and doing so recognized an Oxford friend of his. He accompanied him to hospital and did everything he could to alleviate his lot.

To-day I got a letter from Captain E. Trafford in which he mentioned how pleased the imprisoned officers at Crefeld are, as the camp is henceforth to become an all-British one, and the prisoners of other nationalities are being sent away, and English officers from all parts of Germany are arriving every day. There are about 400 of them there now. It means a tremendous change to them all, and many old friends meet again who knew nothing of one another's imprisonment until now.

there a few days before the declaration of war with America. He was on his way home to America when he left here, but on his arrival in England was asked to go to Vienna to negotiate about English prisoners there.

He gave some interesting details as to the general feeling in England now. The former intense hatred has taken on a more subdued character, and one even hears occasional praise of the enemy. The hatred still existing seems to be more or less concentrated on one person, and they are emphatic in declaring that peace must never be made with a Hohenzollern.

The submarine war, he says, is accepted with calm fatalism, and in spite of its causing some inconveniences and lessening imported wares, they maintain that 20 per cent of the ships still get through, and the U-boats can do no really grave damage to the mercantile shipping.

I heard likewise, from some one else who is in touch with England, that there is now a great peace party existing there, led by such men as Haldane, Lord Robert Cecil (in fact all the Cecils), as well as Lord Ampthill

I heard further that Sir Edward Grey has been working for peace for the last year, and that Wilson's peace proposal was in reality due to Sir Edward's influence. This, they say, is probably the reason why Lloyd George got him turned out; but Lloyd George, they say, will not last much longer himself.

People blame the German Chancellor for not meeting Sir Edward Grey half-way when he put out very decided feelers for peace, some six months before the German peace proposals were ever dreamt of. Here the popular idea is that unless the Russian episode (which many people think will unhinge the earth from its axis) be imitated in a country that shall be nameless, there will be no more question of peace propositions at all.

The other day Dr. Solf, the Colonial Minister, dined here. He was interesting and clever as usual, and wanted to know my opinion of the submarine war. A lady who was dining here too asked him point-blank what he thought on the subject, and he admitted frankly that Prussia had played her trump card and it was doomed to be a failure.

The war, he said, was a minor evil compared to the internal evil. Fresh disturbances are expected, and troops of mounted policemen patrol daily through the streets of Moabit. On the eve of an expected riot the Kaiserin hurried personally to one of the chief factories here, and hastily presented one of the leaders of the workmen's party with decorations, which, as evil tongues aflirm, he promptly hung round his dog's neck which accompanied one of the processions next day. The whole revolt, however, ended in a few harmless demonstrations.

My husband yesterday had a private audience with the Emperor at the Bellevue Palace. On his return he told me that for the first time in his life, after such an interview, he came away with a sort of feeling of pity in his heart for the loneliness of a monarch. The Kaiser struck him as being so helpless and alone, though at the same time surrounded by cringing, obsequious courtiers. He told me that the Kaiser and he had discussed for some time the present outlook of affairs, and although the Emperor's words sounded hopeful his general bearing was not so, and gave the impression that he was repeating a lesson.

Berlin, May 19 17. - Here we are right in the heart of May, and the long arctic winter has given place to blue skies and a more hopeful view in the aspect of affairs. Every one goes about with a brighter face, and a more patriotic optimism prophesies the end of the war in July or August.

The interest awakened by hopes of the Chancellor's speech was somewhat disappointed. He was so excessively cautious. No new disclosures were made, no declarations offered as to the German war aims, and no new loopholes opened out for peace feelers, excepting the reserved hint of a possible separate understanding with Russia, which however cheers some people up wonderfully.

Scheidemann's challenge, dashed into the midst of the assembled Reichstag in the shape of a threatened revolution, drew blood, as he hoped, and the Pan-Germans instantly filled their papers with columns of righteous indignation at this open menace to the nation, whereupon the Socialists immediately replied with a corresponding threat, which had been made personally to no less a personage than Bethmann-Hollweg himself by General von Groning some two years ago.

Amongst the many wandering rumours which reach our ears we heard that the Wittelsbachs and Hohenzollerns are planning the cutting of the Gordian knot of Alsace-Lorraine by dividing it up between them. Scheidemann himself publicly accuses the Pan-Germans of being the cause of the Kaiser's unpopularity with the

I70 An English Wife In Berlin

The sad news of Prince Friedrich Karl's death is deeply commiserated here. He was trained as a flyer in Breslau, and we often saw his aeroplane flying over Krieblowitz. He had only been in the West ten days when he was killed. It is said his death was prophesied through the medium of *Tlanchette/' that it would take place so many days after his arrival at the front, and that it actually took place to the very day.

