Eastern Nights - and Flights: A Record of Oriental Adventure.Bott, Alan
History
Eastern Nights - and Flights: A Record of Oriental Adventure.
Bott, Alan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, English; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Turkish
I chose melancholia for the first demonstration in the new quarters.
All day I stared at the ceiling, and answered questions with a rough
"_oui_" or "_non_" without looking at the questioner. Then, at three
A.M., when the four Turks were asleep, I picked up a medicine bottle,
half filled with the bromide medicine, and flung it at the wall. It
struck, tinkled, and scattered in fragments; while three of the Turkish
officers woke and sat up in bed.
"Air-raid?" suggested one of them--for at that time British bombers
from Mudros were visiting Constantinople on most moonlit nights.
"No, a bottle," said another, switching on a light and pointing to the
splintered glass.
He proceeded to protest angrily in Turkish, and I caught the words "mad
Englishman." He turned off the light, and all lay down again. When the
night orderly arrived he found everything quiet, and dared ask no
questions for fear of disturbing the Turkish officers.
Next morning, however, the senior officer in the ward protested to the
chief doctor against being submitted to disturbance and possible
violence from a mentally afflicted Englishman. I was then moved into a
large room where were W., R., Ms., and other officer prisoners.
To sham violence before fellow-Britishers was almost impossible, I
found, even though they coöperated in casting dust into Turkish eyes. I
modified the fits into starts and twitchings whenever a sudden noise
coincided with the presence of a doctor. The melancholia and loss of
memory I retained, for these were easy of accomplishment.
In any case I should have been obliged to become normal enough for
walks outside the hospital, if my hopes were to become realities.
Staying in Constantinople when the rest of the party had returned to
Anatolia was all very well, but it availed nothing unless I could get
into touch with people who might help me to plan an escape.
Each Sunday morning such British officers as were not confined to bed
attended service at the Crimean Memorial Church, off the Grande Rue de
Péra. I wished to make use of this fact in my search for helpers.
Besides the clergyman himself there were still a few British civilians
free in Constantinople, and most of them visited the church on Sunday
mornings. Above all, there would be the chance of asking advice from
Miss Whittaker, a very plucky and noble lady who had taken great risks
upon herself in helping prisoners. Already she had managed to visit us
at Gumuch Souyou, in the company of a Dutch diplomat's wife who came
with official sanction.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account