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uniform to go to these kitchens!!! So he was sent and I was rather glad as it gave me more opportunity of talking to the Belgian Manager of the Depôt. This was the only real and open conversation I had with a Belgian during my ten day’s stay and though short, in French, and amongst a crowd of people and I had to stand which always makes me empty-headed yet I managed to learn a good deal. I have described in my article the general aspect of the queues – the people neat and trim (not ragged) quiet and orderly and subdued – but with worn faces and blue shades under their eyes – hungry looking and fragile, not ill like the Boer women – but getting ill. I asked him at once if there was any general enfeeblement of the people or increased mortality noticeable, and he told me of the serious outbreak of tuberculosis affecting largely the glands of the neck and filling the hospitals with patients, particularly adolescents, who stood in need of extra foods, very costly in these days. This disease was rapidly on the increase. The people received daily bread and soup and on stated days other things such as coffee, lard, sugar, rice, beans and a little money according to the numbers in the family.
    The food looked good – but not sufficient. This Belgian Manager looked very good-humoured and smiling and willingly told me all I wished. Afterwards when I told my Baron about this tuberculosis he seemed seriously disturbed and even annoyed and it was plain that I was not being allowed to know the truth. We lingered by the fish market where the people were buying mussels, much loved of Belgians. We bowed off the dull Herr Xxx and tried to find Capt. Bruhn to ask him details on this point – but he was not in. The Baron urged me to do some sight seeing but I was loath.
    After lunch and rest he came to take me to the lower part of the town to see the factory for women and girls, set going by the Germans, partly no doubt to provide them with work and partly to get all kind of bags and sacks made. It has been said to me that these sacks were for use in the trenches but I can only record that I did not see any of that kind in the Factory nor amongst the great rolls of material anything suitable. 750 women and girls were at work and a more cheerful set I have rarely seen. Many were of a type far above that class of work. They worked great sewing machines propelled by electricity. They were paid three francs for a day and their dinner and a cup of tea or cocoa (I think). Some in higher positions got up to five francs a day. The material and machines were supplied by Germany. A German matron superintended the adjacent kitchen and the distribution of food, and a German Red Cross Nurse had a wee dispensary where she tended cuts, bruises and other ills, a singularly pleasant woman taking real deep interest in the characters of the young women in her care. There wasalso a crêche where married women brought infants, and I saw fifty babies there and two large airy rooms with baths and cots and every nursery necessity and nurses.
    I did not take to the woman in charge of the Kitchen (a handsome and well educated person). She was inquisitive too and curious as to who I could be.
    Coming back from this interesting experiment I got out near the station to buy white paper for packing not having dared bring a morsel with me. The Baron did not like my doing even this bit of shopping – but I did it.
    Thursday, June 15th I was set on going to Dinant but the weather was really terrific, the worst day we had had. My lumbago threatened, I was sick with cold and feared to be laid up in bed. I dared not run that risk. We decided not to go, but later when the clouds lifted he took me out and I insisted on being taken to a shop to get a warm long sleeve vest. With difficulty I found something – evidently the choice of warm woolens was not large and as soon as I got home and put it on I felt my pains relieved.
    Then we found