from the Burgomaster of Antwerp to his fellow-citizens, and ended thus:
"Courage, fellow-citizens, in a fortnight our country will be delivered
from the enemy."

We were all absurdly cheered by this message, and felt that it was only
a matter of a short time now before the Germans were driven out of
Belgium. We had had no news for so long that we thought probably the
Antwerp Burgomaster had information of which we knew nothing, and I was
looking forward to hearing some good news when I got to Brussels.

I found Brussels very much changed since I had left it some weeks
before. Then it was in a fever of excitement, now it was in the chill of
dark despair. German rule was firmly established, and was growing daily
more harsh and humiliating for its citizens. Everything was done to
Germanize the city, military automobiles were always dashing through,
their hooters playing the notes of the Emperor's salute, Belgian
automobiles that had been requisitioned whirred up and down the streets
filled with German officers' wives and children, German time was kept,
German money was current coin, and every café and confectioner's shop
was always crowded with German soldiers. Every day something new was
forbidden. Now it was taking photographs--the next day no cyclist was
allowed to ride, and any cyclist in civil dress might be shot at sight,
and so on. The people were only _just_ kept in hand by their splendid
Burgomaster, M. Max, but more than once it was just touch and go whether
he would be able to restrain them any longer.

What made the people almost more angry than anything else was the loss
of their pigeons, as many of the Belgians are great pigeon fanciers and
have very valuable birds. Another critical moment was when they were
ordered to take down all the Belgian flags. Up to that time the Belgian