“Sometimes when a town has been bombarded the Germans have withdrawn and the civilians have returned to their homes, only to flee again at the renewed attack.  A case in point is Malines, which, on Sunday last, as I was about to try to reach it, was again bombarded.  The inhabitants were then unable to leave, as the town was surrounded, but when the bombardment ceased there was a great exodus.

“The whole life of the nation has been arrested.  Food supplies which would ordinarily reach the civilian population are being taken by the German troops for their own support.  The peasants and poor are without the necessities of life, and conditions of starvation grow more acute every day.  Even where there is a supply of wheat available the peasants are not allowed to use their windmills, owing to the German fear that they will send signals to the Belgian Army.

“We are, therefore, face to face with a fact which has rarely, if ever, occurred in the history of the world—­an entire nation is in a state of famine, and that within half a day’s journey of our own shores.

“The completeness of the destruction in each individual case was explained to me later by the Belgian Ministers, who described numerous appliances which the German soldiers carried for destroying property.  Not only were hand bombs of various sizes and descriptions carried, but each soldier was supplied with a quantity of small black disks a little bigger than a sixpenny piece.  I saw some of these disks which had been taken from German soldiers on the field of battle.  These were described to me as composed of compressed benzine.  When lighted they burned brilliantly for a few minutes, and are sufficient to start whatever fire is necessary after the explosion of a bomb.

“To the conditions of famine and homelessness which exist on such a stupendous scale there must be added one which is bad—­the mental panic in which many survivors remain.  I understood how inevitable this was when I saw and heard what they passed through; eyewitnesses of unimpeachable character described the sufferings of women and children at Liege.  As they fled from their burning houses, clinging to their husbands and fathers, they were violently pulled from them and saw them shot a few yards from them.

“I should supplement what I have said regarding the condition of Belgium with some reference to Antwerp itself, where the excited Government now sits.  It is a wonderful contrast to the rest of the country, and the first impression of the visitor is that there is little change between its life now and in the days of peace.  I approached it by water, and in the early morning it rose before me like a fairy city.  Its skyline was beautifully broken by the spires and towers of its churches, including the incomparable Gothic Cathedral.

“When I entered its shops were open, its streets crowded, and everywhere there was eager activity.  By midday the streets became congested.  Early editions of the papers were eagerly bought and great crowds assembled wherever a telegram giving news could be read.  This continued until early evening, but by 8 o’clock a most extraordinary change had fallen upon the city.