A Nurse's Life in War and PeaceLaurence, E. C. (Eleanor Constance)
History
A Nurse's Life in War and Peace
Laurence, E. C. (Eleanor Constance)
Military nursing; Nursing -- Great Britain; South African War, 1899-1902 -- Medical care
The drive on the post-cart from Greytown to Maritzburg was somewhat
perilous, as there had been a great deal of horse-sickness about, so
that good horses were scarce; and several of our teams were very raw,
and there was much bucking and kicking before each start; and several
times the harness broke down, and John had to descend to make repairs. I
am sure the passengers in the body of the ark were terrified lest the
horses should take it into their heads to start off while the reins were
entrusted to me; and though I am pretty good at managing a horse, I
should be shy of trying to drive six of these bucking creatures.
However, we got safely down to Maritzburg in the course of the day, and
again I had to spend a night there, taking the train the next morning
for Durban.
The railway between these two towns is a wonderful piece of engineering
work, crawling up one side of a mountain and scuttling down the other;
very fine scenery, with sub-tropical vegetation, all the way down.
My good Durban friends again met me, and were most kind, putting me up
for the night, and then seeing me off on the _Courland Castle_, rather a
tub of a coasting vessel, that gave us such a pitching about that even
I succumbed and was sea-sick. This greatly annoyed me, as I had come all
the way out to the Cape without a qualm!
I had meant to do a jaunt up from East London to visit some people at
Grahamstown and at King William's Town, but I was so happy at Greytown
that I stayed on longer than I intended, and had to give up the other
visits.
We anchored off East London for some hours, and the captain took me
ashore to lunch with some friends of his; and they took us for a nice
drive round the town and out to a place called Cambridge, where we
picked oranges and lots of flowers. The scenery at the mouth of the
Buffalo River is very pretty.
Then we went on to Port Elizabeth, and the captain again took me out to
lunch; and we had a pleasant day exploring the town with some of his
friends, and in the evening they saw me off by train for Kimberley. The
train was rather full, but I was so tired that I slept all night, and
woke up only just in time to get some breakfast at Craddock. I am
getting quite experienced in making good use of the twenty minutes they
allow you to get meals at these wayside stopping-places.
All that day we were strolling along in the train--dinner at De Aar
Junction in the evening--and at 4 A.M. the next morning I reached
Kimberley. No one to meet me, and no cabs; so I left my baggage with a
porter, and walked down to our house. Peter, the cat, was holding an "at
home" in the garden, and Carlo, the retriever, was on the stoep to
welcome me, and assisted me to find the key under the doormat; and I was
glad to find my bed ready to tumble into, after a much-needed wash.
It is winter here now, and the people seem rather more energetic than
usual. I have been to two dances since I got back, and there are some
dinner parties in prospect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account