Cooper, Ethel – April 1916
2.4.16
My dear Emmie,
This has been an agitating week. I really haven’t known from hour to hour how things were going. It began on Monday with an order to appear before the police. You can imagine that the minute I saw it I put my letter to you in a parcel and rushed to Frau von Bose with them and a book or two that I didn’t want found in the house… It turned out to be a denunciation against me for spying in the lazarettes! I was angry – I have learned though how to deal with the German official so I banged with my fist on the table in the approved manner and rolled out the titles of all the people who had asked me to go to the hospitals… The titles worked wonders – anyway, I wasn’t arrested, but for three of four days, till they had seen all the people I mentioned, I was very uncertain. Then they had the coolness to say that they had nothing against my continuing my charitable work, but as you can imagine I told them that my charity was to be kept at home in future! But I am glad to have got to know those hospitals so well and I like the common soldiers. They are in a tragic situation and they feel it…
Yesterday I came here to [English-woman, married to a German] Frau Jaeger for a few days… I feel that I am in the lap of luxury, with… no food troubles, for they can still get what they want from their farm…
I was delighted to get a guarded letter from Sandor today, saying that he has again been freed from service – they must be through his father’s influence, and because he and Emil Telmanyi have been passing in really a very great deal of money for the Red Cross, they are concertising whenever they can get leave from their office work, and have never sent in less and £50 and very often £100…
9.4.16
My dear Emmie,
I am still here with Frau Jaeger – I was meant to go home yesterday, but she seems really to want me to stay on for this week too… We had a grass-widow and widowers dinner last night… It was very jolly, and was the last possible dinner party, as the meat-cards come into force this week. At least, if anybody can evade the law, I will back Frau Jaeger – she and her housekeeper have even concealed a big from the inspectors! And you’ll find great side of bacon and smoked sausages in the most unexpected holes and corners…
16.4.16
My dear Emmie,
I have just had your 6th of March letter – it came very quickly – I am so pleased at the good report of Howard – he was always old for his age, and this year and a half has made him more of a man, I am sure, than most people twice his age.
Sandor has just written most happily to say that he and Emil Telmanyi are entirely freed from duty, and they have a long list of concerts in Austria and Hungary before them…
The living question gets more and more complicated every week. Yesterday a long article assured us that crows, ravens and daws were very good eating if they were first well soaked in a thin camomile tea to rid them of the fishy taste…
I have been to the theatre a lot lately – Herr Jaeger subscribes for a box, so I saw all sorts of things in great comfort. We meant to go to a circus last week, but when we read that during a procession the elephant fainted and was found to be suffering from starvation, we decided that perhaps it was not so very well worth seeing!
30.4.16
My dear Emmie,
The daylight saving bill comes in tonight for the summer, and at 11 all the clocks are to be put to 12 – it is a good idea, and will give us the light when we need it, instead of in the very early morning, and will save an enormous amount of gas and electric light.
