s were streaming
into Brussels--young and old, rich and poor, priest and layman. Nearly
all bore some burden of household treasure, many some pathetically
absurd family heirloom. Every kind of vehicle appeared to have been
called into use, from smart carriages drawn by heavy Flemish horses to
little carts harnessed to dogs. Over all reigned a stupefied silence,
broken only by shuffling footfalls. Among them the absence of
automobiles and light horses would indicate all such had been
commandeered by the Belgian military authorities. Their cavalry was
badly in need of good light-weight mounts. At crossroads passage to
imagined safety was blocked by farm live stock driven by bewildered
peasants.

On Thursday morning, August 20, 1914, the burgomaster motored forth to
meet the Germans. His reception and the terms dictated by General von
Arnim were almost identically the same as at Louvain. The burgomaster
was perforce compelled to accept. The scene of the entry of the German
troops into Louvain was repeated at Brussels. There was the same
stolidly silent-packed gathering of onlookers on the sidewalks, the same
thundering triumphant march of the German host. Corps after corps,
probably of those who had fought at Liege, and subsequently passed
around the city on the grand sweep toward the French frontier. Moreover,
huge bodies of German troops were advancing up the valley of the Meuse
and through the woods of the Ardennes. As in Louvain, that night the
hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops of Brussels were patronized by a
rush of trade which never before totaled such extent in a single day.
Bills of purchase were settled by the Germans in cash. The city was
promptly assessed a war indemnity of $40,000,000.

With the fall of Brussels, the first objective of the Germans may be
said to have been gained. But the right wing of Von Kluck's army was
still operating northward upon Antwerp. The Belgian army had escaped him
within the circle of Antwerp's forts, so that he detailed a force deemed
to be sufficient to hold the enemy secure. Then he struck eastward
between Antwerp and Brussels at Alost, Ghent, and Bruges. In his advance
he swept several divisions of cavalry, also motor cars bearing machine
guns. Beyond Bruges his patrol caught their first glimpse of the North
Sea, drawing in toward another much-hoped-for goal on the English
Channel.

But the Belgian army within security of Antwerp had not been routed. It
had retreated i