THE SCHLOSS BILLET.

We had not expected much of a billet in a defeated and starving
country; that was probably why everybody was enthusiastic over it--at
first. I, as billeting officer, was especially proud of having
discovered it. The very thing for Brigade Headquarters--secluded,
dignified, commanding and spacious.

A couple of kilos from the gates through the drive brings you to
the Schloss. Entering a hall about the size of a modern theatre you
journey to the ante-room, a vast apartment, which for space compares
favourably with the Coliseum at Rome. A world-exhibition of pictures
and tapestries covers the walls of the Schloss, while an acre or two
of painted ceiling shows the chief events of German history, from the
Creation to the Franco-Prussian War.

In the Dining-room, reached by a progress over carpets and rugs
representative of all the best periods of Oriental art, it would
be fairly easy to stage a review on the table itself; while in the
Music-room a hundred or so lorries could be parked without attracting
observation too glaringly. Should the need arise, the Library could
accommodate a battalion on parade, a rifle range or sufficient
office room for Q branch of a division. A labyrinth of corridors and
servants' bedrooms harbours the rank and file, and it is said that the
number of kitchens, pantries and cellars in the north and east wings
runs into three figures.

The Divisional Commander called it "homely"; the Corps Commander
remarked that its style was "not cramped, anyhow--what?" and the Army
Commander pronounced it very "cosy."