The horrible monotony, combined with a succession of petty incidents, tends to render the captives small in spirit and egoistic to a degree. They are no longer capable of any deep feeling, and cannot vibrate to the higher emotions. Suspicion is a marked characteristic. Some of the Interned could only see in the disinterested services of one of the greatest of Swiss surgeons the desire to experiment on interesting material. They compared themselves to "lapins de laboratoire." Outside these symptoms, the impression conveyed by many of the Interned is that of personalities profoundly changed. Their relatives find them altered out of recognition. A distinguished British General of forty years' service who visited his compatriots in Switzerland made the remark, "I thought I knew all there was to be known of British officers and men. I must confess I no longer understand my Interned comrades after their experience as 'Ps. of W.' in Germany." Dr. Clement remarked that under the changed conditions due to internment in Switzerland, psychical troubles would, it was hoped, rapidly cease to exist, but this did not prove to be the case. This optimism was only justified in a certain measure. Symptoms which persist for a long time, and only gradually disappear, are, a mental instability and a want of power of concentration. The British Interned designate this state by the characteristic expression, "difficulty to settle down." Troubles of memory are extremely frequent even amongst those who have been a long time in Switzerland, and this symptom differentiates itself from other neurasthenic manifestations by the fact that the sufferer is conscious of his state. Amongst the intellectuals, an excessive impressionability manifests itself. Despite themselves, they misinterpret a gesture, a play of feature, a tone of voice, a silence even. Sometimes a certain misanthropy has been noticed amongst the Interned, which tends to a desire for that solitude of which they have been so long deprived. One of them explained this by saying: "It is not a dislike of our fellows, but simply the absence of all pleasure, and perhaps a sentiment of discomfort at finding oneself amongst people whose condition is other than our own." The happy influence exercised by the visits of relatives in bringing back the realities of life to the Interned, and in re-establishing contact with the family, is especially dwelt upon by Swiss medical officers. CHAPTER XIII HOMES —VISITS OF RELATIVES —RECREATIONS AND SPORTS OF THE BRITISH INTERNED