The numbers in which the Belgian population took refuge in England from first to last have been so great, and the rush in the beginning so bewildering, that it would have been impossible to carry out a work of necessity hastily improvised without mistakes and difficulties. Lady Lugard is the first to admit how far the schemes fell short of the perfection which she had hoped to achieve. But when the story of this flight of a nation is told, history will remember, not the misunderstandings, the mistakes in detail, or the want of foresight, which seem inevitable in all human undertakings, but the way in which the English people opened their arms in welcome to the Belgians, and their desire to comfort and to heal. To Lady Lugard personally must be ascribed full recognition for a truly great service. By her promptitude, her imagination and her unsparing gifts of energy and devotion she stands out amongst the throng of splendid volunteers in the service of Belgium. XXIX MISS CHRISTOBEL ELLIS Since the early days of the war, the aspect of our streets has undergone many changes; but there is no more certain sign of the times than the sight of women in khaki uniforms and military badges driving Army motors and lorries. Though these enterprising women excited surprise some months ago, they are fast becoming as numerous as men drivers. The women drivers of the Army are under the management of a department of the Women’s Legion, and form a part of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps. At the head of the motor branch is Miss Christobel Ellis, who has in her hands the development of a great new scope of activity and usefulness for women workers. Miss Ellis, already an experienced motorist, offered her services to the French Red Cross in September, 1914, and for some months she drove for them, and also for the British Red Cross Society, in France. During the days of the battle of the Marne and the heavy fighting near Paris, the shortage of ambulances and drivers was so great that Miss Ellis sometimes drove for twenty hours at a stretch. At the end of 1914 she went to Serbia, where she managed the commissariat, storekeeping, and military returns for a group of five Red Cross hospitals for over a year, till the final torrent of invasion swept over that unhappy country. [Illustration: MISS CHRISTOBEL ELLIS _To face page 148_ ]