seem aware of it. The little high-bred
English nun who conducted us talked politely and placidly of England and
of English things as of things remembered with a certain mortal
affection but left behind without regret. It was as if she contemplated
the eternal continuance of the Convent at Ecloo with no break in its
divine tranquillity. One sister went so far as to express the hope that
their Convent would be spared. It was as if she were uttering some
merely perfunctory piety. The rest, without ceasing from their
ministrations, looked up at us and smiled.

* * * * *

On the way up to Bruges we passed whole regiments of the Belgian Army in
retreat. They trooped along in straggling disorder, their rifles at
trail; behind them the standard-bearers trudged, carrying the standard
furled and covered with black. The speed of our cars as we overtook them
was more insufferable than ever.

[_Bruges._]

We thought that the Belgian Army would be quartered in Bruges, and that
we should find a hospital there and serve the Army from that base.

We took our wounded to the Convent, and set out to find quarters for
ourselves in the town. We had orders to meet at the Convent again at a
certain hour.

Most of the Corps were being put up at the Convent. The rest of us had
to look for rooms.

In the search I got separated from the Corps, and wandered about the
streets of Bruges with much interest and a sense of great intimacy and
leisure. By the time I had found a _pension_ in a narrow street behind
the market-place, I felt it to be quite certain that we should stay in
Bruges at least as long as we had stayed in Ghent, and what moments I
could spare from the obsession of Ghent I spent in contemplating the
Belfry. Very soon it was time to go back to the Convent. The way to the
Convent was through many tortuous streets, but I was going in the right
direction, accompanied by a kind Flamand and her husband, when at the
turn by the canal bridge I was nearly run over by one of our own
ambulance cars. It was Bert's car, and he was driving with fury and
perturbation away from the Convent and towards the town. Janet McNeil
was with him. They stopped to tell me that we had orders to clear out of
Bruges. The Germans had taken Ghent and were coming on to Bruges. We had
orders to go on to Ostend.

We found the rest of the cars drawn up in a street near the Convent. We
had not been two hours in Bruges, and we lef