Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-21

when my compan-
ION nnally escorted me into the viii
lage, but he aroused some people
he knew from their beds and they
dressed and came down to feed
me.
The family consisted of an old
lady and her husband and a son,
who was a soldier in the Dutch
Army. The cold shivers ran down
my back while he sat beside me be-
cause every now and again l caught
a glimpse of his gray uniform and
1t resembled very much that of the
| German soldier.
Some of the neighbors. aroused by
the commotion, got up to see what
1t was all about, and came in and
watched while | ate the meal those
good Dutch people prepared for me-
| Ordinarily l supposed l would have
| been embarrassed with so many
people staring at me while l ate as
though | were some strange animal
that had just been captured, but
just then 1 was too famished to no.
tice or care very much what other
people did.
There will always be warm place
| in my heart for the Dutch people.
1 had heard lots of persons say
refugees, but my experience did not
bear these reports out. They GER
tainly did much more for me than
| ever expected.
| had little German money left,
but as the value of German money
is only about half in Holland l
didn't have enough to pay the fare
to Rotterdam, which was my next
objective. 1t was due to the gen.
erosity of these people that l was
able to reach the British Consul as
quickly as 1 did. Some day | hope
to return to Holland and repay ev-
cry single soul who played the part
| of the Good Samaritan to me.
With the money that these peo-
pie gave me l was able to get
third-class ticket to Rotterdam, and
| was glad that didn't have enough
to travel first-class, for | would have
looked as much out of place in a first
class carriage as a Hun would an
pear in heaven.
That night / slept in the house of
my Dutch friends, where they fixed
me up most comfortably. In the
morning they gave me breakfast and
then escorted me to the station
Cheered as He Boards Train
While l was waiting on the station
a crowd gathered round me and soon
il seemed as if the whole town had
turned out to get look at me. 1t
was very embarrassing, particularly
as | could give them no information
regarding the cause of my condition,
although, of course, they all knew
that l was a refugee from Belgium.
AS the train pulled out of the sta
ton, the crowd gave a loud cheer
and the tears almost came to my
4,F.Nc
conduct of this crowd and the one
that had gathered at the station in
Ghent when | departed a prisoner
en- route for the reprisal camp.
breathed n sigh of relief as l
thought of that reprisal camp and
how fortunate l had really been, de-
spite all my suffering, to have escap-
ed it. Now. at any rate, I was free
man and L would soon be sending
home the joyful news that l had
made good my escape.
At Einhoffen two Dutch officers
got into the compartment with me.
They looked at me with very much
disfavor, not knowing, of course,
that / was a British officer. My
clothes were still very much in the
condition they were when 1 crossed
the border, although 1 had been able
collected the night before. I had not
shaved nor trimmed my beard foI
many days, and l must have pre-
sented a sorry appearance. l could
hardly blame them for edging away
from me.
The trip from Einhoffen to Rot
terdam passed without special incl
dent. At various stations passen-
gers would get in the compartment
and, observing my unusual appear
ance. would endeavor to start a con-
versa ton. None of them spoke Eng
glish, however, and they had to use
their imagination as to my identity.
When l arrived at Rotterdam l
asked a policeman who stood in
front of the station where / could
find the British Consul, but I could
not make him understand. l next
applied to taxicab driver.
English Consul-British Consul
American Consul-French Con-
sul!" l said, hoping that If he didn't
understand one he might recognize
another.
He eyed me with suspicion and
motioned me to get in and drove off.
| had no idea where he was taking
me. but after a quarter of an hours
ride he brought up in front of the
British Consulate. Never before