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Show GmwrnM P f MIXTKATHRYN ROTH- frJ' '-V i r-' JSQil&W YORK D fS w , IMii HI RAMKFP' fiffiXl yiHTFP L.ti, L 4.- tofff! IN -. COO HWifX BESET" BY ,;) l v 7-vj UtW WAJ ATtXa&TO AN JV'-- ' M ! A M E RICAn' RED CROSS NsT v 1 HOSPITAL ;v;.,X- -pLil TL - I N July. 19H. 1 left America R to travel abroad oil pleas-tj pleas-tj tire bent. 1 had us little idea of llio coming war as ( anyone else, and even when )i the clouds swept dark V.V across the hort.-on, I did not really believe the storm would break. Wo arrived In Had Kisslngen on tho day before the troops were mobilized. People stood In excited groups. Hermans were, preparing to leuvo for their homes, while Russians and other foreigners were wondering what Would become of them If It came to ivar. Tho mobilization proclamation caino the following day and suddenly, on a Sunday, war was declared. Uismay and consternation were written upon every (ace. The strange tales of other wars canio fleeting to our minds, and we conjured up a thousand thou-sand thoughts of hunger and discomfort. discom-fort. We were sure that within a few days not an able bodied man would bo left at home. Quite naturally natu-rally we did not anticipate the systematic sys-tematic regulation which eliminated all danger of famine i- spite of the proclaimed food blockade; nor did we know that an army is so organized that millions of strong young men are not called Into the service until absolutely needed. Had Kissingen was the gathering place for the reservists from all the surrounding countryside. Karly Sunday Sun-day morning the troops came pouring in. They assembled in the famous Kurgarten and In place of the usual gayly dressed throng there were now thousands of stern-looking men in rough clothes. Here they were soldiers sol-diers in name only, for their uniforms, guns, and other equipment awaited them at Hamburg an hour distant. In the larger cities where fully equipped soldiers leave for the front it is a most inspiring sight to see them march away to the strains of military music, their caps and labels bedecked with flowers. Hero in this little country town the sight was not thus inspiring. It was only inexpressibly inexpres-sibly sad. Most of the men were accompanied by their wives and sweethearts, and had come to bid a farewell which perchance per-chance would be the last. .Nothins has impressed me quite so much aa tho spartan way in which these ger-mau ger-mau women say good-by to their men. I have seen the soldiers leaving for the front from town and city, in companies or by twos and threes, and I have never seen a woman shed a single tear until her husband, soli or lover had vanished t.'om sight. It is not that they do not realize to the fullest extent the danger their men go off to fAce alas, they know that full well but they seem to feel it their duty to make the parting as cheerful as possible. So dry-eyed anil smiling, they wave their handkerchiefs handker-chiefs until they can see no longer. For two weeks Kissingen assumed quite a military character. The men came straggling in and their short stay was made as comfortable as possible pos-sible by liberal portions of hot coffee, cof-fee, cigars and chocolate. Then the mobilization ended and the town settled set-tled down to a strange quiet, r quiet that seemed more uncanny because we realized so acutely that in France, Belgium and Russia the cannons were thundering and men were falling by the thousand. I shall never forget the sultry, quiet weeks I spent in Kissingen during the summer of 1914. The days dragged by, one like the other, except for the preparations which were being made to care for the wounded when they shouid come. Some of the hotels were turned into hospitals and everyone every-one I as well ss the rest sewed all day long on garments and bandages. Mails came irregularly, and newspapers., newspa-pers., toof arrived at odd intervals, because be-cause ihi trains were being used for the transportation of troops. Kven w lifii news came of the fall of I. lege and IlrusselH, there was little excitement. excite-ment. It was only when tho Ilava-rlan Ilava-rlan crown prince won a victory near Metz that tho people forgot their calm and cheered and wept for Joy. On September 1 I arrived In Munich, Mu-nich, tho ttavarlan capital. Tho life hero was as different as could bo from that In Kissingen. The streets and cafes were crowded, tho theaters and mtist'uius all open. Orchestras played popular music. Singers sang comic songs. Ono would never have realized that a war was going on, had It not been for tho yellow telegrams tele-grams pasted on the bulletin boards ami for the throngs of soldiers. The city swarmed with men In gray. And the remarkable part of It all Is that one 8es Just as many soldiers sol-diers now as one did a year ago last September. There are soldiers everywhere every-where in tho streets, at tho theater, in tho cafes strong, healthy-looking men, seme of them already decorated with tho Iron Cross. After a week or so of aimless sightseeing, sight-seeing, my conscience began to trouble trou-ble me. 1 felt it was wrong to stay Idle In these earnest times, bo 1 set about to find some occupation. I started in service at a day nursery, where poor children wero takeu care of while their mothers were at work. All the children are delightful, and th'-so were no less so than the average; aver-age; but sad to relate they spoke a ' Bavarian dialect that was impossible for me to understand. They in 'urn did not recognize as German the language lan-guage I spoke; so we decided that I was no success as a disciple of Froe-bel, Froe-bel, and I started to search lor a new field of activity. I found what 1 sought at tho American lied Cross hospital, and soon began my work there. , I should like to be able to say that at once 1 attained the dignity of a cap and apron, but 1 did not, because be-cause I had even less than the average aver-age knowledge of nursing. 