weep and wail in a way that bade fair to set
off the entire crowd. One of the officers came out to where I was and
begged me to come in and try my hand at quieting them. I climbed up on a
trunk and delivered an eloquent address to the effect that nobody had
any designs on them; that the whole interest of the Belgian Government
lay in getting them safely across the frontier; called their attention
to the way the Garde Civique was working to make them comfortable, and
to reassure them, promised that I would go with them to the station, put
them on their trains, and see them safely off for the frontier. That
particular crowd cheered up somewhat, but I could not get near enough to
be heard by the entire outfit at one time, so one of the officers
dragged me around from one part of the building to another until I had
harangued the entire crowd on the instalment plan. They all knew that we
were charged with their interests, and there was nearly a riot when I
wanted to leave. They expected me to stay right there until they were
taken away.

I came back to the Legation and told my people that the way was clear
and that they had nothing to worry about. Mrs. Whitlock and Miss Larner
had taken the family in hand, were petting the baby boy, and had them
all cheered up to a sensible state of mind. I got them into the motor
and whisked them down to the lines that were drawn about the block. Here
we were stopped and, sooner than undertake a joint debate with the
sentry, I was for descending and going the rest of the way on foot. When
a few of the idly curious gathered about the car, the woman nearly had
a fit and scrambled back into the car almost in spasms. Of course the
scene drew some more people and we soon had a considerable crowd. I
gathered up the boy--who was a beauty and not at all afraid--and took
him out of the car. There was in the front rank an enormous Belgian with
a fiercely bristling beard. He looked like a sane sort, so I said to
him: "_Expliquez a ces gens que vous n'etes pas des ogres pour croquer
les enfants._" He growled out affably: "_Mais non, on ne mange pas les
enfants, ni leurs meres,_" and gathered up the baby and passed him about
for the others to look at. My passengers then decided that they were not
in such mortal danger and consented to get out. An officer I knew came
along and offered to escort them inside. On the way in I ran into Madame
Carton de Wiart, wife of the Minister of Justice, who was there to