These activities, together with the daily office routine, occupied much of our time, so that little was left for other social distractions, which had diminished proportionately. Small dinners, teas, soirées and bridge, with an occasional amateur dramatic performance for some war need or other, filled to overflowing the remainder. One eventful evening, however, I cannot pass without mention—that of the arrival of General Leman, the heroic defender of Liége, who, it will be remembered, when unable to offer further resistance to the Germans, had had the fortress mined, and ordered it to be blown up, himself remaining in it, preferring death to surrender. That he was still alive when rescued from the debris is one of the marvels of the war. What the Allies owe General Leman for that heroic resistance to the first German onrush will probably be only generally known and valued when history has made the facts clear, but on the night of his arrival, the sight of his small and compact figure, very like Lord Roberts in build, was well-nigh overwhelming. The enthusiasm of his reception at the station and _en route_ to the Hôtel Bernerhof could be gauged by the echoes of the cheers reaching us in the Central Hall, where we had congregated. Many Germans, mostly members of the Diplomatic Corps, were present at the time, and were sitting at various tables over after-dinner coffee, when the General appeared, surrounded by compatriots: members of his own and Allied Legations. Every one rose as at some magic signal—even all the Germans, men and women alike, their faces reflecting curiosity and wonder, quite different from their usual supercilious expression. Deep was the general emotion. Of all present, however, General Leman was probably the only one unaware of the depth of the feeling he evoked. Especially agreeable and sympathetic is the remembrance of the charming hospitality of Swiss friends, whose salons have an old world atmosphere peculiarly their own. One is tempted to believe that, owing to their forming more or less a society, removed from the excitements and stress of larger capitals, they have been able to maintain an atmosphere of quiet conducive to thought and sentiment regarding the more abstract interests of life.