The sergeant was not the only one looking into space now. The
Staff Officer relieved the situation by dismissing him from the
room, whereupon the Commandant sharply bade the orderly conduct me
to my night lodgings.

"No Iron Cross for the little sergeant," I reflected, as we
stumbled through the cooked old streets in the dark. Is it any
wonder that the German Government insists that neutral
correspondents be chaperoned by someone who can skilfully show them
what is proper for them to see, and let them hear that which is
proper for them to hear?

Everywhere in rooms lighted by oil lamps soldiers sat talking,
drinking and playing cards. They were under every roof, and were
also bivouacked on the flats along the river. In all three inns
there was not even floor space available. The little brick town
hall, too, was crowded with soldiers.

At the pontoon bridge we were sharply challenged by a sentry. The
orderly answered and we passed on to a crowded beer hall above
which I was fortunate to secure a room. By the flickering light of
a candle I was conducted to a dusty attic furnished with
ferruginous junk in one corner and a dilapidated bed in another.
No such luxuries as bed clothing, of course; only a red mattress
which had not been benefited in the least by Russian bayonet
thrusts and sabre slashes in the quest of concealed treasure. I
could not wash unless I would go down to the river, for with the
blowing up of the bridges the water mains had also been destroyed.
The excellent organisation of the Germans was in evidence, however,
for during my stay I witnessed their prompt and efficient measures