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'My Beloved Poilus

Agnes Warner

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“My Beloved Poilus”

“My Beloved Poilus”

THESE HOME LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN GIRL, DAUGHTER OF A RETIRED GENERAL OF THE U. S. ARMY, GIVING HER TRAINED SERVICES, CARING FOR THE WOUNDED IN FRANCE AT AN ARMY AMBULANCE AND SUCCORING DISTRESS WHEREVER SHE MEETS IT, ARE PUBLISHED BY HER FRIENDS WITHOUT HER KNOWLEDGE. SIMPLY AND SOLELY TO RAISE MONEY TO AID HER IN HER WORK WHICH BEGAN ON THE 4th DAY OF AUGUST, 1914. EVERY DOLLAR RECEIVED FROM THE SALE OF THE BOOK, LESS BARE COST OF PRINTING AND EXPRESS CHARGES, GOES TO THE FUND. St. John, N.

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Preface.

Preface.

When Florence Nightingale began her great work in the hospital wards at Scutari in 1854, she little realised how far-reaching would be the effect of her noble self-sacrificing efforts. Could she to-day visit the war-stricken countries of Europe she would be astonished at the great developments of the work of caring for the wounded soldiers which she inaugurated so long ago. Her fine example is being emulated to-day by hundreds of thousands of brave women who are devoting themselves to the wounde

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Introduction

Introduction

The writer of these letters, a graduate of McGill College, and the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, left New York in the Spring of 1914 with a patient, for the Continent, finally locating at Divonne-Les-Bains, France, near the Swiss border, where they were on August 1st, when war broke out. She immediately began giving her assistance in “Red Cross” work, continuing same until the latter part of November, when she returned with her patient to New York—made a hurried visit to her home in St. John

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Divonne-les-bains, France,August 2, 1914.

Divonne-les-bains, France,August 2, 1914.

Dear Mother: The awful war we have all been dreading is upon us— France is Mobilizing . At five o’clock yesterday morning the tocsin sounded from the Mairie (village hall) and men, women, and children all flocked to hear the proclamation which the Mayor of the village read. It called upon all of military age—between twenty years and fifty years—to march at once, and inside of twenty-four hours five hundred men had gone, they knew not where. The bravery of these villagers—men and women—is remarka

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Divonne-Les-Bains, France.August 23, 1914.

Divonne-Les-Bains, France.August 23, 1914.

Your letter came yesterday—twenty days on the way—but I was fortunate to get it at all; so many of these poor people, whose nearest and dearest have gone to fight for their country, have had no word from them since they marched away, and they do not know where they are. From this little village 500 men left the first day of mobilization; there is not a family who has not some one gone, and from some both fathers and sons have gone, as the age limit is from twenty to fifty years. I am filled with

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October 25, 1914.

October 25, 1914.

Another Sunday—but this is cold and rainy—the days slip by so quickly I cannot keep track of them. We have only two soldiers left at the hospital—they tell us every day that others are coming. The country all about is perfectly beautiful with the autumn coloring. We do not see any of the horrors of the war here. If it were not for the tales that come to us from outside, and for the poor broken men who come back, we would not know it was going on. There are very enthusiastic accounts of the Canad

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Paris, about February 15, 1915.

Paris, about February 15, 1915.

Back safely in Paris after taking my patient to New York and a short visit home, which now seems like a dream. I have been spending a lot of time at the American Ambulance this week, but have not gone out to stay as yet, as I still have to see some other small hospitals and had to go to the Clearing House to make arrangements for sending supplies, which I brought from home and New York, to different places. I have seen quite a number of operations, and as X-ray pictures are taken of all the case

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February 19, 1915.

February 19, 1915.

Back again in Divonne-Les-Bains. It seems as if I had never been away—I have fallen into the old work so easily. I left Paris Sunday night about eight o’clock and arrived here at two the next day, and had a warm welcome from everybody. One poor man died of tetanus before I got back. I have nine on my floor. I have thirteen patients, nine in bed all the time, and the others up part of the day. One of the women of the village helps me in the morning, two others help with the cleaning up and servin

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February 28, 1915.

