THE LUCKY WOUNDED.

North Otago Times, Volume CI, Issue 13235, 5 March 1915, Page 7

THE LUCKY WOUNDED.

anxious Waiting for the - ambulance/ '">

Tim reception of wounded' soldiers in the (lospital of a Scjuth Cqant Avntering lown nalnrnlly an event of first clasß importance in .Did;''cyea-,, of ■ the nurses who arc now attending' to' the needs of the galJaut mcii from' the Cront. ," : t ;. ; • ■ ■ _ ■'/"■: How anxiously the arrival of,the soldicrs was atvaitedyahd with what joy 4U(I tenderness the'nurses began their care ;of."the big,'.weary babies,," : ia prettily told in .thefollowing notes frpm ,a sister'rlcttcf to'horhjm'e:'--' , ~ At last our hopes : haii'eibecii realised, and our empty bedVflllcd with wounded warriors. • iVsterday wo'wcro iriformnd definitely that a consignment of English wounded wo.uld arrivo-latc in the eveningy'probably about il ; p;m. : All the evening the srsterVwcre busy'with! final prcparatibrifi;' fires; ."wero made up in the empty'wards, hot-watcr'b'ot'tlea refilled and put back:in thcbed3,Jargc;quanta tics of- rich,',nourishing .soup Ifliado' in the. kitchen,, and every • conceivable detail was brought ■io i the. last stage of readiness. "...' Al Last!' ' ' .' At 11 o'clock nothing happened, but ivc began to be fidgety. A little later' a telephone messagofrom the station lengthened the wait until 12.30 .' or 12.45. Th,at was trying, but we made the best of it, you may. be. sure. Outside the, gates an expectant little crowd, had gathered, evidently prepared to, wait until dawn if necessary. - Inside, four cnnstables,; all tho hospital porters, dressers, and compiittecnicn relieved the tc-. dium by marching up and down the drive, and looking magnificently important. Inside, nurses arid sisters ran from ward to ward, drank 1 ' coffee to keep themselves awake| then, watehe4 and waited'apd listened, on the balcony for tho .least suspicion Of a- motor hoot. Finally, they settled down< in a ring round the biggest, ward fire, and begged tho'eldest sister ofallTo tell'them,a story. And so.she <jid,,dcar soul. .', So the time was not long, .Wc.tetrollcd out on the lialconics again, under the stars, and 10l in'the distance .enmo the hum of a car, ' ■'; ; '

At last, at ten minutes past one, the first weary travellers wero driven up, amid cheers from all spectators, From that time onward until iMO a.m. ambulance vans and motor cars drove up, and the tramp-of porters bearing their strctehcred burdens sounded through tho wards.

Before they knew what had. happened the soldiers were uudresscd, Lathed, temperatures taken, had food and drink and a cigarette, and were off to sleep. Most 'of them had not had their clothes off since the beginning or middle of August. "Now, my man, just have a ■ good sleep," said a sister to her first charge when he was comfortably settled in. "Huh! I'll never be able to go to sleep in this bed," said he. "It's too beautiful." He changed his mind, however.

A cheery Scot, dropping with sleep, was deposited in a corner bed and disrobed.

"Whatever have you got there!" a sister was askiM, as a strange-looking article was brought to light.

"To be sure it's his kilt—the first I've ever taken from any man!" was the ji fill answer, and a general chuckle went round.

Opposite Scotty lies a curly-headed Taffy, as Welsh as you please, with a smile that scarcely melts when he drops into the land of dreams Irish Pal, with a brogue as broad as ho is long, is gaily jabbering at the far end of tho big ward, to the delight of the Irish nurses, who attend to his every rant. Sister's Teat. - So, one by one, the big weary babies vro settled down to rest. The worst vounds arc dressed, the cigarettes arc imoked out—few arc 100 ill to enjoy ■hat luxury—and at l.lifl the happy band )f day-workers troop off cheerily to bed, 'caving the night nurses (though sonicjvh'iil reluctantly) in supreme command cor a few hours. Before she went to bed, however, one ,iroud sister achieved a great feat. Creeping softly up to a.poor man whose urn had been blown off, she heard:' ■"'Sister!" "Yes, Daddy!" '' Will you giv/5 mo my pipe! ; ' "Here it is, but there isn't much tolacco in it." "Oh, that'll be enough," said he, lomfortnblv. "Shall! light it for you, dad!" And ?o she did, with much pride; lit a pipe for the first time in her life, and went, to bed rejoicing, though smoke and! smokers had ever been her pet aversion, j But, then, it in war time! j Most of them came from some part j Dr other of the great Aisnc battle, andj ■.snmu have diead.'ul wounds; but they! are—well, perfect bri"ks. .No otiwr word can describe them. When I was undressing one man I found he had on quite a new pair of grey knitted socks, They looked exactly like those wc have all been 'knitting, aud they wero eo nice and soft, and so easy to take off, Many of the socks wc had to cut, they were as hard as boards, Good luck to all sock-knit-ters I —English Exchange,