“A fugitive from south of Flanders says that eight Uhlans appeared at
Alost, telling the inhabitants that 4,000 more were in the immediate
neighborhood, and if the townspeople did not keep quiet they would set
fire to the place,” writes a correspondent. “They ordered that the town
cash box be handed to them and found 131½ francs in it. They took 130
francs, leaving an I. O. U., ‘Received for Emperor William II.’ The one
and a half francs were left as a tip for the police.
“The whole situation around Ostend has changed. I must not say how many
men have landed, but a belt of country a few miles wide around the town
was thoroughly scouted yesterday by men who softly whistled and sang ‘My
Little Gray Home in the West’ and similar ditties.”