Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - I. On the Way to the Front
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
38 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
there is plenty of room, as only 220 beds are occupied, of
which 150 by Frenchmen. Six doctors and one head surgeon,
assisted by a great number of Red Cross sisters, were in charge
of the wounded soldiers. In due course we arrived at the
barracks, were passed by the sentry at the gate, entered a
corridor and knocked at a door which was duly opened, and
a moment later we had become the bosom friends of a couple
of young doctors sitting at supper before a steaming bowl of
soup which had just been brought in. I asked them, whatever
they did, not to interrupt their meal, as we could sit and chat
with them in the meantime. But no, that would not do at all,
the soup could wait, and guided by a little oil lamp we marched
out through the long corridor and began at once by inspecting
a couple of the operating theatres, which had been rigged up
hurriedly on the outbreak of war and equipped as far as
possible on thoroughly modem lines. The operating tables
were in the middle of the room. Water-pipes, vessels, ap-
pliances and a number of surgical instruments—everything
was in superb condition. The walls and floor of these rooms
had been painted over in oil and an average of fifteen opera-
tions took place in them daily. Several other barracks at
Treves have been fitted up as hospitals in a like manner.
Thereupon we went into a large ward filled with wounded
German soldiers, and chatted with several of them. All were
very satisfied and cheerful, they all felt thoroughly at home
and could not conceive it possible to receive better and kindlier
treatment than they got at the hospital. Nevertheless time
hung heavily on their hands, and they could not help thinking
of their comrades in the field. They longed to be back at the
war and hoped soon to be about again—that is to say, those
who knew that they would not be crippled for life.
We left them with a " Gute Nacht, gute Besserung," and
proceeded to a ward higher up, where French soldiers were
being tended. Here we also spoke with some of the patients.
They were all polite and communicative, but lacked the cheery
disposition of the Germans, which was really not to be wondered
at, as they were in enemy country and cut off from all com-
munication with their own people. One of them had been
wounded at Rossignol like Lieutenant Verrier, but did not
know him. He had been shot through the left hand and the
left leg, which the surgeon had been obliged to amputate.
When he got his bullet wounds, he had strength and presence
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