February 28, 1915.

The poor man who was so very ill died on the morning of the twenty-third after three weeks of intense suffering—I stayed that night with him. The others are all out of danger with the exception of two who cannot get well—one is paralyzed and the other has tuberculosis. I went to the village for the first time yesterday and was quite touched by the welcome I received at every little shop and house. The people seemed genuinely glad to have me back. They cannot seem to get over the fact that I have

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March 5, 1915.

March 5, 1915.

I can scarcely believe that it is nearly three weeks since I left Paris. I have been so busy, that the days fly by. Some of the men are leaving to-morrow, and most of the others are getting along very well. Mr. E—— is indeed kind. He has just sent an order to the village people, who make beautiful lace and embroidery, for $500.00 worth of work. They are so happy about it, for it means food for many of them. One poor woman, who has lost her husband in the war and has a child to take care of, can

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March 7, 1915.

March 7, 1915.

One of the American doctors from the American Ambulance came to see me yesterday. He was very much interested in what he saw and is coming back in ten days. We have had one or two beautiful days, the pussy-willows are beginning to come out, and primroses everywhere. Dr. S—— said that the man who owned the wonderful dog that is at the American Ambulance is really getting well, and they managed to save one leg and the crushed hand. In Dr. B——’s service he did not do a single amputation during the

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March 21, 1915.

March 21, 1915.

This has been the most lovely Spring day. The violets are blooming in the fields, they are smaller than ours but very fragrant; the yellow primroses are beautiful and grow everywhere. There is still lots of snow on the mountains but none in the valley. If it were not for the soldiers who are here we could scarcely believe that terrible fighting is going on so near us. A lot of our men went off last week, some of them scarcely able to hobble, poor things, but all the hospitals are being cleared o

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March 26, 1915.

March 26, 1915.

Another beautiful day and the air is soft and balmy as a day in June. The woods and fields are full of spring flowers, there are big soft gray pussies on all the willow trees and the other trees are beginning to show a faint tinge of green. It is certainly a lovely place. You probably felt much relieved that I was not in Paris at the time of the last air raid when the bombs were dropped. One fell so near the Ambulance at Neuilly that one of the doctors was knocked out of bed by the shock. I had

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April 2, 1915.

April 2, 1915.

Easter Sunday and still raining. We had a splendid service from Mr. R—— and a Communion service after. The service is more like the Presbyterian than any other. We have four new soldiers but the large convoy has not yet arrived. There has been awful fighting in Alsace lately, so the wounded must come soon. To-day we had a specially good dinner for the men. Madam B—— gave them cigars and Easter eggs, and after dinner they sang some of their songs, then gave us three cheers. They are a fine lot of

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April 10, 1915.

April 10, 1915.

We had a severe snow storm to-day and yesterday also, and in between the snow storms it poured rain; all the lovely, spring weather has disappeared. Wednesday night they announced the arrival of a train of wounded, for the next morning at half-past five, but did not tell us how many to expect. We all went to the Ambulance at half-past five and got everything ready for dressing and beds prepared for thirty. At seven thirteen arrived,—all convalescents, and no dressings at all to do. The last time

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April 19, 1915.

April 19, 1915.

I have had quite a busy week, for my men have been coming and going. The paralyzed man has been sent to Bourg, the two Chasseurs d’ Alpine have gone and I have six new ones—this lot is ill, not wounded. There are three officers among them,—one is a cousin of Madam B——, the French lady who helped establish this Ambulance. Her husband came on Thursday; he has eight days leave. He is very interesting, for he has been all up through the north of France. He is adjutant to one of the generals and trav

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April 25, 1915.

April 25, 1915.