He was the Emperor's nephew and was one of those attractive youths beloved in both countries, having spent much of his time in England (where he once played in the tennis championship at Wimbledon under the name of Mr. Karl Frederick). There was much criticism here when his death was announced, a few days after he was reported wounded; and it was, needless to say, put down to neglect on the part of the English doctors and nurses. But I have learnt to bide my time and keep silent when I hear such things discussed, knowing that truth will out sooner or later. And a few days after a letter came from the boy himself, written the day he died, saying how kind the English had been to him, what intense care the doctors and nurses had expended on him, and his relief to find himself in a bright cheerful English hospital after his experiences at the front. He said they had moved him from the dressing-station, as it was being shelled incessantly, and went on to say that his uncle, the Duke of Connaught, had instantly sent out the best surgeon from London to attend him, and had telegraphed repeatedly to inquire for him. Much more was in the letter which at present is not allowed to be repeated, in case it might disillusion those who wish to criticize the English treatment of wounded prisoners.

Berlin, May 19 17 171

Count Bernstorff and his wife are now staying at this hotel. Every one is commenting on the fact that he was not received at Headquarters on his arrival, and it is rumoured that it may be owing to the fact that he was known to be very much opposed to the unrestricted U-boat war, and could have prevented American intervention if he had been given a free hand, and if the unremitting antagonism between the Reichsmarine Amt and the Foreign Office had not precipitated matters. The Mexican blunder cannot be laid at Count Bernstorff s

We hear that a climax has come for Greece, and the monarchy is played out. German influence has come to an end and Venizelos has won the day. King Constantine has abdicated, and the German Minister (our friend Count Mirbach) is returning with his staff. My husband came across a publication regarding some of the members of the so-called German propaganda staff, including one who is styled as Count Bliicher, and who is mentioned as being implicated in secret service operations against the Entente. Believing there must be some mistake in the name, he has made inquiries, and has found out that the gentleman in question is a member of the distant branch of the Mecklenburg 'Von Bliichers."

Great discussion over the torpedoing of hospital ships, the German view being that they were bogus ones, carrying ammunition and troops hidden on board. Even if this were true it would be no excuse, for they ought to give warning to enable the sick and wounded, nurses and doctors, to get off. The naval authorities, indeed, declare that orders have never been issued for such wholesale destruction. But I have heard from some one, who is in a position to know, that the orders were so worded as to leave too much to the discretion of the commanders, who, in cases where it was impossible to identify the real character of the ship in question, took the benefit of the doubt and acted as their feelings or ambition prompted them. So far as the German nation as a whole is concerned, half of it does not believe or realize that any hospital ships have been sunk; a quarter regret it intensely; and the rest try to prove beyond doubt that the ships were camouflaged 'and really contained troops. Some women, especially, are horrified at the stories told. My sister, Freda Charlton, on her long dangerous journey to the Cape, took seven small children with her, and made them wear lifebelts the whole time. When I showed some German ladies of my acquaintance the photograph of twins of two years old standing on deck, each girt with a huge life-belt, tears came into their eyes, and they said: "Do people really think that the Germans are so cruel as to want to sink ships with women and children on them !"

I met a lady the other day who was actually on board one of the torpedoed hospital ships, and was saved by clinging to a plank. She described something of the ghastly experience, and says she will be haunted to her dying day by the expression of agony on the faces of the helpless wounded men, unable to make the sHghtest effort to save themselves in their tight bandages, as the waves closed over them. Whilst shuddering with pity at the picture she drew, I could not at the same time help recalling the face of a poor German mother bidding farewell to her second son, who was starting for the front only a few days after receiving details of the death of her other son, who had been fearfully mutilated by black troops.

Berlin, 'June-July 191 7. - How quickly the English are advancing! I wonder if this last victory will prove a turning-point in the war, as it seems to be a well-known fact that the English did break through the German lines, although they themselves were not aware of the fact until they had retired again. But the capture of the Ypres salient is no unimportant factor and may possibly mean the final road to peace.

Here the military authorities, as they are bound to do, characterize every advance of the enemy as an elastic bend in the German line; or if it is reluctantly admitted that the first German line has been broken through, the English attack must always waver and fail on the ever-renewed defence of the German reserves. - -----

Harden's weekly periodical Zukunft has been suppressed until the end of the war, as he is one of the few men who dared to say what he thought, and perfectly openly argued the necessity of handing over Alsace- Lorraine whilst there was still time to do it with the grand air. Later on, he argues, it will simply mean a matter of compulsion. This view is shared by many others. My 'husband is emphatic in his advice to agree to it in time. Why continue jeopardizing the whole empire for a province which, as Bismarck said, will always be a heritage of woe to whoever possesses it.

