LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3399, 7 May 1919, Page 53

LITERATURE.

BOOK NOTICES. "Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt," by James W. Barrett, K.8.E., C.M.G., M.D., M.S., F.R.G.S. (Temporary Lieutenantcolonel JR.A.M.C), and Lieutenant P. E. Deane, A.A.M.C. (Quartermaster First Australian General Hospital, Egypt). London : H. K.„ Lewis and Co. (Cloth; maps and Dlustrations. 10s 6d). I This is an illustrated and detailed account of -the early organisation and work of the Australian Medical Units in Egypt, 1914-1915. It sets forth the whole history of' the wonderful work which converted a small understaffed hospital prepared to receive some 350 patients into an enormous hospital with many outlying additions—camps capable of accommodating 10,600—1047 being admitted in two days (June 8 and 9, 1915). When the idea of sending a hospital unit from Australia was first suggested, little was known of the requirements and of the work to be done. At the outbreak of war the Australian Army Medical Corps consisted of one whole-time medical officer, Surgeon-General Williams, C. 8., a parttime medical, officer to each of the six otates, and a number of regimental officers. All except the first-named were engaged in civil practice. When it became necessary to send out a hospital unit every effort was made to get together the required staff, and they were sent to Egypt in the "Kyarra," the only vessel obtainable, and one utterly unsuited to the task. The voyage was a very unpleasant experience. The unit believed that they were bound for France, and when landed in Alexandria some disappointment was expressed on the supposition that there "would not be much work to do." They were soon convinced of their error, and when the wounded men from Gallipoli began to arrive they were hard at work converting the Palace Hotel at Heliopolis into a suitable military hospital. The photos show a huge hotel de luxe, consisting of a basement and four storeys. This was arranged to the best advantage; two large wards being arranged in the Rotunda and Central Hall, the remainder of the rooms holding from, three to six beds. The doors were removed. There were fortunately many bathrooms and lavatories. The rooms are very lofty, and provided with large windows, but there are no fanlights over the doors, so that if they had' been left in place the ventilation would have been inadequate—The rooms were filled with valuable furniture, including large carpets and curtains." These were stored away in various rooms and corridors, and ultimately removed to make room for more beds. When the hotel was full, other buildings were gradually commandeered and utilised. Of these some were partially or entirely in the open, and of these openair hospitals the writers of this book speak with enthusiasm, declaring that in the dry, rainless air of Egypt they were most successful' wounds healing "by first intention." Much has been said about the Egyptian climate being unsuitable for hospital work, but the writers are of a different opinion. They call attention to the fact that the climate c-f Egypt is not tropical, merely sub-tropical, that only when the hot winds blow is there any real discomfort, and this may be greatly minimised by care in closing rooms during the day and opening them only at night. when the air is always cool. The book is full of details concerning the working the different hospitals and annexes; of statistics concerning various diseases and other similar technical subjects of great importance to those engaged in similar work, now or at any future time. The 'excellent work of the Y.M.C.A.. and of the British and Australasian Red Cross is treated most appreciatively, and considered at some length ; and the. wav in which they have supplemented the official supplies by their splendid voluntary efforts is again and again pointed out. Much help was also given by AngrloEgyptians, which is also acknowledged. Sundry faults • and short-comings are pointed out. but on the whole the tone of the whole book is optimistic as regards the work done and the method of doing it. It is easy for persons at a distance who know little or nothing of Egypt, except what the casual globetrotter beholds in passing, and 1 even of the difficulties attending great hospital organisations, to find fault with what hp.s been done j but only those who were in the thick of It can appreciate the

work at its true -value, or gauge its success. "The causes, which found the medical services unprepared, which fqrced them to expand to the breaking point, and which led to the criticism of the hospital authorities ; are not departmental or sectional—they are national. Our policy for the future must be one of Ecientifiic organisation and calculated preparation in every department. Eternal vigilance is the only safe policy." Two valuable appendices give translations of the Geneva Convention of July 6, 1906, and the Convention for the Adeotation of the Principles of the Geneva Convention to Maritime War. The volume is profusely illustrated by full-page pictures . and maps from photos taken by Private Frank Tate, more enlightening and helpful than many long explanations.

"Footsteps," by Dorothy Percival. London : John Lane '"'The Bodley Head" (cloth. 6s). An interesting story of a girl with an incorrigibly idle, dissipated, worthless father, who has settled in one of the wealthy relative ; in the hope that he may there retrieve his fortunes and his reputation. But the hope is vain. Mr Nugent sinks from bad to worse, and drags his only child, Daphne, down with him. On the verge of bankruptcy he falls so low as to encourage the attentions of his daughter's would-be-suitor, Golsalves, an utterly vicious and unprincipled Spaniard of the worst type, but the wealthy owner of many neighbouring plantations. Dapnne is a pure-minded, gentle-hearted girl, • but painful experiences in many lands has tamght her to distrust her father and her father's friends. She knows more than a young should know, and makes use of all her women's weapons; so that though she both hates and fears Gonsalves she does not refuse him at once, but—knowing herself utterly unprotected ssid alone with her father's, .influence against her—she endeavours to temporise to keep Gonsalves quiet by vague promises, hoping against hope for ultimate deliverance from the night-mare marriage, which threatens her. At this crisis Ronnie Weston, a young English engineer, working on the Island, makes his appearance, and by his bright, sunny nature and determined friendship, introduces a new element into Daphne's chequered life. The story ends on a happy note, with a glimpse of a cheerful family party at Ronnie's Yorkshire home, where Daphne is received with open arms as a daughter indeed, and is soon made to forget her past sufferings. The "Footsteps" are not always those of angels, nor even honest men, but their recurrence on more than one occasion serve as warning of coming danger.

"Jaunty Jock," and other stories, by Neil iUu'niro, W. Blackwood" and Sons, Edinburgh and London. (Cloth._ 6s). Mr Neil Munro is generally considered one of our modern of British prose. The present volume is an excellent and typical example of his style. The majority of the stories are Highland in their setting, with just a touch of dialect; enough to give character, but not enough to puzzle the ordinary English readers. Some go back to an early historical period, some are quite modern, and the one entitled, "A Return to Nature," is a curious and interesting example of the atavistic re-crudescence of instincts and ideals, habits and customs, once all pervading, but long over-laid by the conventions of modern civilisation, returning to life with all ther old power and force when memory makes a clear call to the sub-conscious Ego. All the stories are well worth reading.