I stood, lost in the busy scene before me, when, hearing K.'s voice, I
turned to be introduced to Captain R., tall, bright-eyed, immaculate,
and very much master of himself and circumstances it seemed, for,
despite crowded customs-office, he whisked us through and thence before
sundry officials, who glared at me and my passport, signed, stamped,
returned it and permitted me to go.
After luncheon we drove to a great base hospital where I was introduced
to the Colonel-Surgeon in charge, a quiet man, who took us readily
under his able guidance. And indeed a huge place was this, a place for
me of awe and wonder, the more so as I learned that the greater part of
it had come into being within one short year.
It lies beside the sea, this hospital, where clean winds blow, its neat
roadways are bordered by green lawns and flanked by long, low buildings
that reach away in far perspective, buildings of corrugated iron, of
wood and asbestos, a very city, but one where there is no riot and rush
of traffic, truly a city of peace and brooding quietude.
And as I looked upon this silent city, my awe grew, for the Colonel,
in his gentle voice, spoke of death and wounds, of shell-shock,
nerve-wrack and insanity; but he told also of wonderful cures, of
miracles performed on those that should have died, and of reason and
sanity won back.
"And you?" I questioned, "have you done many such wonders?"
"Few!" he answered, and sighed. "You see, my duties now are chiefly
administrative," and he seemed gently grieved that it should be so.
He brought us into wards, long, airy and many-windowed, places of
exquisite neatness and order, where calm-faced sisters were busied
and smart, soft-treading orderlies came and went. Here in white cots
lay many bandaged forms, some who, propped on pillows, watched us
bright-eyed and nodded in cheery greeting; others who lay so ominously
still.
But as I passed between the long rows of cots, I was struck with the
look of utter peace and content on so many of the faces and wondered,
until, remembering the hell whence they had so lately come, I thought I
understood. Thus, bethinking me of how these dire hurts had been come
by, I took off my hat, and trod between these beds of silent suffering
as softly as I could, for these men had surely come "out of great
tribulation."
In another ward I saw numbers of German wounded, most of them bearded;
many there were who seemed weakly and undersized, and among them were
many grey heads, a very motley company. These, the Colonel informed
us, received precisely the same treatment as our own wounded, even to
tobacco and cigarettes.
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