We get all our news through the carefully prepared communiques let loose on the credulous public every Saturday and Sunday by the Wolff Bureau, and this time they mentioned the retreat as a single insignificant episode in the great general offensive of the Entente. The retreat is described as a systematic and voluntary retirement in order to hinder any unnecessary loss of life.

I heard gruesome stories about the German infantry complaining that they were deliberately sacrificed to save the German guns, and that out of some 3000 men in the northern battle of Messines, over 2000 were taken prisoners by reason of the artillery failing to support them.

And so another king has been shaken from his throne by the great earthquake, and poor King Constantine has had to abdicate and give v^ay to forces stronger than his own. He was a good man and worthy of a better fate than an inglorious exile in a strange land. He used all the powers God had given him to keep his country from bloodshed, and his political crime was that he refused to sanction the Entent policy of his minister who had a majority to back him.

The Greek minister and his wife, the Theotokys, are hurrying away from Berlin tO' join the exiled monarch in Switzerland, and we have to look on and see how one more friend leaves the sinking ship Germania.

One of the strangest signs of the time is, to my thinking, the rapid and insidious way in which the tide of democracy is creeping on and overflooding all Europe. People are beginning to ask whether this is the divine meaning of the great catastrophe. In Russia we have seen the bloody horrors of an Asiatic revolt driving the Czar ignominiously from his high place. In Austria the newly fledged Emperor has seized the bull by the horns, and openly pleaded for democracy in his speech from the throne. Graf Tisza, the most unscrupulous and ruthless autocrat in all Europe, was forced to give up office because he dared to oppose democracy as represented in the Hungarian franchise bill. In Greece King Constantine had to abdicate ostensibly because of his refusing to support the democratic party. In Germany, where democracy was not as yet on the official political programme, it is gaining new adherents every day, and in time the new movement is bound to carry everything before it. It is pretty certain that in the future it will be impossible for any one. Kaiser or minister, to conclude treaties which are capable of leading the nation into war without the consent of the representatives of the people, and the democrats are determined that all important negotiations with other nations must be supported by a vote of confidence, and all internal questions must be settled by the Reichstag.

The Chancellor's position has been growing more and more critical, and his day has come. No one was satisfied with him, and Erzberger's vigorous attack in order to extract some definite proposals of peace have at last tripped him up.

There can be no doubt that Bethmann's hands were tied all along, and that he was not a free man. He is, in fact, the scapegoat for covering the faults of his lord and master. I have heard on pretty certain authority that the Kaiser gave his royal assent to Austria's ultimatum to Serbia in 19 14, without even mentioning this small matter to his Chancellor until it was an accomplished fact.

Here the impulsiveness of his nature became a crime, and Bethmann, conscious of the fact that it was this consent which set the machinery of war in motion, has never been able to make the error good again, and has now made a final atonement, as he could not betray his royal master to the world. His is a tragic fate, and the role of compromise forced upon him lends him a tragic importance worthy of a central figure in the literature of the war in the days to come.

Helfferich and Zimmermann, they say, must go too, as well as a number of other ministers who are opposed to overtures of peace in any form. There is great excitement everywhere, and the world seems turned topsyturvy. Hindenburg and Ludendorff in Berlin to offer their opinion on the new terms of peace; men without titles stepping into titled men's shoes ; the Crown Prince sucking wisdom from the leaders of the different factions ; Socialists visiting the Kaiser tO' offer him their opinion on a republican form of government, and being indignantly called to order for playing the courtier by their partisans.

The Kaiser is daily growing more and more the shadow of a king, and people talk openly of his abdication as a possibility very much desired. He gives in to all the demands of the Socialists, but at the same time makes so many palpable blunders and mistakes that a man in high office said only the other day, it looked almost as if the Emperor's advisers were in the pay of England, so insane is their advice, and that they seem to be deliberately playing into the hands of the enemy.

One consequence of all the blundering is that there is murmuring everywhere, in the army as well as amongst the civilians. For example, when on the advice of Michaelis the bread allowance was cut down, there was great grumbling amongst the people and a revolt seemed threatening. The food controllers in a panic promised them extra meat at a cheap price, to make up for the curtailed bread rations, and ordered all the milk cows in certain districts to be slaughtered.

This promptly took place, to the great rage of the agriculturists, who indignantly opposed the "madness of the order." But it was too late, the order had been carried out, and for a week or two there was such a surplus of meat that it actually had to be given or thrown away, to prevent its spoiling in the hot weather.

