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ON THE WAY TO THE FRONT 7
were not too many, as the staff had also been reduced by half
—the other half was at the front. The quiet which reigned in
the big building was reflected by the atmosphere of the famous
avenue outside. To-day there were no closely packed crowds,
no singing processions. Only those people who had business
to attend to or who wanted to glean the latest news were seen
on the pavements—the others kept indoors. The traffic was,
if anything, less lively than in peace time, and an amazing
calm had descended upon the great city.
I went out in the evening to see the people and listen to
their conversation. The talk was almost entirely about the
war. I walked through Friedrichstrasse, Leipzigerstrasse and
the other familiar streets. Everything is just as usual. Berlin
is wrapped in absolute peace. Innumerable shop-windows
still shed their light upon the pavements. In some of them
large maps are shown, small flags indicating the positions of
the armies. On one such map the flags were waving and
fluttering, as if a storm were ravaging the plains of Europe.
Outside, in the street, little groups formed to talk about the
war and to express the hope that the German flags would soon
be shifted further into the steppes in the east and towards the
sea in the west.
" Why are the streets so silent ? " I ask somebody. " I
understood that Berlin was in such high spirits."
" It is so long since we heard of any great victories," is the
answer.
" Patience," I retort, " you must not expect a Tannenberg
every week."
Here comes a woman hurrying along with a bundle of
newspapers. It is the latest edition with fresh telegrams
from the front. She is hustling as much as possible in order
to impress on the public that they must look sharp and get
the news as fresh as possible. On the opposite pavement runs
a boy with the same newspaper, calling out his ware in a loud
voice. At a street corner stands an old man with his bundle
of papers. He is too tired to run, and his cracked voice cannot
even be heard above the subdued hubbub of street-life and
the quick flow of talk of the people. It is all the same news,
and it deals chiefly with the gigantic battle of Lemberg.
The restaurants are well filled, in fact they are all over-
crowded with customers. Through the big windows one
can see the honest bourgeois seated at his little table,
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