They took down all the stoves in the Ambulance last week, and the day after it snowed; we had to put some of the men to bed to keep them warm. We have been very busy all week, new patients coming every day till now we have forty. Most of them are not wounded. Poor fellows, they are utterly done out; some have pneumonia, others rheumatism, one paralyzed and all sorts of other things. This is a wonderful place for them to come to and most of them get well very quickly. They are talking of increasi

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May 2, 1915.

May 2, 1915.

I have never seen anything as lovely as the country is now, it is like one great garden; how I wish you could be here. I have had a busy day, as one of my patients had to be operated on. Doctor R—— took a piece of shrapnel out of his arm, and two others have been pretty ill; four leave to-morrow, so the general clearing up will begin again. My poor old lady who had a stroke of paralysis died yesterday. I have been helping take care of her. The only son is at the front. So many old people are dyi

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May 9, 1915.

May 9, 1915.

It is just a year to-day since I sailed from New York, starting on our trip with Mrs. E——. Little did we think of the horrors that have happened since. Seven more men went off last night, so we have only twenty left. I have ten on my floor, but only four in bed; the others are able to be out all day. Charrel, one of my patients who just left, was one of six brothers, all of whom went off the first days of the war; three have been killed, the other three wounded. I am going to Lyons on Thursday f

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May 18, 1915.

May 18, 1915.

I left here Thursday at noon with Madam B—— who went to Paris. Before I left I telegraphed to Madam M——, the wife of the soldier who was here such a long time, asking her to get me a room, but when I arrived I found the whole family at the station to meet me and they insisted on my going home to stay with them. They are very simple people, but so kind and hospitable. I think it is quite an event having a stranger stay with them. We ate in the kitchen, and the whole family seemed to sleep in a cu

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May 29, 1915.

May 29, 1915.

We got twelve more patients Wednesday,—six left. I still have fifteen; this lot were all ill. One man is quite a character. The doctor put him on milk diet the first day—but he did not approve, so he went to the village and bought a loaf of bread and some ham. Between the florist of the village and the wife of one of the soldiers I am kept well supplied with roses. I wish I could share my riches with you. I am anxiously waiting to hear of the safe arrival of the Twenty-fourth; as we have heard n

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June 20, 1915.

June 20, 1915.

Yesterday we got five patients,—the four worst were consigned to me. One poor chap was shot through the body and the spine was injured; they do not know just what the extent of the injury is, but he is completely paralyzed from the waist down. Fortunately he is very small, so it is not difficult to take care of him; he is the most cheerful soul, and says he has much to be thankful for as he has never suffered at all. When he was shot he simply had the sensation of his legs disappearing. When he

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June 22, 1915.

June 22, 1915.

I had to stop my letter as the men arrived. We got eighteen instead of fifteen. Such a tired dirty lot they were; they came straight from the battle field, and had only had one dressing done since they were wounded. Some of them came on stretchers, others were able to walk, as they were wounded in the arms and head. I drew two from this lot, which brings my number up to seventeen again. One of mine has both bones broken in his leg and the other is wounded in the left side and shoulder. One poor

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June 27, 1915.

June 27, 1915.

I did not get my letter off to-day as there was so much to do. We have had inspection all week. They have finally decided to enlarge the hospital very much and make it a semi-military institution of four hundred beds. We are to turn the large dining-room into a ward with fifty beds, and the large part of the hotel will hold three hundred more. They want me to take charge. Dr. R—— will be chief with two assistants. There will be forty men nurses—convalescent soldiers—and I do not know how many mo

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July 4, 1915.

July 4, 1915.

I was glad to get your letter this week; three weeks on the way is a long time to wait. I have such mixed feelings when I hear that the troops have left St. John. My heart aches for those left behind, but I am so glad to know they are on the way, for they are needed badly and they will get a royal welcome, for Canadians have proved their worth. When they were in barracks and had nothing to do but drill they were not always angels, but when there was real work to be done their equal was not to be

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July 11, 1915.