1 really started as an errand girl. I shopped, ci.rried out propaganda, and made visits, vis-its, in order to interest people in the good work. I chatted with Geraldine Farrar, was respectful to Countess vou Hernsiorfl and visited enough titled ti-tled people to set my democratic head awhirl. The next step In my hospital career was when I began to do a little secretarial sec-retarial work, and soon afterwards 1 teceived my uniform and rami) more in contact with the work of the hospital hos-pital proper. My special department was the provision room, where the Jellies and other luxuries that the regular commissariat did not carry were kept. I was the mistress of the key to the wine cellar and also looked after the clothing with which we supplied sup-plied the men. There was nothing too menial for me to do, and 1 was glad of every opportunity oppor-tunity for service. I still have a mental photograph of myself scrubbing scrub-bing the floor and cleaning windows, not to speak of darning the biggest holes that 1 ever saw in socks. In December we received a huge shipment ship-ment from the American Red Cross society, and we had so many boxes and bales of clothing, comforts, and cotton, that we decided to give the surplus to the German Red Cross. The Bavarian queen, as its official head, came to Inspect our supplies. She was a little, wrinkled old lady, who smiled most amiably when we made our court curtsies and who was very grateful for our timely gift. Christmas came and went. We thought of the men in the trenches and prayed for peace. Hut, In spite of the war, I enjoyed every hour in Munich, and a large share of my pleasure pleas-ure I owe to the musical advantages the city offers. Performances of the opera and concerts are being given at reduced rates on account of the war, ' ! ' V U If ' ' ' ' ; ' " ; . - :. . - - f j f ; - M k . f MWHt": .i i ' . ' . . i but the talent remain-i up to Its old standards, and one can hear a truly fine production of an opera for seventy sev-enty tlve cents or a dollar. Towards the end of January I left Munich and made a Journey to Italy. Though Italy was not involved at tho time, one noticed the war more hero than in Germany. People were poor and discontented, banks failed, ono after the other; a declaration of war against Austria was expected daily, and everyone was in a troubled frame of mind. It took twenty days for letters from Germany to reach me. I could not stand the uncertainty and hastened back to Munich after a scant two weeks' absence. After my return 1 worked harder than ever at the hospital. None of the cases under our care was serious, and as several of the men desired to learn English, the superintendent of nurses asked me to take charge of some classes. 1 had one class of beginners and one of more advanced pupils, and I can truthfully say 1 never enjoyed anything more than those English lessons 1 gave at the American Red Cross hospital. 1 wasn't a very dignified teacher one can't expect a nineteen-year-old girl to put en spectacles but my pupils pu-pils liked me and they learned a bit. too. However, even the English lessons les-sons did not furnish enough work to satisfy me. So after much coaxing 1 received my oflicial Red Cross armband arm-band and became what is called in German a "Helferin." or assistant nurse. I worked early and late among these wounded soldiers and found a great deal of pleasure in the work. It was a revelation to note how much hue feeling these men possess. The most of them fire ignorant and uncultured. They were so grateful for every bit of care, and at times when I found myself my-self downcast they always seemed to know the right thing to do and say. After almost a year of this work, 1 took a rest and went first to Vienna and then to Marienbad. I found the latter resort in strange contrast to the Kissingen of the year before. Marienbad Marien-bad was full of people and almost gay. There was no dancing, of course, but there were social affairs, concerts and tombolas, where a game similar to our lotto is played. In addition one saw women as beautifully gowned as the Parisienne at her best. And here, also, as well as In Munich, Mu-nich, we found the same astonishingly large number of men. 1 used to wonder where they all came from. We got back to Munich Just In time to see a parade In honor of the king, and if I had not seen It with my own eyes I should never have Oe-lieved Oe-lieved it possible that so many good soldiers could be left after more than a year of war. As the time for our departure drew near my heart grew heavy. I was happy at the prospect of seeing America Amer-ica and my American friends again, but 1 had grown to love Munich and its people. |