66

ly progressing to convalescence, or when perhaps he is fading out of life, the gentle touch of a woman's hand and the soothing tones of a woman's voice are to him of inestimable value. Good and attentive as male nurses may be, their care lacks something which is supplied by that ministering angels."

of the R.A.M.C. are constantly
emulated by the men who serve
with them. There is no doubt
that in the line nearest the
enemy, where work must in-
evitably be to some extent
rough and ready, when grave
danger is hovering near, and
a hospital must, as it were,
"" Iwith the of the
come into action
utmost rapidity, and not always
under the most favourable sur-
rounding circumstances, the
men of the R.A.M.C. are the
best possible nurses. It has
been suggested that some lady
nurses should be attached to
the field hospitals; but the con-
sensus of opinion among those
who are responsible that the
work is well done, and among
the poor Tommies who form
the cases, is that the ladies
would be quite out of place so
near the battlefield, and that it
is much better to rely entirely
on the men who have always
proved themselves to be so good
and efficient. It is obvious,
too, that, if a lady nurse falls
sick, it would be impossible in
a field hospital to provide that
she should have the care and
privacy due to her sex.

But in the case of our sick and wounded soldiers there is still a very important place for lady nurses. Immediately after the first shock of a wound, the patient's thoughts are still full of the excitement of the fight, or else he is nearly unconscious of surrounding influences. So long as he is attended to, there is little room for the sway of the mind over the body; but when he finds himself in a stationary or base hospital, during the longdrawn-out days while he is slow

This has been recognised for some years, and a corps of ladies called the Army Nursing Service has been formed for hospital duty in England and the Colonies, India being provided for by the Indian Nursing Service, which is a separate body. The sisters of the Army Nursing Service all go through a course of instruction at Netley, and there become accustomed to military ways and military discipline. A large number of them are now in South Africa, and how admirably their work is done will be told by the invalids who are now returning to England. As the Army Nursing Service would be unable to meet all the calls upon it, it is supplemented by sisters from the Army Nursing Reserve, an organisation managed by a committee of which Princess Christian is president, and into whose benevolent work she has thrown her whole energy. The followers in the footsteps of Florence Nightingale are now many. The good work that she initiated has now become a commonplace of warlike organisation, the difficulties that she found in her path have passed away for ever, and all the world recognises the noble practicalness of her aims.

Some comment has been made

they may have given. But, though we have yet to learn officially the details of many deeds of heroism, the commanders of the most important forces hitherto employed have spoken generally in the most laudatory terms about the work done by the R.A.M.C. General Buller says:—

"One of the Natal papers is attacking the military hospitals, and, as some of the false and ridiculous statements may cause anxiety at home, I think it right to say that Mr Treves assures me that there is

no possible ground for complaint, and that I may rest satisfied that all the medical arrangements are completely satisfactory to him. I pressed him if he could suggest improvement, and he said he could not. I have given the matter every consideration, and can only express my admiration of the arrangements made by Colonel Gallwey and the Royal Army Medical Corps, and Mr Treves assures me that he entirely agrees with me."

Lord Methuen thus concludes his despatch after the Modder River fight:

Again I call attention to the splendid hospital arrangements, for at 4.45 P.M. on the day after the fight all my wounded were on the way to Capetown. I am glad to have been slightly wounded, because in no other way could I have learnt the care taken of the wounded; and there was nothing officer or private soldier required that was not provided at once, and the medical officers never tired in their endeavour to alleviate suffering."

The despatch also contains the following mention: "He (Colonel Paget) draws attention to Captain Moores, R.A.M.C., who, although wounded in the hand, said nothing, but continued his duties."

that, while our soldiers have be-
haved, without exception, in ac-
cordance with the noblest tradi-
tions of the British race, when
one of the few bright elements
in the campaign's history is the
knowledge that all ranks have
quitted themselves like men, the
R.A.M.C. has specially distin-
guished itself, and we cannot
help feeling our blood stirred
by tales of what it has done.
Mr Treves tells of poor Lieu-
tenant Roberts's death:-
:-

"Before he was brought in he had been lying for seven hours in the sun in a donga. Here he was attended by Major Babtie, R.A.M.C., who rode into the donga through a hail of bullets, and whose horse was killed under him. Major Babtie kept by the wounded men in the donga until the battle was over, and as he alone had water in his water bottle he doled out water to each man in a minim measure, 1 drachm to each. The courage and daring of Major Babtie on this occasion call for some recognition from the medical profession, if not from the military authorities."

Then the Morning Post's' correspondent, writing of the battle of Magersfontein:

"It is most necessary here to say a word in praise of the Army Medical Corps, who faced a hot fire all day long, going close up to the firingline to bring back our wounded. It seems almost incredible that during the day 500 wounded men should have been brought back by the Medical Corps, though to get them back stretcher-bearers and searchers had to cross and recross a zone of fire nearly a mile wide."

Writing of the same battle, the 'Daily Telegraph' correspondent says:

"When the ambulance was brought up about noon, the Boers would not allow it to come nearer than 500 From other sources we know yards. Ensor, however, went on

And so on and so on.

alone within 300 yards of the enemy actual battlefield, the R.A.M.C. and brought back a wounded man, have given examples of the although a heavy fire was directed on him by the Boers. most extraordinary endurance Captain Probyn, attached to the Gordon in carrying out their duties. Highlanders, walked erect up and after the actual fighting is down the firing line attending to the over,-an endurance so much wounded officers and men under a beyond the ordinary capacity of hail of bullets." human powers, that it can only be accounted for by believing that they are stimulated by the noblest professional zeal and the most eager and high-minded philanthropy. After the battle of Magersfontein the medical men worked incessantly for thirty-six hours. After the battle of Colenso Mr Treves writes:

Several officers of the R.A.M.C. have met a soldier's death in the field. The first to give his life for his country was Major Gray, who fell while ministering to the wounded at Elandslaagte. Then Captain Hughes, one of the most brilliant young English scientists, died by Buller's side at Colenso. Even that unemotional commander

telegraphed, "We had all learned to love him"; and it

has been written of him in a great professional journal, "His untimely death is a loss not only to the Royal Army Medical Corps, but also to the profession at large and to medical science." And, alas! there are others.

A very spirited ditty has
come before us. It was pub-
lished in the 'Morning Post,'
and it is no discredit to it to
say that it is evidently inspired
by the study of Rudyard Kip-
ling.
Its last lines seem to
sum up very perfectly all that
we think about the R.A.M.C. in
the field:-

"But, here's to the man of the R. A. M.C.
Buzzing about on the field like a bee,
Tending the wounded where lead's
flying hot,
Biting his lip when he gets hisself shot:
Brave as the best of us, hurt and not

tell,

Doctor he may be—he's soldier as well." And, besides their chivalrous courage and readiness in the

"Some 800 wounded were passed through the field hospitals and dealt with by sixteen surgeons. Those who harshly criticise the Medical Depart

ment should have seen the work

done on the memorable Friday on

the Naval Hill before Colenso. No work could have been done better.

The equipment was good, the arrangements elaborated, and the officers worked on hour after hour without rest or food under the most trying possible conditions. No greater strain could have fallen upon a de

partment, and all concerned met the brunt of it valiantly and well. One could not be other than proud of one's profession."

And be it remembered that the men who did this great work, work which involved as much toil to the brain as it demanded the utmost skilfulness of hand, did not come to it fresh and unfatigued. Many of them had had a weary march, many of them had been present and employed during the long and bitter action. The temperature was over 100°, and the atmosphere was permeated with dust. Truly a marvellous feat!

Something has now been