The result is now that milk is running short, and there is renewed grumbling, although the extra supply of cheap meat proved a great boon to the populations in the towns and helped them to tide over hard times.

As an accompaniment to the incessant murmuring and increasing incredulity of the people, there is a decided inclination to a milder form of revolt, and riots and disturbances do now and then take place, though they are hushed up. The Germans are such a patient and long-suffering race that they do not as yet realize their own power, and the Prussian precept, ''Es ist ver boten," has been so drummed into them that they accept all regulations and orders without any further demur. I do believe that if they were bidden to go out and eat

A common soldier, now working in our harvest, just returned from the front, spoke so nicely of all the hardships they had to endure. He had no bitterness for the enemy. The English, he said, were fine men to fight against, and he personally had never witnessed any of the desperate cruelty and intense hatred he is always told of behind the lines.

*'We all do our best for our own country, and if we meet as prisoners or otherwise, we are perfectly friendly ; but," he added sadly, "there must be something wrong somewhere to make us so hated by all other nations, as well as by our own allies. Who is to blame for it? That is what my comrades and I are always trying to

He went on to say that the English army is in splendid condition, and always being reinforced by fresh and perfectly equipped troops, whilst the Germans have only a tired and worn-out army to meet them. Many of the men in the trenches, having been wounded three or four times, are now so exhausted that they can hardly lift a

Here is another criticism, this time from an officer. He says : "England is more practical in her organization, and is not so hemmed in by red tape as we are. She selects the best men to command, irrespective of rank and age, and only according to their efficiency."

Another cause of discontent in the army is that no officer can be promoted before having served a certain number of years, however many vacancies may occur. Many hundreds of lieutenants are doing the work of captains and majors, but they must retain the rank of a lieutenant in order to avoid the extra pay. This causes

Berlin, August 19 17. - I have been passing an unspeakably mournful morning at the "Nachlass Bureau," where any small articles picked up upon the battlefield are kept for identification. A feeling of hopeless sadness crept over me as I saw these trays of things, the only mementoes left of men who had such a short time ago been alive in the full flush of manhood. There was a whole stack of battered and blood-stained cigarette-cases, some with inscriptions or monograms engraved on them, many containing small photos or a few written words by the giver. Then there were all the other various small articles generally to be found in a man's pocket - fountain-pens, handkerchiefs, torn letters, purses, coins, etc. ; and I felt the tears come into my eyes when I thought of what value they would be tO' some in England now, and how almost impossible it is to identify even a small number of them. I had a long list of missing articles with me, sent by sorrowful or (worse still) hopeful women in England; and with the sympathetic help of the two Red Cross officers in charge, and by dint of arduous and painful work, at the end of the morning I had managed to identify one or two cigarette cases and a few other small articles, which we had forwarded through the Red Cross to the expectant owners in England. But how few they were, and alas ! how few ever will be claimed. Time will gradually thrust them aside to the other inevitable lumber of the war, and they will never come into the hands of those to whom they would be relics of great worth.

Krieblowitz, October 1917. - Yesterday I got a letter from my husband, who has gone up to town for the opening of the Herrenhaus, with an interesting piece of news in it. He writes: "I learnt from L. that my former chief (Erzberger) was actually abroad, trying to establish peace negotiations on a financial basis, namely an International Financial and Economic Trust; which, however, is said to have failed on account of the joint capital of the other side (meaning the two' biggest financial Powers) always being able to overrule us."

This failure, were it generally known, would meet with a triumphant howl of applause from the "Vaterlandspartei," who are doing all they can to oppose any movements made by the Catholic and pacific elements.

Strange to say, the clergy of the Protestant Church are also in favour of the continuation of the war; and only lately have a small party of Protestant pastors in Berlin had the courage to make a move towards peace by collecting signatures for a Peace Protest. They are as a matter of fact State officials, and more or less bound to think as they are told in State affairs, which may explain the phenomenon of men of God urging their flocks on to kill one another. Perhaps, too, a feeling of hostility prevents their following any lead headed by the Pope. **We hope for a good German peace from God, and not a bad international one from the Pope," ^.s their war-cry at present.

I hear that the English are daily gaining ground, and are slowly but surely approaching the object of thdr !iim, the U-boat base of operations. A letter I received a short time ago confirms me in my opinion that the English are not merely fighting to pass away the time. G. wrote to me to-day that they are now quite near to the commanding heights near the coast. 'Tf this is the case, then the Marine Corps and the coast in Flanders, which is all-important tO' us, might get endangered."