July 11, 1915.

We have had arrivals and departures all week. The days are not half long enough to do all that is necessary. My four men who came for electrical treatment are getting on wonderfully well, the big one who was paralyzed and who could not move hand or foot when he came, is now walking without crutches, and feeds himself. The poor little chasseur who was shot through the body is really better. He is beginning to walk—with a great deal of help, of course. He can make the movements of walking and can

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July 17, 1915.

July 17, 1915.

We have had a most terrific rain for the last two days—the people are getting anxious on account of the grain. There was no celebration in the village on the fourteenth as is usual, but at the Ambulance we had a little feast in honor of the men who were at Metezeral. We have four from the Seventh Chasseurs, whose regiment was decorated for unusual bravery. My paralyzed man stood up alone last Sunday for the first time and now he walks, pushing a chair before him like a baby. He is the happiest t

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July 25, 1915.

July 25, 1915.

Miss Todd took me out in her motor to-day for an hour. We took Daillet, my star patient, with us. It was a pleasure to see his enjoyment. Doctor R—— was much surprised at the progress he had made in eight days; he says there is no doubt but that he will be entirely cured. Daillet wrote to his mother and told her that he could stand alone and was beginning to walk, but she did not believe it; she thought that he was just trying to cheer her up, so he asked me to take a photo of him standing up so

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August 1, 1915.

August 1, 1915.

To say that I was delighted will not express my feelings when I got the letter from the Loyalist Chapter, I. O. D. E., enclosing cheque. It was awfully good of them to help us here, for I realize the demands for help on every side and it is only natural that they should send to the Canadians first. But O! it is so badly needed and will do so much good here. I had been racking my brain trying to think of a way to scratch up a few pennies, and then this delightful surprise came. This hospital is c

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August 15, 1915.

August 15, 1915.

In the face of all the terrible things which are happening one must not worry over little things. I have got to the stage now when I feel as if one should never complain or worry if they have a roof over their heads and enough to eat, and that all one’s efforts should be given to helping others. I feel perfectly overwhelmed with the letters that ought to be written, but cannot find time to do them. I have been up all night and a couple of days. We got thirty new patients last night. They arrived

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August 23, 1915.

August 23, 1915.

Your letter has been long delayed, as they are very strict and holding up the mails again. We heard this morning that there are French troops guarding the border at Crassier, just half a mile from here. We hear all the Swiss border is to be protected by barbed wire. I do not know what it all means unless it is on account of spies. We got fifteen more patients last week, one yesterday and one to-day, but as several went away we have still the same number—eighty-four. We have had a very busy morni

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Sunday, August 29, 1915.

Sunday, August 29, 1915.

It is pouring rain, it is sad to say, as the soldiers are having a little celebration. A band came from Noyon and the Count de Divonne made a speech, two of the men received their Croix de Guerre, the doctor made such a nice little speech to each of them. It was very touching to see the groups of men, some with arms in slings and others with legs and heads bandaged, and some who could not stand at all, still others were in their beds. The decorations were given in the Grand Salle. I am not sure

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September 5, 1915.

September 5, 1915.

Thanks for the money you sent from a friend in your last letter. I will use it wisely and make it go as far as possible. There will be more suffering this winter than there was last, but they are so brave, these people, they seldom complain of anything. There is a little woman here whose husband was killed. She makes twenty cents a day selling papers and gets ten cents a day pension. She has three children, the eldest a girl of twelve. I got her a good pair of boots the other day and warm underc

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September 11, 1915.

September 11, 1915.

I expect to leave here in two weeks to go to an Ambulance at the front. It is somewhere in the north in Belgium. I think Dr. R—— is sorry to have me leave, but it will be a much larger field and the kind of a place where there will be much to do. They have all been so nice to me here about helping me get my papers ready to send to the Minister of War, so I do not think there will be any difficulty of my getting through. I go to Paris first, then to Dunkirk, where Mrs. T—— will meet me, after tha

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September 16, 1915.

