and walk all day long. Miss
H---- tells me that a rude young clerk in the "Loewen-Apotheke" refused
to talk English to her this morning, "You will have to learn German
now, because we shall be in London within a fortnight," said he! No
German I have yet known foresees any other result of this war but
success. The Fatherland Commissariat, according to the Italian papers,
leaves much to be desired. The unfortunate soldiers are almost
starving, and often live for days together on raw carrots, turnips,
herbs, or any other vegetable they can root up out of the ground. The
doctors are puzzled because men have died of such seemingly slight
wounds. One case seemed so incomprehensible that an autopsy was
decided on, and a raw root with fragments of earth upon it was found
in the poor creature's stomach. The Russians left at 5 a.m. this
morning, men and women. It is more than hard that our poor men should
be left behind. Lady M----, who has been ill, and her daughter, an
invalid lady, and her maid, were given special passes to go a couple
of days ago. Miss M---- and Miss G---- went to the police station
armed with these passes, and requested to have their passports back.
"The Demon" curtly refused. "But you _must_ give them to us," said
Miss M----. "Don't say _muessen_ to me!" said "the Demon," "_bitten_
is the word!" (Don't say _must_ to me, _beg_ is the word).

_September 24th._--Joyfully packing! A last meeting was held at the
"Prince of Wales' Hotel" where kind Mr. S---- presided, and we all
received instructions for our journey, and our long detained
passports!

Fifty women and children go. We sleep in Frankfort, and cross from
Flushing to Folkestone. Oh! that terrible mined sea, and the
"untersuchung" of the Frontier. I tremble for this Diary, all letters
I have destroyed.

FRANKFORT, _September 25th._--We are still in the enemy's country of
course, but have come out of our prison Altheim. All were early at the
Bahn-Hof. There for the last time, please God! we found our old horror
the Chief of Police. He had a long paper in his hand, and read out our
names; "Hamilton?" "Here!" "Your passport?" (which he scrutinised as
if he had never seen such a thing before), and so on. As we got our
precious papers back we passed through the barrier, where our tickets
were clipped, and on to the platform above. The train when it came in
was crammed with soldiers, and we were advised to wait two hours for
the next, but (to a woman) we