A DANE'S EXPERIENCES IN BELGIUM.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15173, 11 January 1915, Page 8

A DANE'S EXPERIENCES IN BELGIUM.

Miss L. Petersen, a young Danish lady residing in Christchurch, has received'a letter from Copenhagen from her brother, Mr Ivar Petersen, who "was resident in Antwerp, describing his escape from that city. We are permitted to make th© following extracts : —

I expect you received tho cable message from mo saying that I got safely away from Antwerp, i could not communicate with you myself, as I had to fly from Antwerp without my belongings, and did not remember your address. You will understand that it was not very pleasant to stay in Antwerp with the German Army advancing into Belgium, although all information was kept from us, and w© did not think for a moment that it wonld be necessary to leave Antwerp. 1 wonder what you really think of this kind of warfare. Is it not perfectly cruel and inhuman ? Can we believe that we aro living in th© twentieth century? Let the Germans fight if they wish, but why on earth should they ravage the country and butcher peaceable citizens? We did not think there was any possibility of a war, and yet when it came, little Belgium, whose only thought was to defend her neutrality, has had to become a buffer. It fell like a bomb in. Belgium, when Germany's ultimatum came. Th© Germans have always been looked noon as great friends, even as children belonging to th© country. No nation had more right in any country than those people, and in what way have they carried out their obligations? Be sure that if a good position was vacant in Belgium, and a German and a Belgian were competitors, th© German would get it. And why did they do all this? Just to find out th© best way to destroy us "when the time should come. I dare say it was a blow to them that we resisted. It kept the German Army back for fourteen or twenty-ono days, and that may mean ruin to Germany. Belgium is ruined. I say, for ever. Everywhere the German Army has got. every village is burned, innocent peoplo killed, and I dare say you know from the newspapers of all the dreadful atrocities, anol I am sorry to say that they are not exaggerated. "Well, we heard and saw all those thine*"**, but we thought that Antwerp could defend herself. She was 60 strongly fortified that she was believed to be impregnable.. But. of course, nothia*** could stand against the heavy artillery. We heard tho guns from the Antwerp forts for a whole week, but th© newspapers still said that the Germans were thrown hack. Why they kept the real truth back we did not understand, and we first knew when the shells began to fall in the town like snowballs at midnight. A bombardment is perfectly dreadful. We stayed in a cellar for three days and nights, and expected every moment that the house would fall down and bury us alive. Early one morning I went to my chief, and we decided that w© must leave the'town. As we could not obtain a conveyance of any sort, we decided to take only a little bag with hard-boiled eggs, bread, and cheese. Our walk through th© town tinder bombardment was simply ghastly, and very dangerous. Peoplo were killed and wounded before our eyes. It was sufficient to make any man turn sick, and we were much relieved when w© got outside tho zone of fire.

"We were four persons—three men and a woman—and we walked for nine hours without rest or food. On tho way we got a two-wheeled cart, in which we put ten people, and with that conveyance we arrived at 11 p.m. at a little Dutch village, where we stayed. We remained there for three days before w© could get a ship for England. We arrived at Folkestone, and stayed there for two days, four of us sleeping in ono room. From there we went to London, then to Newcastle, and took ship to Bergen, in Norway, and thenc© to Christiania. and finaliy arrived at Copenhagen, the whole "trip taking three weeks.

"Belgium is in a dreadful state, all the inhabitants starving. The country seems to have been punished only because she kept her neutrality. On© cannot understand why Germany does not keep the treaties she made herself. In my ©yes, the war does not seem to he a fight between man and man—a good deal of treachery is done.

"Things her© (in Denmark) seem to look pretty calm, though, of course, there is a great deal of unemployment, and we ar© still hop'ng w© shall not he drawn into the war."