I see that the English view of operations on the West is that the Germans have been retiring for a whole year, and that Verdun, Champagne, Vimy, Arras, Messines, Langemarck, Westhoek, and Zonnebeke are but stages in an uninterrupted retreat. For us civilians looking on, the whole campaign seems to be more or less a useless slaughter, and one is only able to bear the horror of it by hearing and reading stories of the heroism and selfsacrifice of individual man towards man.

The story of the German soldier who the other day was buried in a shell-hole together with an English officer, badly wounded in the thigh, and whose life he managed to save by stopping the bleeding artery with his two thumbs, himself weak and ill, and in a crouched position, is a deed not quite in character with that of a "Hun." - -----

The regulations as to smuggling provisions are very strict, and a funny scene took place at the station in Breslau the other day. A well-dressed, dignified-looking lady appeared at the luggage-room with the object of checking her trunk. Her flurried mien, and the obvious nervousness with which she hurried on the porter to weigh her trunk, aroused the suspicions of the station-master. The trunk was promptly opened, and to the surprise of the amused onlookers a whole pig was discovered in it. It was confiscated and sold in the town at the official price, to the great discomfiture of the stately lady.

Things of this sort are of daily occurrence, and yet people go on trying them over and over again. The strict regulations seem very superfluous, and are causing much bad blood amongst the people in the towns. We in the country could, in fact, help them very often in many ways if we were allowed to do so.

As it is, people try to obtain by force or stealth what they cannot get in a legal way. The following incident gives an idea of what is being attempted in some way or other daily.

The other day a very fine field-grey military motorcar appeared on our place, and its four occupants began shooting to their hearts* content. Nobody disturbed them, or asked them on what authority they were there, for people took it for granted that they had been sent by the Government. After having satisfied their needs they departed, and it was only discovered a day afterwards that they were poachers pure and simple, who certainly had a glorious time. How they managed to get hold of a military auto no one can imagine.

Last week we spent a day at Fiirstenstein with Prince and Princess Pless. Prince and Princess Biron, Countess Saurma and her daughters were there too. Princess Pless and I being English, Princess Biron French, and Countess Saurma Polish, our conversation was at times what our husbands describe as "dangerous," which, being translated, means, we criticize the German Government and methods too loudly. In one thing, however, we all agree, and that is that our husbands are very lenient with us; and that it is owing to their consideration and thoughtfulness towards us, and the loyal way in which they have stood by us, that life in a hostile country has been endurable. And without being over-duly proud, I may confess that my husband is the one who' has the best reputation of being clever enough to fight my battles without being disloyal to his Emperor and country. At Fiirstenstein we talked "England" until the walls of the old castle must have wearied of the word.

Prince Pless, who is always with the Emperor at Headquarters, described to us his life there, and the Emperor*s triumphant entry into Riga, at which he assisted.

And now for a description of the state of politics here. Everything is very unsettled. Michaelis has proved quite unsatisfactory and has given place to a better man. They say some sixteen candidates are on the list, Biilow being first in the running in the minds of many. Solf has been proposed, and Erzberger, as the strong man, would not be unpopular to tlie democrats, although I see the Times calls his policy "murky and deceitful at the best."

Kiihlmann, they say, was offered the Chancellorship too, but very wisely refused, knowing his own limitations. "I know I am suitable for my present position as Foreign Secretary, but I am unsuitable to be Reichskanzler, as I am utterly ignorant of inner politics." People have a good deal of confidence in him here, and feel that he is the right man in the right place. He, as well as the new Kanzler, certainly have their work cut out for them when one thinks that Germany is at present ostracized and alienated from three-quarters of the human race.

We hear that aeroplanes (either English or French) have done enormous damage to Frankfort and other towns in the south, 50 to 60 people being killed during a raid on Frankfort in one afternoon. And Princess Metternich, who has a large castle outside Wiesbaden, had to leave her bed three times in one night and take refuge in the cellar, English shrapnel being found in the courtyard next morning.

All internal disputes and disagreements are disappearing for the moment, being swallowed up in the vital conflict of the two great parties, the democrats and the "Vaterlandspartei," which is daily increasing in vehemence.

People are devoured with anxiety as to the food resources for the coming winter, whilst the Government has to cope with much more serious questions, were it only known - namely, the increasing shortage of raw stuff and material for ammunition.

Has the ''enemy" already noticed, I wonder, that the German ammunition is not as good as it was ? Thank God, it only inflicts slight wounds now, and if they search the ''Casualty List" in the Times with the same throbbing heart as I do, they will notice that the list of wounded is now much longer than that terrible heart-breaking list of dead and missing that used to appear during the first eighteen months of the war.

