mosphere charged with electricity. At dinner Mr. Gear came up to our
table. "You had better get out of this as soon as you can," he said.
"There is going to be trouble at once."

Sunday morning Kitty was awakened very early by a stormy altercation
in the room next to hers. She knocked on the wall, but no notice was
taken of her remonstrance. After we had had breakfast, Lyra went
downstairs and chartered an auto for 750 marks. The owner would not
promise to take us farther than Hannover, owing to the difficulty of
procuring petrol, and moreover both car and chauffeur were required in
a couple of days for military duty. We consulted a large map, and
decided to motor _via_ Hannover to Osnabrueck, and then go on to the
frontier, wherever that might be.

When I had finished packing I rang for the porter to strap my trunk,
but he did not come. I continued ringing with much vigour, and finally
the nice little housemaid appeared on the scene and a flood of
volubility broke over me. The porter was busy. He could not come. All
Russians in the hotel were being arrested as criminals, for Russians
had fired on a frontier town and war was declared. The hotel had been
full of detectives for several days, and one "criminal" had had the
room next to our suite. This piece of information explained the noise
in No. 140. The occupant had evidently rebelled at being arrested so
early in the morning! When I passed his room his captors were waiting
for him, and he was calmly finishing off his toilette. The big lounge
of the hotel was like a hive of swarming bees, and poor Mr. Louis
Adlon looked simply worn out with worry; but he was so kind and
courteous! I shall never forget all the trouble he took for us.

We got off at about 12.30 in a magnificent Benz, driven by one of the
best-looking boys imaginable. The hand luggage was piled inside the
car, so I sat outside. It was a lovely morning, and we all felt duly
thrilled over our dramatic departure. The crowds were dense, and cars
stacked with luggage like ours were shooting off in every direction.
As on the previous day, the very air seemed charged with electricity,
but when we were once in the country, all seemed peaceful and calm,
and one asked one's self: "Why are we flying like this? What possible
danger can there be?"

There were just a few indications of the times--a troop of Lancers
clattered past us, and a body of Uhlans leading peasants' horses with
their labels attached. At Wanns