CHAPTER VIII.
THE BELGIAN SACRIFICE No Migration from Belgium--Germany's War Tax Levies--Irreconcilable--The Army--No Neutrality over Belgium.
Before Germany launched her thunderbolts of war, Belgium had an industrious, frugal, hard-working, saving population of nearly 8,000,000 people.

Of these, 450,000 are now refugees in Holland, where the magnanimous Dutch are providing for them with no outside assistance.

Queen Wilhelmina declares, "These are our guests and we will care for them." Nearly 30,000 Belgian troops have also been interned in Holland.

It was expected that they might leak out, but the Dutch are stern in their present position of neutrality.

They understand their very existence depends upon it.