Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 53]
there or see the Consul. We decided to see the Consul. As soon as the officer examining the little German's loads heard me say we were Britishers, he came across, shook hands, and said, "Help yourselves to some of this chocolate." "It has been paid for and with German money so don't be bashful." So we took a good bit, but not enough to his satisfaction, he insisted on us filling our pockets. I had quite a long chat with him in the course of which I learnt that 120,000 Germans of both sexes and all ages, had crossed into Holland and taken up their abode there, working for a living. He seemed doubtful whether they had come to better their conditions, or to spread German propaganda and at the same time to be there to carry on should his country be forced into the war. The latter solution seemed to me to be very probable. Having no passports through Holland, we were told we would have togo to a quarantine station for three weeks before getting them, as we might have brought some infectious diseases with us, resulting from privations endured. As there were no trains that day, we were taken to the detention room, the same sort of room I had been in three months previously just three miles distant, and a mile across the border in Germany. Here we found similar conditions, a large room, full of people, of all sorts, sizes and ages. As the evening advanced, we were all taken into a large dining hall, and given a hot drink of pure coffee and a bowl of soup. The soup was infinitely better than that of our previous experience, and very nourishing. This finished, we were again ushered into the large room, where the others were content to sit in their chairs or lounge over the table, but my mate and I, using our coats as pillows, stretched ourselves out on the floor, and slept the sleep of the contented, dreaming of "Blighty" and the good times we intended to have there. It was in very truth for us, "The end of a perfect day" yes and the "End of a journey," too, and a long one at that. We slept soundly until 11 p.m. when a large organ struck up with popular airs, causing those of dancing proclivities to select partners, clear the floor and make themselves as gay as possible. The music although of the travelling circus variety, was good to hear and to see the unrestrained manner in which the people made merry led us to hope for a good time while in Holland. Amongst those in the room were Germans, men and women, who had come across the border to procure a better and more humane living. Some of these I spoke to. They gave me to understand that they were tremendously pleased at their success in crossing the line. They also complemented my mate and me myself on our success, saying, "That we would now have no more hard times, and that although their papers had told them that England was also blockaded, they did not think it true," so enlightened were they by their escape.
Chapter XV
'Incidents in Holland."
The first thing of importance noticeable was the great contrast in the appearance of shop windows. Here, they seemed to be filled to overflowing with daintily prepared and assorted sweets, and small goods of every description then the deportment of the people in general