There are other signs, too, pathetic in their way, of the increasing scarcity of metal, for everywhere the old church bells and even the organ-pipes are being dragged from the churches and turned into ammunition; whilst owing to the scarcity of oil the Sanctuary lamp, such a dear familiar sight in Catholic churches, may no longer shed its tender light before the Tabernacle.

In L., a small town near here, a sad little ceremony took place the other day. The ancient church bell, which had rung the people from the cradle to the grave for 300 years and more, was requisitioned by the military authorities. The grief felt by the inhabitants was so great that they determined to do their ancient friend all the honour that they could; and after having performed the regular funeral service for the dead over it, a procession was formed, headed by the priest in his vestments, with his acolytes swinging their incense, and the inhabitants following the bell, which was covered with wreaths and flowers and handed over to the military authorities under tears and protestations.

As coffee and tea have entirely run out, all sorts of berries and leaves are being used as a surrogate. Chestnuts are used for feeding the deer, and it is interesting to see the children, who are not old enough to work otherwise, busy plucking and collecting the different things.

Nothing seems to be left unused - salad-oil being extracted from every kind of fruit-stone, and an excellent oil for greasing machinery is being pressed from the seeds of sunflowers. It is marvellous how much has been produced in this way, and it is only a pity we cannot use the latter for cooking and eating purposes too.

The difficulty of getting butter is increasing daily, and one has to use all one's power of persuasion to be able to entice a miserable quarter of a pound of it, after having begged in vain at quite a number of small peasants' houses.

The fact is, the peasants Jiave to hand over a certain amount of butter to the military authorities, who, if they do not get the proper quantity, keep back the peasant's monthly supply of sugar. And as every one is longing for their sugar, and jam cannot be made without it, no one will sell their butter even for very high prices. For the fortunate people who grow sugar-beet there can, of course, never be any dearth of sweet-stuffs, for the beet pressed produces a most dehcious syrup which can easily be eaten for honey. But if it is difficult to sweeten one's lot at present, it is just as difficult to season one's cooking, for the prices of pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg are enormous. These spices are almost worth their weight in gold.

Lighting will prove a great problem this winter, as there is almost no petroleum or methylated spirits to be had; gas-light is next to impossible, on account of the small quantity allowed, and electric-light is also' limited. I am surprised that people in the country do not attempt the old way of lighting by means of pine torches. True, they give more smoke than light, but it would be preferable to the gloom of the unlighted houses in the country.

This darkness is especially unpleasant for the people in the town who have to wait for the vegetables and fruit coming in from the country. Our gardener, who goes in daily, tells me that they stand for hours and hours patiently waiting to get but a pound of cabbage, onions, etc., which are all very scarce indeed. Luckily for the purchasers, maximum prices have been settled on all eatables, or it would be impossible for the poorer classes to get anything at all. And still the small peasants, landowners, and gardeners are all growing very prosperous, and our gardener, who only has about two acres of land at his disposal, made 10,000 marks last year.

In addition to the "card" plague, which is bringing every one to the verge of the lunatic asylum, we have the "Bezugschein" (official voucher), which is now necessary for almost every scrap of clothing needed by poor shivering humanity to cover themselves. Everything is on the list, dresses, mantles, coats, stockings, shoes, gloves, washing; and you have to give a list of everything you possess before getting the precious "Schein" handed out to you.

Berlin, January 191 8 185

we have already crossed the borderland and have left the gloom of the old year, only to enter the darkness of a new one. Every hour brings its fears, disappointments, and vague hopes, so that there is but little time for collecting one's scattered ideas.

Christmas was, of course, but a sorry season, although the unexpected and seemingly successful peace movement in Russia undoubtedly created a brighter atmosphere for people here than they have known since the war began. Brest-Litovsk, mingled with the divine proclamation of * 'Peace upon earth and goodwill amongst men," moved our hearts to a new throb of hope. It remains to be seen how far people are justified in believing this to be the first weak wavelet of the great peace-tide which is gradually but surely going to inundate Europe.

The military party, the "raving Rolands," are doing all they can to obstruct the peace movement, and Ludendorff and Kuhlmann have almost come to blows. There were some exciting scenes between the two last week, and people have told me that the cold-blooded, strong-nerved, impassive Kiihlmann was almost on the verge of a breakdown. More and more he and his adherents are perceiving the fatal mistakes of the U-boat war, and the madness of ever allowing things to gO' so far that America should enter the war. But, of course, Kuhlmann has a great many enemies, as he has already turned out all the old Excellencies who were having such an easy time in the Foreign Office here, and publicly makes it known that his diplomatic creed discredits the arts and tricks of the old school. At any rate there is a breathless tussle going on, and things are being hurried along, I suppose, to avoid the American reinforcements in the spring, although the Germans are still inclined to scoff and jeer at the American soldiers.

