HOSPITAL CAMOUFLAGE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 259, 20 July 1918, Page 4

HOSPITAL CAMOUFLAGE

Except at prayers, dressings, and during the doctors' visits, we arc never quile serious at the hospital. It is tho men's wiiy of camouflaging all the agony and weariness and monotony of tho house of pain which every hospital must invariably be at bottom. It is not that they ignore or try to forget their disablement in any, way; in fact, they sometimes go out of their way to remind each other of it.

For instance, I overheard two men arguing over the use of a pair of crutches. "Well," one ended magnanimously, "you can have them to-dny. I shall get them for a good spell when your leg's off!" ' . .

It is rather as though when a new experience comes along they say to themselves, "There must be suinething awfully funny about this if we could only find it out. Let's have a'good try, anyway."

And their efforts are almost invariably successful.

A man who had been badly gassed and lost his voice once summoned mo across tho ward with a beckoning finger.

"The doctor said I was to keep very quiet, Sister,'' he whispered, as I bent down to know what he wanted, "but I can't make a noise!" And lie went off into paroxysms of soundless mirth.

In the same way .a man will sit on the theatre tu.ble immediately before his operation, in fits of laughter at the fun of the thing. "Here's a joke. Let's, laugh at it while we have the chance," is his attitude.

A man who has lost a leg will leave no stone unturned to convince himself and everyone else that it is quite the most amusing thing that could have happened. If no can get his nurse in a moment of iorgetfuluoss to hunt for his second slipper, it is tile guatest joke of all.

Finding a man roaring with laughter in bed one day, and inquiring the cause, he informed me that he had been trying to rub his missing leg! And the same man, after his first outing, recounted with joy the pitying remarks on his condition that he had overheard.

So the spirit of laughter dances up and down the wards, and brings a smile even to tho pale faces of the men who lio in torment. It lightens the nurses' burdens, too, the tiredness, the monotony of work, the little worries' and ■jealousies, and disappointments that mix tho bitter with the sweet in the V.A.D.'s working day. These .English soldiers teadh us tho meaning of tho great Englishman's truth that "A merry heart goes all tho dny." And it is only thoso who havo Iho privilege of helping these men .-.long it who know what a long, long dny it sometimes seems lo them.—"S.M.," in the "Diiilv Mail.'"

OUR SOLDIERS' CHRISTMAS \ ; FARE Waking the puddings. Plum puddings for our soldiers on active service, aggrosiiting 13,3001b. in weight, ,inelu;liJig- £Co3lb. for tho men in hosiiitid, Hie making of which is the task tlic Countess of Livcvpuol I'mid workers are pugiigpd upon at tho present time, is no light undertaking, and it is an undertaking. Hint codts much more money that it has ever done before. What these Christmas reiuindors have meant'to our men everybody must know, because their letters have told them. They meant recollections uf home in the almost linrealisable days when there was no war, mid they also meant to these men that their people were still working and still thinking of them, so that home was brought u little, nearer to tlie exiles. Bealising these things there must surely be few people who would withhold their subscriptions to so tfood n cause,. especially at a lime who. llieir contributions are more needed then ever owing to the increased price of the necessary materials, 'f.his year also the Mayoress 'Mrs. .T. P. Luke) has not !>een able to play tho same part in the undertaking that she has on past occasions,' , and,' needless to say, her enforced absence has'been muchfeft.

A visit to the Wellington Meat.Works nt Ngahanranga, where t he 'puddings nra being imule, was most interesting. The company has placed n cottago and all necessary nppliaiicis at ths disposal of the Workers, and here for the greater par.C of two weeks they have been hard nj? work making the soldiers' Christinas ■plum puddings. Not only have the company hauled over the cottage to the workers, but they also supply them with lunch every, dny, and also see that, tliero arc firiis in the rooms that allow rf such comfort.

It was a hive of industry into which t!)v writer penetrated yesterday, the workers having been divided into sections, end each section, in its own particular rooln, carrying out its own particular "stiu't" In one it was cutting up the p?el and denning thu fruit, in another three wore at work breaking up the c-ggs— a..carefui process, as one egg of doubtful age might, unless this care were taken, spoil a hinlcetl'iil. Up to yesterdny more than 6000 eggs had been broken and beaten by this.particular little gitug. In yet another room the bread was being crumbled (the yield of crumbs to .1 twopound loaf being about one pound only, owing 10 crust), and in the last ruom of all was done Ihe mixing, in big bins, holding about !)Ib. of tho mixture. With Mich large quantities to ileal with it can be imagined that, this was no light tiisk fw those who were performing it, two to each bin, and it was usually done in relays. On an average about fourteen iiiiviiißS ire done per day. l>nt this week as many as nineteen took place 011 onn j il:\v, which meant that 1710 pinimU of imilding had been mixed duriuy that clay. | The next stage to be followed after j the lnixliivn bad .bean put in ba.-ius and covered with paper .was the slcaminrr, which was dim , with the company's apparatus, ;i:id bv its employees, in another building son:-!! little" distanco away. Nwr? ly all (l>? b.i-'i!!:- i;i (lie oily niusl liavn been commandeered for this purpwe, and on specially ijlr?d shelves they were placed in a Ir.rge iron or steel safe.'the steam turned on, and left,for about eight hours.to strain. This done, Ihey wore turned on! of tlieir bnsins into a bin, from- which they were pros>\"d into tin l ; of the required size (made on the premises), each tin being lined v.-ilh paper, and when, filled with the iitixinrc. soldered down, the finiil trentiiieisl lieiiig the placing of the tins under lacuum pressure to extract the air through tin* little puncture in the lid, while almost i-iMiullaueous'ly tbp piinclurs itself was soldered over, the whole thiiv,' being dene in soii!?t;hin:r n lit He over a iiiinut , :. , . For the sum of 7s. (id. 11 large [;lu:n piu'.il'.n? may be forwarded to any hosjii \ j.il in Eii;.;iiind th") , the donor v. islips. and at tlio s:\me lime he or she may sign a label which will be attached to the pudding. i'or a guinea three of these large puddings will be. Rent to a chosen hospital, with its accompanying label. The Liverpool workers at "Ngnhauranga are greatly imleblrd lo the '■ourtesy «f the nianagiir. Mr. Longinore, for iiis very valuable assistance, and to the directors of the company fw all that they have rtoiui for tiium in .«avv.vinj out Mlia •••ork. for the soldiers

Tiio Ladies' Auxiliary of the Navy TiiNißiie itrsiii's Ip (hnuk Ihe following liidiiw for Ilii'ir (j"iipi'oii l : !,'ifls for our iiicii of Ihu iXiivy. iiK'i'ciintilc murine, fliid smaller craft:—Miss Sinimlors's School (Ohristchurch), "Keep On" Jicigno (Niipicv), Jliirlon ;itul JFiistßrtnii lailie.s, Mm. Otmol, Mrs. : l!uy Powlps, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Medley, ' Mrs. llnrdiiiß (I'etone), Miss M'OrcKor. Miss RothenIht}!, Mrs. Itflimyiie. Mrs. M'K'.'nzii;, 12 I'iises Technical School.

An art union is lipin;; onanist. , '! in connection with the Navy League, ptl'orf, and it. is hoped that books of tir.kote will hi' ready for ts.sne- parly next week. Mrs. Waters is organising this unrlerlaking, an/I somp. handsome prizes havo hcon donate'!.