, regardless of whether it was a suitable
present or not. Pigs in this country are cooked when they are quite
tiny, and a leg is only sufficient for one person's meal. Lambs are
also killed and cooked about the same age, and it is really difficult
to find any meat on the bones after they are roasted. The Serbs do not
consider meat good when it is fully grown, excepting oxen, and beef in
Serbia is one of the worst classes of meat, probably on account of
their being used for labour. Milk is scarce owing to the cows being
used for transport.

They have an extraordinary one-stringed instrument which they will
play for the whole of the day; crowds of people will sit round
listening; this was most trying when the patients got hold of it in
the wards, very monotonous and trying, and some of the singing is also
very weird, being only on one or two notes, but on the whole they are
the most musical people. In the cathedrals the singing is perfectly
lovely, such well trained voices.

We hear that the Germans started shelling Belgrade at 3 a.m.; it
lasted for many hours. We had a thick fog at night, which reminded one
of London, being equally dense but not so yellow.

Thursday, _October 7, 1915._

Still a thick fog, and we hear that Belgrade is still being bombarded.
The English and French troops have been expected for some time to help
the poor Serbs, and we are told that Nish and many other towns are
decorated in their honour.

I understand that the bombardment of Belgrade has not been quite so
severe to-day, but all English missions have been told to leave. The
Germans have landed in three places. They crossed the Save in boats
and by pontoon bridges; there were about 3,000 of them. It was a misty
night, and they thought they would not be noticed. The Serbs allowed
them to cross, and then took 2,000 prisoners. The pontoon bridges and
boats were sunk; then they had a hand-to-hand fight in the streets,
knives being principally used, and we heard that even the women joined
in. Many bodies were floating in the Danube and the Save; we heard
that two of our Marines were killed and several wounded.

This afternoon we went over the wounded Allies' hospital at
Kragujevatz with one of the sisters. In one ward there was a brigand
who was wounded; he had told the nurses that that was his profession.
We also saw an Austrian who was an artist, and he had obtained in the
hospital several orders for