THE PATHOS OF IT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2674, 21 January 1916, Page 3

THE PATHOS OF IT

"MY SON WHICH WAS DEAD." The correction of the lists of killed and wounded has furnished matter for comment. • In cases where men of some local importance have been reported in the casualties, and it has happened the removal of a mistakenly - placcd namo from the list of killed has been followed, within a few.days, by the ,re-inser-tion .of the same second ■time not in mistake. Tliere are some men in the. flesh in the city to-day who were reported killed in action months since. One of these did not know till ha got back that, officially, he had been numbered with the slain, and his re-, a'ppcarance considerably disturbed 'arrangements in progress for the distribution of his possessions. Similarity of names is responsible, in the majority of instances, for the errors. The effect of the appearance of a man who, officially, is dead, and as fax as information' is obtainable, is i-ctually dead, cannot be imagined. - The realisation is, naturally shacking. Almost a tragedy arising out of the appearanoe of a soldier reported dead was criacted within view of persons awaiting attention at-the counter in the Military Pay Office on Christmas Day. Among those to whom attention was being given was an old lady,, whoso object was the recovery of such of the small belongings of her son as had been sent from the place where he had been killed. His death was reported months since. In the rush of business she was pushed from ono end of the counter to the other, and eventually found herself, in the thick of a group of just-returned men. Tliese .were all New South Welshmen, and, as her boy had come from Queensland and enlisted here, it was unlikely any of them would know of him. Still, the uniform in which her lad had died ■was dear, and' she mentioned to one of the bunch that she had lost :ier only boy—"killed somewhere." Tliere was a respectful hush as she spoke, and her words wore heard at the far end of the line of waiting men. A big follow broke from the distance swept all tnd sundry out of his way, and gathered the little old woman into a smothering- embrace. "What are you 'doing here?" he asked. "I was going to give you a surprise." -She could not answer him. Sobs shook her as he held her in his arms, and unable to do more than oling to her boy with her fast-leaving strength, her Eea3 drooped, and she collapsed. But she recovered. —"Sunday Times."