September 16, 1915.

It was awfully good of Miss W—— to send the money to me, it is so much needed here. I expect to get off Monday or Tuesday of next week....

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September 19, 1915.

September 19, 1915.

My orders came to-day, and I leave on Tuesday for Paris and on Friday for Dunkirk. I am up to my eyes in work, for there is so much to be done before leaving and new people to break in. Three military nurses arrived yesterday, but it is rather difficult to manage for they know nothing at all about taking care of sick people. They have all been at the front, and wounded too badly to return and sent into an auxiliary service. One is a priest, one a hair dresser and the third a horse dealer; howeve

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Paris, September 23, 1915.

Paris, September 23, 1915.

I am off to-morrow at 7.30 a. m. , to Boulogne, then Calais and reach Dunkirk at 9.30 p.m. I have had two very strenuous days and will be glad to rest in the train to-morrow. It took such a time to get my papers in order. The thermometer for the last two days has been about 100....

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Mobile No. 1, France, 1915.

Mobile No. 1, France, 1915.

I am really not in France but Belgium. I cannot tell you just where, but it is within ten miles of the firing line, and not far from the place where so many of our boys from home have been sent. I thought when I came here that it would be entirely English, as the lady who gave the hospital is an American married to an Englishman. The English are not far away but they are taken to their own hospitals. We belong to a little wedge of the French that is in between the English and Belgians. It is a r

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October 3, 1915.

October 3, 1915.

My fund is like the widow’s cruse,—it never gives out. Somebody is always sending me something. I do hope they all realize how grateful I am and how much good I have been able to do. I have been very careful how I spent it. A boy of twenty went off to-day. He had absolutely nothing warm to put on him, so I got him an outfit at Dunkirk—he was almost blown to pieces, poor boy, and he said that one sock was all that was left of his clothes. They provide them with necessary things at the hospital, b

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Mobile No. 1, November 7, 1915.

Mobile No. 1, November 7, 1915.

Letter writing is done, under difficulties here. I have gone to bed in order to keep warm and have a small lantern with a candle in to light the paper....

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November 15, 1915.

November 15, 1915.

I did not get any further with my letter for the kitty insisted upon playing with the candle and I was afraid we would have a fire, and since then I have been so busy I have not had a minute. We have had three glorious days and have appreciated them, I can tell you. It has been so cold and wet we have all been water-logged. As for me, I have no word to express my gratitude for all the friends have sent to me. I am quite overwhelmed with all the gifts of money and supplies, but I shall make good

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November 28, 1915.

November 28, 1915.

It is bitterly cold here, and we feel it more because it is so damp. I can’t tell you how thankful I am to be able to get socks and warm things for the men. We can send things to the first dressing station by the ambulances, and from there they go to the trenches at once. Mrs. D——’s socks came yesterday, and I sent them off to Colonel Noble, who has the soup kitchen at the front. All Mrs. S——’s have been given away. It was such a good idea to have them white, for they put them on under the other

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December 5, 1915.

December 5, 1915.

Last night we had the most awful wind storm. I thought our little hut would be carried over into the German lines. It rained in torrents and the roof leaked, and I could not get my bed away from the drips, so I put up my umbrella and the kitty and I had quite a comfortable night. Ben Ali, the poor Arab who was so desperately wounded, was up to-day for the first time. I have ordered six dozen pair of socks from Paris. My nice old English Colonel Noble (with the soup kitchen) is always clamoring f

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December 26, 1915.

December 26, 1915.

Christmas is over, and in spite of the under-current of sadness and the suffering the men had a very happy day. In my ward all but one were well enough to enjoy the tree, and they were like a lot of children with their stockings. Christmas Eve one of the orderlies who was on guard helped me decorate the ward and trim the tree, then we hung up their stockings. They had oranges, sweets and cigarettes and some small toys and puzzles and various things of that kind to amuse them. I had a package for

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January 1, 1916.

January 1, 1916.

It is hard to believe that we are beginning another year. If only it will bring a lasting peace! The boxes have not turned up yet, but they doubtless will one of these days, and we will be all the more glad to see them because we have used up everything else. I expected to go on night duty immediately after Christmas, but we had such sick people in my ward they did not want to make a change just then. It is blowing a gale again to-night, and raining in torrents; it seems as if it would never sto

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January 16, 1916.

January 16, 1916.

We have had orders to evacuate all the men who are able to travel, so we got rid of a great many—eighteen went on Tuesday, twenty on Friday and nineteen more are to go next Tuesday. The roof nearly blew off my ward last night, so my patients had to be moved into the next ward till it is mended. I am going to take advantage of it and have a thorough house cleaning. Le Roux, the boy who has been here so long and who has been so terribly ill, died on Tuesday. I had great hopes of him up till the la

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January 25, 1916.

January 25, 1916.

We have been awfully busy, wounded arriving every night, sometimes nine and sometimes ten, etc. To-night we have had only six so far, but will probably have some more before eight a. m. , they have all been very bad cases. There has been a terrific bombardment every night we have been on duty. My little tent nearly blew away in the big wind storm, so I had to sleep in the barracks—or rather try to sleep. I did not succeed very well, so to-day I moved back to the tent. From my bed in the tent I c

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January 30, 1916.

January 30, 1916.

It has been so cold and damp to-day that I could not get warm even in bed. I like sleeping out in the little tent and as a rule sleep very well—have a cup of hot tea when they wake us at six o’clock. I wear two pair of socks, beside the rooms are not so frightfully damp since we got up the little stoves; they get dried out once a day, which is a great advantage. I am sending you some snap shots of my little kitty. We call her “Antoinette” after the aeroplane, for she makes a noise like the aerop

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February 6, 1916.

February 6, 1916.

We are so busy here that we scarcely know where to turn. It is just a procession of wounded coming and going all the time, for we have to send them off as quickly as possible in order to make room for the new arrivals. Thirty-eight went off last Tuesday and fifteen on Friday, but the beds are filled up again. The last ones we have been getting are so badly wounded that I wonder who can be moved on Tuesday. We have had wild wind and rain for the last week, but to-day is cold and clear and for the

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February 22, 1916.

February 22, 1916.

There have been two big attacks and we have had our hands full. Since Sunday the cannonading has gone on without ceasing. It seems to be all round us. At night we can see the flashes of the guns quite distinctly, in fact the sky is lit up most of the time. It is like the reflection of a great fire—it would be very beautiful if one could get away from the horror of what it all means. The aeroplanes were almost as thick as the motors—one came down in a field near the hospital yesterday—the wings w

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March 6, 1916.

March 6, 1916.

We have had snow several times this week and it is snowing again to-day. It is very pretty for a little while but soon melts, and the mud is worse than ever. I feel that I can never be grateful enough to the people who have enabled me to do so much for these poor men. I am going to order some more pillows, they are things that we need very much. All the lung cases have to sit up in bed and need a great many pillows to make them comfortable. Strange to say we have not lost a lung case and we have

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March 12, 1916.

March 12, 1916.

Only ten admissions. All the efforts are being directed against Verdun. The defence has been magnificent, and if only the ammunition holds out there will be no danger of the Germans getting through; but what a terrible waste of good material on both sides. Mrs. Turner has been obliged to go to Paris and has left me in charge of the hospital. I hope nothing terrible will happen while she is away. The snow is all gone and we are having rain again. My kitty is getting very bad and spends all her ni

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March 20, 1916.

March 20, 1916.

I am left in charge of the Ambulance for a time and am a bit nervous, having French, English, American, Canadian and Australian nurses under me. We had quite an exciting time yesterday watching a German being chased by four French machines. They all disappeared in the clouds so we do not know what happened. To-day I counted eleven aeroplanes in the air at once as well as three observation balloons. One aeroplane came so close over the barracks that we could wave to the pilot. We had a lot of pat

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March 29, 1916.

March 29, 1916.

Just a week ago a French general was brought in wounded in the leg while he was inspecting the Belgian trenches. We were rather overwhelmed at first, but I arranged a corner of one of the wards and he spent one day and night there while we fixed up an empty ward for him. The next day his wife arrived and she is camping quite contentedly in another corner of the ward. She, poor woman, has suffered much from the war but is very brave. Her eldest son was killed, her second son is ill at Amiens, and

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April 8, 1916.

April 8, 1916.

A cheque came to-day from the De Monts Chapter, I. O. D. E., which gave me great joy. It touches me to tears to think of the way the St. John people have helped me. I wish they could have a look in here and see how much more I have been able to do on account of the help they have sent me. There is a soldier who helps here by the name of Baquet; his wife has just taken three orphan children, the oldest six years old, to look after, in addition to her own four, her mother and her mother-in-law. Th

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April 11, 1916.

April 11, 1916.

Yesterday we had quite an interesting time with air crafts. The machine came down so close, that we could see the pilot and his assistant who waved to us that they were going to throw something to us. A package landed, almost in the pond. It turned out to be a letter tied up in a handkerchief with some shot as weight. It was from the English boys who were patients here for a while; they told us they would pay us a visit some day. We could see the machine gun in front of the aeroplane quite disti

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May 3, 1916.

May 3, 1916.

I got a lot of linen hats and Chinese umbrellas to keep the sun off the patients when they are out of doors. The two Canadian nurses are a joy to work with, for they have had splendid training and are the kind that will go till they drop. We have a wounded German prisoner who was brought in three days ago. The poor boy had to lose his right arm, and was at first terrified of every one. He expected to be ill-treated, but now that he sees he gets the same treatment as all the other patients he is

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Paris, May 24, 1916.

Paris, May 24, 1916.

I left Dunkirk Thursday morning in time to escape the bombs, and stopped off at Etaples to look up some of our friends at the Canadian hospital. Dr. MacL—— had left for London but I saw M—— D——, and M—— P——. Etaples is a real city of hospitals now. I saw the St. John Ambulance and the Canadian unit; they are both most interesting, so well organized. Captain T—— took me to the station in a motor, for which I was glad, as it is two miles, and the walk over in the sun was as much as I wanted. Arriv

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Divonne-Les-Bains, May 30, 1916.

Divonne-Les-Bains, May 30, 1916.

I did not go to the Grand Hotel for reasons of economy. This is a clean little place and I am quite comfortable but I miss the bathroom and the balcony. There are no patients at the Ambulance here for the moment. All the fighting is in the north and at Verdun. Poor Verdun—it is terrible there, one hundred days and still no let up—I think there will be no men left in France before long and then the English will have to take their turn. When will it all end? Divonne is as beautiful as ever, and so

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Mobile No. 1, France, June 20, 1916.

Mobile No. 1, France, June 20, 1916.

To-day I went over to Poperinghe to look up Margaret H——. She is in charge of the Canadian clearing hospital and is doing a wonderful work. They have been getting all the wounded from this last fight—receive one day, evacuate the next, and the third day clean up and get ready again. It is wonderfully organized; the trains come right up to the hospital and there is a nurse for each car, so the patients are well looked after. Margaret has been mentioned in despatches, I believe. I am so glad, for

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June 25, 1916.

June 25, 1916.

I went over for Margaret H—— in the motor. She went with me to the cemetery near the hospital and I put some roses on the grave of one of our St. John boys. I wish his mother could see how well cared for it is. Margaret came back to tea with us. To-day I have been specializing a man who has developed tetanus. I would almost wish that he would die, for he has no hands, and has a great hole in his chest and back, but strange to say he wants to live, is so patient and so full of courage. When I hav

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July 16, 1916.

