Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons | Page 7

belongings of tired and
exhausted foreigners as legitimate loot to those who were prepared to
take it. Outside the station the heavier baggage was stacked in
barricades in a wildly haphazard manner with the heavier articles at the
top. These, crushing the lighter and more fragile packages beneath,
spread the contents of the latter in the roadway to serve as sport for
gamins and other loungers who prowled around.
The utter chaos was aggravated by the rain which pelted down with
torrential fury. Mothers with their little children drew closely into
corners or sat upon doorsteps seeking the slightest shelter. As I turned
out of the station my attention was attracted by a woman--she had come
up on our train--who was sitting on the kerb, her feet in the gutter, the
rushing water coursing over her ankles, feeding her child at the breast,
and vainly striving to shelter the little mite from the elements. The
woman was crying bitterly. I went up to her. She spoke English
perfectly. She was Russian and had set out from England to meet her
husband at Kalish. But she could not get through, she had very little
money, could not speak German, and knew not what to do, or what
would become of her. I soothed her as well as I could. There were
hundreds of similar cases around. Notwithstanding their terrible plight
not a hand was moved by the authorities on their behalf. They were
even spurned and roughly moved out of the way by the swaggering

officials. It was not until the British colony got busy the next day that
they received the slightest alleviation, and the majority, being strangers
in a strange land, were sent back to England, the Germans mutely
concurring in the task. The wild rush from the Continent may have
precipitated congestion at our ports and railway stations, but there
never could have been that absolute chaos which reigned at Berlin on
the fateful night of the 2nd of August. Humanity was thrown to the four
winds. The much-vaunted Teuton organisation, system, and scientific
control had broken down completely under the first test to which it was
subjected.
The terrific downpour caused me to decide to spend a few hours in the
comfort of an hotel. I hailed a taxi and jumped in. The car was just
moving when the door was flung open, I was grabbed by the coat-collar
and the next moment found myself skating across the roadway on my
back. I jumped up, somewhat ruffled at this rude handling, to learn that
it was an officer who had treated me so unceremoniously. I had no
redress. Berlin was under martial law. The uniform of the military came
before the mufti of the civilian.
Unable to find another vehicle I turned into the first place I found open.
It was an all-night café. It was packed to suffocation with German
soldiers and the feminine underworld of Berlin. There was a glorious
orgy of drunkenness, nauseating and debasing amusement, and the
incoherent singing of patriotic songs. The other sex appeared to have
thrown all discretion and womanliness to the winds. A soldier too
drunk to stand was assisted to a chair which he mounted with difficulty.
Here he was supported on either side by two flushed,
hilariously-shouting, partially-dressed harpies. He drew off his belt--his
helmet had already gone somewhere--and pointing to the badge he
shouted thickly and coarsely, "Deutschland, Deutschland, Gott mit
uns"--(Germany, Germany, God is with us). Metaphorically he was
correct, because the words are printed upon the belt of every German
soldier, but if the Almighty was with that drunken, debased crowd that
night, then Old Nick must have been wearing out his shoes looking for
a job.

When the crowd caught sight of me, which was some time after my
entrance because I had dropped unseen into a convenient corner, they
rushed forward and urged me to participate in their revels. I declined.
They had been hurling distinctly uncomplimentary and obscene
epithets concerning Britain through the room. My decision was
construed into an affront to the All-Highest. A big, burly, drunken
soldier wanted to fight me. The crowd pressed round keenly
anticipating some fun. We indulged in a spirited altercation, but as
neither understood what the other said, words did not lead to blows.
However, the upshot was the intimation that my room was preferred to
my company. This was received with enthusiasm, the result being that I
made the sudden acquaintance of the pavement outside once more,
being assisted in my hurried departure by fisticuffs and heavy boots.
I picked myself up and walked until I caught sight of an hotel. I entered,
booked a room, and indulged in an elaborate wash and brush-up of
which I was sorely in need, following this with a