One of our party was quite despondent, owing to the fact that she had entirely lost track of her aged parents, who had left Mechelen during the bombardment of that city. A day or two later, while going to church, she had the pleasure of meeting her father on the street. He and his wife had come to Antwerp a few days before. They had found it necessary to change their place of residence nine times within one month. Mingled joy and sadness was felt a day or two later, when the Rev. Mother Superior visited the Sisters at the home of Madame Broelinckx and described the condition of affairs at Willebroeck. With the Sisters whom we had left in Boom, she had gone to Aertselaar, where eight or ten of the older Sisters were staying. This town, quite a distance from the city, was considered perfectly safe. However, owing to the rapid approach of the enemy and the destruction of some of the fortresses, this place also became untenable. The City of Boom was evacuated and the bridge blown up a day or two after we left Willebroeck. Three days later all the refugees in Aertselaar were commanded to leave. This compelled the Reverend Superior to take the elder Sisters, some of them hardly able to walk on account of age and debility, to the City of Antwerp. With great difficulty she had found a rude conveyance of some kind and rode on to the “port” of the city. When they reached the large gate it was discovered that the passports were not in perfect order, consequently the Sisters were not allowed to enter. Having found a resting-place for the others, Reverend Mother entered the city. After a short conference, she rode back to the Sisters and we saw her no more. While with us she told of her narrow escape at the Convent in Willebroeck the day after the Sisters left. On September 30, having left her charges in safety in Aertselaar, she rode back again to Willebroeck, where three Sisters yet remained. The next day the cannonade was terrific. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XV. EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS OF OUR REFUGEE SISTERS. Following is an extract from a letter which came to hand on March 15, 1915, from the four Sisters who remained in the Convent throughout the bombardment, two of whom are now in charge of the Belgian refugees in Bristol, England: