ENTERTAINMENTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2723, 18 March 1916, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS

IRISH NATIONAL CONCERT.

The annual Irish national ooncert was held in the Town Hall last evening. There were nearly 3000 people - present. The chief attraction was Mr. Farquhar Young, whoso opening number, "The Wearing of the Green," was remarkably well rendered. The big audience appreciated Mr. Young's fine work, and made no mistake about securing an encore—"Father O'Flynn," which evoked still another recall. Miss .Teresa M'Enroc sang "Come Back to Erin" and "The Minstrel Boy." Several excellent items were provided by the pupils of the Marist Bros.' H'liose choirs were exceptionally good. Also on the programme wero: Miss M. J. Kearins ("The Irish Emigrant"), Aliss Eileen Uriscoll ("Molly Bawn" aiid "Barney O'Hea"), Miss Nellie Strickland ("Kathleen Mavourneon"), Miss Mary M'Keown ("Tho Dear Little Shamrock"), • Mr. S. Laglett Eston ("Eily Mavourneen"), Mr Kevin Dillon (recitation, "The Battle of Fon- i tenoy") Master Ben O'Brien (violin solo, "The Harp that. Once"), Mr. W. Glavin (Irish jig), Miss M. Fix (recitation). HIS MAJESTY'S THEATRE. Crowded houses are the order at Hfa Majesty's Theatre nightly, where vaudeville of the popular variety reigns. The Harrington Reynolds Company, in tabloid drama, are a feature of the show, and .Mr. Reynolds as an actor of higli merit requires no recommendation, while the rest of his little company arewell suited to their parts... Ted Stagpoole (contortionist), Armitage and hfino (comedians), Bates and Wade (comedy -acrobats), and other artista contribute to a varied and excellent programme.' The usual matinee will ha liefcl this afternoon. THE KING'S THEATRE. "Brigadier Gerard," the splendid story of the stirring days of Napoleon, ' excellently'acted by Lewis Waller and Madge lHtheradge and a capable company, will btv shown at the King's Theatre this afternoon at 2.30, and for the last time in Wellington ' to-night at eight o'clock. The plan for to-night will be at the Bristol till noon, and then at tho Kingis Theatre, MARY PICKFORD. "The world's sweetheart," as soma genius named the popular little cinema/' actress, Mary Pickford, has won a remarkable place in the admiration and affeotion of all classes in almost all the nations. In "Mistress Nell," in which Miss Pickford will play the title role, and which will bo screened at the King|s Theatre all next week, com- ' wearing on Monday night, the story, tells of romance and adventure in the days when Charles II was King of ftngland,' and when sweet, wilful .Nell Gwynne ruled the monarch by lier. beauty and personality. This particular phase of the great heroine of romance has not hitherto been ■ seen cither on the st&ge' or screen ia Wei- v linaton.' An excellent company, in- ' cMuis Mr. Owen Moore, supports Miss Pickford, and the play is produced oil ai lavish scale by the Famous Players Co. ■

THE EMPRESS THEATRE. "Up from the Depths," the story of' a girl's life battle and a man's regeneration, is the attraction-which has been the reason of 'crowded houses all this week. A remarkably powerful plot,'.clever acting, and strikingly realistic setting are the . outstanding, icatures of this four-act Reliance film. >. ... 'THE WOLF." • Next week at the Empress almost the' whole programme will be taken up'by a remarkable Lubin feature in Bis reels, entitled' "The /Wolf." Jules. Beanbeau, a Canadian backwoodsman, is thrown much into the way of one of the few women who lived in those parts. The: inevitable happens, there) is a kind of irregular marriage,, a separation, and 'strikingly dramatic developments. The film is produced from the story of Eugene Walter, who wrote "Paid in Full;""The Easier Way," etc. The Paths Gazette will be also, screened. . EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. "Lonesome Heart," a feature film of the American Film Company, is the leading attraction at Everybody's Theatre this week. The film, which features that fine actress Miss Marguerite Fischer, abounds in romantic incidents, and the scenery is specially good. "Tha Serpent's Tooth" and .the "Gaumont Graphic." wbioli is of speoial topical interest, are good' supporting numbers., . "THE" TIGRESS." At noon 011 Monday the new programme at Everybody's will introduce "The Tigress" which features the favourite American players, Julia Swayne . Gordon and Leo Delaney in a story of the criminal underworld, in which Nelga Petrona and her husband occupy the unique positions of society leaders in the daytime and the master minds of a criminal gang by night. There aresome liighly-excitiu" scenes, confessions, and reparation. Finally. the picture ends with the death of the noted "tigress" of tho underworld. . This is, a most thrilling story, told in a telling way with a convincing wealth of detail. Other pictures include a funny comedy, "When the Breezes Blow," featuring Fay Tickner, "Gaumont Graphic" ana Cernobbio, scenic. v . "CHARLEY'S 'A.TJOT." On Tkuradpy evening next,, Brandon [ Thomas's world-famed comedy, "Charley's Aunt," is to be revived by local amateurs, now known as the "Charley's Autit Comedy Company." The company,' when on tour with "The Aunt," met with phenomenal success, while the Press notices were lavish in their praise for the all-round soundness of the cast, and the manner in which the comedy was produced. The three evening performances in the Grand Opera House next -peek are in aid of the Returned' Soldiers' Hostel, which is doing, 6uch good work in a quiet way. A matinee performance is also to be given on the Saturday afternoon, the proceeds of [ which will be devoted to the fund forproviding entertainments for 'tho soldiers in camp. The cast is as follows: Lord Fancourt Babberly, Mr. Norman f Aitken; Mr. Spettigue, Mr. Kenneth Aitkcn; Colonel Sir Francis Chesney, Mr. W. Crawford; Jack Chesney, Mr< C. Bentley Russell: Charley Wyckham, Mr. H.- F. Wood; Rrassett, Mr: Rliipps Williams; Kitty Verdun. ■ Miss _ Ruby Scott; Amy Spettigue,'Miss Marie Fix; Donna Lucia d'Alvndoroz, Miss Mabel Hardinge-MaltUy: Ella ' Delahay, Miss Pauline Brown. The box plan opens at the Bristol on Monday next, and pat: rons are advised to book early.

FULLER'S NEW PRICES. One rosult of Mr. Ben Fuller's rfrj cent visit to tlio United States will be iv change in the scale of admission prices to tlio firm's vaudeville theatres. Thephenomenal success of vaudeville houses m America was found, by Mr. Fuller to bo in the extremely low. tariff prevailing there, combined, of course, • with "excellence of the entertainments presented. After carefrtl consideration the Fuller Proprietary have decided to revise the scale of the price of entry to His .Majesty's Theatre, tlie new charges to take effect from Monday evening. Owing to the comparatively poor patronage bestowed upon the up- . per circle, this part of the house will now he closed, excepting on Saturdays and holidays. Henceforth, patrons of the upper circle will ha able to obtain a seat in the stall for one shilling. The ptices for the dress circle and orchestra) stall .will remain as usual.

The latest newspaper mail brin; markable adventures of. the "Daily the first instalment of which was 7 re from the. columns of the London daft; the authenticity of which have been are set forth tns spy's adventures af

I have already described how at the ] royal'banquet at Nish I travelled with King Ferdinand and his two unprincelylike sons on the great advertising Ber-lin-Constantinople train —the Balkan Zug. . The, King and the loutish Princes left the train at Grejac. Wo reached Belgrade at ton o'clock at night, and remained there for an hour and a half.- I availed myself of the opportunity to leave the station for a short stroll in the ruins of the town. Of the accuracy of modern artillery fire some idea can be gleaned from the fact that the besieging Austrian gunners were able to aim so that not one single shell should fall in the station. Be it remembered- that they were firing from the other side of the Danube, here, at its widest, and they obviously realised that their ' advanoing army would afterwards need' the railway. Though houses within a few yaius from the station were absolutely destroyed there was no sign of warfare within the. station itself. . . • : It seems but yesterday that Belgrade fell into the hands of the Huns, yet already the river has been spanned by a very wonderful wooden bridge. It is obvious that this and the many other bridges must have been in preparation for years. ' They are not temporary makeshifts, and are quite as good as many of the American trestle bridges in Use on some of the best American rail' ways. The Germans are prepared for everything. Especially are they prepared against England, their most hated foe. Let every Englishman ponder that fact. They were not only ready for war, but are ceaselessly improving their "materiel" : as the war goes on. The Balkan Zug. did not get its usual enthusiastic reception at Belgrade. Perhaps because the hour was.late, perliaps because the civil population of the town is practically non-existent. _ Belgrade, as I pointed out before, is the. Austrian main headquarters on that front. ' /

Advertising by Train. | Next morning, between nine and ten o'clock, we arrived in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, and here the. great advertising' train had a tremendous reception. At the Nord Bahnhof there was as great a crowd, as I have ever seen in .a. railway ..station.,; The; excitable. Hungarians tumbled" over each other in their anxiety to get pear the Zug. Wine was brought for the' engine driver and fireman, and the passengers, with their little Balkan-Zug flags in their coat buton-holes, began, to feel almost like heroes themselves. The crowd insisted on shaking hands with them as they leaned out of the windows. Advertising by train is not new. I have seen something like it in Canada and the United States, but advertising victory by. train is a convincing method hard to beat. Everybody who has seen the train will tell somebody else, who again tells another person. It is photographed and described in countless journals and on myriad's of postcards. The people on the platform tried to buy our little flags. When I reached Vienna I was offered 20 kronen.—about 16s.—for mine.

At Budapest the 'advertising train divided itself into two halves.. There was. another beflagged locomotive and more beflagged wagons. One half of the. train goes to Berlin and the other half to Vienna. '.My object was to get to England as speedily as P9ssibla to give my account of the Kaiser's health. There were not many of us going to Vienna. The officers and the flying men proceeded in the Berlin half, Those of us who had come from Constantinople

were looking forward to _ the _ somewhat j improved food to be had in Vienna. As ( yet the newly-opened line to Constan- ( tinople has had merely to take • the , Bagdad Zug and' the military trains car- | rying army supplies, men, and muni-. ( tions for.the Bagdad, the Caucasus, or the Egyptian adventures. i I talked with a- Turkish gentleman ] and his wife and daughter, and was ( amused to notice that although the j women left Constantinople veiled and dressed in Eastern costume, as soon as they got into Europe both of them put on European clothes aud dropped the 'veil. They expressed the opinion that now that the Germans had opened the railway the semi-starvation of Constantinople would vanish. As the Scotsmen say, "I hae ma doots." I had been in Germany during wartime and knew that whatever the Germans newspapers may tell, the world, there is no spare food in any portion of the land which I have visited. The old gentleman ■ was shrowd, and he expressed his regret at the closing of all the French -schools in Constantinople. He said that to avoid giving his son lessons in German militarism ho had packed him off to a school, in French Switzerland.. At the Austrian Capital. Vienna gave the train what the newspapers call a rousing reception. Even officialdom gave way before it, and the Customs officers and other .officials spared us tha Customs examination and even the examination of passports, knowing the ways of the military in the war zone, and that some timo later on I should be obliged to prove my arrival in Vienna, 1 insisted on having my papers stamped by the military station. On my. way out to Constantinople I had stopped m Vienna nine days perfecting my plans for getting into Constantinople and Asia Minor and arranging for the very tedious ; journey round -by Rumania. A jour- ' ney by that route takes five °ay s - ■'■J 3 . 6 opening of the direct Berlin-Constanti-nople line reduces this to two nights and two days; fifty-six hours to be exact. Even now in war time the train arrives within five minutes or its scheduled timo at overy station en routo. Vienna has been described so .01ton in the last eighteen months that J. will try as far as possible to confine my writing on this subject to facts, not hitherto published, that I gleaned by . careful inquiry. Tho pinch of hunger in Vienna and the coming into the war of Italy, both tho result of English intervention, have made the Viennese pinch —hostile to England than they were during my visit at tho end of last ftiay Vienna is not dark at nights like London or Paris or Constantinople, but the cafes have to be closed oarlv, so, that the former great gaiety of the citv 110 longer exists. There, [as everywhere else in the Teutonic war

igs a further instalment of the re- ■ Hairs" spy in the Near East, ecentty reprinted in The Dominion ly. In the following dispatches— 1 accepted by the British . ?ress — ifter leaving the banquet at Nisli.

zone ; the great food question is the Miiet topic of 'conversation. The humorous side of the situation is that, while the people ill Turkey expect to get food from Austria and Germany. people in Austria and Germany expect to get food from Turkey! You may remember the rotund articles in the Berlin Press pointing out the value of the opening up of the great resources of Turkey and Asia Minor ill dealing ivith the' eternal butter question. The Viennese do not grumble so, much about, butter as the. Berliners. Their chief cause of complaint' is the absence of whipped cream with their coffee, for the sale of cream and milk is absolutely forbidden, except for children. All the rest goes to make explosives. Of the sixteen _ hundred taxis that whirled gay parties about Vienna prior to the war, only forty, and those extremely shabby and with only; the remains of rubber tires, are still to be had. All vehicular traffic with the exception of these forty taxis, stops. at eleven o'clock, and the Viennese ladies, Famed for embonpoint, will long remember the war if only for the amount of talking tliey have been doing.Hiding Their Wounded. I tried to find out as much as I could about the number of the Austrian wounded, and my task was difficult. In order not unduly to depress the public the wounded are carefully scattered throughout the country, particularly in Bohemia. Germans have told me they havo heard the same thing about England, and that the English Government have disposed of their wounued far from the eves of men in hundreds o*f little lTc<l Cross hospitals in provincial towns and villages. The hiding of the wounded in Austria is carried out on a system. If, for .example, there are three hundred wounded able to walk in a hospital only onethird are allowed out to take fresh air in public at the same time. The largest hospital in Vienna, and perhaps one of the largest in the world, is. the Wiener Allgemeines Krankenliaus. ■ Dr. Robert Otto Steiuer, its head, is able and informative. One of the saddest sights lie showed me were two halls of the blind, wounded mostly by rock splinters caused by high explosives on the Italian-Isonzo front. With a sad face lie told me that there ivere, alas! the immense number of 70,000 blinded Austrians within six months owing to these rook fragments.' 170 regarded the problem of their employment at that vague time known as "after the war" as insuperable. Certain it is that'the Kaiser, in addition to the monument that may or may not be erected to him in the Sieges-Allee, will have throughout Europe living monuments in the shape of the blind and the maimed, the mad. and the paralysed who will make the name of German militarism execrated for very many generations to • come. Rather to my surprise I found the English play "Mr. Wu" to be a most popular evening (entertainment, and greatly advertised. I went to the Neues "Wiener,, Volkstheater to see it, and ascertained that the cause of its popularity is the domination of the principal character, a Chinaman, over an English business man. • The play was rapturously. Teceived. There are a good many Englishmen of military age at liberty in Vienna, and, as showing that tho Austrian rule is much milder than that of Germany, notices have appeared in the Viennese newspapers to the effect .-that belligerents are to ho freely allowed to use

their own language in public places as. long as they do 60 in a- way which does not . offend. For the rest they have considerable liberty so long as they do not leave the capital. They are expected to be within, doors at eight o'clock at night. How hungry these Englishmen are for. Hows, and how they hate tho war bread.* This, however, they admit l is greatly improved sinco last spring, when it was practically inedible. The Englishmen thought well of the Austrian

treatment, , though they complained that thev could not get English newspapers, as Is th'e case in Berlin. The last newspaper they had was a copy' of "The

Times" for September 8. Even though the_ Austrians treat, them decently the position of a young Englishman in the midst of a hostile population knowing nothing accurately as to what is going on an the Homeland, eager to be in the . trenches beside his fellow-coun-trymen, is sad to consider. Publlo Opinion. In Vienna also the talk of the Bagdad and Egyptian campaigns was rife. The interest of the Austrians, lowevor, is anti-Italy, anti-Eussia, and especially anti-Serb. The conquest of Serbia has beyond question immensely heartened the Austrians. There hav-a been periods when I have reason to believe the Berlin _ taskmasters have had difficulty in maintaining the enthusiasm of their Austrian dupes. They have no 6ucli difficulty now. It is many, many long years since the Austrians have celebrated any sort of victory. Their wliolo history has been a story of retrwt and defeat. Now they begin to think themselves the equals of the Prussians who walked over them in a few weeks in ,1866. Tlie Austrians are confident that ill addition to their new port of Antivari, on tho Adriatio, they will secure Venice and Northern Serbia. None tho less tho ancient hatred of the Prussian is just as strong in Austria to-day as it was before tho war.

Tho compulsion campaign in England has aroused great interest 111 Austria, and has been tho cause of thousands of heated arguments in as many thousands of cafos throughout tlio land. Tho idea that Englishmen fight only if they are paid, with an extra price for battles, has been so assiduously spread by the Berlin propagandists that, it was very difficult for them to understand the spirit of tho men who have so splendidly flocked to the British colours from all parts of tho Empire. Here, as in other places, I was solemnly assured that only tlio poor would go to the front and that the rich would romain in their castles playing their customary football aiul hunting, apparently the occupations of the British aristocracy, youthful and elderly alike. Not even eighteen months of the war have dispelled their belief in English Spnrt-Krnnkheit (sport disease). . A captain in tho Austrian. Polish

legion, whose name is in my possession, told, mo ono or two things which show the difficulty tho Germans liaro had 111 combining their vastly varied forcos under ono rule. "I am with tho Austriaus now," ho said, "against tho Russiaus because of tho'comparatively good treatment wo Polos havo received l'rom Austria. Wo aro also promised a |ohsh Republic under tho war settlement, but if it came to fighting for Prussia against the Russians I would desert and join the llussians to fight Prussia. In tho National Musoum in Vienna there aro flags draped in black behind which is a dramatic story to which I have seen referenco in ono or two publications. Tliov are tho flags of the 28th Regiment of tho lino, consisting or Bohemians only and of men of Iraguo, tlio capital <it" Bohemia. These men intended to desert to tlio Russians, and seeing before thorn what thoj thought wore Russian regiments, they throw down their arms and .hold up their hand#, in token of submission. But the Russians were Prussians, lhe Bohemians did not know that tho round cap of the Russian soldier is practically the same as tho Prussian. Tlio Prussian officers immediately saw the situation, turned on the machine-guns, and massacred a great many of them. Tho rest were taken prisoners, and then, as a punishment, out of every five men ono was shot, and one officor out of every three. The rest were sent to the most dangerous part of tho fighting line, and very few remain., The draped flags 111 tho National Musoum are tho'signs of their .disgrace. Tlio 28th Regiment no longer exists in the Austrian Army List.

Amongst the "Big Fish." One of the axioms of those employed in secret service work for a newspaper should bo to seek material by staying at the best hotel in any city in which ho is ranking investigations. Big fish swim in large lakes.' Ihirthermoro,. the visitors at Targe hotels are less noticed and suspected than those at small ones. I learned a good deal at the Hotel Bristol at Vienna. It was there that I encountered the officor of the Polish Legion whom I have mentioned, and it was there that lie introduced me to a German foreman erector of submarines from the famous Germania shipyard at Kiel. He was of the boasting type, and by the same judicious flattery which j carried me so many miles in the enemies' territory I soon found out a great deal as to the mystery of the German submarines in the Sea- of Marmora. . Of the small type, they number six— I do not think more. It was a little moro than a year ago. that English newspapers ' were discussing the possibility of carrying submarines by rail. The Germans have proved that • submarines of tho smaller type can easily be manufactured in sections at one place and carried hundreds of miles by rail to another, where they are assembled and tested. I proved the accuracy of this man's . information as to four of the submarines by aotually seeing them. The numbers of three of them were TJ4, TJIB, and U25. ' could not see the number of the fourth.. They were all of exactly tho same 'sizo. The TJIB has painted on its conning tower a huge Iron Cross, showing that it has achieved some great distinction.. At a Pirate Base. Hiring a rowing "Boat and wearing my fez, I found their base 011 January 15. It is cleverly hidden betwixt two big German liners in the Golden Horn between the marine arsenal and Hasskein, a little village that has been entirely destroyed by tho explosion of a powder factory. By this time, if my informant was correct, and I havo no reason to doubt that, like so many Germans, he told ino a good deal more than he ought, the number is six. iHe had put theni together at. Trieste. The German submarine officers and crews to be met in Constantinople aro not at all of the. swaggering Prussian type. In a previous article I inadvertently included the submarine sailors in Constantinople as among those who wear the fez. I had meant only to indicate the officers and. sailors of the Goeben and "Breslau, which fly the .Turkish fl a g. The so-called Turkis hsubmarines do not exist. They are German submarines, flying the German naval flag. I nave reason to think, los, that there are very few Turkish aeroplanes for. flying men. _ I saw it suggested in an American dispatch the other day that it is possible that the Persia was sunk by a Turkish submarine. That is why I make this statemont as to tho nationality of the submarines at Constantinople. A Decent Hun. These smaller type submarines must not be confused with tho TJSI, which, as the German newspapers have so proudly described, made the great voyage from Kiel to Constantinople, either through the English Channel, or by going round Scotland, some ten months ago. Von Horsing, who, now that Weddigen has been Killed, is tho here of the German submarine navy, is the type of man who would appeal to clic sporting instincts of Englishmen. He is of the Max Horton kind. It was he who sank the Triumph and the Mi-

jestic. . " As quietly as any Englishman would have done, he described to me on iny first visit to Constantinople his wonderful voyage, the picking up of petrol in iSe Bay of Biscay at an exactly appointed time and place, his passing by Gibraltar in broad daylight, the agonies of 'his imprisonment for two hours in a British submarine: net off Lemnos, 'he escape with a damaged jiropelled, and safe arrival at Constantinople in the early davs of May. I often talked to him in the Pera Club on my previous visit, . whon. there were comparatively few Germans and plenty of foodl If all tlio Germans were of the same type as the German naval'officers and men the word Hun would riot so aptly fit. ' They are obllged_Jo do horrible work, but it is to bo remembered always that they are carrying out orders from Berlin. There are brutes among them, no doubt, but such German naval officers as 1 have met compare most favourably with their swaggering colleagues of the land service. German sailors are under no misapprehension as to the might and efficiency of the British Navy. They do not spread the tale the British Fleet is hiding m ports whilo the German ships are proudly promenading'the North Sea. "Our people started the war ten years too soon," was the remark of one German naval officer to me. One soon gathers that there is no love lost between the German Army and the German Navy, and it is not to be wondered at. Contrast the two typoy, as lolto saw them at the Pera Palace Hotelj the one swaggering, swanking, grumbling at the lack of amusements, Growling if the Liebesgabe (parcel) from Berlin, with its sausage (Lebcrwnirst) and the like, cigars, and pate defoie gras, is a day late; the other quiet, well mannered, accustomed ™~,P re j hardship and danger from childhood, self-respecting and respecting others the nearest approach to an English gentleman that tlio Germans can produce. Not many naval officers aro. tiom the Hun country of Prussia. .Is is Beyond question true that tho sinking ot the Lnsitania is horribly unpopular in the Gorman Navy, though gloried m by tho wholo German people. Mistrustful Allies. The presence of German submarines at Constantinople is not altogether relished by the Turks. Each of tho four submarines I saw has . a gun on the fore part of.the vessel, not a pow.errul weapon, but quite sufficient to instil terror into tho inhabitants of tlio cltv, if required. There is just a little fight left against the Germans in Turkey, as I nan prove, bnt It is very httln. *no Germans know that, and jiavoi' allow too

Turks too much ammunition, lest they mny turn against them. It is notorious f Lit Ilia shortage of ammunition /it Gallipoli was duo, not entirely to inability to got it there, but to the fact that tlio Germans would not trust tho Turks with too much.

A littlo incident shows that even now tho Germans havo to exercise tact with . tlio Turks. At tho Hotel Tokntliau, in Porn, thoro is a daily gathering of all tho Gorman and Austrian newspaper representatives. I heard them ono day discussing tho fato of one of their number, Dr. Ledera, of tlio "Berliner Tageblatt." It appears that ho offended tlio Turks by describing how, owing to tho state of the Gncben and their shortage of big guns, they had removed two of tho largest guns from that vessel and had taken them down to use against tho English at Gallipoli. This information, officially stated in so important a newspaper, 'intimated to tho Russians and tlio British that the Gocben was practically out of action. The Turks promptly arrested Dr. Ledera and sent him to an internment camp in a distant part of Anatolia, where the conditions wero far from luxurious. The Ambassador, tho late Baron von Wangonhcim, had to exert the utmost possible pressure to secure tho release of his compatriot. After six weeks' imprisonment the erring correspondent was brought back to Constantinople, escorted over tlio frontier,- and ordered never to return to Turkey. But as the days pass tho Turks -fall more and more under the yoke of their masters. Hun Spy System. Now as to spies. I havo my own views as to tho German, spy system in England. Of one thing 1 am certain, and that is that it is as thorough as in every other part of their military work. The first essential of a travelling German or Austrian spy is to obtain by hook or by crook a passport from a neutral country which enables him to arrive in England in safety, Let me describe a conversation with one such individual, who, opening tho conversation on. the war as we approached a frontier, triod to find out my views. I lot him express his own first, and tliey were violently pro-German. "None the less," he said, "I have been among those 'Sehweinhunds' twice in the last six months. Fortunately, I did not let tho grass grow under my feet during my seven years' residence there, and 1 flatter myself that i can speak English as an Do you know.any?" he asked. "A little," I replied, in order to draw him out. And, indeed, ho spoke English perfectly, and looked a very excellent specimen of the Anglo-Saxon raco, such as one found of mornings, before the war, in i Bund Street or Pall Mall. Tho basis of the false passport,- which the travelling spy must get, is the birth certificate. This is easily forged .md can 'bo obtained for a price by those who know whero to go. In the early days of the war there was _ a regular trade in forged passports in several neutral countries, where they could be purchased for between ten and fifteen pounds. Those days are now past, and John Bull is wider awake. .With the birth certificate, combined with a letter from some commercial firm to the effect that the person referred to wishes to proceed to' England on business; the getting of the passport is not so difficult as it may seem. ' Tho documents are presented at the passport office and the passport secured.