I myself wait and watch, firm in the belief that England knows what she is about, even though it looks as if she were losing touch with her old allies at present. In fact,

I feel like the English prisoner whom a friend met in some obscure country place a short time ago. He was sitting by the roadside breaking stones, and when she asked how long he had been a prisoner, and if he ever saw any newspapers, and who he thought would win the war, he answered that he had been there for three years, that he had never seen any paper of any kind, but that he never doubted for a moment that England would be victorious in the end. He could not explain why, but something told him "there," and he touched his forehead.

Lloyd George's Paris speech made a great impression on us, and M., as well as myself, thought it was quite right of him to try and wake people up to the fact that strategic blunders have been caused by the military authorities of the Entente not all acting together. Whatever one may think of the grave errors he committed in his abusive speeches against Germany, he certainly has the courage of his opinion, and is not afraid of making himself unpopular.

The other evening at a reception at the Solfs' we met a rather interesting man, a certain Herr Hahn, whom they have just got over from England to inform them as to the state of political feeling there. From him we learnt that Sir W. Tyrrell, whose health had broken down after the loss of his son at the beginning of the war, was no longer in office, but is working behind the scenes for Sir Edward Grey, whose party, including Lord Lansdowne, Balfour, Lord Loreburn, Lord Courtney, and Noel Buxton, are working openly for peace, and doing all they can to oppose Lord Northcliffe's war policy, especially Sir W. Tyrrell.

He asserts, too, that if the nation does not support Lansdowne's policy there will be a Labour Government in England, and that in any case Lloyd George's days are numbered. He seems to think that the Labour Party will gradually gain the ascendancy in all countries through- out Europe, which may lead to civil war here as well as in England. This, I think myself, is not improbable. If the war continues much longer the people will follow Russia's example and take the matter into their own hands.

The Hohenzollerns, they say, are perfectly aware of their own uncertain position, and a remark said to have been made by the Crown Prince is being repeated everywhere : 'T'm young enough to find another job, but what will happen to the old man if we have to go?"

As concerns matters here there is a never-ending crisis in Government affairs going on. Hindenburg and Ludendorff, as well as the Crown Prince, are in Berlin, and important conferences are always taking place, the Lithuanian and PoHsh question being the most difficult to decide. Kiihlmann's position is more shaky than ever, and Hertling is reported to have been ''ill" for some days past.

They say the scene between Ludendorff and Kiihlmann the other day was indescribable. They shouted at one another so loudly that their voices were heard some three or four stories above. Ludendorff appears bent on becoming military dictator, and his opponents will be done for if that comes about.

'Talk of an angel and you will hear his wings." Ludendorff is so often in my thoughts that I was not surprised this morning at breakfast when, happening to look out of the window, I saw both him and Hindenburg pass by on their early morning stroll into the Tiergarten, as they are in the habit of doing when they are in Berlin for a few days. They were greeted with great enthusiasm by the passers-by, and a respectful crowd followed them at a short distance.

It has become almost impossible to get out of Germany now, however urgent the need may be, if one is of alien birth. Only a short time ago my friend Baroness

Sternburg*, the American wife of the former Ambassador in Constantinople, who had a passport to visit her sisterin-law in Stockholm, was at the last moment forbidden to go without being told the reason why. Imagine her position: an empty flat, no servants, and nothing to eat. The same thing happened to Frau von M., an Italian by birth, and the widow of one of the most influential bankers in Berlin. She had been advised by her doctors to visit a sanatorium in Switzerland; a passport had been granted and the day fixed for her departure, when she was suddenly informed that the permit had been cancelled. Of course there is always some woman in the background who, from petty spite, has denounced the victims as "deutschfeindlich" to the police authorities.

My other two brothers and my brother-in-law are still in the thick of the fighting, and my nephew, whom I left a boy at school, is now a cavalry officer in one of the most dangerous and exposed positions. How odd it is to see the next generation cropping up and already responsible for the life and death of so many of their fellow-creatures, whilst we passively look on, superfluous units in the great struggle of the world.

1 have received a letter from my sister. Lady Charlton, from Cape Town, dated November 28, in which she mentions a curious coincidence. The officers under her husband's command were ordered to bring in all the foreign rifles found in South Africa, and amongst others one was brought in with my husband's monogram engraved on it. It was the one which he had used out there fourteen years ago. I am glad to hear that she says he has still many friends out there.

