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THE EMPEROR WILLIAM 45
The natives of Luxemburg regard us with indifference. The
greetings and friendly wavings of handkerchiefs are a thing
of the past, here no one greets and no one betrays his thoughts,
which is as well perhaps, as they cannot be particularly
friendly. The apple trees are succeeded by an avenue of
chestnut, ash and plane trees. The bedrock consists of the
same variety of limestone of which the houses in the villages
are usually built.
At length our road winds down into a pleasant valley, and
at its bottom lies a part of the pretty and trim little town of
Luxemburg, where the equally pretty and trim Grand Duchess
has her residence. But the more fashionable part of the town
lies on the height above the valley, reached by a very steep
street presenting somewhat peculiar views, as, for instance,
when one suddenly finds oneself on a level with a church spire.
Now we begin to look about. Yes, it is obvious that the
Main Headquarters are still at Luxemburg. Sentries at the
entrances to all hotels, soldiers everywhere, officers rushing
past in motor-cars. In a market-place large tents have been
put up for horses, and round them walk the sentries smoking
their pipes ; in another open space there are rows of motor-
cars laden with petrol and oil in cylinders.
We must observe becoming military precision in our search
and consequently make at once for the house where the great
General Staff has taken up its quarters, and which in ordinary
times is a Luxemburg school. Von Krum gets down and
soon returns with the intimation that we must report our-
selves to a Lieutenant-Colonel Hahnke. He sent us off to the
Chief of the General Staff, His Excellency von Moltke, who
with his charming Swedish Countess has just sat down to
dinner at the Kölnischer Hof, where they reside. The Countess
was on a short visit to Luxemburg in the service of the Red
Cross. Here I felt almost as if I were at home, for I had many
times been a guest in their hospitable home in Berlin. As
calm as if he had been on manoeuvres, the Chief lit his cigar
and made detailed enquiries about my plans and wishes.
I said I wanted to go to the front and see as much as I might
be allowed to, mentioning that it was my intention subse-
quently to describe what I had seen of the war with my own
eyes. If possible I wanted to get an impression of a modem
battle, and hoped also to get an opportunity of visiting the
occupied parts of Belgium.
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