July 16, 1916.

Another rainy day and as cold as the dickens but we are glad to get through the summer without extreme heat or a pest of flies. My tetanus case is really getting better. Last week I went to a concert given at R—— for the soldiers who are resting. It was one of the nicest I have ever been at. I did not want to go, for I don’t feel like any kind of gaiety, but Mrs. T—— insisted. There were only three ladies present, the rest of the salle was filled with soldiers just from the trenches. The concert

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July 29, 1916.

July 29, 1916.

We are nearly eaten up with the mosquitoes so I have been to Dunkirk to get some mosquito netting. Mrs. T—— gave a grand concert to the men on the anniversary of the opening of this hospital. Denries, from the Opera Comique in Paris, and Madame Croiza, from the opera in Paris, sang. The Prince of Teck was here and in my ward, he was so nice to the patients. We had French, English and Belgian generals, colonels and officers of various kinds....

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No. 3 Canadian Casualty Station,July 31, 1916.

No. 3 Canadian Casualty Station,July 31, 1916.

I got twenty-four hours permission and came out here to spend the night with nursing Sister Margaret Hare, hoping to get some news of B——. I have found out where he is and that he has been on rest and went back to the trenches to-day. They are usually on duty eight days and off eight, so Margaret is going to send him word when he next comes off to come here and I will come over and meet him. I do hope we will be able to make connection. It is so hard to be so near and yet not be able to see him.

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Mobile No. 1, August 14, 1916.

Mobile No. 1, August 14, 1916.

We have had a strenuous and exciting week. It began with a visit from the King of the Belgians, who came to decorate three of my men who had fought in the trenches with conspicuous bravery. He visited all the wards and talked with the soldiers. Like all the royalty I have met so far, he is extraordinarily simple—wore no decorations or distinguishing marks of any kind. We were all presented to him in turn and shook hands with him. The next day we got twenty gas cases and several badly wounded men

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August 28, 1916.

August 28, 1916.

I have met our boy B—— at his rest camp not very far from here. It was a joy to find him looking so well, and big and brown....

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September 9, 1916.

September 9, 1916.

Rain, continuous rain. The guns have been roaring without any let-up for three days and nights, and our little barracks are nearly shaken to pieces. We have had several warnings of gas attacks, but fortunately nothing has happened. One of the orderlies kept his mask on all night and everyone was surprised that he was alive next morning, they are the most awful smelling things you can imagine. We have never seen so many aeroplanes as during this past week. This morning we counted eighteen in a ro

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October 1, 1916.

October 1, 1916.

The rain has begun, so I suppose we may expect to be under water for the rest of the winter, but things are going well for us, so we must hope on; but O! how dreadful it all is. A stationary balloon that is not far from here, used as a Belgian observation post, was struck by a bomb from an aeroplane and we saw it fall in flames. The men who were in it jumped out with parachutes and both escaped without injury. Broterl, the famous French sniper and poet, came the other day to sing for the soldier

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October 9, 1916.

October 9, 1916.

Our Bayard has come through the Courcelette fight safely, where the New Brunswickers did such wonders; but O! at such a terrible cost. It has been very cold and rainy here. I am afraid the bad weather has set in. Wish you would send me an aluminum hot water bottle for Christmas, another pair of Indian moccasins, and fill up the corners of the box with malted milk and maple sugar. I shall never forget the poor little Breton who said when he saw me—as he roused a little when we were taking him fro

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January 1, 1917.

January 1, 1917.

The men had a wonderful Christmas day. They were like a happy lot of children. We decorated the wards with flags, holly, mistletoe, and paper flowers that the men made, and a tree in each ward. You cannot imagine how pretty they were. Each patient began the day with a sock that was hung to the foot of his bed by the night nurses. In each was an orange, a small bag of sweets, nuts and raisins, a handkerchief, pencil, tooth brush, pocket comb and a small toy that pleased them almost more than anyt

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