The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1917-02-16
BRUSSELS like
TOMB AT NIGHT
curfew Rings at Eight O'clock
and City Becomes Silent
and Dark.
CHANGED BY The PRUSsANS
Gayety-Loving 5eIgians Being Pun.
ished Thus for Honoring King Al.
bert-Learning to Stay at
Home Evenings.

Berlin.-German newspapers print a
letter from Brussels, sent by German
resident of that city, which gives a
graphic picture of life there under
Prussian domination.
"If there is any man with a good
memory who can think back to 1914
before the war and remember how
things were in Brussels at that time
would beg of him to resurrect in his
mind the picture of that glorious time.
What a life that was then! From
morning until night the air was filled
with enhancing music coming from all
sides, and up and down the boulevards
paraded gaily pressed men and women,
laughing and chatting. Brussels
laughed, sang and danced in those
days.
Is Different Now.
'What a difference now! A few days
ago in honor of King Albert some too
jealous patriots held a religious serv-
ice and made use of the occasion to dis
tribute manifestos not only in the
church, but also in the streets. At the
same time they insulted some German
soldiers. The result was that the gov
ernor of Brussels placed fine of mil
lion marks on the city and issued an
order that all cafes and concert halls
must be closed at eight o'clock in the
evening and that the merry Belgians
must go to bed at half-past eight. This
is hard blow to citizens who so much
enjoy night life.
"After eight o'clock at night Brus-
sells is as silent and as dark as tomb.
The only sound heard is the heavy
tread of the Prussian soldiers on pa
troll duty. A few German restaurants
have permission to remain open until
midnight, and for the benefit of their
patrons, the main street car line can
run car once an hour.
"While many look upon this as a
Joke, it has its tragic side, for thou
sands who made their living at night
working in the various places of amuse-
ment are now without position. How
ever, citizens of Brussels are resource
full, and instead of enjoying themselves
In the evening they now do their own
singing, drinking and dancing in the
afternoon. The theaters all have matt.
nee performances and the cafes and
dance halls do big business in the aft
ernoon. The closing down of all these
resorts after eight o'clock in the eve
ming has no doubt had its good effect in
the family circle, for many good wife
now has the pleasure of having her
husband home with her in the evening
something that never happened be-
fore. The order also has stimulated
reading of good literature and the vari-
GUS libraries have never had so many
calls for books.
City Like Tomb.
''But, joking aside, Brussels is like a
tomb. Save for the rumble Of distant
guns on the Somme, walk through the
streets after dark is like walking in a
cemetery. Only German can be out
after eight o'clock, and even he must
be ready to give a good account of HIM
self. Occasionally the rumble Of sup
ply and ammunition wagons going to
the front is heard in the streets, and
they look like specters as they disap-
pear in the fog of the night. A few
nights ago a Zeppelin passed over the
city, and her propellers made such
noise that they awoke nearly the whole
city. Almost every window in the city
was opened and faces were seen peer
ing out into the darkness, but the Yep
pelin quickly disappeared. Then the
city went to sleep again"