Then comes the "viso" of the Britsh Consul, "not so often an English-, nan as he should be"; sometimes, if Snglish, older and less alert than ho .hould. be. With these papers the .'ravelling spy of German or Austrian jirfch or interests arrives at Folkestone >r Tilbury or Southampton, whero there sno lack of strict scrutmy. Lately ine investigation has been especially severe. But of what avail is investigation'if the passport and business let:er accompanying it are based on false sremises? Arrived in England, the travelling" spy visits the "resident" spy,' cautiously, lest the resident spy :s being watched. He meets him, perhaps, in a large hotel. ' He. writes nothing. If he makes an appointment it is probably by telephone or message through a third party. In tho early iiays of the war spies were more careless, with the result that numbers of them rose at dawn in the Tower of London. The letter censorship lias doubtless checked written communication to a very great extent; How to Cheok Them. The greatest care should be exercised by British Consuls abroad as to the granting of the "viso" —that Is to say, the superscription required by the British Government' on the passport. If necessary, the British Consul should have tho "support" of a shrewd international polyglot detective from England to advise him, and warn him against any case in which there is the least suspicion. Tho statement of the man above referred to that twice within tho last six months he had been in England (and I have no reason to doubt his word) shows that oven now there are possibilities of leakage for _ which the authorities at any of the principal ports of arrival (the three I have mentioned are only a few of many) are not responsible. They can act only upon.

£he papers produced. 1 was to have my own passport difficulties before reaching England in safety. I need scarcely say that, having been travelling so long in enemy JerMtory, while' I got used to constant risk, I was very eager for the moment when I could feel that" T >was absolutely safe in a neutral country, and I was anxious .to reach the "Daily_Mail" office as rapidly as possiblo witn the acoount of the banquet at Nish and the information [ had as to the general state of affairs in the Near East. I had only four hours on the return journey in Vienna, and in that time I had a good deal to do which I had better not detail here. The train for Feldkirch, the station on the Austriau-Swiss frontier, was almost leaving the station as I jumped in. Wo had been, running for about an hour, and I was congratulating myself on having approached safety, when au official came through the train asking each passenger for his passport. He examined mine in that slow and irritating manner these officials have, and then, looking up suddenly, ho said, "This has not been signed by the police." "What police?" I said. "The polico in Vienna," he answered. "Surely that is not necessary," I remarked. "I only arrived by the Balkan express at three o'clock and had my' passport stamped at the station." (It will be remembered that 1 insisted upon this, as mentioned earlier in my article.) "I am afraid," he said, "you will fTavo to get out at the station and go back." He was quite polite but very firm. I said that I was just returning from a most, important visit, ■and showed him the document which obtained my admission into Turkey. Ho replied, "Well, if you can satisfy uio frontier authorities, I have nothing to say." A Blufl on the Germans.

I did not like tho situation, but 1 dccided to go on. I had very little sleep that night, and when wo arrived at Feldkirch on tho following after, noon I braccd myself up for one final "bluff" of the authorities. I looked anxiously round to see if the official had continued with us on the journey, but ho was not to be secu. . We woro all ushered into a large waiting-room, and then one by ono were admitted into an adjoining room, where five military officers sat at a table, smoking. I felt like a prisoner coming un tho stairs of the dock at the Old Bailey to receivo sentence. "Rio good fortune which had attended mo throughout my journey did not desort mo, for li'iy. examining officer was a very nicc young Hum . sariau officer, Horovits Jcu<u .who .wan.

so interested in my narrative of the journey and what I had seen in Con-

stantinople that he gave a very cursory examination to my papers, which were indeed in perfect order apart from {he absence of the .ridiculous and unnecessary police superscription at Vienna, and then accompanied me to the train, gave me his card, and asked mo to look him up the next time I came to Budapest. Needless to say, I shall not trouble him, but he was not Ihe least to blame"for. passing ma Cllrough.

Once over the frontier, at Buchs, in Switzerland, I breathed really freely tor the_ first time for seven weeks, during which period I had been obliged to act., simulate, anfl watch myself and oufers perpetually. I have had mora narrow escapes than I have mentioned m these articles, and no one who has uol been through such an experience as mine can understand the feeling of elaifoh and delight that comes 1 to one when at last a free man. s Unfortunately, the official* at the French frontier wore the most exacting I had yet encountered, and I did not arrive in England without a good deal of trouble.