VERY GALLANT GENTLEMEN.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 84, 7 April 1916, Page 6

VERY GALLANT GENTLEMEN.

One man in the Warwicks had 12 years' service, a wife, and two children, but "when Kitchener wanted more men" he rejoined. The other week lie got an explosive bullet through the arm, smashing it up to rags above the elbow. He got a man "to tie the torn muscles up," and then started to crawl out, dragging his arm behind him. After some hours he came upon one of his own officers wounded, who said, "Good God, sonny, you 'll be bleeding to death if you don't get out of this; catch hold of me and the chaplain." "Se 'c cuddled me, and I cuddled the chaplain, and Ave got as far as the doctor." At the clearing house his arm was taken off through the shoulder-joint, but I'm afraid it is too late. He is

| now a paJlid wreck,'dying of gangrene. 1 But he would discuss the war, and when it would end, and ask when lie 'd be strong enough to sit up-and write to that officer, and apoligised for wanting drinks so often. He is one of the most top-class, gallant gentlemen it's ever been my jolly good luck to meet. And there are hundreds of them.

A few days later a young officer, "such a nice boy," gave an exhibition of the same spirit. When he was put into clean pyjamas, and had a clean hanky with eaudeCologne, he said: "By jove, it's worth getting hit for this, after the smells of dead horses, dead men, and dead everything." He said no one could get into Messines, where there is only one house standing, because of the unburied dead. He couldn't move his arms, but. he loved being fed with pigs of tangerine orange, and, Kke so many, he was chiefly concerned with "giving so much trouble." He looked awfully ill, but seldom stopped smiling. Of such are the Kingdom of Heaven. — From the "Diary of a Nrusing Sister. ''