After the bath and the hunt, we sat down to a delicious supper, and were
looking forward to a still more delicious night in bed, when suddenly
Prince V. arrived and said we must leave at once. We guessed instantly
that the Germans must be very near, but that he did not wish us to ask
questions, as it seemed very mean to go off ourselves and leave our kind
hosts without a word of explanation, though of course we could only obey
orders. So we left our unfinished supper and quickly collected our
belongings and took them to the hotel where our Red Cross car should
have been waiting for us. But the Red Cross authorities had sent off our
car with some wounded, which of course was just as it should be, and we
were promised another "seechas," which literally translated signifies
"immediately," but in Russia means to-day or to-morrow or not at all.
"Let us come into the hotel and get a meal while we wait," suggested the
Prince, mindful of our uneaten supper, and we followed him to the
restaurant--still mourning those beautiful beds we had left behind us,
and so tired we didn't much care whether the Germans came or not.
Nothing can express utter desolation much more nakedly than a Grand
Hotel that has been through a week or two's bombardment.
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