Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons: Wesel, Sennelager, Klingelputz, RuhlebenTalbot, Frederick Arthur Ambrose
History
Sixteen Months in Four German Prisons: Wesel, Sennelager, Klingelputz, Ruhleben
Talbot, Frederick Arthur Ambrose
World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons
"No!" he called out, raising his hand in protest. "Put your money back.
You will have this with me. I extended the invitation and I certainly
intend to pay for it!"
If any man had called for cheers for the doctor I think we should have
brought the house down about our ears. But we were so dumbfounded at
this first expression of a "white man's" action which we had encountered
in Germany, that we could not utter a sound. We merely sat like a party
of expectant school-children at a Sunday school treat.
The doctor busied himself seeing that each man received an adequate
quantity of refreshment, and that it was according to his fancy. I
myself being an abstainer, declined the beverage which was popular and
which was being keenly enjoyed. Observing that I was drinking nothing he
hurried over.
"Where's your beer?"
"Sorry, doctor, but I do not take alcohol!"
Without a word he swung on his heel, hailed the landlord, and enquired
for some home-made lemonade. Boniface was sorry but he was unable to
oblige. But the doctor was not to be put off. He curtly ordered the
landlord to prepare some instantly and what is more to the point he
followed him to see that it was brewed correctly.
After the meal he insisted that we should take a brief rest to assist
its digestion, which, owing to the weakened condition of our organs, was
no easy matter. Then, when we all felt fit, we returned to the traction
engine. You can imagine how we clustered round the doctor thanking him
for his kindness, but he would not listen to our expressions of
gratitude. Laughing good-naturedly, he maintained that he had done
nothing beyond what he considered to be his duty, and as we shouldered
the ropes once more, he gave us a parting cheer.
That meal put new life into us, and we towed the load with such gusto
that we covered the second lap of the distance in fine style. When we
reached the camp and were dismissed, the incident about the doctor's
munificence flashed through to its four corners like lightning. It
became the one topic of spirited conversation. We had always voted the
doctor a jolly good fellow, but now he was the hero of the hour. When he
next came into the camp he received such a thundering and spontaneous
ovation as to startle him, until at last the reason for this outburst
dawned upon him. But he turned it off with his characteristic laugh and
joke.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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