A Captive at Carlsruhe and Other German Prison CampsLee, Joseph
History
A Captive at Carlsruhe and Other German Prison Camps
Lee, Joseph
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, British; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, German
One morning, lying alongside him in my cot, I remarked to a
fellow-prisoner, “You look very happy.” To which, being well versed
in the Scriptures, he immediately retorted, “I am happy in all things
_saving these bonds_!”
It is not good for man to be alone, but doubtless _Gefangenen_ had a
little too much of the gregarious--one felt a recurring need for some
seclusion deeper than the common captivity. Such a place of retirement
I ultimately discovered, not in the chapel, but in the more mundane
environment of our tiny theatre, crawling mouse-like into a crevice
between one of the sidewings and the wall. Here I was safe from even
those who made their casual entrances and exits. Here also could I
read to the plaintive accompaniment of M. Calvi’s violin busy on a
Vieuxtemps “Air Varié,” or of M. Lazarri rehearsing a vocal number
for Saturday evening’s concert--could indeed afford time to cheer and
encourage these kindly artistes at the close of each piece by muffled
applause from a hidden but not entirely anonymous audience.
At one corner of my narrow cell was a portion of a window giving on
to the quadrangle, so that by raising an occasional eye I could see
how our little world was wagging. To the rear was part of a set scene
showing a lurid and blood-red sun setting over the waters, even in
which primitive art there was the suggestion of many sunsets that I
have seen; many that I yet hope to see.
A STRAINING OF THE ENTENTE
Even in this quiet retreat, however, one could not count on being
entirely free from faction and fight. On an otherwise quiet Sunday
afternoon, an English aviator at the piano and a French officer with a
violin have fallen into feud over a matter of musical precedence, and
within a few feet of each other are playing at the same time entirely
different tunes, and that with vehemence and vindictiveness. The
pianist, firmly planted on the piano stool, where he has spent most of
the day, passes without pause or punctuation from Chopin to ragtime and
from ragtime to absolute incoherence.
The Frenchman sits on a form with his back to the wall--literally and
metaphorically--and vents his spleen on the catgut. I stand it for full
fifteen minutes by my watch, and then, going quietly into the empty
chapel and leaving the door sufficiently ajar, I open the organ, pull
out all the stops, brace my knees against the swell pedals, and so
burst into a sort of Grand Chœur in G.
When I emerged the Frenchman had fled and calm was once more settling
upon the piano keys. Blessed are the peacemakers!
Our piano was ultimately a “baby” grand, though its tone was less
infantile than suggestive of that of an old roué. Indeed, there was
little grand about it, except that there was so little “upright.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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