May 21—Carleton Gibson of the Commission for relief of Poland sends a report to New York stating that in that part of Russian Poland within the Austro-German lines conditions are much worse than in the worst parts of Belgium and France, and that the population is now actually starving.

May 22—The Commission for Relief in Belgium states that about 1,500,000 persons are now destitute in Belgium through unemployment; the monthly food requirements of the Belgians involve an expenditure of between $7,000,000 and $8,000,000.

To the Captain of the U——.

By HARRY VARLEY.

You have drunk your toast to "the Day" that came;
The Cross is won, for you did not fail.
Do you thrill with joy at your deathless fame?
Your hand is trembling, your lips are pale!
Ah! you drink again—but the wine is spilled,
A crimson stain on the snowy white.
Is it wine—or blood of the children killed?
Captain! what of the night?
When the black night comes and the Day is done,
You sleep, and dream of the things that float
In a misty sea where a blood-red sun
Lights up the dead in a drifting boat.
Will you see a face in the waves that swell—
A baby's face that is cold and white?
Will your sleep be sweet or a glimpse of Hell?
Captain! what of the night?
Will you see the stare of the small blue eyes,
The tiny fingers of whitest wax
That will point at you, or the wound that lies,
A clot of red in her fairy flax?
Will the beads that burst on your brows be hot
As mothers' tears that are newly shed?
Will each sear and burn like a blazing dot
That eats its way through your tortured head?
Will you see the ship as it onward sped—
The Thing that flew at your fatal word?
Will the dripping ghosts be around your bed—
The screams of the dying still be heard?
When the Big Night calls—and you must obey—
Will your soul shrink in its awful fright?
You have lived your life, you have had your Day,
But, Captain! what of the night?

FOOTNOTES

[1] Germany's apology and offer of reparation for the attack on the Gulflight, together with a request for information in the case of the Cushing, are conveyed in the following note, which was received by the State Department in Washington from Ambassador Gerard on June 3, and laid before the Cabinet, and published on June 4:

Referring to the note of May 28, the undersigned has the honor to inform his Excellency the American Ambassador of the United States of America, Mr. James W. Gerard, that the examination undertaken on the part of the German Government concerning the American steamers Gulflight and Cushing has led to the following conclusions: