He was tall and thin—a boyish figure—and his khaki-clad arm was close about her slender form. The hour was early and their corner bleak1 and deserted2, thus few were by to heed3 his stiff-lipped, agonised smile and the passionate4 clasp of her hands, or to hear her heartbreaking sobs5 and his brave words of comfort; and I, shivering in the early morning wind, hasted on, awed6 by a grief that made the grey world greyer.
Very soon London was behind us, and we were whirling through a country-side wreathed in mist wherein I seemed to see a girl's tear-wet cheeks and a boy's lips that smiled so valiantly8 for all their pitiful quiver; thus I answered my companion somewhat at random9 and the waiter's proffer10 of breakfast was an insult. And, as I stared out at misty11 trees and hedgerow I began as it were to sense a grimness in the very air—the million-sided tragedy of war; behind me the weeping girl, before[Pg 42] me and looming12 nearer with every mile, the Somme battle-front.
At a table hard by a group of clear-eyed subalterns were chatting and laughing over breakfast, and in their merriment I, too, rejoiced. Yet the grimness was with me still as we rocked and swayed through the wreathing mist.
But trains, even on a foggy morning, have a way of getting there at last, so, in due season, were docks and more docks, with the funnels13 of ships, and beyond these, misty shapes upon a misty sea, the gaunt outlines of destroyers that were to convoy14 us Francewards. Hereupon my companion, K., a hardened traveller, inured17 to customs, passports and the like noxious18 things, led me through a jostling throng19, his long legs striding rapidly when they found occasion, past rank upon rank of soldiers returning to duty, very neat and orderly, and looking, I thought, a little grim.
Presently the warps20 were cast off and very soon we were in the lift and roll of the Channel; the white cliffs slowly faded, the wind freshened, and I, observing that everyone had donned life-belts, forthwith girded on one of the clumsy contrivances also.
In mid-channel it blew hard and the destroyers seemed to be making heavy weather of it, now lost in spray, now showing a glistening21 height of free-board, and, as I watched, remembering why they were there, my cumbrous life-belt grew suddenly very comfortable.
Came a growing density22 on the horizon, a blue[Pg 43] streak23 that slowly and little by little grew into roofs, chimneys, docks and shipping24, and France was before us, and it was with almost reverent25 hands that I laid aside my clumsy cork26 jacket and was presently on French soil. And yet, except for a few chattering27 porters, the air rang with good English voices hailing each other in cheery greetings, and khaki was everywhere. But now, as I followed my companion's long legs past these serried28, dun-coloured ranks, it seemed to me that they held themselves straighter and looked a little more grim even than they had done in England.
I stood, lost in the busy scene before me, when, hearing K.'s voice, I turned to be introduced to Captain R., tall, bright-eyed, immaculate, and very much master of himself and circumstances it seemed, for, despite crowded customs-office, he whisked us through and thence before sundry29 officials, who glared at me and my passport, signed, stamped, returned it and permitted me to go.
After luncheon30 we drove to a great base hospital where I was introduced to the Colonel-Surgeon in charge, a quiet man, who took us readily under his able guidance. And indeed a huge place was this, a place for me of awe7 and wonder, the more so as I learned that the greater part of it had come into being within one short year.
It lies beside the sea, this hospital, where clean winds blow, its neat roadways are bordered by green lawns and flanked by long, low buildings that reach away in far perspective, buildings of corrugated[Pg 44] iron, of wood and asbestos, a very city, but one where there is no riot and rush of traffic, truly a city of peace and brooding quietude.
And as I looked upon this silent city, my awe grew, for the Colonel, in his gentle voice, spoke31 of death and wounds, of shell-shock, nerve-wrack and insanity32; but he told also of wonderful cures, of miracles performed on those that should have died, and of reason and sanity33 won back.
"And you?" I questioned, "have you done many such wonders?"
"Few!" he answered, and sighed. "You see, my duties now are chiefly administrative," and he seemed gently grieved that it should be so.
He brought us into wards16, long, airy and many-windowed, places of exquisite34 neatness and order, where calm-faced sisters were busied and smart, soft-treading orderlies came and went. Here in white cots lay many bandaged forms, some who, propped35 on pillows, watched us bright-eyed and nodded in cheery greeting; others who lay so ominously36 still.
But as I passed between the long rows of cots, I was struck with the look of utter peace and content on so many of the faces and wondered, until, remembering the hell whence they had so lately come, I thought I understood. Thus, bethinking me of how these dire37 hurts had been come by, I took off my hat, and trod between these beds of silent suffering as softly as I could, for these men had surely come "out of great tribulation38."
[Pg 45]
In another ward15 I saw numbers of German wounded, most of them bearded; many there were who seemed weakly and undersized, and among them were many grey heads, a very motley company. These, the Colonel informed us, received precisely39 the same treatment as our own wounded, even to tobacco and cigarettes.
