and Colonel Fairholme, and got my first real news since the Prussian
headquarters stopped issuing bulletins of German victories. Sir Francis
showed me the telegrams he had received about the German check and
retreat in France; and Prince Koudacheff, the Russian Minister, who
joined us for coffee, vied with him by showing me his telegrams about
the Russian advance in Eastern Prussia and in Austria.

After luncheon, I had some pow-wows on the subject that had brought me,
and went to see various people for whom I had messages. They are a lot
more cheerful than the last time I was in Antwerp, and are ready for
anything.

From the Foreign Office, I went to the Consulate General, where I found
a mountain of letters and telegrams. Got off my cables, and answered as
much of the other correspondence as was absolutely necessary--no more.

On my way back to the hotel, I ran into General Jungbluth coming out of
the Palace, and was promptly hauled inside for gossip.

The Queen, who has very properly come back from England, walked in on us
and stopped to hear the news from Brussels.

I got back to the hotel, and found all the colleagues waiting for me to
hear the latest news from Brussels. I played my part, and was nearly
torn to pieces in their eagerness for news from the town where there is
none. They were all there except the Papal Nuncio, who is most unhappy
in the midst of war's alarms and hardly budges from the episcopal
palace.

After dinner I was again asked to go to the Grand Hotel to see the Prime
Minister. He had nothing startling to say, but was anxious to know what
was going on in Brussels. He showed me his telegrams from France,
England and Russia, and his maps with the recent movements worked out
with little flags.

Monsieur de Brocqueville told me an interesting incident that had taken
place at Ghent. It seems that when the Germans arrived there, they sent
in an officer and several soldiers to arrange for requisitions, etc., a
promise having been given that they would not be molested. Of course,
the whole town was on the _qui vive_ and everybody had been warned to
refrain from incurring their displeasure. Just as the German motor
passed in front of our Consulate, a Belgian armoured car came charging
in from Antwerp, knowing nothing of the presence of the Germans, and
upon seeing the enemy uniform, opened fire, wounding the officer and one
of the men.

That was enough to start things, and the town would probab