XXVI FAREWELL

 I CAN think of no more beautiful, final tribute to the women of Belgium than that carried in their own words—words of tragedy, but words of widest vision and understanding and generosity¹, sent in farewell to us:

 

“Oh, you who are going back in that free country of the United States, tell to all our sufferings, our distress²; tell them again and again our cries of alarm, which come from our opprest and agonized³ hearts! You have lived and felt what we are living and feeling; we have understood that, higher than charity which gives, you brought us charity which understands and consoles! Your souls have bowed down over ours, our eyes with [210]anxiety are looking in your friendly eyes. Over the big ocean our wishes follow you. Oh, might you there remember the little Belgium! The life which palpitates in her grateful heart—she owes it to you! You are our hope, our anchor! Help us! Do not abandon the work of charity you have undertaken!

“Our endless gratitude⁴ goes to you, and from father to children, in the hovel and in the palace, we shall repeat your great heart, your high idealism, your touching⁵ charity!”

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR

The increase in dependency in less than a year, as shown by a comparison of the following figures with those in this book, suggests more poignantly⁶ than any written account could, the daily deepening tragedy of Belgium:

Present total on “Soupes” in whole of Belgium 3,032,089

Present total on “Soupes” in Greater Brussels 401,600

Present total children in Belgium receiving eleven o’clock meal 985,617

Present total nursing or expectant mothers receiving canteen meal 14,809

Present total debilitated⁷ children receiving supplementary⁸ meal 53,311

C. K.

December, 1917.

The End

1 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

2 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

3 agonized   

v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦

参考例句：

• All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失，深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

6 poignantly   

参考例句：

• His story is told poignantly in the film, A Beautiful Mind, now showing here. 以他的故事拍成的电影《美丽境界》，正在本地上映。

7 debilitated   

adj.疲惫不堪的，操劳过度的v.使（人或人的身体）非常虚弱( debilitate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Prolonged strike action debilitated the industry. 长时间的罢工削弱了这个行业的活力。
• This is especially important when dealing with the geriatric or debilitated patient. 这对老年和虚弱病人尤其重要。 来自互联网

8 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。