Berlin, January 191 8 189

the trees are covered with soft gHttering layers of frozen snow. It is almost impossible to clear the tracks of the tramways, and the traffic is being obstructed all over the town. Crowds of people are waiting at every stopping-place to force an entrance into the over-filled cars; most of them, of course, have to reach their destination on foot. Berlin will soon be cut off from the rest of the world if the snow continues much longer, and the white-carpeted streets will be given over to an unknown silence and loneliness.

Yesterday was quite a great day, as the Herrenhaus met after a long pause, and Graf Hertling made his appearance for the first time as Kanzler. As he is a Bavarian and a Catholic, his debut was looked upon with very mixed feelings, as it is a long time since a Roman Catholic was Chancellor of Germany. The House was packed with members ready to tear his speech to' rags. He has a great party against him, and there are all sorts of underhand intrigues going on. His speech was rather disappointing, as people had been expecting a detailed discussion of the "peace" question and a criticism of Lloyd George's policy, but it seems at the last moment that he was obliged to change his tactics owing to new developments in the policy of the Entente.

His short simple speech met with a good deal of . malicious criticism, and we heard afterwards from Prince Miinster, who joined us with Graf Magnis in the gallery, that Prince Biilow had been loud in his disdainful comments on what Graf Hertling said.

It was very interesting tO' see all these ex-Ministers, ex-Kanzlers, and ambitious nobles who, like the robberbarons of mediaeval times, are quite ready to rebel and turn the Kaiser off the throne if he does not fall in with their wishes. Biilow and Tirpitz especially wore an expression on their faces which boded no good for Graf Hertling. But Graf Hertling is an old statesman, well versed in the devious struggles of modern politics, and will be able to hold his own, in spite of its being said that

Besides Graf Hertling, the Vice-Chancellor von Payer is also a Bavarian, and one can judge from this fact what strong motives there must be for allowing the Bavarians to take such a prominent part in the government of the Empire. It seems to be necessary, for the war has so intensified the antagonism already existing between the Bavarians and the Prussians that they say the hatred of the former for the "Sau-Preussen" (Pigs of Prussians) knows no bounds, and they allow no food to be sent to Prussia, although there is a superabundance in some parts of Bavaria.

The feeling towards the Kaiser is steadily diminishing in loyalty and respect, and the same people who greeted him so warmly a short time ago with ''Ave, Caesar!" are now distributing leaflets in the back streets of Berlin proclaiming, ''Down with the Kaiser, down with the Government," and the police, when called upon to suppress the evil-doers, refuse tO' act, and are more than suspected of being behind the movement themselves.

From Herr Hahn, whom my husband met at the Solfs' last week, he heard that he had just been to The Hague and had spoken with an English delegate who informed him that England would only agree to negotiate with Germany if she consented to withdraw from Belgium, but not otherwise. And as the military party here will in no wise consent to this, I suppose things will go on indefinitely as they are.

The Brest-Litovsk negotiations seem likely to come to nothing, as Trotsky seems to be playing a double part, and people say he is only toying with the Central Powers to be better able to sow the seeds of sedition and rebellion among the West-European peoples. They say that already the German prisoners have been set free in Russia, and that common soldiers are being placed in command over their former officers.

Berlin, January 191 8 191

There are many different opinions about Trotsky here, some calling him a dreamer and idealist, others abusing him as a bloodthirsty tyrant ; whilst there is a whole class of admirers who declare him to be the greatest man since Christ lived upon earth, and the prophet of a new religion which is to regenerate mankind and create a new paradise after the deluge of the war.

Who knows what part this man may be going to play in the future fates of Europe? Some 120 years ago people were saying almost the same things of a certain unknown little officer who out of the reign of terror and bloodshed developed into the vampire-emperor, who almost succeeded in draining the blood of all Europe.

Berlin, January 1918. - A more cheerful note in the gloom of universal antagonism is the news of the accomplished exchange of wounded officers and soldiers, and the repatriation of the interned British in Ruhleben over 45 years of age. I see that one party of men who were captured at Mons on August 24, 19 14, arrived at The Hague December 30, whilst another party of 412 men have been distributed in various camps in Switzerland. One can imagine their feelings at again being free to come and go as they like. The hideous nightmare of barbed wire fences which has so often called forth a passing form of neurasthenia amongst the prisoners is a thing of the past.

It has been a relief to us, and at the same time a cause of sadness, as our work is done. We had watched and worked for these countrymen of ours against so many odds, and as if in the dark, never having the satisfaction of knowing the result of our efforts ; and now they are leaving, and our self-formed band of helpers will automatically be dissolved. A *'left behind" feeling comes over us, the same as we used to experience when one by one the Embassies left as their various countries declared war.