The Flaming Sword in Serbia and ElsewhereStobart, M. A. (Mabel Annie)
History
The Flaming Sword in Serbia and Elsewhere
Stobart, M. A. (Mabel Annie)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
There seemed no reason, however, why the British staff should not take
advantage of the offer; they could meet me at the other end of the
lake, and save themselves from days of discomfort; the Captain would
make all arrangements for them. But the suggestion was met with scorn.
Having gone through so much together, they loyally insisted on sharing
with their chief, the fate of the column.
I then asked the officer if he could help us to find rooms, as we
should be glad to get out of the rain, and he gave us an address;
but every room in the town was occupied a hundred times over, and I
decided that we must commandeer a room in the big school building.
There must be a few spare corners left there. But "nema nishta" greeted
us in every room, and no one would let us share their corner. One big
class-room was being guarded by an officer's servant, for his master
alone. We couldn't let that be, and eventually, as the result of a
combination of fierce-eye and melting-eye business, we British staff
all shared that room with the Major and his servant.
And then a charming incident occurred, typical of Serbian chivalry. The
floor was filthy, but I was about to go to bed upon it, like the rest
of the unit, when the Major very politely came up to me, and invited me
to share the tiny platform on which his mattress was laid; the floor
was there less dirty than elsewhere, as it was raised, and away from
the traffic; there was just room for two people if they lay quietly.
Serbian majors don't snore, so I accepted, and, raised regally above
the others, the Major and I slept side by side; but it all seemed so
natural that we didn't even smile. I should like to meet that Major
again. We could laugh at it now. The soldiers were housed in a room
downstairs, with many others, and when night came, the stairs, and the
landing, were blocked with snoring soldiers.
In Serbia, sanitary arrangements had been a little difficult, but in
Montenegro they gave no trouble, for they were non-existent. It was not
the custom to include lavatories in the building scheme, and in that
huge school-house there were none.
The town was, as usual, on the point of being evacuated, and no stores
of any kind could be bought; we were told that no restaurants were
open, and that no food was obtainable, but we discovered one restaurant
which was that evening serving the last meal before evacuating, and we
partook of that meal with some zest.
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