The coat of arms at the top is the Bulgarian Royal Arms of King Ferdinand. It is embossed in the original in black, red, and gold. One of the chains round the crest is probably that of the Golden Fleece. [Illustration: NISCH, DEN 18. JANUAR 1916. KÖNIGLICHE MITTAGSTAFEL. Hühner-Kraftbrühe Forellen vom Ochrida See Lamms-Pilaw Rehrücken nach Cumberland Gansleberpastete Varnaer Fenchel und Endiven Bulgarisches Gefrorenes Käsestangen Nachtisch MENU AT THE NISH BANQUET] The dishes are as follow: Chicken broth. Trout from Lake Ochrida (west of Monastir). Pilaff of lamb. (Pilaff is a Balkan stew, with rice.) Venison à la Cumberland. (The Duke now with the enemy.) Pâté de foie gras. Fennel from Varna (Bulgaria) and endive. (Fennel is a reedy vegetable used in salad or cooked with butter.) Bulgarian ice. Cheese straws. Dessert. As might be expected from the German military authorities, their arrangements for the Press were excellent. Our seats were close to the Royal party, and we had no difficulty in hearing the speeches. The Nish banquet was of the usual Royal stiffness. I should probably have remarked many more things, but for my excitement and nervousness. The Kaiser sat on King Ferdinand’s right, and on King Ferdinand’s left sat General von Falkenhayn, the chief of the German General Staff, whilst M. Radoslavoff, the Bulgarian premier, was placed on the right of the Kaiser. Interested as I was in the Kaiser, I was hardly less interested in the personality of von Falkenhayn, who is the brain of the great German War Machine. Although a man well into the fifties, he looks as if he had not yet crossed the half-century mark. It would be difficult to find a man with more refined and good-looking features. There is nothing markedly German about him, except perhaps his thoroughness, and I obtained the impression that the Germans have in him a war director of remarkable ability. He is trim and alert of movement, has close-cropped grey hair, and seems the personification of vigour, virility, and vivacity. He appears to be bearing the strain of war and its tremendous responsibilities in a remarkable manner. Seldom have I met a man who has struck me as being so well-fitted for the work before him as von Falkenhayn. Whenever I looked across at him as he sat chatting quite freely with the Kaiser and Ferdinand, I had the impression that here was a man with far-reaching vision and great executive power.