My War Experiences in Two ContinentsMacnaughtan, S. (Sarah)
History
My War Experiences in Two Continents
Macnaughtan, S. (Sarah)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals, charities, etc.; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, English
We reached Christiania after a wonderfully calm crossing, and went to
the Grand Hotel at 1 a.m. No rooms to be had, so we went on to the
Victoria--a good old house, not fashionable, but with a nice air about
it, and some solid comforts. We left on Wednesday, the 20th, at 7 a.m.
This was something of a feat, as we have twenty-four boxes with us. I
only claim four, and feel as if I might have brought more, but everyone
has a different way of travelling, and luggage is often objected to.
Indeed, I think this matter of travelling is one of the most curious in
the world. I cannot understand why it is that to get into a train or a
boat causes men and women to leave off restraint and to act in a
primitive way. Why should the companionship of the open road be the
supreme test of friendship? and why should one feel a certain fear of
getting to know people too well on a journey? The last friends I
travelled with were very careful indeed, and we used to reckon up
accounts and divide the price of a bottle of "vin ordinaire" equally. My
friends to-day seem inclined to do themselves very well, and to scatter
largesse everywhere.
[Page Heading: STOCKHOLM]
_Stockholm. 21 October._--After a long day in the train we reached
Stockholm yesterday evening, and went to the usual "Grand Hotel." This
time it is very "grand," and very expensive. Mr. Bevan has a terrible
pink boudoir-bedroom, which costs L3 per night, and I have a small room
on the fourth floor, which costs 17s. 6d. without a bath. There is
rather a nice court in the middle of the house, with flowers and a band
and tables for dinner, but the sight of everyone "doing himself well"
always makes me feel a little sick. The wines and liqueurs, and the big
cigars at two shillings each, and the look of repletion on men's faces
as they listen to the band after being fed, somewhat disgust me.
One's instinct is to dislike luxury, but in war-time it seems horrible.
We ourselves will probably have to rough it badly soon, so I don't
mind, but it's a side of life that seems to me as beastly as anything I
know. Fortunately, the luxury of an hotel is minimised by the fact that
there are no "necessaries," and one lives in an atmosphere of open
trunks and bags, with things pulled out of them, which counterbalances
crystal electric fittings and marble floors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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