We followed our soft-voiced conductor through many other wards where he showed us strange and wondrous40 devices in splints; he halted us by hanging beds of weird41 shape and cots that swung on pulleys; he descanted on wounds to flesh and bone and brain, of lives snatched from the grip of Death by the marvels42 of up-to-date surgery, and as I listened to his pleasant voice I sensed much of the grim wonders he left untold43. We visited X-ray rooms and operating theatre against whose walls were glass cases filled with a multitudinous array of instruments for the saving of life, and here it was I learned that in certain cases, a chisel44, properly handled, was a far more delicate tool than the finest saw.
"A wonderful place," said I for the hundredth time as we stepped out upon a trim, green lawn. The Colonel-Surgeon smiled.
"It took some planning," he admitted, "a little while ago it was a sandy wilderness45."
"Came to me of their own accord," he answered. "At least, the seed did, washed ashore47 from a wreck48, so I had it planted and it has done rather well. Now, what else can I show you? It would[Pg 46] take all the afternoon to visit every ward, and they are all much alike—but there is the mad ward if you'd care to see that? This way."
A strange place, this, divided into compartments49 or cubicles50 where were many patients in the familiar blue overalls51, most of whom rose and stood at attention as we entered. Tall, soldierly figures they seemed, and yet with an indefinable something in their looks—a vagueness of gaze, a loose-lipped, too-ready smile, a vacancy52 of expression. Some there were who scowled53 sullenly54 enough, others who sat crouched55 apart, solitary56 souls, who, I learned, felt themselves outcast; others again crouched in corners haunted by the dread57 of a pursuing vengeance58 always at hand.
One such the Colonel accosted59, asking what was wrong. The man looked up, looked down and muttered unintelligibly60, whereupon the Sister spoke.
"He believes that everyone thinks him a spy," she explained, and touched the man's bowed head with a hand as gentle as her voice.
"Shell-shock is a strange thing," said the Colonel-Surgeon, "and affects men in many extraordinary ways, but seldom permanently61."
"You mean that those poor fellows will recover?" I asked.
"Quite ninety per cent," he answered in his quiet, assured voice.
I was shown over laundries complete in every detail; I walked through clothing stores where, in a single day, six hundred men had been equipped from head to foot; I beheld62 large machines for the[Pg 47] sterilisation of garments foul63 with the grime of battle and other things.
Truly, here, within the hospital that had grown, mushroom-like, within the wild, was everything for the alleviation64 of hurts and suffering more awful than our fighting ancestors ever had to endure. Presently I left this place, but now, although a clean, fresh wind blew and the setting sun peeped out, the world somehow seemed a grimmer place than ever.
In the Dark Ages, humanity endured much of sin and shame and suffering, but never such as in this age of Reason and Culture. This same earth has known evils of every kind, has heard the screams of outraged65 innocence66, the groan67 of tortured flesh, and has reddened beneath the heel of Tyranny; this same sun has seen the smoke and ravishment of cities and been darkened by the hateful mists of war—but never such a war as this of cultured barbarity with all its new devilishness. Shell-shock and insanity, poison-gas and slow strangulation, liquid fire and poison shells. Rape68, Murder, Robbery, Piracy69, Slavery—each and every crime is here—never has humanity endured all these horrors together until now.
But remembering by whose will these evils have been loosed upon the world, remembering the innocent blood, the bitter tears, the agony of soul and heartbreak, I am persuaded that Retribution must follow as sure as to-morrow's dawn. The evil that men do lives after them and lives on for ever.
[Pg 48]
Should they, who have worked for and planned this misery70, escape the ephemeral justice of man, there is yet the inexorable tribunal of the Hereafter, which no transgressor71, small or great, humble72 or mighty73, may in any wise escape.
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1
bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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6
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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proffer
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| v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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12
looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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13
funnels
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| 漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱 | |
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14
convoy
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| vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队 | |
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15
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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16
wards
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| 区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态 | |
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17
inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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19
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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warps
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| n.弯曲( warp的名词复数 )；歪斜；经线；经纱v.弄弯，变歪( warp的第三人称单数 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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21
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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22
density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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23
streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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24
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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26
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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serried
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| adj.拥挤的；密集的 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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30
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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31
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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32
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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33
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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34
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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35
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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37
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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38
tribulation
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| n.苦难，灾难 | |
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39
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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40
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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41
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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42
marvels
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| n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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43
untold
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| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
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44
chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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45
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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46
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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48
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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49
compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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50
cubicles
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| n.小卧室，斗室( cubicle的名词复数 ) | |
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51
overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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52
vacancy
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| n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺 | |
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53
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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55
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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57
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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58
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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59
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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60
unintelligibly
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| 难以理解地 | |
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61
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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62
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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63
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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64
alleviation
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| n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物 | |
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65
outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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66
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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67
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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68
rape
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| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
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69
piracy
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| n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害 | |
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70
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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71
transgressor
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| n.违背者 | |
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72
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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