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[Page 4]
4. was already going the rounds. He was a little German Major with more pomp than Napoleon. One of our chaps lost his boots during the night and reported the loss to him; he ordered him to "search" and "look" and "see," and accompanied his order with gestures which were very amusing to us; we received some boiled maize meal at noon, and were then marched up on the parade ground to be detailed for duty. The Commandant then took our different occupations and told us that we would start work on the morrow.
It was very amusing to hear him ask our chaps what their trades were in his pidgin English. He went to one chap and said "Vat are you?" and on being told that he was an ironmoulder he said "Vat is dat?" On the man repeating his occupation, a smile spread over the Commandant's face and he exclaimed "Ach; you are eisengieser." After this amusing episode he sent us back to our house. This house had once been used as a Roman Catholic Convent, but the nuns had fled in terror since the war, and the only occupants when we arrived were three priests of the Franciscan order; one of them, whose name was Father Peter, became a very good and useful friend to us: he was an Austrian and could speak only a little English, and in return for our teaching him our language correctly he used to convey the way we were being treated to the Dutch Minister at Constantinople. Through him we were able to get a letter to the Dutch Embassy at least once a week, and by this means we were able to suggest methods of sending food, money, and parcels to prisoners in other parts of Turkey. He was a good sort-Father Peter- and we gave him the name of "Father Brickdust" on account of his ruddy complexion and sandy colored hair.
The next morning we were given some salt water with a handful of maize meal thrown in for breakfast, and on making a complaint to the Commandant he said "I do not love you, because your big mouths did cause the war." After breakfast we were marched through the little village up on