"Limericks are very common among the soldiers and are very good. Here is one about a Belgian girl. Please remember that Ypres is called Wipers by Tommy Atkins. "There was a young lady of Ypres, Who was hit in the cheek by two snipers, The tunes that she played Through the holes that they made, Beat the Argyle and Sutherland pipers." "The shop windows are full of war games, such as: 'Storming the Citadel'--'Kill Kiel'--and the 'Dreadnaught game.' "Tommy gives the bombs such amusing names, 'Black Marias,' 'Aunt Sally's Nephews,' and 'Eagle Eggs.' The German trench motor is called 'The Undertaker.' The anti-aircraft gun is nicknamed 'Archibald' and the German howitzer which emits a thick white smoke is called 'The Woolly Bear.' He calls these picturesque names 'Slanguage.'" "BRUSSELS--November. "We are passing horrible hours. You cannot imagine what it has been the last three months. Everywhere misery, crêpe and ruin. To add to the horror of the situation, famine has arrived. Most of our friends have had their châteaux pillaged. The buildings even are often destroyed. Our friends arrive in the night on foot, with all that they own on their backs and their children following them. They often walk miles before finding a roof to shelter them, for many villages are burnt to the ground, deserted, and many of the people shot. _C'est affreux!_ "Henri has won two _galons_ for his bravery in battle. The last news we have of him is good. _Dieu merci._ Jean has been slightly wounded. What a relief to have him safe for the moment in a hospital. George de Ligne, Henri d'Oultremont, _tués_, Guy Reynteins _blessé_. Two of the Cornet Counts have been taken from their château, which was burned, and no one knows what has become of them. Every day the Germans are more brutal and more hateful. They are worse than they are depicted. "We are indeed grateful to the American Minister. He is intelligent, active and kind, as well as a charming man. "It is difficult to get the food distributed in the villages, for there are no means of conveyance, except motors run by twenty-four young Americans. They are doing fine work and are a great help. The d'Assches, de Mérodes, Beeckmans and de Beughems are here." A letter from Switzerland reads: "November. "I have been at a camp of French and Belgian soldiers in Germany, nearly fifteen thousand of them, all without blankets. They dig holes in the ground and get into them, and then spread their coats over the top in order to sleep and keep warm." A letter from a cousin at a hospital in France says, "Today seventy French soldiers were brought in, all with their right hands gone." "BRUSSELS--end of December.