If several prisoners just arriving are put in a room by themselves, they do not, of course, fare so well, and until their parcels arrive, many weeks later, they are more or less dependent upon the food issued to them; although presents of food are frequently sent in by the others, and articles of clothing are loaned.
The charge made to the prisoners for food was forty-five marks per month. We were afterwards informed that by a new regulation the charge, by some international arrangement, had to be reduced to thirty marks per month. And the commandant explained that for this sum he could only supply the same ration which the men received; but would continue to supply the old ration if the officers would voluntarily agree to continue paying forty-five marks, and extra for their bread—which, of course, they did.
This ration consisted of imitation coffee for breakfast and no food. A plate of washy stuff called soup, for dinner, followed by some sloppy mashed potatoes, and sometimes green stuff; and for supper, more sloppy potatoes.
To satisfy one's hunger on a cold day with such food—which is only fit for pigs—can only be done by loosening the waistcoat, and half an hour afterwards one feels as though he had never had a meal.
Prisoners were allowed to receive as many letters as they were lucky enough to have sent them; and there does not appear to be any restriction as to the length of the letter.
They are allowed to write two letters of four pages each, and four post-cards each month. All letters are censored by a staff of censors in the camp. Outgoing letters and post-cards are held for ten days, with a view of ascertaining, I believe, whether invisible ink had been used.
News arrives in the camp principally by the arrival of new prisoners, who are kept in quarantine for about ten days.
German official bulletins are posted in the anteroom; and the Continental News, which is published in the English language, or rather disgraces the English language by using it, is delivered daily. By the bye, the Continental News is a rag of the worst kind, and contains lies of the worst description.
My orderly came to me one day, and after carefully closing the door, he drew from under his tunic a few scraps of an English newspaper a month old.
We devoured the news eagerly, as well as the advertisements, and passed it quietly around to the other officers.