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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7bb52b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51410 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51410) diff --git a/old/51410-0.txt b/old/51410-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b49d967..0000000 --- a/old/51410-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6630 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Dr. Elsie Inglis, by Lady Frances Balfour - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Dr. Elsie Inglis - - -Author: Lady Frances Balfour - - - -Release Date: March 9, 2016 [eBook #51410] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DR. ELSIE INGLIS*** - - -E-text prepared by MWS, Fay Dunn, and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries (https://archive.org/details/toronto) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 51410-h.htm or 51410-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51410/51410-h/51410-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51410/51410-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries. See - https://archive.org/details/drelsieinglis00balfuoft - - -Transcriber’s Note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text in small capitals is shown in UPPER CASE. - - - - - -DR. ELSIE INGLIS - - -[Illustration: DR. ELSIE INGLIS, 1916] - - -DR. ELSIE INGLIS - -by - -LADY FRANCES BALFOUR - -Author of ‘The Life of Lady Victoria Campbell’ -‘Life and Letters of Rev. James Macgregor, D.D.’ - -With Illustrations - - - - - - - -Hodder and Stoughton -London New York Toronto - - - - - TO - - SERBIA - - AND THE - - SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS - - THAT SERVED AND LOVED - THEIR BRETHREN - - 1914-1917 - - ‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’ - - - - -PREFACE - - -The story of Elsie Inglis needs little introduction. From first to last -she was the woman nobly planned. She achieved what she did because she -was ready when the opportunity came. Consistently she had lived her -life, doing whatever her hand found to do with all her might, and ever -following the light. She had the spirit of her nation and of her race: -the spirit of courageous adventure, the love of liberty, and equal -freedom for all people. - -If this memoir represents her faithfully, it is because it has been -written among her own family and kindred. Every letter or story of -her is part of a consistent whole. Transparently honest, warmly -affectioned to all, the record could hardly err if, following exactly -her footprints in the sands of time, it presents a portrait of one of -old Scotia’s truest daughters. I owe manifold thanks to her sisters, -her friends, her patients, above all, to her Units, for the help they -have given me in what has been a labour of love and growing respect. -She, being dead, yet speaketh; and, while we thank our God for every -remembrance of her, we hope that those who are her living memorials, -the patients in the Hospice, and the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, will -not be forgotten by those who read and pass on the pilgrim way. - -The design for the book cover has been drawn by Dr. Inglis’ countryman, -Mr. Anning Bell. It is the emblem of her nation and of the S.W.H. - - F. B. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I - - PAGE - - INGLIS OF KINGSMILLS, INVERNESS-SHIRE 1 - - - CHAPTER II - - ELSIE MAUD INGLIS 17 - - - CHAPTER III - - THE LADDER OF LEARNING 27 - - - CHAPTER IV - - THE STUDENT DAYS 40 - - - CHAPTER V - - LONDON AND DUBLIN 59 - - - CHAPTER VI - - POLITICAL ENFRANCHISEMENT AND NATIONAL POLITICS 82 - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE PROFESSION AND THE FAITH 111 - - - CHAPTER VIII - - WAR AND THE SCOTTISH WOMEN 137 - - - CHAPTER IX - - SERBIA 162 - - - CHAPTER X - - RUSSIA 191 - - - CHAPTER XI - - THE MOORINGS CUT 234 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -INGLIS OF KINGSMILLS, INVERNESS-SHIRE - - -_PART I_ - -AMERICA - - ‘Their graves are scattered far and wide, - O’er mountain, stream and sea.’ - - ‘God of our fathers! be the God - Of their succeeding race.’ - -Among the records of the family from whom Elsie Inglis was descended -there are letters which date back to 1740. In that year the property -of Kingsmills, Inverness-shire, was in the hands of Hugh Inglis. He -had three sons, George, Alexander, and William. George inherited -Kingsmills, and the Inglis now in Inverness are descended from him. -Alexander, the great-grandfather of Elsie, married Mary Deas, and about -1780 emigrated to Carolina, leaving his four children to be educated -in Scotland, in charge of his brother, William Inglis. The portrait of -Alexander, in the dress of the period, has the characteristic features -of the race descended from him. The face is stamped with the impress of -a resolute, fearless character, one who was likely to leave his mark on -any country in which he took up his abode. There is an account of the -property and estates of Alexander Inglis of Charleston ‘merchant in his -own right.’ The account sets forth how the estates are confiscated on -account of the loyalty of the said Alexander, and his adherence to, and -support of the British Government and constitution. - -In the schedule of property there occur, in close relation, these -items: 125 head of black cattle, £125; 69 slaves at £60 a head, £4140; -a pew, No. 31 in St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, £150; 11 house -negroes, £700; and a library of well-chosen books, at a much lower -figure. Alexander never lost sight of the four children left in his -native land. In 1784 he congratulates his son David on being Dux of his -class, and says that he prays constantly for him. - -[Illustration: ALEXANDER INGLIS (_d._ 1791) - -GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF DR. ELSIE INGLIS] - -Mary Deas, Alexander Inglis’ wife, through her ancestor Sir David -Dundas, was a direct descendant of Robert the Bruce. All that is known -of her life is contained in the undated obituary notice of the American -newspaper of the day:-- - - ‘The several duties of her station in life she discharged as became - the good Christian, supporting with exemplary fortitude the late - trying separation from her family.’ - -Alexander’s restless and adventurous life was soon to have a violent -end. - -After their mother’s death, the three daughters must have joined -their father in America. One of them, Katherine, whose face has been -immortalised by Raeburn, writes to her brother David, who had been left -in Scotland, to inform him of the death of their father in a duel. - -[Illustration: MRS. ROBERTSON, _née_ KATHERINE INGLIS - -GREAT-AUNT OF DR. ELSIE INGLIS - -(_Portrait by Raeburn_)] - -The letter which Alexander Inglis wrote to be given to his children, -should he fall in the duel, is as fresh and clear as on the day when it -was written:-- - - ‘MY DEAR, DEAR CHILDREN,--If ever you receive this letter it will - be after my death. You were present this morning when I received - the grossest insult that could be offered me--and such as I little - expected from the young man who dared to offer it. Could the epithets - which in his passion he ventured to make use of be properly applied - to me--I would not wish to live another hour, but as a man of honour, - and the natural guardian and protector of everything that is dear and - valuable to myself and to you, I have no alternative left, but that - of demanding reparation for the injury I have received. If I fall--I - do so in defence of that honour, which is dearer to me than life. - May that great, gracious and good Being, who is the protector of - innocence, and the sure rewarder of goodness, bless, preserve and keep - you.--I am, my dear, dear children, your affectionate father, - - ‘ALEXR. INGLIS. - - ‘CHARLESTON, - - ‘_Tuesday evening, 29 March 1791_.’ - -The letter is addressed by name to the four children. - -Katherine writes to her brother David in the following May:-- - - ‘In what manner, my dearest brother, shall I relate to you the - melancholy event that has befallen us. Our dear parent, the best of - fathers, is no more. How shall I go on? Alas! you will hear too soon - by whose hand he fell; therefore I will not distress you with the - particulars of his death. The second day of our dear father’s illness - he called us to his bedside, when he told us he had left a letter - for us three and his dear boy which would explain all things. Judge - if you are able, my dear brother, what must have been our thoughts - on this sad occasion to see our only dear parent tortured with the - most excruciating pains and breathing his last. We were all of us too - young, my brother, to experience the heavy loss we met with when our - dear mother died, we had then a good father to supply our wants. I - have always thought the Almighty kind to all His creatures, but more - so in this particular that He seldom deprives us of one friend without - raising another to comfort us. My dear sisters and self are at present - staying with good Mrs. Jamieson, who is indeed a truly amiable woman. - I am sure you will regard her for your sisters’ sakes. You are happily - placed, my brother, under the care of kind uncles and aunts who will - no doubt (as they ever have done) prove all you have lost. How happy - would it make me in my present situation to be among my friends in - Scotland, but as that is impossible for some time I must endeavour - to be as happy as I can. My kind duty to uncle and aunts.--I am, my - dearest brother, your truly affectionate sister, - - ‘KATHERINE INGLIS.’ - -Thus closes the chapter of Alexander Inglis and Mary Deas, his wife, -both ‘long, long ago at rest’ in the land of their exile, both bearing -the separation with fortitude, and the one rendering his children -fatherless rather than live insulted by some nameless and graceless -youth. - -David Inglis grew up in charge of the kind Uncle William, and endeared -himself to his adopted father. He also was to fare to dominions beyond -the sea, and he carried the name of Inglis to India, where he went in -1798 as writer to the East India Company. - -Uncle William followed him with the usual good advice. In a letter he -tells David he expects him to make a fortune in India that will give -him ‘£3000 a year, that being the lowest sum on which it is possible to -live in comfort.’ - -David’s life was a more adventurous one than that which usually falls -to a writer. He went through the Mahratta War in 1803. He left India in -1812. On applying for a sick certificate, the resolution of Council, -dated 1811, draws the attention of the Honourable Company to his -services, ‘most particularly when selected to receive charge of the -territorial cessions of the Peshwa under the Treaty of Bassein in the -year 1803, displaying in the execution of that delicate and difficult -mission, proofs of judgment and talents with moderation and firmness -combined, which averted the necessity of having recourse to coercive -measures, accomplished the peaceable transfer of a valuable territory, -and conciliated those whose power and consequence were annihilated -or abridged by the important change he so happily effected.’ David -Inglis seems to have roamed through India, always seeking new worlds to -conquer, and confident in his own powers to achieve. - -One of the Napoleonic invasion scares alarmed the Company, and David, -with two companions, was sent out on a cruising expedition to see if -they could sight the enemy’s fleet. As long as he wrote from India, his -letters bear the stamp of a man full of vital energy and resource. - -The only thing he did not accomplish while in the service of the -Company was the fortune of £3000 a year. - -He entered a business firm in Bombay and there made enough to be able -to keep a wife. In 1806 he married Martha Money, whose father was a -partner in the firm. They came home in 1812, and all their younger -children were born in England at Walthamstow, the home of the Money -family. One of the descendants, who has read the letters of these three -brothers and their families, makes this comment on them:-- - - ‘The letters are pervaded with a sense of activity, and of wandering. - Each one entering into any pursuit that came to hand. All the family - were travellers. There are letters from aunts in Gibraltar and many - other airts. - - ‘The extraordinary thing in all the letters, whether they were - written by an Inglis, a Deas, or a Money, is the pervading note of - strong religious faith. They not only refer to religion, but often, in - truly Scottish fashion they enter on long theological dissertations. - David Inglis, Elsie’s grandfather, when he was settled in England - gave missionary addresses. Two of these exist, and must have taken - fully an hour to read. Even the restless Alexander in Carolina, and - the “whirlwind” David in India scarcely ever write a letter without - a reference to some religious topic. You get the impression of - strong breezy men sure of themselves, and finding the world a great - playground.’ - - -_PART II_ - -INDIA - - ‘God of our fathers, known of old. - . . . . . - Beneath Whose awful hand we hold - Dominion over palm and pine.’ - -John, the second youngest son of David and Martha Inglis, was born -in 1820. His mother being English, there entered with her some of the -douce Saxon disposition and ways. Though the call of the blood was -to cast his lot in India, John, or as he was generally called David, -appears first as a student. His tutor, the Rev. Dr. Niblock, wrote a -report of him as he was passing out of his hands to Haileybury. Mrs. -Inglis notes on the letter: ‘Dr. Niblock is esteemed one of the best -Greek scholars in England, and his Greek Grammar is the one in use in -Eton.’ - - ‘Of Master David Inglis I can speak with pleasure and pride almost - unmixed. I can only loudly express how I regret that I have not the - finishing of such a boy, for I feel, and shall ever feel, that he - is _mine_. He has long begun to do what few boys do till they are - leaving, or have left, school, viz. to think. I shall long cherish the - hope, that as I laid the foundation, so shall I have the power and - pleasure of crowning my own and other’s labours. He will make a fine - fellow and be a comfort to his parents, and an honour to his tutor.’ - -John Inglis received a nomination for Haileybury College from one of -the directors of the East India Company, and went there as a student in -1839. There he was noted as a cricketer and a good horseman, and also -for his reading. He knew Shakespeare almost by heart, and could tell -where to find any quotation from his works. On leaving Haileybury he -sailed for Calcutta, and was there for two years learning the language. -He went as assistant magistrate to Agra. He married in 1846, and in -1847 he was transferred to the newly-acquired province of the Punjab. -He was sent as magistrate to Sealkote, remaining there till 1856. -He then brought his family home on three years’ furlough. With the -outbreak of the Mutiny all civilians were recalled, and he returned to -India in 1858. He was sent to Bareilly to take part in the suppression -of the Mutiny, and was attached to the force under General Jones. He -was present at the action at Najibabad, with the recapture of Bareilly, -and the pacification of the province of Rohilcund. He remained in the -province ten years till 1868, and during those years he rose to be -Commissioner of Rohilcund. In 1868 he was made a member of the Board -of Revenue in the North-West Provinces. As a member of the Legislative -Council of India, he moved, in 1873, to Calcutta. From 1875 to 1877 he -was Chief Commissioner of Oude. - -The position Inglis made for himself in India, in yet early life, is -to be gauged by a letter written in 1846 by Sir Frederick Currie, who -was then Commissioner of Lahore. He had married Mrs. Inglis’ sister -Katherine. - - ‘We have applied to Mr. Thomasen (Lieutenant-Governor of the N.W.P.) - for young civilians for the work which is now before us, and we must - take several with us into the Punjab. One whom he strongly recommends - is Inglis at Agra. I will copy what he says about him. Sir Henry - Hardinge (the Governor-General) has not seen the letter yet. “Another - man who might suit you is Inglis at Agra; an assistant on £400, - acting as joint magistrate which gives him one hundred more. Active, - energetic, conciliating to natives, fine-tempered, and thoroughly - honest in all his works. I am not sure that he is not as good a man as - you can have. I shall be glad to hear that you send for him.”’ - -The letter was addressed to Inglis’ eighteen-year-old bride, and Sir -Frederick goes on:-- - - ‘Shall I send for him or not? I am almost sure I should have done - so, had I not heard of your getting hold of his heart. We don’t - want _heartless_ men, but really you have no right to keep _such_ a - man from us. At the present moment, however, for your sake, little - darling, I won’t take him from his present work, but if, after the - honeymoon, he would prefer active and stirring employment, with the - prospect of distinction, to the light-winged toys of feathered cupid, - I dare say I shall be able to find an opening for him.’ - -Mr. Inglis’ wife was Harriet Louis Thompson, one of nine daughters. -Her father was one of the first Indian civilians in the old company’s -days. All of the nine sisters married men in the Indian Civil, with -the exception of one who married an army officer. Harriet came out -to her parents in India when she was seventeen, and she married in -her eighteenth year. She must have been a girl of marked character -and ability. She met her future husband at a dance in her father’s -house, and she appears to have been the first to introduce the waltz -into India. She was a fine rider, and often drove tandem in India. -She must have had a steady nerve, for her letters are full of various -adventures in camp and tiger-haunted jungles, and most of them narrate -the presence of one of her infants who was accompanying the parents on -their routine of Indian official life. - -Her daughter says of her:-- - - ‘She was deeply religious. Some years after their marriage, when she - must have been a little over thirty and was alone in England with the - six elder children, she started and ran most successfully a large - working-men’s club in Southampton. Such a thing was not as common - as it is to-day. There she lectured on Sunday evenings on religious - subjects to the crowded hall of men.’ - -In the perfectly happy home of the Inglis family in India, the Indian -ayah was one of the household in love and service to those she served. -Mrs. Simson has supplied some memories of this faithful retainer:-- - - ‘The early days, the nursery days in the life of a family, are always - looked back upon with loving interest, and many of us can trace to - them many sweet and helpful influences. So it was with our early days, - though the nursery was in India, and the dear nurse who lives in - our memories was an Indian. Her name was Sona (Gold). She came into - our family when the eldest of us was born, and remained one of the - household for more than thirty years. Her husband came with her, and - in later years three of her sons were table servants. Sona came home - with us in 1857, and remained in England till the beginning of 1858. - It was a sign of great attachment to us, for she left her own family - away up in the Punjab, and fared out in the long sea voyage, into a - strange country and among new peoples. She made friends wherever she - was, and her stay in England was a great help to her in after life. - When I returned to India after my school life at home, I found the - dear nurse of my childhood days installed again as nurse to the little - sisters and brother I found there. - - ‘She was a sweet, gentle woman, and we never learnt anything but kind, - gentle ways from her. By the time I returned she was recognised by the - whole compound of servants as one to be looked up to and respected. - She became a Christian and was baptized in 1877, but long before - she made profession of her faith by baptism she lived a consistent - Christian life. My dear mother’s influence was strong with her, and - she was a reader of the Bible. One of my earliest recollections is our - reading together the fourteenth chapter of St. John. - - ‘She died some years after we had all settled in Scotland. My parents - left her, with a small pension for life, in charge of the missionaries - at Lucknow. When she died, they wrote to us saying that old Sona had - been one of the pillars of the Indian Christian Church in Lucknow. - - ‘We look forward with a sure and certain hope to our reunion in the - home of many mansions, with her, around whom our hearts still cling - with love and affection.’ - -In 1856 Mr. Inglis resolved to come home on furlough, accompanied by -Mrs. Inglis, and what was called ‘the first family,’ namely, the six -boys and one girl born to them in India. It was a formidable journey -to accomplish even without children, and one writes, ‘How mother stood -it all I cannot imagine.’ They came down from the Punjab to Calcutta -trekking in dâk garris. It took four months to reach Calcutta by this -means of progression, and another four months to come home by the Cape. -The wonderful ayah, Sona, was a great help in the toilsome journey when -they brought the children back to England. Mrs. Inglis was soon to -have her first parting with her husband. When they landed in England, -news of the outbreak of the Mutiny met them, and Mr. Inglis returned -almost at once to take his place beside John Lawrence. Together they -fought through the Mutiny, and then he worked under him. Inglis was -one of John Lawrence’s men in the great settling of the Punjab which -followed on that period of stress and strain in the Empire of India. -His own district was Bareilly, and the house where he lived in Sealkote -is still known as Inglis Sahib ke koti (Inglis Sahib’s house). His -children remember the thrilling stories he used to tell them of these -great days, and of the great men who made their history. - -His admiration was unbounded for those northern races of India. He -loved and respected them, and they, in their turn, gave him unbounded -confidence and affection. ‘Every bit as good as an Englishman,’ was a -phrase often on his lips when speaking of the fine Sikhs and Punjabis -and Rajpoots. - -Englishwomen were not allowed in India during this period, and Mrs. -Inglis had to remain in Southampton with her six children and their -ayah. It was then that she found work in her leisure time for the work -she did in the Men’s Club. - -In 1863, when life in India had resumed its normal course, Mrs. Inglis -rejoined her husband, leaving the children she had brought back at home. - -It must have taken all the ‘fortitude’ that Mary Deas had shown long -before in Carolina to face this separation. There was no prospect of -the running backwards and forwards, which steam was so soon to develop, -and to draw the dominions into closer bonds. Letters took months to -pass, and no cable carried the messages of life and death across ‘the -white-lipped seas.’ Again, one of the survivors says: ‘I always felt -even as a child, and am sure of it now, she left her heart behind with -the six elder children. What it must have meant to a woman of her deep -nature, I cannot imagine.’ The decision was made, and Mr. Inglis was to -have the great reward of her return to him, after his seven years of -strenuous and anxious loneliness. The boys were sent, three of them to -Eton, and two more to Uppingham and to Rugby. Amy Inglis the daughter -was left with friends. Relatives were not lacking in this large clan -and its branches, and the children were ‘looked after’ by them. We owe -much of our knowledge of ‘the second little family,’ which were to -comfort the parents in India, by the correspondence concerning them -with the dearly-loved children left in the homelands. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -ELSIE MAUD INGLIS - -1864-1917 - - ‘Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the - womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of the mighty man, so - are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver - full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with - the enemies in the gate.’ - - - NAINI TAL, _Aug. 16, 1864_. - - ‘MY DARLING AMY,--Thank God, I am able to tell you that your dearest - mother, and your little sister who was born this morning are well. - Aunt Ellen thinks that baby is very like your dearest mother, but I - do not see the resemblance at present. I hope I may by and by. We - could not form a better wish for her, than that she may grow up like - her dear mother in every respect. Old Sona is quite delighted to have - another baby to look after again. She took possession of her the - moment she was born, as she has done with all of you. The nurse says - she is a very strong and healthy baby. I wish to tell you as early as - possible the good news of God’s great mercy and goodness towards us in - having brought your dearest mother safely through this trial.’ - -Mrs. Inglis writes a long account of Elsie at a month old, and says she -is supposed to have a temper, as she makes herself heard all over the -house, and strongly objects to being brought indoors and put into her -cradle. - -In October she writes how the two babies, her own and Aunt Ellen’s -little boy, had been taken to church to be baptized, the one by the -name of Elsie Maude, the other Cyril Powney. Both children were -thriving, and no one would know that there were two babies in the -house. ‘Elsie always stares very hard at papa when he comes to speak -to her, as if she did not quite know what to make of his black beard, -something different to what she is accustomed to see, but she generally -ends by laughing at him’--the first notice of that radiant friendship -in which father and daughter were to journey together in a happy -pilgrimage through life. - -Elsie had early to make long driving expeditions with her parents, and -her mother reports her as ‘accommodating herself to circumstances, -watching the trees, sleeping under them, and the jolliest little -traveller I ever saw.’ - -In December 1864 Mrs. Inglis reports their return from camp:-- - - ‘It has been most extraordinarily warm for the time of year, and - there has been very little rain during the whole twelvemonth. People - attribute it to the wonderful comet which has been visible in the - southern hemisphere. Elsie is very well, but she is a very little - thing with a very wee face. She has a famous pair of large blue eyes, - and it is quite remarkable how she looks about her and seems to - observe everything. She lies in her bed at night in the dark and talks - away out loud in her own little language, and little voice, and she is - always ready for a laugh.’ - -Later on Mrs. Inglis writes: ‘I think she is one of the most -intelligent babies I ever met with.’ - -Every letter descriptive of the dark, blue-eyed baby with the fast -growing light hair, speaks of the smile ready for every one who speaks -to her, and the hearty laughs which seem to have been one of her -earliest characteristics. - -One journey tried Elsie’s philosophy of taking life as she found it. -Mrs. Inglis writes to her daughter:-- - - NAINI TAL, 1865. - - ‘We came in palkies from Beharin to a place called Jeslie, half way - up the hill to Naini Tal, and were about ten hours in the palkies. I - had arranged to have Elsie with me in my palkie, but the little monkey - did not like being away from Sona, and then the strangeness of the - whole proceedings bewildered her, and the noise of the bearers seemed - to frighten her, so I was obliged to make her over to Sona. She went - to sleep after a little while. As we came near the hills it became - cold and a wind got up, and then Papa brought her back to me, for we - did not quite like her being in Sona’s doolie, which was not so well - protected as mine. She had become more reconciled to the disagreeables - of dâk travelling by that time. We reached our house about nine - o’clock yesterday morning. The change from the dried-up hot plains is - very pleasant. You may imagine how often I longed for the railroad and - our civilised English way of travelling.’ - -Mrs. Shaw M‘Laren, the companion sister of Elsie, and to whom her -correspondence always refers, has written down some memories of the -happy childhood days in India. The year was divided between the plains -and the hills of India. Elsie was born in August 1864, at Naini Tal, -one of the most beautiful hill stations in the Himalayas. From the -verandah, where much of the day was spent, the view was across the -masses of ‘huddled hills’ to the ranges crowned by the everlasting -snows. An outlook of silent and majestic stillness, and one which -could not fail to influence such a spirit as shone out in the always -wonderful eyes of Elsie. She grew up with the vision of the glory of -the earthly dominion, and it gave a new meaning to the kingdom of the -things of the spirit. - - ‘All our childhood is full of remembrances of “Father.” He never - forgot our birthdays; however hot it was down in the scorched plains, - when the day came round, if we were up in the hills, a large parcel - would arrive from him. His very presence was joy and strength when he - came to us at Naini Tal. What a remembrance there is of early walks - and early breakfasts with him and the three of us. The table was - spread in the verandah between six and seven. Father made three cups - of cocoa, one for each of us, and then the glorious walk! Three ponies - followed behind, each with their attendant grooms, and two or three - red-coated chaprasis, father stopping all along the road to talk to - every native who wished to speak to him, while we three ran about, - laughing and interested in everything. Then, at night, the shouting - for him after we were in bed and father’s step bounding up the stair - in Calcutta, or coming along the matted floor of our hill home. All - order and quietness flung to the winds while he said good night to us. - - ‘It was always understood that Elsie and he were special chums, but - that never made any jealousy. Father was always just! The three cups - of cocoa were exactly the same in quality and quantity. We got equal - shares of his right and his left hand in our walks, but Elsie and he - were comrades, inseparables from the day of her birth. - - ‘In the background of our lives there was always the quiet strong - mother, whose eyes and smile live on through the years. Every morning - before the breakfast and walk, there were five minutes when we sat - in front of her in a row on little chairs in her room and read the - scripture verses in turn, and then knelt in a straight, quiet row and - repeated the prayers after her. Only once can I remember father being - angry with any of us, and that was when one of us ventured to hesitate - in instant obedience to some wish of hers. I still see the room in - which it happened, and the thunder in his voice is with me still.’ - -Both Mr. and Mrs. Inglis belonged to the Anglican Church, though they -never hesitated to go to any denomination where they found the best -spiritual life. In later life in Edinburgh, they were connected with -the Free Church of Scotland. To again quote from his daughter: ‘His -religious outlook was magnificently broad and beautiful, and his belief -in God simple and profound. His devotion to our mother is a thing -impossible to speak about, but we all feel that in some intangible way -it influenced and beautified our childhood.’ - -In 1870 Mrs. Inglis writes of the lessons of Elsie and her sister Eva. -‘The governess, Mrs. Marwood, is successful as a teacher; it comes easy -enough to Elsie to learn, and she delights in stories being told her. -Every morning after their early morning walk, and while their baths -are being got ready, their mother says they come to her to say their -prayers and learn their Bible lesson.’ There are two letters more or -less composed by Elsie and written by her father. In as far as they -were dictated by herself, they take stock of independent ways, and the -spirit of the Pharisee is early developed in the courts of the Lord’s -House, as she manages not to fall asleep all the time, while the weaker -little sister slumbers and sleeps. - -Eva, the sleepy sister, has some further reminiscences of these nursery -days:-- - - ‘We had forty dolls! Elsie decreed once that they should all have - measles--so days were spent by us three painting little red dots all - over the forty faces and the forty pairs of arms and legs. She was the - doctor and prescribed gruesome drugs which we had to administer. Then - it was decreed that they should slowly recover, so each day so many - spots were washed off until the epidemic was wiped out! - - ‘Another time one of the forty dolls was lost! Maria was small and - ugly, but much loved, and the search for her was _tremendous_, but - unsuccessful. The younger sister gave it up. After all there were - plenty other dolls--never mind Maria! But Elsie stuck to it. Maria - must be found. Father would find her when he came home from Kutcherry - in the evening, if nobody else could. So father was told with many - tears of Maria’s disappearance. He agreed--Maria must be found. The - next day all the enormous staff of Indian servants, numbering all - told about thirty or so, were had up in a row and told that unless - Maria was found sixpence would be cut from each servant’s pay for - interminable months! _What_ a search ensued! and Maria came to light - within half an hour--in the pocket of one of the dresses of her little - mistress found by one of the ayahs! Her mistress declared at the time, - and always maintained with undiminished certainty, that she had first - been put there, and then found by the ayah in question during that - half-hour’s search!’ - -These reminiscences have more of interest than just the picture of -the little child who was to carry on the early manifestations of a -keen interest in life. A smile, surely one of the clouds of glory she -trailed from heaven, and carried back untarnished by the tragedies of a -stricken earth; they are chiefly valuable in the signs of a steadfast, -independent will. The interest of all Elsie’s early development lay in -the comradeship with a father whose wide benevolence and understanding -love was to be the guide and helper in his daughter’s career. Not for -the first time in the history of outstanding lives, the daughter has -been the friend, and not the subjugated child of a selfish and dominant -parent. - -The date of Elsie’s birth was in the dawn of the movement which -believed it possible that women could have a mind and a brain of their -own, and that the freedom of the one and the cultivation of the other -was not a menace to the possessive rights of the family, or the ruin -of society at large. Thousands of women born at the same date were -instructed that the aim of their lives must be to see to the creature -comforts of their male parent, and when he was taken from them, to -believe it right that he had neither educated them, nor made provision -for the certain old age and spinsterdom which lay before the majority. - -There have been many parents who gave their daughters no reason to -call them blessed, when they were left alone unprovided with gear or -education. In all periods of family history, such instances as Mr. -Inglis’ outlook for his daughters is uncommon. He desired for them -equal opportunities, and the best and highest education. He gave them -the best of his mind, not its dregs, and a comradeship which made a -rare and happy entrance for them into life’s daily toil and struggle. -The father asked for nothing but their love, and he had his own -unselfish devotion returned to him a hundredfold. - -It must have been a great joy to him to watch the unfolding of talent -and great gifts in this daughter who was always ‘his comrade.’ He could -not live to see the end of a career so blessed, so rich in womanly -grace and sustaining service, but he knew he had spared no good thing -he could bring into her life, and when her mission was fulfilled, then, -those who read and inwardly digest these pages will feel that she first -learnt the secret of service to mankind in the home of her father. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE LADDER OF LEARNING - -1876-1885 - - ‘Hast thou come with the heart of thy childhood back: - The free, the pure, the kind? - So murmured the trees in my homeward track, - As they played to the mountain wind. - - ‘Hath thy soul been true to its early love? - Whispered my native streams. - Hath the spirit nurs’d amid hill and grove, - Still revered its first high dream?’ - - -After Mr. Inglis had been Chief Commissioner of Oude, he decided -to retire from his long and arduous service. Had he been given the -Lieutenant-Governorship of the North-West, as was expected by some in -the service, he would probably have accepted it and remained longer in -India. He was not in sympathy with Lord Lytton’s Afghan policy, and -that would naturally alter his desire for further employment. - -As with his father before him, his work was highly appreciated -by those he served. Lord Lytton, the Viceroy, in a letter to Lord -Salisbury, then Secretary of State for India, writes, February 1876:-- - - ‘During the short period of my own official tenure I have met with - much valuable assistance from Mr. Inglis, both as a member of my - Legislative Council, and also as officiating Commissioner in Oudh, - more especially as regards the amalgamation of Oudh with the N.W. - Provinces. Of his character and abilities I have formed so high an - opinion that had there been an available vacancy I should have been - glad to secure to my government his continued services.’ - -Two of Mr. Inglis’ sons had settled in Tasmania, and it was decided to -go there before bringing home the younger members of his family. The -eldest daughter, Mrs. Simson, was now married and settled in Edinburgh, -and the Inglis determined to make their home in that city. - -Two years were spent in Hobart settling the two sons on the land. Mrs. -M‘Laren says:-- - - ‘When in Tasmania, Elsie and I went to a very good school. Miss Knott, - the head-mistress, had come out from Cheltenham College for Girls. - Here in the days when such things were practically unknown, Elsie, - backed by Miss Knott, instituted ‘school colours.’ They were very - primitive, not beautiful hatbands, but two inches of blue and white - ribbon sewn on to a safety pin, and worn on the lapel of our coats. - How proud we were of them.’ - -Mr. Inglis, writing to his daughter in Edinburgh, says of their school -life:-- - - ‘Elsie has done very well, she is in the second class and last week - got up to second in the class. - - ‘We are all in a whirl having to sort and send off our boxes, some - round the Cape, some to Melbourne, and some to go with us.’ - -Mrs. Inglis, on board the _Durham_ homeward bound, writes:-- - - ‘Elsie has found occupation for herself in helping to nurse sick - children, and look after turbulent boys who trouble everybody on - board, and a baby of seven months old is an especial favourite with - her. Eva has met with a bosom friend in a little girl named Pearly - Macmillan, without whom she would have collapsed altogether. Our - vessel is not a fast one, but we have been only five instead of six - weeks getting to Suez.’ - -The family took a house at 70 Bruntsfield Place, and the two girls were -soon at school. Mrs. M‘Laren says:-- - - ‘Elsie and I used to go daily to the Charlotte Square Institution, - which used in those days to be the Edinburgh school for girls. Mr. - Oliphant was headmaster. Father never approved of the Scotch custom - of children walking long distances to school, and we used to be sent - every morning in a cab. The other day, when telling the story of the - S.W.H.’s to a large audience of working women in Edinburgh, one woman - said to me, “My husband is a prood man the day! He tells everybody how - he used to drive Dr. Inglis to school every morning when she was a - girl.”’ - -Of her school life in Edinburgh, Miss Wright gives these memories:-- - - ‘I remember quite distinctly when the girls of 23 Charlotte Square - were told that two girls from Tasmania were coming to the school, - and a certain feeling of surprise that the said girls were just like - ordinary mortals, though the big, earnest brows and the quaint hair - parted in the middle and done up in plaits fastened up at the back - of the head were certainly not ordinary. Elsie was put in a higher - English class than I was in, and though I knew her, I did not know her - very well. - - ‘A friend has a story of a question going round the class, she thinks - Clive or Warren Hastings was the subject of the lesson, and the - question was what one would do if a calumny were spread about one. - “Deny it,” one girl answered. “Fight it,” another. Still the teacher - went on asking. “Live it down,” said Elsie. “Right, Miss Inglis.” My - friend writes, “The question I cannot remember, it was the bright - confident smile with the answer, and Mr. Hossack’s delighted wave to - the top of the class that abides in my memory.” - - ‘I always think a very characteristic story of Elsie is her asking - that the school might have permission to play in Charlotte Square - gardens. In those days no one thought of providing fresh air exercise - for girls except by walks, and tennis was just coming in. Elsie had - the courage (to us schoolgirls it seemed the extraordinary courage) - to confront the three directors of the school and ask if we might be - allowed to play in the gardens of the Square. The three directors - together were to us the most formidable and awe-inspiring body, though - separately they were amiable and estimable men! - - ‘The answer was we might play in the gardens if the neighbouring - proprietors would give their consent, and the heroic Elsie, with I - think one other girl, actually went round to each house in the Square - and asked consent of the owner. - - ‘In those days the inhabitants of Charlotte Square were very select - and exclusive indeed, and we all felt it was a brave thing to do. - Elsie gained her point, and the girls played at certain hours in the - Square till a regular playing field was arranged.’ - -Her sister Eva reports that the first answer of the directors was -enough for the rest of the school. But Elsie, undaunted, interviewed -each of the three directors herself. After every bell in Charlotte -Square had been rung and all interviewed, she returned from this great -expedition triumphant. All had consented, so the damsels interned from -nine to three were given the gardens, and the grim, dull, palisaded -square must have suddenly been made to blossom like the rose. Would -that some follower of Elsie Inglis even now might ring the door bells -and get the gates unlocked to the rising generation. Elsie’s companion -or companions in this first attempt to influence those in authority -have been spoken of as ‘her first unit.’ - -Elsie was, for a time, joint editor of the _Edina_, a school magazine -of the ordinary type. Her great achievement was in making it pay, -which, it is recorded, no other editor was able to do. There are -various editorial anxieties alluded to in her correspondence with her -father. The memories quoted take us further than school days, but they -find a fitting place here. - - ‘Our more intimate acquaintance came after Mrs. Inglis’ death and when - Elsie was thinking of and beginning her medical work. In 1888 six of - us girls who had been at the same school started the “Six Sincere - Students Society,” which met in one house. The first year we read and - discussed Emerson’s Essays on “Self-Reliance and Heroism.” I am pretty - sure it was Elsie who suggested those Essays. Also, Helps, and Matthew - Arnold’s _Culture and Anarchy_. I have a note on this “two very hot - discussions as to what Culture means, and if it is sufficiently - powerful to regenerate the world. Culture of the masses and also of - women largely gone into.” - - ‘This very friendly and happy society lasted on till 1891, when it - was enlarged and became a Debating Society. I find Elsie taking up - such subjects as “That our modern civilisation is a development not a - degeneration.” “That character is formed in a busy life rather than - in solitude.” Papers on Henry Drummond’s _Ascent of Man_, and on the - “Ethics of War.” - - ‘Always associated with Elsie in those days I think of her father, - and no biography of her will be true which does not emphasise the - beautiful and deep love and sympathy between Elsie and Mr. Inglis. He - used to meet us girls as if we were his intellectual equals, and would - discuss problems and answer our questions with the utmost cordiality - and appreciation of our point of view, and always there was the - feeling of the entire understanding and fellowship between father and - daughter. - - ‘She was a keen croquet player, and tolerated no frivolity when a - stroke either at croquet or golf were in the balance. She was fond of - long walks with Mr. Inglis, and then by herself, and time never hung - on her hands in holiday time, she was always serene and happy.’ - -It was decided that Elsie should go to school in Paris in September -1882--a decision not lightly made; and Mr. Inglis writes after her -departure:-- - - ‘I do not think I could have borne to part with you, my darling, did - I not feel the assurance that in doing so we are following the Lord’s - guidance. Your dear mother and I both made it the subject of earnest - prayer, and I feel we have been guided to do what was best for you; - and we shall see this when the weary time is over, and we have got you - back again with us. - - ‘When I return to Edinburgh, I feel that I shall have no one to find - out my Psalms for me, or to cut my _Spectator_, that we shall have - no more discussions regarding the essays of Mr. Fraser, and no more - anxieties about the forthcoming number of the _Edina_. The nine months - will pass quickly.’ - -Elsie’s letters from Paris have not been preserved, but the ones -from her father show the alert intelligence and interest in all she -was reporting. Of the events at home and abroad, Mr. Inglis writes -to her of the Suez Canal, the bringing to justice of the Phœnix Park -murderers, the great snowstorm at home, and the Channel Tunnel. Mrs. -Inglis writes with maternal scepticism on some passing events: ‘I -cannot imagine you making the body of your dress. I think there would -not be many carnivals if you had to make the dresses yourselves.’ -Mr. Inglis, equally sceptical, has a more satisfactory solution for -dressmaking. ‘I hope you have more than one dinner frock, two or three, -and let them be pretty ones.’ Mrs. Inglis, commenting on Elsie’s -description of Gambetta’s funeral, says: ‘He is a loss to France. -Poor France, she always seems to me like a vessel without a helm -driven about just where the winds take it. She has no sound Christian -principle to guide her. So different from our highly favoured England.’ - -Mr. Inglis’ letters are full of the courteous consideration for Elsie -and for others which marked all the way of his life, and made him -the man greatly beloved, in whatever sphere he moved. _Punch_ and -the _Spectator_ went from him every week, and he writes: ‘I hope -there was nothing in that number of _Punch_ you gave M. Survelle to -study while you were finishing your breakfast to hurt his feelings -as a Frenchman. _Punch_ has not been very complimentary to them of -late.’ And when Elsie’s sense of humour had been moved by a saying -of her _gouvernante_, Mr. Inglis writes, desirous of a very free -correspondence with home, but-- - - ‘I fear if I send your letter to Eva, at school, that your remark - about Miss ---- proposal to go down to the lower flat of your house, - because the Earl of Anglesea once lived there, may be repeated and - ultimately reach her with exaggerations, as those things always do, - and may cause unpleasant feelings.’ - -There must have been some exhibition of British independence, and in -dealing with it Mr. Inglis reminds Elsie of a day in India ‘when you -went off for a walk by yourself, and we all thought you were lost, and -all the Thampanies and chaprasies and everybody were searching for you -all over the hill.’ One later episode was not on a hillside, and except -for _les demoiselles_ in Paris, equally harmless. - - ‘_Jan. 1883._ - - ‘I can quite sympathise with you, my darling, in the annoyance you - feel at not having told Miss Brown of your having walked home part - of the way from Madame M---- last Wednesday. It would have been far - better if you had told her, as you wished to do, what had happened. - Concealment is always wrong, and very often turns what was originally - only a trifle into a serious matter. In this case, I don’t suppose - Miss B. could have said much if you had told her, though she may be - seriously angry if it comes to her knowledge hereafter. If she does - hear of it, you had better tell her that you told me all about it, and - that I advised you, under the circumstances, as you had not told her - at the time, and that as by doing so now you could only get the others - into trouble, not to say anything about it; but keep clear of these - things for the future, my darling.’ - -When the end came here, in this life, one of her school-fellows wrote:-- - - ‘Elsie has been and is such a world-wide inspiration to all who knew - her. One more can testify to the blessedness of her friendship. Ever - since the Paris days of ’83 her strong loving help was ready in - difficult times, and such wonderfully strengthening comfort in sorrow.’ - -The Paris education ended in the summer of 1883, and Miss Brown, who -conducted and lived with the seven girls who went out with her from -England, writes after their departure:-- - - ‘I cannot tell you how much I felt when you all disappeared, and how - sad it was to go back to look at your deserted places. I cannot at all - realise that you are now all separated, and that we may never meet - again on earth. May we meet often at the throne of grace, and remember - each other there. It is nice to have a French maid to keep up the - conversations, and if you will read French aloud, even to yourself, it - is of use.’ - -Paris was, no doubt, an education in itself, but the perennial hope of -fond parents that languages and music are in the air of the continent, -were once again disappointed in Elsie. She was timber-tuned in ear and -tongue, and though she would always say her mind in any vehicle for -thought, the accent and the grammar strayed along truly British lines. -Her eldest niece supplies a note on her music:-- - - ‘She was still a schoolgirl when they returned from Tasmania. At that - time she was learning music at school. I thought her a wonderful - performer on the piano, but afterwards her musical capabilities - became a family joke which no one enjoyed more than herself. She had - two “pieces” which she could play by heart, of the regular arpeggio - drawing-room style, and these always had to be performed at any family - function as one of the standing entertainments.’ - -Elsie returned from Paris, the days of the schoolgirlhood left behind. -Her character was formed, and she had the sense of latent powers. She -had not been long at home when her mother died of a virulent attack of -scarlet fever, and Mr. Inglis lost the lodestar of his loving nature. -‘From that day Elsie shouldered all father’s burdens, and they two went -on together until his death.’ - -In her desk, when it was opened, these ‘Resolutions’ were found. They -are written in pencil, and belong to the date when she became the stay -and comfort of her father’s remaining years:-- - - ‘I must give up dreaming,--making stories. - - ‘I must give up getting cross. - - ‘I must devote my mind more to the housekeeping. - - ‘I must be more thorough in everything. - - ‘I must be truthful. - - ‘The bottom of the whole evil is the habit of dreaming, which must be - given up. So help me, God. - - ‘ELSIE INGLIS.’ - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE STUDENT DAYS - -1885-1892 - -EDINBURGH--GLASGOW - - ‘Let knowledge grow from more to more, - But more of reverence in us dwell; - That mind and soul, according well, - May make one music as before, - But vaster.’ - - -‘I remember well the day Elsie came in and, sitting down beside -father, divulged her plan of “going in for medicine.” I still see and -hear him, taking it all so perfectly calmly and naturally, and setting -to work at once to overcome the difficulties which were in the way, for -even then all was not plain sailing for the woman who desired to study -medicine.’ So writes Mrs. M‘Laren, looking back on the days when the -future doctor recognised her vocation and ministry. If it had been a -profession of ‘plain sailing,’ the adventurous spirit would probably -not have embarked in that particular vessel. The seas had only just -been charted, and not every shoal had been marked. In the midst of -them Elsie’s bark was to have its hairbreadth escapes. The University -Commission decided that women should not be excluded any longer from -receiving degrees owing to their sex. The writer recollects the -description given of the discussion by the late Sir Arthur Mitchell, -K.C.B., one of the most enlightened minds of the age in which he lived -and achieved so much. He, and one or more of his colleagues, presented -the Commissioners with the following problem: ‘Why not? On what theory -or doctrine was it just or beneficent to exclude women from University -degrees?’ There came no answer, for logic cannot be altogether -ignored by a University Commission, so, without opposition or blare -of trumpets, the Scottish Universities opened their degrees to all -students. It was of good omen that the Commission sat in high Dunedin, -under that rock bastion where Margaret, saint and queen, was the most -learned member of the Scottish nation in the age in which she reigned. - -Dr. Jex Blake had founded the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, -and it was there that Elsie received her first medical teaching. -Everything was still in its initial stages, and every step in the -higher education of women had to be fought and won, against the forces -of obscurantism and professional jealousy. - -University Commissions might issue reports, but the working out of them -was left in the hands of men who were determined to exclude women from -the medical profession. - -Clinical teaching could only be carried on in a few hospitals. -Anatomy was learnt under the most discouraging circumstances. Mixed -classes were, and still are, refused. Extra-mural teaching became -complicated, on the one hand, by the extra fees which were wrung from -women students, and by the careless and perfunctory teaching accorded -by the twice-paid profession. Professors gave the off-scourings of -their minds, the least valuable of their subjects, and their unpunctual -attendance to all that stood for female students. It will hardly -be believed that the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh refused to admit -women to clinical teaching in the wards, until they had raised seven -hundred pounds to furnish two wards in which, and in which alone, they -might work. To these two wards, with their selected cases, they are -still confined, with the exception of one or two other less important -subjects. Medicals rarely belong to the moneyed classes, and very -few women can command the money demanded of the medical course, and -that women should have raised at once the tax thus put upon them by -the Royal Infirmary is an illustration of how keenly and bravely they -fought through all the disabilities laid upon them. - -Women had always staunch friends among the doctors. The names of -many of them are written in gold in the story of the opening of the -profession to women. It has been observed that St. Paul had the note of -all great minds, a passion to share his knowledge of a great salvation, -with both Jews and Gentiles. That test of greatness was not conspicuous -in the majority of the medical profession at the time when Elsie Inglis -came as a learner to the gates of medical science. That kingdom, like -most others, had to suffer violence ere she was to be known as the good -physician in her native city and in those of the allied nations. - -There are no letters extant from Elsie concerning her time with Dr. -Jex Blake. After Mrs. Inglis’ death, Mr. Inglis decided to leave their -home at Bruntsfield, and the family moved to rooms in Melville Street. -Here Elsie was with her father, and carried on her studies from his -house. It was not an altogether happy start, and very soon she had -occasion to differ profoundly with Dr. Jex Blake in her management -of the school. Two of the students failed to observe the discipline -imposed by Dr. Jex Blake, and she expelled them from the school. -Any high-handed act of injustice always roused Elsie to keen and -concentrated resistance. A lawsuit was brought against Dr. Jex Blake, -and it was successful, proving in its course that the treatment of the -students had been without justification. - -Looking back on this period of the difficult task of opening the -higher education to women, it is easy to see the defects of many of -those engaged in the struggle. The attitude towards women was so -intolerably unjust that many of the pioneers became embittered in soul, -and had in their bearing to friends or opponents an air which was often -provocative of misunderstanding. They did not always receive from the -younger generation for whom they had fought that forbearance that must -be always extended to ‘the old guard,’ whose scars and defects are but -the blemishes of a hardly-contested battle. Success often makes people -autocratic, and those who benefit from the success, and suffer under -the overbearing spirit engendered, forget their great gains in the -galling sensation of being ridden over rough-shod. It is an episode on -which it is now unnecessary to dwell, and Dr. Inglis would always have -been the first to render homage to the great pioneer work of Dr. Jex -Blake. - -Through it all Elsie was living in the presence chamber of her father’s -chivalrous, high-minded outlook. Whatever action she took then, must -have had his approval, and it was from him that she received that keen -sense of equal justice for all. - -These student years threw them more than ever together. On Sundays -they worshipped in the morning in Free St. George’s Church, and in the -evening in the Episcopal Cathedral. Mr. Inglis was a great walker, and -Elsie said, ‘I learnt to walk when I used to take those long walks with -father, after mother died.’ Then she would explain how you _should_ -walk. ‘Your whole body should go into it, and not just your feet.’ - -Of these student days her niece, Evelyn Simson, says:-- - - ‘When she was about eighteen she began to wear a bonnet on Sunday. She - was the last _girl_ in our connection to wear one. My Aunt Eva who is - two years younger never did, so I think the fashion must have changed - just then. I remember thinking how very grown up she must be.’ - -Another niece writes:-- - - ‘At the time when it became the fashion for girls to wear their hair - short, when she went out one day, and came home with a closely-cropped - head, I bitterly resented the loss of Aunt Elsie’s beautiful shining - fair hair, which had been a real glory to her face. She herself was - most delighted with the new style, especially with the saving of - trouble in hairdressing. - - ‘She only allowed her hair to grow long again because she thought - it was better for a woman doctor to dress well and as becomingly as - possible. This opinion only grew as she became older, and had been - longer in the profession; in her student days she rather prided - herself on not caring about personal appearance, and she dressed very - badly. - - ‘Her sense of fairplay was very strong. Once in college there was an - opposition aroused to the Student Christian Union, and a report was - spread that the students belonging to it were neglecting their college - work. It happened to be the time for the class examinations, and the - lists were posted on the College notice-board. The next morning, - the initials C.U. were found printed opposite the names of all the - students who belonged to the Christian Union, and, as these happened - to head the list in most instances, the unfair report was effectually - silenced. No one knew who had initialed the list; it was some time - afterwards I discovered it had been Aunt Elsie. - - ‘She was a beautiful needlewoman. She embroidered and made entirely - herself two lovely little flannel garments for her first grand-nephew, - in the midst of her busy life, then filled to overflowing with the - work of her growing practice, and of her suffrage activities. - - ‘The babies as they arrived in the families met with her special love. - In her short summer holidays with any of us, the children were her - great delight. - - ‘She was a great believer in an open-air life. One summer she took - three of us a short walking tour from Callander, and we did enjoy it. - We tramped over the hills, and finally arrived at Crianlarich, only to - find the hotel crammed and no sleeping accommodation. She would take - no refusal, and persuaded the manager to let us sleep on mattresses in - the drawing-room, which added to the adventures of our trip. - - ‘On the way she entertained us with tales of her college life, and - imbued us with our first enthusiasm for the women’s cause. - - ‘When I myself began to study medicine, no one could have been more - enthusiastically encouraging, and even through the stormy and somewhat - depressing times of the early career of the Medical College for Women, - Edinburgh, her faith and vision never faltered, and she helped us all - to hold on courageously.’ - -In 1891 Elsie went to Glasgow to take the examination for the Triple -Qualification at the Medical School there. She could not then take -surgery in Edinburgh, and the facilities for clinical teaching were all -more favourable in Glasgow. - -It was probably better for her to be away from all the difficulties -connected with the opening of the second School of Medicine for Women -in Edinburgh. The one founded by Dr. Jex Blake was the Edinburgh School -of Medicine for Women, and the one promoted by Elsie Inglis and other -women students was known as the Medical College for Women. ‘It was with -the fortunes of this school that she was more closely associated,’ -writes Dr. Beatrice Russell. - -In Glasgow she resided at the Y.W.C.A. Hostel. Her father did not -wish her to live alone in lodgings, and she accommodated herself very -willingly to the conditions under which she had to live. Miss Grant, -the superintendent, became her warm friend. Elsie’s absence from home -enabled her to give a vivid picture of her life in her daily letters to -her father. - - ‘GLASGOW, _Feb. 4, 1891_. - - ‘It was not nice seeing you go off and being left all alone. After I - have finished this letter I am going to set to work. It seems there - are twelve or fourteen girls boarding here, and there are regular - rules. Miss Grant told me if I did not like some of them to speak to - her, but I am not going to be such a goose as that. One rule is you - are to make your own bed, which she did not think I could do! But I - said I could make it beautifully. I would much rather do what all the - others do. Well, I arranged my room, and it is as neat as a new pin. - Then we walked up to the hospital, to the dispensary; we were there - till 4.30, as there were thirty-six patients, and thirty-one of them - new. - - ‘I am most comfortable here, and I am going to work like _anything_. I - told Miss Barclay so, and she said, “Oh goodness, we shall all have to - look out for our laurels!”’ - - ‘_Feb. 7, ’91._ - - ‘Mary Sinclair says it is no good going to the dispensaries on - Saturday, as there are no students there, and the doctors don’t take - the trouble to teach. I went to Dr. MacEwan’s wards this morning. I - was the first there, so he let me help him with an operation; then I - went over to Dr. Anderson’s. - - ‘_Feb. 9._ - - ‘This morning I spent the whole time in Dr. MacEwan’s wards. He put me - through my facings. I could not think what he meant, he asked me so - many questions. It seems it is his way of greeting a new student. Some - of them cannot bear him, but I think he is really nice, though he can - be abominably sarcastic, and he is a first-rate surgeon and capital - teacher. - - ‘To-day, it was the medical jurists and the police officers he was - down on, and he told story after story of how they work by red tape, - according to the text-books. He said that, while he was casualty - surgeon, one police officer said to him that it was no good having him - there, for he never would try to make the medical evidence fit in with - the evidence they had collected. Once they brought in a woman stabbed - in her wrist, and said they had caught the man who had done it running - away, and he had a knife. Dr. MacEwan said the cut had been done by - glass and not by a knife, so they could not convict the man, and there - was an awful row over it. Some of them went down to the alley where - it had happened, and sure enough there was a pane of glass smashed - right through the centre. When the woman knew she was found out, she - confessed she had done it herself. The moral he impressed on us was to - examine your patient before you hear the story. - - ‘A. is beginning to get headaches and not sleep at night. I am - thankful to say that is not one of my tricks. Miss G. is getting - unhappy about her, and is going to send up beef-tea every evening. - She offered me some, but I like my glass of milk much better. I am - taking my tonic and my tramp regularly, so I ought to keep well. I am - quite disgusted when girls break down through working too hard. They - must remember they are not as strong as men, and then they do idiotic - things, such as taking no exercise, into the bargain. - - ‘Dr. MacEwan asked us to-day to get the first stray £20,000 we could - for him, as he wants to build a proper private hospital. So I said he - should have the second £20,000 I came across, as I wanted the first - to build and endow a woman’s College in Edinburgh. He said he thought - that would be great waste; there should not be separate colleges. “If - women are going to be doctors, equal with the men, they should go to - the same school.” I said I quite agreed with him, but when they won’t - admit you, what are you to do? “Leave them alone,” he said; “they will - admit you in time,” and he thought outside colleges would only delay - that. - - ‘This morning in Dr. MacEwan’s wards a very curious case came in. Some - of us tried to draw it, never thinking he would see us, and suddenly - he swooped round and insisted on seeing every one of the scribbles. - He has eyes, I believe, in the back of his head and ears everywhere. - He forgot, I thought, to have the ligature taken off a leg he was - operating on, and I said so in the lowest whisper to M. S. About five - minutes afterwards, he calmly looked straight over to us, and said, - “_Now_, we’ll take off the ligature!” - - ‘I went round this morning and saw a few of my patients. I found one - woman up who ought to have been in bed. I discovered she had been up - all night because her husband came in tipsy about eleven o’clock. - He was lying there asleep on the bed. I think he ought to have been - horse-whipped, and when I have the vote I shall vote that all men who - turn their wives and families out of doors at eleven o’clock at night, - especially when the wife is ill, shall be horse-whipped. And, if they - make the excuse that they were tipsy, I should give them double. They - would very soon learn to behave themselves. - - ‘As to the father of the cherubs you ask about, his family does not - seem to lie very heavily on his mind. He is not in work just now, and - apparently is very often out of work. One cannot take things seriously - in that house. - - ‘In the house over the Clyde I saw the funniest sight. It is an Irish - house, as dirty as a pig-sty, and there are about ten children. When - I got there, at least six of the children were in the room, and half - of them without a particle of clothing. They were sitting about on the - table and on the floor like little cherubs with black faces. I burst - out laughing when I saw them, and they all joined in most heartily, - including the mother, though not one of them saw the joke, for they - came and stood just as they were round me in a ring to see the baby - washed. Suddenly, the cherubs began to disappear and ragged children - to appear instead. I looked round to see who was dressing them, but - there was no one there. They just slipped on their little black - frocks, without a thing on underneath, and departed to the street as - soon as the baby was washed. - - ‘Three women with broken legs have come in. I don’t believe so many - women have ever broken their legs together in one day before! One of - them is a shirt finisher. She sews on the buttons and puts in the - gores at the rate of 4½d. a dozen shirts. We know the shop, and they - _sell_ the shirts at 4s. 6d. each. Of course, political economy is - quite true, but I hope that shopkeeper, if ever he comes back to this - earth, will be a woman and have to finish shirts at 4½d. a dozen, and - then he’ll see the other side of the question. I told the woman it was - her own fault for taking such small wages, at which she seemed amused. - It is funny the stimulating effect a big school has on a hospital. The - Royal here is nearly as big and quite as rich as the Edinburgh Royal, - but there is no pretence that they really are in their teaching and - arrangements the third hospital in the kingdom, as they are in size. - _The_ London Hospital is the biggest, and then comes Edinburgh, and - this is the third. Guy’s and Bart.’s, that one hears so much about, - are quite small in comparison, but they have big medical schools - attached. The doctors seem to lie on their oars if they don’t have to - teach. - - ‘_Feb. 1892._ - - ‘I thought the Emperor of Germany’s speech the most impertinent piece - of self-glorification I ever met with. Steed’s egotism is perfect - humility beside it. He and his house are the chosen instruments of - “our supreme Lord,” and anybody who does not approve of what he does - had better clear out of Germany. As you say, Makomet and Luther and - all the great epoch-makers had a great belief in themselves and their - mission, but the German Emperor will have to give some further proof - of his divine commission (beyond a supreme belief in himself) before - I, for one, will give in my submission. I never read such a speech. I - think it was perfectly blasphemous. - - ‘The _Herald_ has an article about wild women. It evidently thinks - St. Andrews has opened the flood-gates, and now there is the deluge. - St. Andrews has done very well--degrees and mixed classes from next - October. Don’t you think our Court might send a memorial to the - University Court about medical degrees? It is splendid having Sir - William Muir on our side, and I believe the bulk of the Senators are - all right--they only want a little shove.’ - -In Glasgow the women students had to encounter the opposition to ‘mixed -classes,’ and the fight centred in the Infirmary. It would have been -more honest to have promulgated the decision of the Managers before -the women students had paid their fees for the full course of medical -tuition. - -Elsie, in her letters, describes the toughly fought contest, and the -final victory won by the help of the just and enlightened leaders in -the medical world. ‘So here is another fight,’ writes the student, with -a sigh of only a half regret! It was too good a fight, and the backers -were too strong for the women students not to win their undoubted -rights. Through all the chaffing and laughter, one perceives the thread -of a resolute purpose, and Elsie’s great gift, the unconquerable facing -of ‘the Hill Difficulty.’ True, the baffled and puzzled enemy often -played into their hands, as when Dr. T., driven to extremity in a weak -moment, threatened to prevent their attendance by ‘physical force.’ -The threat armed the students with yet another legal grievance. Elsie -describes on one occasion in her haste going into a ward where Dr. -Gemmel, one of the ‘mixed’ objectors, was demonstrating. She perceived -her mistake, and retreated, not before receiving a smile from her -enemy. The now Sir William MacEwan enjoyed the fight quite as much as -his women students; and if to-day he notes the achievements of the -Scottish Women’s Hospitals, he may count as his own some of their -success in the profession in which he has achieved so worthy a name. -The dispute went on until at length an exhausted foe laid down its -weapons, and the redoubtable Dr. T. conveyed the intimation that the -women students might go to any of the classes--and a benison on them! - -The faction fight, like many another in the brave days of old, -roared and clattered down the paved causeways of Glasgow. Dr. T., in -his gate-house, must have wished his petticoat foes many times away -and above the pass. If he, or any of the obstructionists of that day -survive, we know that they belong to a sect that needs no repentance. -They may, however, note with self-complacency that their action trained -on a generation skilled in the contest of fighting for democratic -rights in the realm of knowledge. It is a birthright to enter into that -gateway, and the keys are given to all who possess the understanding -mind and reverent attitude towards all truth. - - ‘_Nov. 1891._ - - ‘Those old wretches, the Infirmary Managers, have reared their heads - again, and now have decided that we are not to go to mixed classes, - and we have been tearing all over the wards seeing all sorts of people - about it. I went to Dr. K.’s this morning--all right. Crossing the - quadrangle, a porter rushed at me and said, “Dr. T. wants to see - all the lady students at the gate-house.” I remarked to Miss M., - “I am certainly not going to trot after Dr. T. for casual messages - like that. He can put up a notice if he wants me.” We were going - upstairs to Dr. R. when another porter ran up and said, “Dr. T. is - in his office. He would be much obliged if you would speak to him.” - So we laughed, and said that was more polite anyhow, and went into - the office. So he hummed and hawed, looked everywhere except at - us, and then said the Infirmary Managers said we were not to go to - mixed classes. So I promptly said, “Then I shall come for my fees - to-morrow,” and walked out of the room. I was angry. I went straight - back to Dr. K., who said he was awfuly sorry and angry, and he would - see Dr. T., but he was afraid he could do nothing. - - ‘So here is another fight. But you see we cannot be beat here, for - the same reason that we cannot beat them in Edinburgh. Were the - managers, managers a hundred times over, they cannot turn Mr. MacEwan - off. - - ‘The _Glasgow Herald_ had an article the other day, saying there - was a radical change in the country, and that no one was taking any - notice of it, and no one knew where it was to land us. This was the - draft ordinance of the Commissioners which actually put the education - of women on the same footing as that of men, and, worse still, - seemed to countenance mixed classes. The _G. H._ seems to think this - is the beginning of the end, and will necessarily lead to woman’s - suffrage, and it will probably land them in the pulpit; because if - they are ordinary University students they may compete for any of the - bursaries, and many bursaries can only be held on condition that the - holder means to enter the Church! You never read such an article, and - it was not the least a joke but sober earnest. - - ‘I saw Dr. P. about my surgery. The chief reason I tried to get that - prize was to pay for those things and not worry you about them. I want - to pass awfully well, as it tells all one’s life through, and I _mean_ - to be very successful! - - ‘Dr. B. has the most absurd way of agreeing with everything you say. - He asked me what I would do with a finger. I thought it was past - all mending and said, “Amputate it.” “Quite so, quite so,” he said - solemnly, “but we’ll dress it to-day with such and such a thing.” - There were two or three other cases in which I recommended desperate - measures, in which he agreed, but did not follow. Finally, he asked - Mr. B. what he would do with a swelling. Mr. B. hesitated. I said, - “Open it.” Whereupon he went off into fits of laughter, and proclaimed - to the whole room my prescriptions, and said I would make a first-rate - surgeon for I was afraid of nothing. - - ‘It is one thing to recommend treatment to another person and another - to do it yourself. - - ‘Queen Margaret is to be taken into the University, not affiliated, - but made an integral part of the University and the lecturers - appointed again by the Senators. That means that the Glasgow degrees - in everything are to be given from October, Arts, Medicine, Science, - and _Theology_. The “decrees of the primordial protoplasm,” that Sir - James Crichton-Browne knows all about, are being reversed right and - left, and not only by the Senatus Academicus of St. Andrews!’ - -The remaining letters are filled with all the hopes and fears of the -examined. Mr. MacEwan tells her she will pass ‘with one hand,’ and -Elsie has the usual moan over a defective memory, and the certainties -that she will be asked all the questions to which she has no answering -key. The evidences of hard and conscientious study abound, and, after -she had counted the days and rejoined her father, she found she had -passed through the heavy ordeal with great success, and, having thus -qualified, could pass on to yet unconquered realms of experience and -service. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -LONDON - -THE NEW HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN - -DUBLIN - -THE ROTUNDA - -1892-1894 - - ‘We take up the task eternal and the burden and the lesson, - Pioneers, O Pioneers.’--WALT WHITMAN. - - -After completing her clinical work in Glasgow, and passing the -examination for the Triple Qualification in 1892, it was decided that -Elsie should go to London and work as house-surgeon in the new Hospital -for Women in the Euston Road. In 1916 that hospital kept its jubilee -year, and when Elsie went to work there it had been established for -nearly thirty years. Its story contains the record of the leading names -among women doctors. In the commemorative prayer of Bishop Paget, an -especial thanksgiving was made ‘for the good example of those now at -rest, Elizabeth Blackwell, and Sophia Jex Blake, of good work done -by women doctors throughout the whole world, and now especially of -the high trust and great responsibility committed to women doctors in -this hour of need.’ The hearts of many present went over the washing -seas, to the lands wasted by fire and sword, and to the leader of -the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, who had gained her earliest surgical -experience in the wards of the first hospital founded by the first -woman doctor, and standing for the new principle that women can -practise the healing art. - -Elsie Inglis took up her work with keen energy and a happy power -of combining work with varied interests. In the active months of -her residence she resolutely ‘tramped’ London, attended most of the -outstanding churches, and was a great sermon taster of ministers -ranging from Boyd Carpenter to Father Maturin. Innumerable relatives -and friends tempted her to lawn tennis and the theatres. She had a keen -eye to all the humours of the staff, and formed her own opinions on -patients and doctors with her usual independence of judgment. - -Elsie’s letters to her father were detailed and written daily. Only a -very small selection can be quoted, but every one of them is instinct -with a buoyant outlook, and they are full of the joy of service. - -It is interesting to read in these letters her descriptions of the work -of Dr. Garrett Anderson, and then to read Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson’s -speech on her mother at the jubilee of the hospital. ‘I shall never -forget her at Victoria Station on the day when the Women’s Hospital -Corps was leaving England for France, early in September 1914. She was -quite an old woman, her life’s work done, but the light of battle was -in her eyes, and she said, “Had I been twenty years younger I would -have been taking you myself.” Just twenty-one years before the war -broke down the last of the barriers against women’s work as doctors, -Elsie Inglis entered the New Hospital for Women, to learn with that -staff of women doctors who had achieved so much under conditions so -full of difficulties and discouragements. - - ‘NEW HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN, - ‘EUSTON RD., 1892-3. - - ‘MY OWN DEAREST PAPA,--Here we begin another long series of letters. - The people in the carriage were very quiet, so I slept all right. Of - course they shut up all the windows, so I opened all the ventilators, - and I also opened the window two or three times. I had breakfast at - once, and then a bath, and then came in for a big operation by Mrs. - Boyd. Her husband came up to help her. Mrs. Scharlieb and Mrs. de la - Cherois were up too--both of them visiting doctors. I have been all - round the wards and got a sort of idea of the cases in my head, but - I shall have to get them all up properly. The visiting physicians - seem to call all over the day, from nine o’clock in the morning till - three in the afternoon. Some of the students from the School of - Medicine are dressers and clerks. I believe I have to drill them, - but of course they are only very senior students, because their real - hospital is the Royal Free. There are four wards, two of them round, - with two fireplaces back to back in the middle. The other two wards - are oblong, and they are all prettily painted, and bright. Then there - are two small wards for serious cases. I have not arranged my room - yet, as I have not had a minute. I am going out to post this and get - a stethescope. Mrs. de la Cherois has been here; she is a nice old - lady, and awfully particular. I would much rather work with people - like that than people who are anyhow. Mrs. Scharlieb is about forty, - very dark and solemn. The nurses seem nice, but they don’t have any - special uniform, which I think is a pity; so they are pinks and greys - and blues, and twenty different patterns of caps. I think I shall - like being here very much. I only hope I shall get on with all my - mistresses! And, I _hope_ I shall always remember what to do. - - ‘The last big operation case died. It was very sad, and very - provoking, for she really was doing well, but she had not vitality - enough to stand the shock. That was the case whose doctor told her and - her husband that she was suffering from _hysteria_. And that man, you - know, can be a fellow of the colleges, and member of any society he - likes to apply to, while Mrs. G. Anderson and Mrs. Scharlieb cannot! - Is it not ridiculous? - - ‘Mrs. G. Anderson said she was going to speak to Mrs. M‘Call about my - having one of her maternity posts. I shall come home first, however, - my own dearest Papa. Mrs. G. A. said she thought I should have a good - deal more of that kind of work if I was going to set up in a lonely - place like Edinburgh, as I ought _never_ to have to call in a man to - help me out of a hole! - - ‘Mrs. G. Anderson is going to take me to a Cinderella dance to-night - in aid of the hospital. I am to meet her at St. James’ Hall. We had an - awful morning of it. Mrs. G. A. is taking Mrs. M.’s ward, and turned - up 9.30, Mrs. S.’s hour. Then Miss C. came in on the top to consult - about two of her cases. Into the bargain, A. slept late, and did not - arrive till near ten, so, by the time they had all left, I had a - lovely medley of treatment in my head. My fan has arrived, and will - come in for to-night. I hope Mrs. G. Anderson will be a nice chaperone - and introduce one properly. I am to go early, and her son is to look - out for me, and begin the introducing till she comes. Miss Garrett has - been to-day painting the hall for the Chicago Exhibition. She is going - to the dance to-night. She says Mrs. Fawcett got some more money out - of the English Commissioners in a lovely way. These Commissioners have - spent £17,000 in building themselves a kiosk in the ground, and they - allowed Mrs. Fawcett £500 to represent women’s work in England. Every - one is furious about it. Well, Mrs. Fawcett has managed to get an - extra £500. She wrote, and said that if she did not get any more she - could not mount all the photographs and drawings, but would put up a - notice that “the English Commission was too poor to allow for mounting - and framing.” This, with the kiosk in the ground! - - ‘One of the patients here was once upon a time a servant at the - Baroness Burdett Coutts’. She certainly was most awfully kind to - her, sent her £10 to pay her rent, and has now paid to send her to - the Cottage. Miss B. is in hopes she may get her interested in the - hospital now, but it seems she does not approve of women doctors and - such things. Perhaps, as the old housemaid did so well here, she may - change her mind. The Report is out now. I shall send them to some of - the doctors in Edinburgh. I see in it that Mr. Robertson left £1000 in - memory of his wife to the hospital, and that is how that bed comes to - be called the “Caroline Croom Robertson bed.” - - ‘We had two big operations to-day. We had the usual round in the - morning, and then we had to prepare. I did one lovely thing! This - morning, I pointed out to Mrs. Scharlieb with indignation that our - galvanic battery had run out. I said that it really was disgraceful - of C., for it had only been used once for a quarter of an hour since - the last time he had charged it. Mrs. S. agreed, and said she would go - in and speak to him and tell him to send her battery, which was with - him being charged. We wanted a battery for the galvanic cautery. Well, - Mrs. Scharlieb’s battery arrived. I tried it, and found it would not - heat the cautery properly. So I was very angry, and I sat down and - wrote C. a peppery letter. I told him to send some competent person - _at once_ to look at the battery, and to be prepared to lend us one, - if this competent person saw it was necessary. M. flew off, and in - twenty minutes a man from C. arrived, very humble. I turned on the - batteries, and showed him that they would not heat up properly. Sister - said I talked to him like a mother. He departed very humbly to bring - another battery. In about half an hour Sister whistled up, C.’s man - would like to see me. Down I went. He looked at me with a twinkle in - his eye. “You had not taken the resistance off, Miss,” and held one of - the cautery red-hot attached to our own battery. Was not I sold! I had - humbly to apologise. And the amount of nervous energy I had wasted on - that battery! - - ‘We began to-day with a big operation. It went perfectly splendidly. - The chloroform was given by a Dr. B., some special friend of the - patient, so, I hoped there would be no hitch, and there was none. He - had the cheek afterwards to say to Dr. S., that no one could have done - it better! Mrs. S. seemed rather pleased, but I thought it awfully - patronising, was it not? - - ‘Did I tell you that Mrs. S. and Miss Walker were talking the other - morning of the time when they would make this a qualifying hospital? - Miss C. said it would certainly come some day, and of course, to make - it a qualifying hospital, they must have men’s beds, and that will - mean a mixed staff. However, all that is in the future. Then, we will - show the old-fashioned hospitals, with their retrograde managers, - etc., _how_ a mixed staff can work. I wonder if they will have mixed - classes too! - - ‘I enjoyed _King Lear_ very much. The scenery was magnificent. King - Lear was not a bit kingly, but just a weak, old man. I suppose that - was what he was meant to be. Ellen Terry was splendid. The storm - on the heath awful. I shivered in my seat when the wind whistled. - The last scene--the French camp on the cliffs on Dover--was really - beautiful. - - ‘Yesterday, I did a lovely thing--slept like a top till almost nine. - I suppose I was tired after the exciting cases. Janet burst into my - room with “Mrs. S. will be here in a very few minutes, Miss.” So, out - I tumbled, and tore downstairs to meet Mrs. S. in the hall! I tried to - look as if I had had breakfast _hours_ before, and I don’t think she - suspected that was my first appearance. She did her visit, and then I - went to breakfast. As luck would have it, Mrs. G. Anderson chose that - morning of all others to show a friend of hers round the hospital. She - marched calmly into the board-room to find me grubbing. I saw the only - thing to do was to be quite cool, so I got up and shook hands, and - remarked, “I am rather late this morning,” and she only laughed. It - was about 10.30, a nice time for an H.S. to be having breakfast. - - ‘I did not go to hear Father Maturin after all yesterday. I have been - very busy; we have had another big operation, doing all right so - far. She is an artist’s wife; she has had an unhappy time for four - years, because she has been very ill, and their doctor said it was - hysteria, and told her husband not to give in to the nonsense. Really, - some of these general practitioners are _grand_. They send some of - the patients in with the most outrageous diagnoses you can imagine. - One woman was told her life was not worth a year’s purchase, and she - must have a big operation. So she came in. We pummelled her all over, - and could not find the grounds of his diagnosis, and finally treated - for something quite different, and she went out well in six weeks. - Her doctor came to see her, and said, “Well, madam, I could not have - believed it.” It is better they should err in that direction than in - the direction of calling real illness “hysteria.” - - ‘I mean to have a hospital of my own in Edinburgh some day. - - ‘A patient with a well-balanced nervous system will get well in just - half the time that one of these hysterical women will. There is one - plucky little woman in just now. She has had a bad operation, but - nothing has ever disturbed her equilibrium. She smiles away in the - pluckiest way, and gets well more quickly than anybody. I agree with - Kingsley: one of the necessities of the world is to teach girls to be - brave, and not whine over everything, and the first step for that is - to teach them to play games! - - ‘Fancy who has been here this evening--Bailie Walcot. He has come - up to London on Parliamentary business. He investigated every hole - and corner of the hospital. He says our girls are going to Dr. - Littlejohn’s class with Jex’s girls at Surgery Hall. It is wonderful - how these men who would do nothing at first are beginning to see it - pays to be neutral now. - - ‘We have a lot to be grateful to J. B. for; Bailie W. told me the - Leith managers have approached the Edinburgh managers, saying, “If - you will undertake no more women students, we will undertake to take - both schools, and to build immediately.” Bailie Walcot said he and Mr. - Scott of St. George’s were the _only_ two who opposed this. If they - send us down to Leith we must make the best of it, and really try to - make it a good school, but it will be a great pity. - - ‘The dance was awfully nice. Mrs. G. Anderson is a capital chaperone. - I managed to go off without my ticket, and the damsel at the door was - very severe, and said I must wait till Mrs. Garrett Anderson came. I - waited quietly a minute or two, and was just going to ask her to send - in to see if Mrs. Anderson had come, then a man marched in, and said - in a lovely manner, “I have forgotten my ticket,” and she merely said, - “You must give me your name, sir,” and let him pass. After that I gave - my name and passed too! I found I might have waited till doomsday, for - Mrs. G. A. was inside. I danced every dance; it was a lovely floor and - lovely music, and you may make up your mind, papa dear, that I go to - all the balls in Edinburgh after this. They had two odd dances called - Barn-door. I thought it would be a kind of Sir Roger, but it was the - oddest kind of hop, skip and dance I ever saw. I said to Mrs. G. A. it - was something like a Schottische, only not a quarter so pretty. She - said it was pretty when nicely danced, but people have not learnt it - yet. I rashly said to Mrs. G. A. that I could get some tea from the - night nurse when I got home (because I wanted to dance the extras), - but she was horrified at tea just before going to sleep, and swept me - into the refreshment-room and made me drink soup by the gallon. I came - home with Miss Garrett. We had an operation this morning, so you see - dances don’t interfere with the serious business of life. - - ‘Mrs. Scharlieb came in here the other day, and declared I was - qualifying for acute bronchitis; but I told her nobody could have - acute bronchitis who had a cold bath every morning, and had been - brought up to open windows. This is the third sit down to your letter. - Talk of women at home never being able to do anything without being - interrupted every few minutes! I think you have only to be house - surgeon to know what being interrupted means. They not only knock - and march in at the door, but they also whistle up the tube--most - frightfully startling it used to be at first, to hear a sort of shrill - fog-horn in the room. There are three high temperatures, and the - results are sent up to me whenever they are taken. We are sponging - them, and may have to put them into cold baths, but I hope not. Mrs. - G. A. told me to do it without waiting for the chief, if I thought it - necessary, whereupon Mrs. B. remarked, “I think Miss Inglis ought to - be warned the patient may die.” - - ‘Lovely weather here. I have been prescribing sunshine, sunshine, - sunshine for all the patients. There are only two balconies on each - floor, and nurse Rose is reported to have said that she supposed I - wanted the patients hung out over the railings, for otherwise there - would not be room. Miss W. came this morning, to Sister’s indignation. - “Does not she think she can trust me for one day?” So I said it was - only that she was so delighted at having a ward; and that I was sure - I would do the same. “Oh,” said Sister, “I am thankful you have not a - ward. You would bring a box with sandwiches and sit there all day.” - I am always having former H.S.’s thrown at my head who came round - exactly to the minute, twice a day, whereas they say I am never out - of the wards, at least they never know when I am coming. I tell them - I don’t want them to trot round after me with an ink-bottle. Miss R. - says I have no idea of discipline! I make one grand round a day, with - the ink-bottle, and then I don’t want the nurses to take any more - notice of me. I think that is far more sensible than having fixed - times. I quite agree the ink-bottle round ought to be at a fixed time, - but I cannot help other things turning up to be done. - - ‘I had to toddle off and ask for Mrs. K. She is the one who is - appointed to give anæsthetics in the hospital. They are all most - frightfully nervous about anæsthetics here, in all the hospitals, - and have regular anæsthetists. In Edinburgh and Glasgow the students - give it, under the house surgeons of course. I never saw any death, - or anything that was very frightening. One real reason is, I believe, - that they watch the wrong organ, viz. the heart. In Scotland they - hardly think of the heart, and simply watch the breathing. The - Hydrabad Commission settled conclusively that it was the breathing - gave out first; but having made up their minds that it does not, all - the Commissions in the world won’t convince them to the contrary. - In the meantime they do their operations in fear and trembling, - continually asking if the patient is all right. - - ‘You never saw such a splendid out-patient department as they have - here--a perfectly lovely, comfortable waiting-room, and pretty - receiving waiting-room. The patients have to pay a small sum, yet they - had over 20,000 visits this year up to November--that is about half - the size of the Glasgow Royal, one of the biggest out-patients in the - kingdom, and general. This is paying, and for women! Who says women - doctors are not wanted! - - ‘This morning I started off, meaning to go to Dr. Vaughan in the - Temple Church. Sister C. told me I ought to be early, and of course - I was as late as I could be. As I was running downstairs Nurse Helen - asked me if I had ever heard Stopford Brooke. I had heard his name, - but I could not remember anything about him. Nurse H. said he was an - awful heretic, and had got into trouble for his opinions. As a general - rule men who get into trouble for their opinions are worth listening - to--at least they _have_ opinions. So I left Dr. Vaughan, and went off - to Mr. S. Brooke. He gave a capital sermon with nothing heterodox in - it, about loving our fellow-men. I liked him, and would go to-night to - hear his lecture on “In Memoriam,” but Sister C. is going out. - - ‘You know you must not aim at a separate but at a mixed school in - Edinburgh. I am sure this is best, and all the women here think so - too. I wonder when the University means to succumb. - - ‘Mrs. G. Anderson asked me to come and help her with a small operation - in an hotel. She gave me a half-guinea fee for so doing. We drove - there in a hansom, and drove back in her carriage. She was most jovial - and talkative. We went into the Deanery, Westminster Abbey, on our way - back to leave cards on somebody. You suddenly seem to get out of the - noise and rush of London when you turn in there. It is quite quiet and - green. All sorts of men were wandering about in red gowns and black - gowns. We were told it was Convocation. - - ‘Mrs. Scharlieb was awfully nice and kind. She said she hoped I would - get on always as well as I had here. Was not it nice of her? I said I - hoped I would do much better, for I thought I had made an awful lot of - mistakes since I came here. She says everybody has to make mistakes. - The worst of being a doctor is that one’s mistakes matter so much. In - everything else you just throw away what you have messed and begin - again, but you cannot do that as a doctor. - - ‘She said she expects to be called in as my consultant when I am a - surgeon. Won’t my patients have to pay fees to get her up from London! - - ‘Miss C. has been trying to get on to some of the medical societies, - and has failed. I shall not demean myself by asking to get on--shall - wait till they beseech the honour of adding my name. - - ‘As to women doctors here having an assured position, I rather like - the pioneer work, I think! I mean to make friends with all the nice - doctors, and vanquish all the horrid selfish ones, and end by being a - Missionary Professor. - - ‘If I don’t get into the Infirmary in Edinburgh, I mean to build a - hospital for myself, like this one. Indeed I don’t know that I should - not like the hospital to myself better! I’ll build it where the Cattle - Market is, at the head of Lady Lawson Street. That would be convenient - for all the women in Fountainbridge, and the Grassmarket and Cowgate, - and it would be comparatively high. To begin with, I mean to rent - Eva’s hall from her for a dispensary. You see it is all arranged!’ - -The next course Elsie decided on taking was one of three months in -Midwifery in the Rotunda, Dublin. There was a greater equality of -teaching there in mixed classes, and also she thought the position of -the whole hospital staff was on lines which would enable her to gain -the most experience in this branch, where she ultimately achieved so -much for her fellow-citizens in Edinburgh. - - ‘COSTIGAN’S HOTEL, UPPER SACKVILLE ST., - ‘DUBLIN, _Nov. 18, 1893_. - - ‘I went over to the Rotunda and saw Dr. Glenn, the assistant master. - I am “clerk” on Mondays and Thursdays. The only other person here is - a native from the Nizam’s Dominions. At breakfast this morning he - told me about his children, who are quite fair “like their mother.” - How fond he was of London, and how he would not live in India now for - anything; he finds the climate enervating! I told him I thought India - a first-rate place to live in, and that I should like to go back. - - ‘By the way, fancy the franchise for the Parish Councils being - carried. The first thing I saw when I landed was defeat of the - Government! The _Independent_ here is jubilant, partly because the - point of woman’s suffrage is carried, partly because the Government is - beaten. - - ‘So the strike has ended, and the men go back to work on their old - wages till February. I expect both sides are sick of it, but I am glad - the men have carried it so far. Lord Rosebery is a clever man. - - ‘Mrs. C. evidently thinks I am quite mad, for I have asked for a cold - bath in my room. “Good gracious me, miss! it’s not cold entoirely - ye’ll be meaning.” - - ‘I went to see the D.’s. The first thing I was told was that a - Miss D. sat in their church, an M.B. of the Royal Infirmary. A very - clever girl, she has just taken a travelling bursary and is going to - Vienna. “But we don’t know her, they are Home Rulers!” Mrs. D. went - on to say both she and her father were Home Rulers, but that she for - one would not mind if they did not obtrude their politics. So, I - thought, “Well, I won’t obtrude mine.” Then Mrs. D. said, “You must - take a side, you know, and say distinctly what side you are on when - you are asked.” So I thought, “Well, I’ll wait till I am asked,” and - I have got through to-day without being asked. But, positively, they - used the word “boycott” about those D.’s. They have been boycotted - by the congregation. It must be rather hard to be a Home Ruler and - a Presbyterian just now in Ireland. Positively, they frightened me - so, I nearly squirmed under the table. However, when I looked round - the congregation I thought I should not mind much being boycotted by - them. The sermon was one about forgiving your enemies. Mrs. D. has - given me a standing invitation to come to dinner on Sunday. What will - happen when I am suddenly asked to take my side, I don’t know. In the - meantime I will let things slide! Mrs. D. asked me if the Costigans - were Catholics, and said she thought Mrs. C. looked so nice she could - not be one.’ - - ‘_Dec. 1893._ - - ‘I have done nothing but race after cases to-day. One old woman was - killing. She came for Dr. B., whom she said she had known before he - was born. Dr. B. could not go, so I went. “Hech,” she said, “I came - for a _doctor_.” “Well, I’m the doctor. Come along.” “Deed no,” she - said; “ye’re no a doctor--ye’re just a wumman.” I did laugh, and - marched her off. She was grandly tipsy when I left the home, so I am - going back to see how the patient has got on, in spite of the nursing. - - ‘I had a second polite speech made to me last night. I was introduced - into a house by the person who came for me as the doctor. When I - had been in about two minutes, a small man of four years old, said - suddenly in a clear voice “That is _not_ a doctor, it’s a girl!” I - told him he was behind the age not to know that one could be both. - - ‘We had a chloroform scare this morning. I admired Dr. S.’s coolness - immensely. He finished tying his stitches quietly while two doctors - were skipping round like a pair of frightened girls. It ended all - right. They don’t know how to give chloroform anywhere out of - Scotland. It is very odd. - - ‘Mrs. D. declared she was going to write to you that she had found - I had gone out without my breakfast. So, here are the _facts_! I was - out last night, and was not up when they rang over for me. So, before - having my breakfast I just ran over to see what they wanted me for, - and finding it would keep I came back for my breakfast to find Mrs. - D. here. I am not such an idiot as to miss my meals, Papa, dearest. - My temper won’t stand it! I always have a glass of milk and a biscuit - when I go out at night. I am as sensible as I can be. I know you - cannot do work with blunt instruments, and this instrument blunts very - easily without food and exercise. - - ‘_Jan. 1, 1894._ - - ‘I have been round all my patients to-day, and had to drink glasses - of very questionable wine in each house. It is really very trying to - a practical teetotaller like me. Literally, I could hardly see them - when I left the last house! There was simply no getting off it, and I - did not want to hurt their feelings. When they catch hold of your hand - and say “Now, doctor dear, or doctor jewel, ye’ll just be takin’ a wee - glass, deed an ye will,” what are you to do? - - ‘Do you think this “Famasha” with the French in Africa is going to - be the beginning of the big war? That is an awful idea. England - single-handed against Europe. But, it would be the English-speaking - peoples, Australia, the States, and Canada. - - ‘I have made a convert to the ranks of women’s rights. Did I tell - you that Dr. B. and I had had an awful argument. I never mentioned - the subject again, for it is no good arguing with a man who has made - up his mind (and is a North of Ireland man, who will die in the last - ditch into the bargain). However, in the middle of the operation, he - suddenly said, “By the way, you are right about the suffrage, Miss - Inglis.” Then I found he had come over about the whole question. As - a convert is always the most violent supporter, I hope he’ll do some - good. - - ‘_Feb. 5, 1894._ - - ‘After three months you have learnt all the Rotunda can teach. If you - were a man, it would be worth while to stay, because senior students, - if they are men, get a lot of the C.C.’s work to do. But they never - think of letting you do it if you are a woman. It is not deliberate - unfairness, but they never think of it. If one stays six months they - examine one, and give a degree, L.M., Licentiate of Midwifery. If I - could I would rather spend three months in Paris with Pozzi. I have - learnt a tremendous lot here, and feel very happy about my work in - this special line. It is their methods which are so good. If you can - really afford to give me another three months it would be wiser to go - to Paris. There are three men who are quite in the front rank there, - Pozzi, Apostoli, and Péon.’ - - ‘COSTIGAN’S, UPPER SACKVILLE STREET, - ‘DUBLIN, _Feb. 10, 1894._ - - ‘I got your letter at eleven when I came down to breakfast. I shall - never get into regular order for home again. No one blames one for - lying in bed here or being late, for no one knows how late you have - been up the night before, or how many cases you have been at before - you get to the lecture. It is partly that, and partly their casual - Irish ways. I have had a letter from Miss MacGregor this morning, - asking what I should say to our starting together in Edinburgh. - It is a thing to be thought about. It is quite true, as she says, - that two women are much more comfortable working together. They can - give chloroform for one another and so on, and consult together. On - the other hand, we could do that just as well if we simply started - separately, and were friends. - - ‘Miss MacGregor was one of the J.-B. lot, and she and I had awful - rows over that question. But we certainly got on very well before - that, and, as she says, that was not a personal question. I am quite - sure Miss MacGregor is Scotch enough not to propose any arrangement - which won’t be to her own advantage. Probably, I know a good many more - people than she does. The question for me is whether it will be for my - advantage. I am rather inclined to think it will. Miss MacGregor is - a splendid pathologist. Nowadays one ought to do a lot of that work - with one’s cases, and I have been puzzling over how one could, and yet - keep aseptic. If we could make some arrangement by which we could work - into one another’s hands in that way, I think it would be for both our - advantages. There is one thing in favour of it, if Miss MacGregor and - I are definitely working together, no one can be astonished at our not - calling in other people. Miss MacGregor, apart from everything else, - is distinctly one of our best women, and it would be nice working with - her. What do you think of it, Papa, dear? Of course I should live at - home in any case. My consulting rooms anyhow would have to be outside, - for the old ladies would not climb up the stair! - - ‘DUBLIN, _Feb. 1894_. - - ‘I do thank you so much for having let me come here. I have learnt - such a lot. The money has certainly not been wasted. But it was - awfully good of you to let me come. I am sure it will make a - difference all my life. I really feel on my feet in this subject now. - The more I think of it, the more I think it would be wise to start - with Miss MacGregor. Apart altogether from Eva’s instincts! we will - start the dispensary, and we’ll end by having a hospital like the - Rotunda, where students shall live on the premises--female students - only. Not that these boys are not very nice and good-natured, only - they are out of place in the Rotunda.’ - -This was nearly the last letter written by Elsie to her father. In most -of her letters during the preceding months it was obvious Mr. Inglis’ -health was causing her anxiety, and the inquiries and suggestions -for his well-being grew more urgent as the shadow of death fell -increasingly dark on the written pages. - -Elsie returned to receive his eager welcome, but even her eyes were -blinded to the rapidly approaching parting. On the 15th of March 1894, -she wrote to her brother Ernest in India, telling all the story of Mr. -Inglis’ passing on the 13th of that month. There was much suffering -borne with quiet patience, ‘He never once complained: I never saw such -a patient.’ At the end, he turned towards the window, and then a bright -look came into his eyes. He said, ‘Pull down the blind.’ Then the -chivalrous, knightly soul passed into the light that never was on sea -or land. - - ‘It was a splendid life he led,’ writes Elsie to her brother; ‘his old - Indian friends write now and say how “the name of John Inglis always - represented everything that was upright and straightforward and high - principled in the character of a Christian gentleman.” He always said - that he did not believe that death was the stopping place, but that - one would go on growing and learning through all eternity. God bless - him in his onward journey. I simply cannot imagine life without him. - We had made such plans, and now it does not seem worth while to go on - working at all. I wish he could have seen me begin. He was so pleased - about my beginning. I said it would be such a joke to see Dr. Elsie - Inglis up. Saturday afternoons were to be his, and he was to come over - in my trap. - - ‘He never thought of himself at all. Even when he was very ill at - the end, he always looked up when one went in, and said, “Well, my - darling.” I am glad I knew about nursing, for we did not need to have - any stranger about him. He would have hated that.’ - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -POLITICAL ENFRANCHISEMENT AND NATIONAL POLITICS - - ‘Well done, New Zealand! I expect I shall live to have a vote.’--E. - M. I., 1891. - - ‘I envy not in any mood - The captive void of noble rage, - The linnet born within the cage, - That never knew the summer woods.’ - - ‘So the vote has come! and for our work. Fancy its having taken the - war to show them how ready we were to work! Or even to show that - that work was necessary. Where do they think the world would have - been without women’s work all these ages?’--E. M. I., Reni, Russia, - June 1917. - - -Mr. David Inglis, writing to his son on his marriage in 1845, says:-- - - ‘I cannot express the deep interest, or the ardent hopes with which - my bosom is filled on the occasion, or the earnest though humble - prayer to the Giver of all good which it has uttered that He may shed - abundantly upon you _both_ the rich mercies of His grace: with those - feelings I take each of you to my heart, and give you my parental - love and blessing. You have told me enough of the object of your fond - choice to make her henceforth dear to me, to all of us, on her own - account, as well as yours. - - ‘And here, my beloved David, I would turn for a moment more - immediately to yourself, as being now in a situation very different - from that in which you have hitherto been placed. As a husband, then, - it will now behove you to remember that you are not your own exclusive - property--that for a single moment you must never forget; the tender - love and affectionate respect and consideration which are due from you - to the amiable individual who has bestowed on you her hand and heart, - it will, I assure myself, be your pleasing duty to prove, by unceasing - attention to, and solicitude for, her every wish how dearly you - appreciate her worth, as well as _gift_; and that her future comfort - and happiness will invariably possess an estimation in your view - paramount to every feeling that can more immediately or personally - affect yourself. Let such be manifest in your every act, as connected - with every object in which _she_ is concerned. Her love and affection - for you will then be reciprocal and pure and lasting, and thus will - you become to each other what, under God’s blessing, you are meant to - be--a mutual comfort and an abiding stay. Make her the confidential - friend of your bosom, to whom its every thought must unreservedly - be imparted--the soother of all its cares, its anxieties, and - disappointments, when they chance to arise; the fond participator in - all your happiness and joys, from whatever source they may spring--you - will thus be discharging a duty which your sacred obligations at the - altar have entailed upon you.’ - -This letter has been quoted with its phrasing of seventy years ago, -because it shows an advanced outlook on the position of husband and -wife, and the setting forth of their equality and the respect paid to -their several positions. It may have influenced Mr. Inglis’ views, both -in his perfect relations with his wife and the sympathetic liberty of -thought and action which he encouraged in his own family. - -This chapter is devoted to the political and public life of Elsie -Inglis. It can be written in a fortunate hour. The ‘common cause’ -to which she gave so much of her life has now been won. The tumult -and the turmoil are now hushed in peace and security. The age which -began in John Stuart Mill’s ‘Subjection of Women’ has ended in the -Representation of the People’s Bill. It is possible to review the -political period of the generation which produced Elsie Inglis, and her -comrades in the struggle against the disqualification of sex, without -raising any fresh controversy. - -We may safely say that Dr. Inglis was one of the finest types of -women produced by the ideals and inspiring purposes of the generation -to which she belonged. She was born when a woman was the reigning -Sovereign, and when her influence and power were at its height. -Four years after her birth the Reform Bill of 1868 was to make the -first claim for women as citizens in the British Parliament. The -Married Woman’s Property Act, and the laws affecting Divorce, had -recognised them as something else than the goods and chattels or -the playthings and bondwomen of the ‘predominant partner.’ Mary -Somerville had convinced the world that a woman could have a brain. -Timidly, and yet resolutely, women were claiming a higher education, -and Universities were slamming to their doors, with a petty horde -of maxims claimed to be based on divine authority. Women pioneers -mounted platforms and asserted ‘Rights,’ and qualified for jealously -closed professions--always, from the first, upheld and companied by -‘Greathearts,’ men few but chosen, who, like John Inglis, recognised -that no community was the stronger for keeping its people, be they -black or white, male or female, in any form of ignorance or bonded -serfdom. - -As Elsie grew up, she found herself walking in the new age. Doors -were set ajar, if not fully opened. The first wave of ridicule and of -conscientious objections had spent its force. A girl’s school might -play games decorously and not lose all genteel deportment. Girls might -show a love of knowledge, and no longer be hooted as blue-stockings. -The use of the globes and cross-stitch gave place to learning which -might fit them to be educated, and useful members of the community. -Ill-health ceased to be considered part of the curse of Eve, to -be borne with swooning resignation on the wide sofas of the early -Victorian Age. Ignorance and innocence were not recognised as twin -sisters, and women, having eaten of the tree of knowledge, looked round -a world which prided itself on giving equal justice to all men, and -discovered that very often that axiom covered a multitude of sins of -injustice against all womankind. - -It was through Elsie’s professional life that she learnt to know how -often the law was against the woman’s best interests, and it was always -in connection with some reform that she longed to initiate, that she -expressed a desire for the Vote. - -_To her Father_ - - ‘GLASGOW, 1891. - - ‘Many thanks for your letter about women’s rights. You are ahead of - all the world in everything, and they gradually come up into line with - you--the Westminster Confession and everything except Home Rule! The - amusing thing about women preaching is that they do it, but as it is - not in the churches it is not supposed to be in opposition to Paul. - They are having lots of meetings in the hall downstairs; every single - one of them is addressed by a woman. But, of course, they could not - give the same address in a church and with men listening! At Queen - Margaret’s here, they are having a course of lectures on the Old - Testament from the lecturer on that subject in the University, but - then, of course it is not “Divinity.”’ - -The opponents to Woman’s Franchise admittedly occupied an illogical -position, and Elsie’s abounding sense of humour never failed to make -use of all the opportunities of laughter which the many absurdities of -the long fight evoked. No one with that sense as highly developed could -ever turn cynical or bitter. It was only when cruelty and injustice -came under her ken that a fine scorn dominated her thought and speech. -She gives to her father some of these instances:-- - - ‘I got a paper to sign to thank the M.P.’s who voted for Sir A. - Rollitt’s Woman’s Suffrage Bill. I got it filled up in half a minute. - I wish she had sent half a dozen. There is no question among women - who have to work for themselves about wanting the suffrage. It is the - women who are safe and sound in their own drawing-rooms who don’t see - what on earth they want it for. - - ‘I have just been so angry! A woman came in yesterday very ill. A. - took down her case, and thought she would have to have an operation. - Then her husband arrived, and calmly said she was to go home, because - he could not look after the children. So I said that if she went she - went on her own responsibility, for I would not give my consent. He - said the baby was ill. I said, “Well, take it to a hospital.” Then it - turned out it was not ill, but had cried last night. I said I saw very - well what it was, that he had had a bad night, and had just determined - that his wife should have the bad night to-night, even though she was - ill, instead of him. He did look ashamed of himself, selfish cad! - Helpless creature, he could not even arrange for some one to come in - and take charge of those children unless his wife went home to do it. - She had got some one yesterday, but he had had a row with her. I gave - him my mind pretty clearly, but I went in just now to find she had - gone. I said she was stupid. So one woman said, “It was not ’er fault, - Miss; ’e would have it.” - - ‘I wonder when married women will learn they have any other duty - in the world than to obey their husbands. They were not even her - children--they were step-children. You don’t know what trouble we - have here with the husbands. They will come in the day before the - operation, after the woman has been screwed up to it, and worry them - with all sorts of outside things, and want them home when they are - half dying. Any idea that anybody is to be thought of but themselves - never enters their lordly minds, and the worst of it is these stupid - idiots of women don’t seem to think so either: “’E wants it, Miss,” - settles the question. I always say--“It does not matter one fig what - he wants. The question is what you want.” They don’t seem to think - they have any right to any individual existence. Well, I feel better - now, but I wish I could have scragged that beast. I have to go to the - wards now! - - ‘We had another row with a tyrannical husband. I did not know whether - to be most angry with him or his fool of a wife. She had one of the - most painful things anybody can have, an abscess in her breast. It was - so bad Miss Webb would not do anything for it in the out-patients’, - but said she was to come in at once. The woman said she would go and - arrange for somebody to look after her baby and come back at six. At - six appeared her lord and master. “_I_ cannot let my wife come in, - as the baby is not old enough to be left with anybody else.” Did you - ever hear anything so monstrous? That one human being is to settle - for another human being whether she is to be cured or not. I asked - him whether he knew how painful it was, and if he had to bear the - pain. Miss Webb appealed to him, that he _was_ responsible for his - wife’s health, for he seemed to assume he was not. Both grounds were - far above his intellect, either his responsibility or his wife’s - rights. He just stood there like an obstinate mule. We told him it - was positively brutal, and that he was to go _at once_ and get a good - doctor home with him if he would not let her in. Of course, he did not. - - ‘What a fool the woman must have been to have educated him up to that. - There really was no necessity for her to stay out because he said she - was to--poor thing. Miss Webb and I have struck up a great friendship - as the result. After we had both fumed about for some time, I said, - “Well, the only way to educate that kind of man, or that kind of - woman, is to get the franchise.” Miss Webb said, “Bravo, bravo,” then - I found she was a great franchise woman, and has been having terrible - difficulties with her L.W.A. here.’ - -The writer may add one more to these instances. Suffrage meetings -were of a necessity much alike, and the round of argument was much -the same. Spade-work had to be done among men and women who had the -mental outlook of these patients and the overlords of their destiny. -Meetings were rarely enthusiastic or crowded, and it was often like -speaking into the heart of a pincushion. To one of these meetings Dr. -Inglis came by train straight from her practice. In memory’s halls all -meetings are alike, but one stands out, where Dr. Inglis illustrated -her argument by a fact in her day’s experience. The law does not permit -an operation on a married woman without her husband’s consent. That day -the consent had been refused, and the woman was to be left to lingering -suffering from which only death could release her. The voice and the -thrill which pervaded speaker and audience as Dr. Inglis told the tale -and pointed the moral, remains an abiding memory. - -Her politics were Liberal, and, what was more remarkable, she was -a convinced Home Ruler. Those who believe that women in politics -naturally take the line of the home, may find here a very strong -instance of the independent mind, producing no rift within the lute -that sounded such a perfect note of unison between her and the -prevailing influence of her youth. Mr. Inglis had done his work in -India, and his politics were of an Imperialist rather than that of a -‘Home Ruler All Round.’ When Mr. Gladstone introduced his Home Rule -Bill of 1893, Elsie complains of the obstructive talk in Parliament. -Mr. Inglis gently says she seems to wish it passed without discussion. -Elsie replies on the points she thinks salient and likely to work, and -wonders why they should not commend themselves to sense and not words. -The family have recollections of long and not acrimonious debates well -sustained on either side. - -She was a member of the W.L.F., and was always impatient of the way -Party was placed before the Franchise. - - ‘I was sorry to see how the Suffrage question was pushed into the - background by Lady Aberdeen. However, I shall stick to the Federation, - and bring them to their senses on that point as far as my influence - goes. It is simply sham Liberalism that will not recognise that it is - a real Liberal question (1893). - - ‘That is a capital letter of Miss M‘Laren’s. It is quite true, and - women are awful fools to truckle to their party, instead of putting - their foot down, about the Franchise. You would certainly hear more - about wife murders than you do at present, if the women had a vote. - - ‘Do you know what they said at the Liberal Club the other day in - answer to some deputation, or appeal, or rather it was said, in the - discussion, that the Liberal Party would do all they could to remedy - abuses and give women justice, but the vote they would not give, - because they would put a power into women’s hand which could never be - taken away. Plain speaking, was it not? - - ‘Did I tell you that I have to speak at a drawing-room meeting on - Woman’s Suffrage? Mrs. Elmy asked me to. I had just refused to write - a paper for her on the present state of medical education in the - country, for I thought that would be too great cheek in a house - surgeon, so I did not like to refuse the other. - - ‘The drawing-room meeting yesterday was very good. I got there late, - and found a fearfully and awfully fashionable audience being harangued - by a very smart-looking man, who spoke uncommonly well, and was saying - everything I meant to say. - - ‘Mrs. Elmy smiled and nodded away to me, and suddenly it flashed on - me that I was to second the motion this man was speaking to. I was - in such an awful funk that I got cool, and got up and told them that - I did not think Mr. Wilkins had left any single thing for me to say; - however, as things struck people in different ways I should simply - tell them how it struck me, and then went ahead with what I meant to - say when I got in. Mrs. Elmy was quite pleased, and several people - came up afterwards, and said I had got on all right. Mrs. Elmy said, - I had not repeated Mr. W., only emphasised him. He was such a fluent - speaker, he scared me awfully.’ - -The decade that saw the controversy of Home Rule for Ireland, was the -first that brought women prominently into political organisations. Many -women’s associations were formed, and the religious aspect as between -Ulster and the South interested many very deeply. Elsie was not a -Liberal-Unionist, and, as she states her case to her father, there is -much that shows that she was thinking the matter out for herself, on -lines which were then fresher than they are to-day. - -From Glasgow, in 1891, she writes:-- - - ‘I have spent a wicked Sunday. I read all the morning, and then went - up to the Infirmary to bandage with Dr. D. Dr. T. says I am quite - sure to be plucked, after such worldliness. I have discovered he is - an Australian from Victoria. Dr. D. is an Aberdeen man and a great - admirer of George Smith. Also, a violent Home Ruler. Never mind about - the agricultural labourer, Papa dear! I am afraid Gladstone’s majority - won’t be a working one, and we shall have the whole row over again in - six months. Dr. D. says every available voter has been seized by the - scruff of his neck and made to vote this time. And, six months hence - there’ll be no fresh light on the situation, and we’ll be where we - are now. I should not wonder if the whole thing makes us devise some - plan for one Imperial Parliament and local government for Ireland, - Scotland, and the Colonies, ending in making the integrity of the - Empire “and unity of the English speaking race” more apparent than it - is now, _and_ with the Irish contented and managing their own affairs - in their own mad way. Our future trouble is with the Labour Party. - - ‘Mr. Gladstone has been so engrossed with his H.R. measure that he - does not seem to have noticed these other questions that have been - quickly growing, and he has made two big blunders about Woman’s - Suffrage and the Labour question. I have no doubt these men are - talking a lot of nonsense, and are trying for impossibilities, but - there is a great deal of sense in what they say. It is no good - shutting our eyes to the facts they bring forward. - - ‘As to Mr. D., I am very much afraid you would not agree with him. He - is a rank Socialist. The only point in which he agrees with you is - that he would make everybody do what he thinks right. Only his ideas - of right are very different from yours. He believes in an eight-hour - day, local option, and State-owned mines. His chief amusement at - present is arguing with me. He generally gets angry, and says, “I - argue like a woman,” but he always pluckily begins again. He was a - tradesman, and gave it up because he says you cannot be an honest - tradesman nowadays. He is studying medicine; the last day I worked - at “brains” he rampaged about the room arguing about the unearned - increment. I tell him he must come and argue in Edinburgh--I have not - time at present. - - ‘I will tell you what I think of the Home Rule Bill to-morrow--that is - to say, if I have time to read it. It is really a case of officers and - men here just now. I can’t say “go on” instead of “come on.” I cannot - order cold spongings and hot fomentations by the dozen and then sit in - my room and read the newspapers, can I?’ - - ‘GLASGOW, _May 1892_. - - ‘What do you think of Lord Salisbury’s speech, inciting to rebellion - and civil war? Now, don’t think of it as Lord Salisbury and Ulster, - but think of it as advice given by Mr. Gladstone to the rest of - Ireland. If you like to take the lead into your own hands and march on - Dublin; I don’t know that any Government would care to use the forces - of the Crown against you. You will be quite justified because the - Government of your country is in the hands of your hereditary foes. - There is only one good point in Lord Salisbury’s speech, and that is - that he does not sham that the Ulster men are Irishmen. He calls them - a colony from this country. Lord S. must have been feeling desperate - before he made that speech.’ - - ‘_1894_. - - ‘I think Mr. Chamberlain’s speech was very clever. It was this special - Home Rule Bill he pulled to pieces, and one could not help feeling - that that would have been the result whatever the Bill had been, if - it had been introduced by anybody but Mr. C. His argument seemed to - be in favour of Imperial Federation, as far as I could make out. I - have no doubt the Bill can be very much improved in committee, but - the groundwork of it is all right. The two Houses and the gradual - giving over of the police and land, when they have had time to find - their feet. As to the retaining the Irish members in Parliament being - totally illogical, there is nothing in that; we always make illogical - things work. And the Irish members must stay. - - ‘I _do_ like Mr. Balfour. He is so honest. I expect he hates the - Irish Party as much as any man, but he spoke up for them all the - same. If he had not, I don’t believe Mr. Chamberlain and some of the - others would have spoken as they did. The Conservative Party was quite - inclined to laugh at the paid stipendiaries until Mr. Balfour spoke. - - ‘I have been reading up the Bishop of Chester’s scheme and the Direct - Veto Bill. I don’t like his scheme. It would be very nice to turn - all the pubs into coffee-houses, but a big company over whom the - ratepayers have no control would be just as likely to do what would - pay best, as the tramway companies now, who work their men seventeen - hours and their horses three, at a stretch. It would be quite a - different thing to put the pubs under the Town and County Councils. As - to this Bill it is not to stop people drinking, but simply to shut up - pubs. A man can still buy his whisky and get drunk in his own house, - but a community says, “We won’t have the nuisance of a pub at every - corner,” and I am not sure that they have not that right, just as much - as the private individual has to get drunk if he chooses. A great - many men would keep straight if the temptation were not thrown in - their faces. The system of licences was instituted for the good of the - public, not the good of the publican. - - ‘The Elections will be three weeks after my exam. Dearest Papa!--There - is as much chance of Mr. Gladstone being beaten in Midlothian as there - is of a Conservative majority.’ - -Another friend writes:-- - - ‘I should like to send you a recollection of her in the early - Nineties. My friend, Dr. Jessie MacGregor, wrote to my home in - Rothesay, asking us to put up Dr. Inglis, who was to give an address - at a Sanitary Congress to be held there. It was, I believe, her first - public appearance, and she did do well. One woman alone on a platform - filled with well-known doctors from all parts! Her subject was - advocating women as sanitary inspectors. She was one of the pioneers - in that movement also. I can well remember her, a slim little girl in - black, fearless as ever, doing her part. After she had finished, there - was a running criticism of her subject. Many against her view, few for - the cause on which she was speaking. It was an unique experience. The - discussion got quite hot. One well-known doctor asked us to picture - his dear friend Elsie Inglis carrying out a six-foot smallpox patient. - - ‘I think she was the first lady medical to speak at a Congress. It was - such a pleasure to entertain her, she was so quiet and unobtrusive, - and yet so humorous. I never met her again, but I could never forget - her, though we were just like ships that pass in the night.’ - -One of her Suffrage organisers, Miss Bury, gives a vivid picture of her -work in the Suffrage cause:-- - - ‘It was Dr. Elsie Inglis who brought me to Scotland, and sent me to - organise Suffrage societies in the Highlands. I speak of her as I knew - her, the best of chiefs, so kind and encouraging and appreciative of - one’s efforts, even when they were not always crowned with success. - I remember saying I was disappointed because the hall was only about - three-quarters full, and her reply was, “My dear, I was not counting - the people, I was thinking of the efforts which had brought those who - were there.” - - ‘Her letters were an inspiration. She gave one the full responsibility - of one’s position, and always expected the best. Resolutely direct, - and straightforward in her dealings with me as a subordinate worker, - she never failed to tell me of any word of appreciation that reached - her, as she also told me candidly if she heard of any criticism. - She had such a big, generous mind, even condescending to give an - opportunity for argument when there was any difference of opinion, and - absolutely tolerant and kind when one did not agree with her. - - ‘She was always considerate of one’s health, and insisted that the - hours laid down for work were not to be exceeded, or, if this was - unavoidable, that the time must be taken off as soon as possible - afterwards. She only saw difficulties to conquer them, and I well - remember in one of her letters from Lazaravatz, she wrote so - characteristically--“the work is most interesting, bristling with - difficulties.” - - ‘My happiest recollection is of a visit to the Highlands, to speak at - some Suffrage meetings I had arranged for her. In the train she was - always busy writing, in that beautiful clear characteristic hand, like - herself, triumphing over the jolting of the Highland Railway, as she - did later in Serbia. In the early morning she had to catch a train at - Inverness, and we went by motor from Nairn. For once the writing was - laid aside, and she gave herself up to the enjoyment of the sunrise, - and the beautiful lights on the Ross-shire hills, as we travelled - along the shores of the Moray Firth. When the car broke down, out came - the despatch case again, while the chauffeur and I put on the Stepney. - There was no complaining about the lost train, a wire was sent to the - committee apologising for her absence, and then she immediately turned - her attention to other business.’ - -One who first came under her influence as a patient, and became a warm -friend, gives some reminiscences. Her greeting to the elect at the -beginning of the year was, ‘A good new year, and the Vote _this_ year.’ - - ‘I remember once, as we descended the steps of St. Giles’ after - attending a service at which the Edinburgh Town Council was present, - she spoke joyfully of the time coming when we, the women of Edinburgh - and of Scotland, would “help to build the New Jerusalem, with the - weapon ready to our hand--the Vote.”’ - -The year 1906 brought the Liberals into political power, and with -the great wave of democratic enthusiasm which gave the Government of -Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman an enormous majority there came other -expressions of the people’s will. - -The Franchise for women had hitherto been of academic interest in the -community: a crank, many thought it, like total abstinence or Christian -Science. The claims of women were frequently brought before Parliament -by private members, and if the Bill was not ‘talked out,’ it was talked -round, as one of the best jests of a Parliamentary holiday. The women -who advocated it were treated with tolerance, their public advocacy -was deemed a _tour de force_, and their portraits were always of the -nature of caricatures, except those in _Punch_, where the opponent was -caricatured, and the women immortalised. - -The Liberal party found its right wing mainly composed of Labour, and -Socialist members were returned to Parliament. From that section of -thought sprang the militant movement, and the whole question of the -enfranchisement of women took on a different aspect. - -This chapter does not attempt to give a history of the ‘common cause,’ -or the reasons for the rapid way it came to the front, and ranked with -Ireland as among the questions which, left unsettled, became a thorn in -the side of any Government that attempted to govern against, or leaving -outside the expressed will of the people. - -This is no place to examine the causes which, along with the militant -movement, but always separated from them, poured such fresh life and -vigour into the old constitutional and law-abiding effort to procure -the free rights of citizenship for women. - -The pace quickened to an extent which was bewildering. Where a dozen -meetings a year had been the portion of many speakers, they were -multiplied by the tens and scores. Organisations had to be expanded. A -fighting fund collected, meetings arranged, debates were held all over -the country and among all classes. A press, which had never written up -the subject while its advocates were law-abiding, tumbled over each -other to advertise every movement of all sections of suffragists. -It must be admitted the militants gave them plenty of copy, and the -constitutionalists had an uneasy sense that their stable companions -would kick over the traces in some embarrassing and unexpected way on -every new occasion. Still the tide flowed steadily for the principle, -and those who had its guidance in Parliament and the country had to -use all the strength of the movement in getting it well organised and -carefully worked. Societies were federated, and the greatly growing -numbers co-ordinated into a machine which could bring the best pressure -to bear on Parliament. The well-planned Federation of Scottish -Suffrage Societies owed much to Dr. Inglis’ gift of organisation and -of taking opportunity by the hand. She was Honorary Secretary to the -Scottish Federation, and in those fighting years between 1906 and -1914 she impressed herself much on its policy. In the early years of -her professional life, she used gaily to forecast for herself a large -and paying practice. Her patients never suffered, but she sacrificed -her professional prospects in a large measure for her work for the -Franchise. She gave her time freely, and she raised money at critical -times by parting with what was of value and in her power to give. -Perhaps, the writer may here again give her own reminiscences. Her -fellowship with Dr. Inglis was all too rarely social; they met almost -entirely in their suffrage work. To know Dr. Inglis at all was to know -her well. The transparent sincerity and simplicity of her manner left -nothing to be discovered. One felt instinctively she was a comrade -one could ‘go tiger-hunting with,’ and to be in her company was to be -sustained by a true helpmate. We were asked to speak together. Invited -by the elect, and sometimes by the opponents to enjoy hospitality, Dr. -Inglis was rarely able to come in time for the baked meats before we -ascended the platform, and uttered our platitudes to rooms often empty -woodyards, stuck about with a remnant of those who would be saved. She -usually met us on the platform, having arrived by the last train, and -obliged to leave by the first. But she never came stale or discouraged. -There was always the smile at the last set-back, the ready joke at our -opponents, the subtle sense that she was out to win, the compelling -force of sustained effort that made at least one of her yoke-fellows -ashamed of the faint heart that could never hope to win through. -Sometimes we travelled back together; more often we would meet next day -in St. Giles’ after the daily service, and our walk home was always -a cheer. ‘Never mind’ the note to discouragement. ‘Remember this or -that in our favour; our next move must be in this direction.’ And the -thought was always there (if her unselfconsciousness prevented it being -spoken--as one wishes to-day it had been)--‘The meeting went, because -you were there and set your whole soul on “willing” it through.’ - -She had no sympathy with militantism. There was no better fighter -with legitimate weapons, but she saw how closely the claim to do wrong -that good might come was related to anarchy, and her sense of true -citizenship was outraged by law-breaking which, to her clear judgment, -could only retard the ultimate triumph of a cause rooted in all that -was just and righteous. She was not confused by any cross-currents -of admiration for individual courage and self-sacrifice, and her one -desire was to see that the Federation was ‘purged’ of all those who -belonged to the forces of disintegration. - -She had the fruit of her political sagacity, and her fearless pursuit -after integrity in deed and in word. When the moment came when she was -to go to the battle fronts of the world, a succourer of many, she went -in the strength of the Suffrage women of Scotland. They were her shield -and buckler, and their loyal support of her work and its ideals was -her exceeding great reward. Without their organised strength she could -never have called into existence those units and their equipment which -have justly earned the praises of nations allied in arms. - -With the rise of the militant movement, the whole Suffrage cause -passed through a cloud of opprobrium and almost universal objurgation. -Women were all tarred with the same stick, and fell under one -condemnation. It is now of little moment to recall this, except in as -much as it affected Elsie Inglis. The Scottish Suffrage societies, who -gave their organisation and their workers to start the Scottish Women’s -Hospitals, found that the community desired to forget the unpopular -Suffrage, and to remember only the Scottish Hospitals. Speakers for the -work that Dr. Inglis was doing were asked to avoid ‘the common cause.’ -No one who knew her would consent to deny by implication one of the -deepest mainsprings of her work. The Churches were equally timid in -aught that gave comfort or consolation to those who were loyal to their -Christian social ideal for women. No organised society owes more to the -administrative work of women than does the Christian Church throughout -the world. No body of administrators have been slower to perceive that -women in responsible positions would be a strength to the Church than -have been the clergy of the Church. The writer of _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ -puts into the mouth of the clerical type of that day the argument -that the Old Testament gave an historic basis for the enslavement of -races, and St. Paul had sanctioned slavery in the New Testament. The -spirit of Christianity has raised women from a ‘low estate,’ and women -owe everything to the results of Christianity; but the ecclesiastical -mind has never shaken off the belief that they are under a special -curse from the days of Eden, and that St. Paul’s outlook on women -in his day was the last revelation as to their future position in a -jealously-guarded corporation. Which of us, acquainted with the Church -history of our day, but remembers the General Assembly when the women -missionaries were first invited to stand by their fellow-workers and be -addressed by the Moderator on their labours and sufferings in a common -cause? It was a great shock to the fathers and brethren that their sex -should not disqualify them from standing in the Assembly, which would -have more democratic weight in the visible Church on earth if some of -its elected lay members were women serving in the courts of the Church. -In this matter and in many others concerning women, the Church is not -yet triumphant over its prejudices bedded in the geological structure -of Genesis. - -In all periods of the enfranchisement struggle there were individual -clergy who aided women with their warm advocacy and the helpful -direction of thought. Elsie Inglis was a leader of this movement in its -connection with a high Christian ideal of the citizenship of women. -To those who gathered in St. Margaret’s, the church of Parliament in -history, to commemorate all her works begun and ended as a member of -Christ’s Church here on earth, it was fitting that Bishop Gore, who had -so consistently upheld the cause, should speak of her work as one who -had helped to win the equality of women in a democratic, self-governing -State. - -This memoir would utterly fail to reproduce a picture of Dr. Inglis if -it did not emphasise how her spirit was led and disciplined, tempered -and steeled, through this long and fiery trial to the goal of a leading -ideal. The contest trained her for her splendid achievements in -overcoming all obstacles in ministering to the sufferings of nations, -‘rightly struggling to be free.’ Her friend, Miss Wright, says:-- - - ‘We did not always agree. Many were the arguments we had with her, but - she was always willing to understand another point of view and willing - to allow for difference of opinion. She was very fair-minded and - reasonable, and deplored the excesses of the militant suffragettes. - She was in no sense a man-hater; to her the world was composed of men - and women, and she thought it a mistake to exalt the one unduly over - the other. She was never embittered by her struggle for the position - of women. She loved the fight, and the endeavour, and to arrive at any - point just meant a fresh setting forward to another further goal. - - ‘From her girlhood onward, her effort was to free and broaden life for - other women, to make the world a better place to live in. - - ‘I had a letter this week from Annie Wilson, Elsie’s great friend. - She says, “It seems to me Elsie’s whole life was full of championship - of the weak, and she was so strong in maintaining what was right. I - feel sure she has inspired many. I remember once saying in connection - with some work I was going to begin, ‘I wonder if I shall be able,’ - and Elsie saying in her bright way, ‘What man has done man can do.’ - I am so glad that she had the opportunity of showing her great - administrative capacity, and that her power is known and acknowledged. - She is a great woman. I cannot tell you what it will be not to have - her welcome to look forward to when I come home.” - - ‘Elsie had in many respects what is, perhaps wrongly, called a man’s - mind. She was an Imperialist in the very best sense, and had high - ideals for her country and people. She was a very womanly woman, - never affecting mannish ways as a pose. If she seemed a strong-minded - woman it was because she had strenuous work to do. She was never “a - lone woman.” She was always one of a family, and in the heart of the - family. Elsie always had the _lovingest_ appreciation and backing from - her nearest and dearest, and that a wide and varied circle. So, also, - she did not need to fight for her position; it has been said of her, - “Whenever she began to speak her pleasant well-bred accent and manner - gained her a hearing.” She was ever a fighter, but it was because she - wanted those out in the cold and darkness to come into the love and - light which she herself experienced and sought after always more fully. - - ‘We looked forward to more frequent meetings when working days were - done. Now she has gone forward to the great work beyond: - - ‘“Somewhere, surely, afar - In the sounding labour home vast - Of being, is practised that strength-- - Zealous, beneficent, firm.”’ - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE PROFESSION AND THE FAITH - - ‘Run the straight race through God’s good grace, - Lift up thine eyes and seek His face; - Life with its way before us lies, - Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.’ - - ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.’ - - -Elsie Inglis took up practice in Edinburgh, and worked in a happy -partnership with the late Dr. Jessie MacGregor, until the latter left -Scotland for work in America. - -When the University of Edinburgh admitted women to the examinations for -degrees in medicine, Dr. Inglis graduated M.B., C.M. in 1899. From that -date onwards her practice, her political and suffrage work, and the -founding of the Hospice in the High Street of Edinburgh, as a nursing -home and maternity centre staffed by medical women, occupied a life -which grew and strengthened amid so many and varied experiences. - -Her father’s death deprived her of what had been the very centre and -mainspring of her existence. As she records the story of his passing -on, she says that she cannot imagine life without him, and that he had -been so glad to see her begin her professional career. She was not one -to lose her place in the stream of life from any morbid inaction or -useless repining. She shared the spirit of the race from which she had -sprung, a reaching forward to obtain the prize of life fulfilled with -service, and she had inherited the childlike faith and confidence which -inspired their belief in the Father of Spirits. - -Elsie lost in her father the one who had made her the centre of his -thoughts and of his most loving watchfulness. From the day that her -home with him was left unto her desolate, she was to become a centre to -many of her father’s wide household, and, even as she had learnt from -him, she became a stay and support to many of his children’s children. - -The two doctors started practice in Atholl Place, and later on they -moved into 8 Walker Street, an abode which will always be associated -with the name of Dr. Elsie Inglis. - -Mrs. M‘Laren says:-- - - ‘My impressions of their joint house are all pleasant ones. They got - on wonderfully together, and in every thing seemed to appreciate one - another’s good qualities. They were very different, and had in many - ways a different outlook. I remember Jessie saying once, “Elsie is so - exceptionally generous in her attitude of mind, it would be difficult - not to get on with her!” They both held their own opinions on various - subjects without the difference of opinion really coming between them. - Elsie said once about the arrangement, “It has all the advantages of - marriage without any of its disabilities.” We used always to think - they did each other worlds of good. I know how I always enjoyed a - visit to them if it was only for an afternoon or some weeks. There was - such an air of freedom in the whole house. You did what you liked, - thought what you liked, without any fear of criticism or of being - misunderstood. - - ‘I do not know much about her practice, as medicine never interested - me, but I believe at one time, before the Suffrage work engrossed her - so much, she was making quite a large income.’ - -Professionally she suffered under two disabilities: the restricted -opportunities for clinical work in the days when she was studying her -profession, combined with the constant interruptions which the struggle -against the medical obstructionists necessitated; secondly, the -various stages in the political fight incident to obtaining that wider -enfranchisement which aimed at freeing women from all those lesser -disabilities which made them the helots of every recognised profession -and industry. - -When in the Scottish Women’s Hospitals abroad, Dr. Inglis rapidly -acquired a surgical skill, under the tremendous pressure of work, which -often kept her for days at the operating-table, which showed what a -great surgeon she might have been, given equal advantages in the days -of her peace practice. - -Dr. Inglis lost no opportunity of enlarging her knowledge. She was -a lecturer on Gynecology in the Medical College for Women which had -been started later than Dr. Jex Blake’s school, and was on slightly -broader lines. After she had started practice she went to study German -clinics; she travelled to Vienna, and later on spent two months in -America studying the work and methods of the best surgeons in New York, -Chicago, and Rochester. - -She advocated, at home and abroad, equal opportunities for work -and study in the laboratories for both men and women students. She -maintained that the lectures for women only were not as good as those -provided for the men, and that the women did not get the opportunity -of thorough laboratory practice before taking their exams. She thus -came into conflict with the University authorities, who refused to -accept women medical students within the University, or to recognise -extra-mural mixed classes in certain subjects. Step by step Dr. Inglis -fought for the students. ‘With a great price’ she might truly say -she had purchased her freedom, and nothing would turn her aside. If -one avenue was closed, try another. If one Principal was adamant, -his day could not last for ever; prepare the way for his successor. -Indomitable, unbeaten, unsoured, Dr. Inglis, with the smiling, fearless -brow, trod the years till the influence of the ‘red planet Mars’ opened -to her and others the gate of opportunity. She had achieved many -things, and was far away from her city and its hard-earned practice -when at length, in 1916, the University, under a new ‘open-minded, -generous-hearted Head,’ opened its doors to women medical students. - -There were other things, besides her practice, which Dr. Inglis -subordinated in these years to the political enfranchisement of women. -It has been shown in a previous chapter how keen were her political -beliefs. She joined the Central Edinburgh Women’s Liberal Association -in its earliest organised years. She acted as Vice-President in it for -sixteen years, and was one of its most active members. - -Mr. Gulland, the Liberal Whip, knew the value of her work, and must -have had reason to respect the order in which she placed her political -creed--first the citizenship of women, then the party organisation. -He speaks of her fearless partisanship and aloof attitude towards all -local political difficulties. An obstacle to her was a thing to be -overcome, not to be sat down before. Any one in politics who sees what -is right, and cannot understand any reason why the action should not -be straight, rather than compromising, is a help to party agents at -rare intervals; normally such minds cause anxiety. Her secretary, Miss -Cunningham, says about her place in the Liberal organisation:-- - - ‘Not only as a speaker--though as that she was invaluable--but as one - who mixed freely with all our members, with her sympathy, in fact, her - enthusiasm for everything affecting the good of women, she won respect - and liking on every side. It was not until she became convinced that - she could help forward the great cause for women better by being - unattached to any party organisation that she severed her connection - with the Liberal Party. Regretted as that severance was by all, we - understood her point of view so well that we recognised there was no - other course open to her. Her firm grasp of and clear insight into - matters political made her a most valued colleague, especially in - times of difficulty, when her advice was always to be relied upon.’ - -In 1901 she was a member of the Women’s Liberal League, a branch of -the W.L.A. which split off at the time of the Boer War, in opposition -to the ‘Little Englanders.’ Dr. Inglis was on its first committee, and -lent her drawing-room for meetings, addressing other meetings on the -Imperialist doctrines born in that war. When that phase of politics -ended, the League became an educational body and worked on social and -factory legislation. - -Among her other enterprises was the founding of the Muir Hall of -Residence for Women Students at the University. Many came up from the -country, and, like herself in former days in Glasgow, had to find -suitable, and in many cases uncomfortable, lodgings. - -Principal Muir’s old Indian friendship with Mr. Inglis had been most -helpful in former years, and now Lady Muir and other friends of the -women students started a Residence in George Square for them, and -Miss Robertson was appointed its first warden. Dr. Inglis was Hon. -Secretary to the Muir Hall till she died, and from its start was a -moving spirit in all that stood for the comfort of the students. She -attended them when they were ill, and was always ready to help them -in their difficulties with her keen, understanding advice. The child -of her love, amid all other works, was her Maternity Hospice. Of this -work Miss Mair, who was indeed ‘a nursing mother’ to so many of the -undertakings of women in the healing profession, writes of Dr. Inglis’ -feeling with perfect understanding:-- - - ‘To Dr. Inglis’ clear vision, even in her early years of student life, - there shone through the mists of opposition and misunderstandings a - future scene in which a welcome recognition would be made of women’s - services for humanity, and with a strong, glad heart she joined with - other pioneers in treading “the stony way” that leads to most reforms. - Once landed on the firm rock of professional recognition, Dr. Inglis - set about the philanthropic task of bringing succour and helpful - advice to mothers and young babies and expectant mothers in the - crowded homes in and about the High Street. There, with the help of a - few friends, she founded the useful little Hospice that we trust now - to see so developed and extended by an appreciative public, that it - will merit the honoured name “The Dr. Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospice.” - - ‘This little Hospice lay very near the heart of its founder--she loved - it--and with her always sensitive realisation of the needs of the - future, she was convinced that this was a bit of work on the right - lines for recognition in years to come. Some of us can recall the - kindling eye, the inspiring tones, that gave animation to her whole - being when talking of her loved Hospice. She saw in it a possible - future that might effect much, not only for its patients, but for - generations of medical women.’ - -With Dr. Elsie one idea always started another, and ‘a felt want’ in -any department of life always meant an instantly conceived scheme of -supplying the need. Those who ‘came after’ sometimes felt a breathless -wonder how ways and means could be found to establish and settle the -new idea which had been evolved from the fertile brain. The Hospice -grew out of the establishment of a nursing home for working women, -where they could be cared for near their own homes. Through the -kindness of Dr. Barbour, a house was secured at a nominal rent in -George Square, and opened in 1901. That sphere of usefulness could be -extended if a maternity home could be started in a poorer district. -Thus the Hospice in the High Street was opened in 1904. Dr. Inglis -devoted herself to the work. An operating theatre and eight beds -were provided. The midwifery department grew so rapidly that after a -few years the Hospice became a centre, one of five in Scotland, for -training nurses for the C.M.B. examination. - -Dr. Inglis looked forward to a greater future for it in infant welfare -work, and she always justified the device of the site as being close -to where the people lived, and in air to which they were accustomed. -Trained district nurses visited the people in their own homes, and -in 1910 there were more cases than nurses to overtake them. In that -year the Hospice was amalgamated with Bruntsfield Hospital; medical, -surgical, and gynecological cases were treated there, while the Hospice -was devoted entirely to maternity and infant welfare cases. - -Dr. Inglis’ ‘vision’ was nearly accomplished when she had a small ward -of five beds for malnutrition cases, a baby clinic, a milk depot, -health centres, and the knowledge that the Hospice has the distinction -of being the only maternity centre run by women in Scotland. This -affords women students opportunities denied to them in other maternity -hospitals. - -A probationer in that Hospice says:-- - - ‘Dr. Inglis’ idea was that everything, as far as possible, should - be made subservient to the comfort of the patients. This was always - considered when planning the routine. She disapproved of the system - prevalent in so many hospitals of rousing the patients out of sleep - in the small hours of the morning in order to get through the work of - the wards. She would not have them awakened before 6 A.M., and she - instituted a cup of tea before anything else was done. To her nurses - she was very just and appreciative of good work, and, if complaints - were made against any one, the wrongdoing had to be absolutely proved - before she would take action. She also insisted on the nurses having - adequate time off, and that it should not be infringed upon.’ - -These, in outline, are the interests which filled the years after Dr. -Elsie began her practice. Of her work among the people living round -her Hospice, it is best told in the words of those who watched for -her coming, and blessed the sound of her feet on their thresholds. -Freely she gave them of her best, and freely they gave her the love and -confidence of their loyal hearts. - -Mrs. B. had been Dr. Inglis’ patient for twenty years, and she had -also attended her mother and grandmother. Of several children one -was called Elsie Maud Inglis, and the child was christened in the -Dean Church by Dr. Williamson, who had known Dr. Inglis as a child in -India. The whole family seem to have been her charge, for when Mrs. -B.’s husband returned from the South African War, Dr. Inglis fought -the War Office for nine months to secure him a set of teeth, and, -needless to say, after taking all the trouble entailed by a War Office -correspondence, she was successful. A son fought in the present war, -and when Dr. Inglis saw the death of a Private B., she sent a telegram -to the War Office to make sure it was not the son of Mrs. B. She would -never take any fees from this family. On one occasion Mr. B. gave her -some feathers he had brought home from Africa. She had them put in a -new hat she had got for a wedding, and came round before she went to -the festival to show them to the donor. Her cheery ways ‘helped them -all,’ and when a child of the family broke its leg, and was not mending -all round in the Infirmary, Dr. Inglis was asked to go and see her, and -the child from then ‘went forrit.’ - -In another family there was some stomach weakness, and three infants -died. Dr. Inglis tried hard to save the life of the third, a little -boy, who was evidently getting no nourishment. So anxious was she, -that she asked a sister who had recently had a baby, to try if she -could nurse the child. This was done, the foster mother going every day -to the house, but they could not save the infant. When the next one -arrived, Dr. Inglis was so determined the child should live, she came -every day, whatever were her engagements, to sterilise the milk. The -child throve under her care, and grew up in health. - -Another of these patients of her care ‘could not control her feelings’ -when speaking of the good physician. It was evident the family had -lost their best friend. The husband spoke most warmly of Dr. Inglis’ -kindness to them. She would come round, after she had finished her -other work at night, to bath the baby. When another child was ill, she -told the mother not to open the door even if the King himself wished -to come in. The husband said she was so bright one felt the better -for her visit, ‘though her orders had to be obeyed and no mistake, -and she would tell you off at once if you did not carry them out.’ If -they offered payment, she would say, ‘Now, go and buy a nice chop for -yourself.’ - -Another family had this story. Mr. G.: ‘That woman has done more -for the folk living between Morrison Street and the High Street than -all the ministers in Edinburgh and Scotland itself ever did for any -one. She would never give in to difficulties. She gave her house, her -property, her practice, her money to help others.’ Mrs. G. fell ill -after the birth of one of her children. Dr. Elsie came in one night, -made her a cup of tea and some toast, and, as she failed to get well, -she raised money to keep her in a sanatorium for six months. After she -had been there one child, in charge of a friend, fell ill, and finally -died, Dr. Inglis doing all she could to spare the absent mother and -save the child. When it died, she wrote:-- - - ‘MY DEAR MRS. G.,--You will have got the news by now. I cannot tell - you how sorry I am for you, my dear. But you will believe, won’t you, - that we all did everything we could for your dear little boy. Mrs. E. - was simply goodness itself. Dr. H. and I saw him three times a day - between us, and yesterday we saw him four times. When I sent you the - card I hoped the high temperature was due to his teeth, because his - pulse seemed good. However, later, Dr. H. telephoned that she was - afraid that his pulse was flagging, and he died suddenly about one. - Mr. G. has just been here; you must get well, my dear, for his sake, - and for the sake of all the other little children. Poor little Johnnie - has had a great many troubles in his little life has he not? But he - is over them all now, dear little man. And the God in whose _safe_ - keeping he is, comfort you, dear Mrs. G.--Ever your sincere friend, - - ‘ELSIE MAUD INGLIS.’ - -The caretaker of the dispensary in St. Cuthbert’s Mission in Morrison -Street speaks of Dr. Inglis as the true friend of all who needed her. -She gave an hour three mornings in the week, and if she could not -overtake all the cases in the time, she would occasionally come back -later in the day. - -Another of her patients was the mother of twelve children; six of -them were ‘brought home’ by Dr. Inglis. She was a friend to them all, -and never minded what trouble she took. If they did not send for her, -wishing to spare her, she scolded them for thinking of herself and not -of their need for her services. All the children loved her, and they -would watch from the window on her dispensary days for her, and she -would wave to them across the street. She would often stop them in -the street to ask after their mother, and even after she had been to -Serbia and returned to Edinburgh, she remembered about them and their -home affairs. She always made them understand that her orders must be -carried out. Once Mrs. C. was very ill, and Dr. Inglis came to attend -her. The eldest girl was washing the floor, and Dr. Inglis told her to -go for some medicine. The girl continued to finish the work she was at. -‘Child,’ said Dr. Inglis, ‘don’t you know that when I say a thing I -mean it?’ Another time she had told Mrs. C. to remain in her bed till -she came. Household cares were pressing, and Mrs. C. rose to wash the -dishes. Dr. Inglis suddenly appeared at the door. ‘What did I tell you? -Do not touch another dish.’ And she herself helped Mrs. C. back to bed. -Later on two of the children got scarlet fever, and Dr. Inglis told the -mother she was proud of her, as, through her care, the infection did -not spread in the family or outside it. - -The people in Morrison Street showed their gratitude by collecting -a little sum of money to buy an electric lamp to light their doctor -friend up the dark staircase of the house. These were the true mourners -who stood round St. Giles’ with the bairns she had ‘brought home’ on -the day when her earthly presence passed from their sight. These were -they who had fitted her for her strenuous enterprises in the day when -the battle was set in array, and these were the people who knew her -best, and never doubted that when called from their midst she would go -forth strong in that spirit which is given to the weak things of the -earth, and that it would be her part to strengthen the peoples that had -no might. - -The Little Sisters of the Poor had a dispensary of St. Anne, and Dr. -Elsie had it in her charge from 1903 to 1913, and the Sister Superior -speaks of the affection of the people and the good work done among them. - - ‘“How often,” writes one in charge of the servant department of the - Y.W.C.A., “her deliberate tread has brought confidence to me when - getting heartless over some of these poor creatures who would not - rouse themselves, judging the world was against them. Many a time - the patient fighting with circumstances needed a sisterly word of - cheer which Dr. Inglis supplied, and sent the individual heartened - and refreshed. The expression on her face, _I mean business_, had - a wonderful uplift, while her acuteness in exactly describing the - symptoms to those who were in constant contact gave a confidence which - made her a power amongst us.”’ - -A patient has allowed some of her written prescriptions to be quoted. -They were not of a kind to be made up by a chemist:-- - - ‘I want you never to miss or delay meals. I want you to go to bed at - a reasonable time and go to sleep early. I want you to do your work - regularly, and to take an interest in outside things--such as your - church and suffrage.’ - - ‘We should not let these Things (with a capital T) affect us so much. - Our cause is too righteous for it to be really affected by them--if we - don’t weaken.’ - - ‘My dear, the potter’s wheel isn’t a pleasant instrument.’ - - ‘Go home and say your prayers.’ - - ‘Realise what you are, a free born child of the Universe. Perfection - your Polar Star.’ - -These stories of her healing of mind and body might be endlessly -multiplied. Sorrow and disease are much the same whether they come to -the rich or the poor, and poverty is not always the worst trial of -many a sad tale. Dr. Elsie’s power of sympathy and understanding was -as much called upon in her paying practice as among the very poor. She -made no distinction in what she gave; her friendship was as ready as -her trained skill. There was one patient whose sufferings were largely -due to her own lack of will power. Elsie, after prescribing, bent down -and kissed her. It awoke in the individual the sense that she was not -‘altogether bad,’ and from that day forward there was a newness of life. - -From what sources of inner strength did she increasingly minister -in that sphere in which she moved? ‘Thy touch has still its ancient -power,’ and no one who knew this unresting, unhasting, well-balanced -life, but felt it had drawn its spiritual strength from the deep wells -of Salvation. - -In these years the kindred points of heaven and home were always -in the background of her life. Her sisters’ homes were near her in -Edinburgh, and when her brother Ernest died in India, in 1910, his -widow and her three daughters came back to her house. Her friendship -and understanding of all the large circle that called her aunt was a -very beautiful tie. The elder ones were near enough to her own age -to be companions to her from her girlhood. Miss Simson says that she -was more like an elder sister to them when she stayed with the family -on their arrival from Tasmania. ‘The next thing I remember about her -was when she went to school in Paris, she promised to bring us home -Paris dolls. She asked us how we wanted them dressed, and when she -returned we each received a beautiful one dressed in the manner chosen. -Aunt Elsie was always most careful in the choice of presents for each -individual. One always felt that she had thought of and got something -that she knew you wanted. While on her way to Russia she sent me a -cheque because she had not been able to see anything while at home. She -wrote, “This is to spend on something frivolous that you want, and not -on stockings or anything like that.”’ - -‘It is not her great gifts that I remember now,’ says another of that -young circle, ‘it is that she was always such a darling.’ - -These nieces were often the companions of Dr. Elsie’s holidays. She -had her own ideas as to how these should be spent. She always had -September as her month of recreation. She used to go away, first of -all, for a fortnight quite alone to some out-of-the-way place, when -not even her letters were sent after her. She would book to a station, -get out, and bicycle round the neighbourhood till she found a place -she liked. She wanted scenery and housing accommodation according to -her mind. Her first requirement was hot water for ‘baths.’ If that was -found in abundance she was suited; if it could not be requisitioned, -she went elsewhere. Her paintbox went with her, and when she returned -to rejoin or fetch away her family she brought many impressions of what -she had seen. The holidays were restful because always well planned. -She loved enjoyment and happiness, and she sought them in the spirit -of real relaxation and recreation. If weather or circumstances turned -out adverse, she was amused in finding some way out, and if nothing -else could be done she had a power of seeing the ludicrous under all -conditions, which in itself turned the rain-clouds of life into bursts -of sunlight. - -Mrs. Inglis gives a happy picture of the life in 8 Walker Street, when -she was the guest of Dr. Inglis. Her love for the three nieces, the one -in particular who bore her name, and in whose medical education she -deeply interested herself, was great. - -She used to return from a long day’s work, often late, but with a mind -at leisure from itself for the talk of the young people. However late -she was, a hot bath preluded a dinner-party full of fun and laughter, -the account of all the day’s doings, and then a game of bridge or some -other amusement. Often she would be anxious over some case, but she -used to say, ‘I have done all I know, I can only sleep over it,’ and -to bed and to sleep she went, always using her will-power to do what -was best in the situation. Those who were with her in the ‘retreats’ -in Serbia or Russia saw the same quality of self-command. If transport -broke down, then the interval had better be used for rest, in the best -fashion in which it could be obtained. - -Her Sundays, as far as her profession permitted, were days of rest and -social intercourse with her family and friends. After evening church -she went always to supper in the Simson family, often detained late by -pacings to and fro with her friends, Dr. and Mrs. Wallace Williamson, -engaged in some outpouring of the vital interests which were absorbing -her. One of the members of her household says:-- - - ‘We all used to look forward to hearing all her doings in the past - week, and of all that lay before her in the next. Sunday evening felt - quite wrong and flat when she was called out to a case and could not - come to us. It was the same with our summer holidays. Her visit in - September was the best bit of the holidays to us. She laid herself out - to be with us in our bathing and golfing and picnics.’ - -The house was ‘well run.’ Those who know what is the highest meaning -of service, have always good servants, and Dr. Elsie had a faithful -household. Her cooks were all engaged under one stipulation, ‘Hot -water for any number of baths at any time of the day or night,’ and -the hot water never failed under the most exacting conditions. Her -guests were made very comfortable, and there was only one rigid rule -in the house. However late she came downstairs after any night-work, -there was always family prayers before breakfast. The book she used -was _Euchologion_, and when in Russia asked that a copy should be -sent her. Her consulting-room was lined with bookshelves containing -all her father’s books, and of these she never lost sight. Any guest -might borrow anything else in her house and forget to return it, but if -ever one of those books were borrowed, it had to be returned, for the -quest after it was pertinacious. In her dress she became increasingly -particular, but only as the adornment, not of herself, but of the cause -of women as citizens or as doctors. When a uniform became part of her -equipment for work, she must have welcomed it with great enthusiasm. It -is in the hodden grey with the tartan shoulder straps, and the thistles -of Scotland that she will be clothed upon, in the memory of most of -those who recall her presence. - -It is difficult to write of the things that belong to the Spirit, -and Dr. Elsie’s own reserve on these matters was not often broken. -She had been reared in a God-fearing household, and surrounded from -her earliest years with the atmosphere of an intensely devout home. -That she tried all things, and approved them to her own conscience, -was natural to her character. Certain doctrines and formulas found no -acceptance with her. Man was created in God’s image, and the Almighty -did not desire that His creatures should despise or underrate the work -of His Hand. The attitude of regarding the world as a desert, and human -beings as miserable sinners incapable of rendering the highest service, -never commended itself to her eminently just mind. Such difficulties of -belief as she may have experienced in early years lay in the relations -of the created to the Creator of all that is divine in man. Till she -had convinced herself that a reasonable service was asked for and would -be accepted, her mind was not completely at rest. In her correspondence -with her father, both in Glasgow and London, her interest was always -living and vital in the things which belonged to the kingdom of heaven -within. She wandered from church to church in both places. Oblivious -of all distinctions she would take her prayer book and go for ‘music’ -to the Episcopal Church, or attend the undenominational meetings -connected with the Y.W.C.A. Often she found herself most interested -in the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Hunter, who subsequently left Glasgow -for London. There are many shrewd comments on other ministers, on the -‘Declaratory Acts,’ then agitating the Free Church. She thought the -Westminster Confession should either be accepted or rejected, and that -the position was made no simpler by ‘declarations.’ In London she -attended the English Church almost exclusively, listening to the many -remarkable teachers who in the Nineties occupied the pulpits of the -Anglican Church. It was not till after her father’s death that she came -to rest entirely in the ministry of the Church of Scotland, and found -in the teaching and friendship of Dr. Wallace Williamson that which -gave her the vital faith which inspired her life and work, and carried -her at last triumphantly through the swellings of Jordan. - -St. Giles’ lay in the centre of her healing mission, and her -alert active figure was a familiar sight, as the little congregation -gathered for the daily service. When the kirk skailed in the fading -light of the short days, the westering sun on the windows would often -fall on the fair hair and bright face of her whose day had been spent -in ministering work. On these occasions she never talked of her work. -If she was joined by a friend, Dr. Elsie waited to see what was the -pressing thought in the mind of her companion, and into that she at -once poured her whole sympathy. Few ever walked west with her to -her home without feeling in an atmosphere of high and chivalrous -enterprise. Thus in an ordered round passed the days and years, drawing -ever nearer to the unknown destiny, when that which was to try the -reins and the hearts of many nations was to come upon the world. When -that storm burst, Elsie Inglis was among those whose lamp was burning, -and whose heart was steadfast and prepared for the things which were -coming on the earth. - - - - -[Illustration: DR. ELSIE INGLIS, 1916] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -WAR AND THE SCOTTISH WOMEN - - ‘God the all-terrible King, Who ordainest - Great winds Thy clarion, the lightnings Thy sword, - Show forth Thy pity on high where Thou reignest, - Give to us peace in our time, O Lord. - - God the All-wise, by the fire of Thy chastening - Earth shall to freedom and truth be restored, - Through the thick darkness Thy kingdom is hastening, - Thou wilt give peace in Thy time, O Lord.’ - - -The year of the war coincided with that period in the life of Dr. -Inglis when she was fully qualified for the great part she was to play -among the armies of the Allied nations. - -It is now admitted that this country was unprepared for war, and -incredulous as to the German menace. The services of women have now -attained so high a value in the State that it is difficult to recast -their condition in 1914. - -In politics there had been a succession of efforts to obtain -their enfranchisement. Each effort had been marked by a stronger -manifestation in their favour in the country, and the growing force -of the movement, coupled with the unrest in Ireland, had kept all -political organisations in a high state of tension. - -It has been shown how fully organised were all the Women Suffrage -societies. Committees, organisers, adherents, and speakers were at -work, and in the highest state of efficiency. Women linked by a common -cause had learnt how to work together. The best brains in their midst -were put at the service of the Suffrage, and they had watched in the -political arena where to expect support, and who could be trusted among -the leaders of all parties. No shrewder or more experienced body of -politicians were to be found in the country than those women drawn from -all classes, in all social, professional, and industrial spheres, who -acknowledged Mrs. Fawcett as their leader, and trusted no one party, -sect, or politician in the year 1914. - -When the war caused a truce to be pronounced in all questions of acute -political difference, the unenfranchised people realised that this -might mean the failure of their hopes for an indefinite time. They -never foresaw that, for the second time within a century, emancipation -was to be bought by the life blood of a generation. - -The truce made no difference to any section of the Suffrage party. -It was accepted by the whole people. War found both men and women -unprepared, but the path of glory was clear for the men. A great army -must be formed in defence of national liberty. The army was mobilised. -It would have been well had the strength of the women been mobilised in -the same hour. Their long claim for the rights of citizenship made them -keenly alive and responsive to the call of national service. - -War and its consequences had for many years been uppermost in their -thoughts. In the struggle for emancipation, the great argument they -had had to face among the rapidly decreasing anti-party, was the one -that women could take no part in war, and, as all Government rested -ultimately on brute force, women could not fight, and therefore must -not vote. - -In countering this outlook, women had watched what war meant all over -the world, wherever it took place. With the use of scientific weapons -of destruction, with the development of scientific methods of healing, -with all that went to the maintenance of armies in the field, and the -support of populations at home, women had some vision in what manner -they would be needed if war ever came to this country. - -The misfortune of such a controversy as that of the ‘Rights of Women’ -is that it necessarily means the opposition has to prove a negative -proposition--a most sterilising process. Political parties were so -anxious to prove that women were incapable of citizenship, that the -whole community got into a pernicious habit of mind. Women were -underrated in every sphere of industry or scientific knowledge. Their -sense of incapacity and irresponsibility was encouraged, and when they -turned militant under such treatment, they were only voted a nuisance -which it was impossible to totally exterminate. - -Those who watched the gathering war clouds, and the decline of their -Parliamentary hopes, did not realise that, in the overruling providence -of God, the devastating war among nations was to open a new era for -women. They were no longer to be held cheap, as irresponsibles--mere -clogs on the machinery of the State. They were to be called on to -take the place of men who were dying by the thousand for their homes, -fighting against the doctrine that military force is the only true -Government in a Christian world. - -After mobilisation, military authorities had to make provision for the -wounded. We can remember the early sensation of seeing buildings raised -for other purposes taken over for hospitals. Since the Crimea, women as -nurses at the base were institutions understood of all men. In the vast -camps which sprang up at the commencement of the war, women modestly -thought they might be usefully employed as cooks. The idea shocked the -War Office till it rocked to its foundations. A few adventurous women -started laundries for officers, and others for the men. They did it on -their own, and in peril of their beneficent soap suds, being ordered to -a region where they would be out of sight, and out of any seasonable -service, to the vermin-ridden camps. - -The Suffrage organisations, staffed and equipped with able practical -women Jacks of all trades, in their midst, put themselves at the call -of national service, but were headed back from all enterprises. It -had been ordained that women could not fight, and therefore they were -of no use in war time. A few persisted in trying to find openings for -service. Among these were Dr. Inglis. It is one thing to offer to be -useful without any particular qualification; it is another to have -professional knowledge to give, and the medical women were strong in -the conviction that they had their hard-won science and skill to offer. - -Those who have read the preceding pages will realise that Dr. Inglis -carried into this offer a perfect knowledge how women doctors were -regarded by the community, and she knew political departments too well -to believe that the War Office would have a more enlightened outlook. -In the past she had said in choosing her profession that she liked -‘pioneer work,’ and she was to be the pioneer woman doctor who, with -the aid of Suffrage societies, founded and led the Scottish Women’s -Hospitals to the healing of many races. - -After bringing the story of Dr. Inglis to this point, it is easy -to imagine the working of her fertile brain, and her sense of vital -energy, in the opening weeks of the war. What material for instant -action she had at hand, she used. She had helped to form a detachment -of the V.A.D. when the idea of this once despised and now greatly -desired body began to take shape. Before the war men spoke slightingly -of its object, and it was much depreciated. Dr. Inglis saw all the -possibilities which lay in the voluntary aid offer. Dr. Inglis was in -Edinburgh at the commencement of the war, and the 6th Edinburgh V.A.D., -of which she was commandant, was at once mobilised. For several weeks -she worked hard at their training. She gave up the principal rooms in -her house for a depot for the outfit of Cargilfield as an auxiliary -hospital. The hospital was not accepted. If it had been, and Dr. Inglis -put in charge of it, the wider work of her life might never have had -its fulfilment. Dr. Inglis from the first advocated that the V.A.D. -should be used as probationers in military hospitals, and the orderlies -who served in her units were chiefly drawn from this body. - -In September she went to London to put her views before the National -Union and the War Office, and to offer the services of herself -and women colleagues. Miss Mair expresses the thoughts which were -dominating her mind. ‘To her it seemed wicked that women with power -to wield the surgeon’s knife in the mitigation of suffering and with -knowledge to diagnose and cure, should be withheld from serving the -sick and wounded.’ - -Her love for the wounded and suffering gave her a clear vision as -to what lay before the armies of the Allies. ‘At the root of all her -strenuous work of the last three years,’ says her sister, ‘was the -impelling force of her sympathy with the wounded men. This feeling -amounted at times to almost agony. Only once did she allow herself to -show this innermost feeling. This was at the root of her passionate -yearning to get with her unit to Mesopotamia during the early months -of 1916. “I cannot bear to think of them, _our Boys_.” To the woman’s -heart within her the wounded men of all nations made the same -irresistible appeal.’ - -In that spirit she approached a departmental chief. Official reserve at -last gave way, and the historic sentence was uttered--‘My good lady, go -home and sit still.’ In that utterance lay the germ of that inspiration -which was to carry the Red Cross and the Scottish women among many -nations, kindreds, and tongues. - -It is easy to picture the scene. The overworked red-tape-bound -official: the little figure of the woman with the smile, and the ready -answer, before him. There is a story that, while a town in Serbia was -under bombardment, Dr. Inglis was also in it with some of her hospital -work. She sought an official in his quarters, as she desired certain -things for her hospital. The noise of the firing was loud, and shells -were flying around. Dr. Inglis seemed oblivious of any sound save her -own voice, and she requested of an under officer an interview with his -chief. The official had at last to confess that his superior was hiding -in the cellar till the calamity of shell-fire was overpast. In much -the same condition was the local War Office official when confronted -with Dr. Inglis and her practical importunity. No doubt she saw it was -useless to continue her offers of service. Mrs. Fawcett says: - - ‘Nearly all the memorial notices of her have recorded the fact that at - the beginning of her work in 1914 the War Office refused her official - recognition. The recognition so stupidly refused by her own country - was joyfully and gratefully given by the French and later the Serbian - A.M.S. and Red Cross.’ - -She went home to her family, who so often had inspired her to good -work, and as she sat and talked over the war and her plans with one of -her nieces, she suddenly said, ‘I know what we will do! We will have a -unit of our own.’ - -The ‘We’ referred to that close-knit body of women with whom she had -worked for a common cause, and she knew at once that ‘We’ would work -with her and in her for the accomplishment of this ideal which so -rapidly took shape in her teeming brain. - -She was never left alone in any part of her life’s work. Her -personality knit not only her family to her in the closest bonds of -love, but she had devoted friends among those who did not see eye -to eye with her in the common cause. She never loved them the less -for disagreeing with her, and though their indifference to her views -might at times obscure her belief in their mental calibre, it never -interfered with the mutual affections of all. She did not leave these -friends out of her scheme when it began to take shape. - -The Edinburgh Suffrage offices, no longer needed for propaganda and -organisation work, became the headquarters of the Scottish Women’s -Hospitals, and the enlarged committee, chiefly of Dr. Inglis’ personal -friends, began its work under the steam-hammer of her energy. Miss Mair -may again be quoted. - - ‘Well do I recall the first suggestion that passed between us on the - subject of directing the energies of our Suffrage Societies to the - starting of a hospital. Let us gather a few hundred pounds, and then - appeal to the public, was the decision of our ever courageous Dr. - Elsie, and from that moment she never swerved in her purpose. Some of - us gasped when she announced that the sum of £50,000 must speedily - be advertised for. Some timid souls advised the naming of a smaller - amount as our goal. With unerring perception, our leader refused to - lower the standard, and abundantly has she been proved right! Not - £50,000, but over £200,000 have rewarded her faith and her hope. - - ‘This quick perception was one of the greatest of her gifts, and it - was with perfect simplicity she stated to me once that when on rare - occasions she had yielded her own conviction to pressure from others, - the result had been unfortunate. There was not an ounce of vanity in - her composition. She was merely stating a simple fact. Her outlook was - both wide and direct. She saw the object aimed at, and she marched - straight on. If, on the road, some obstacles had to be not exactly - ruthlessly, but very firmly brushed aside, her strength of purpose - was in the end a blessing to all concerned. Strength combined with - sweetness--with a wholesome dash of humour thrown in--in my mind sums - up her character. What that strength did for agonised Serbia only the - grateful Serbs can fully tell.’ - -A letter written in October of this year to Mrs. Fawcett tells of the -rapid formation of the hospital idea. - - ‘8 WALKER STREET, - ‘_Oct. 9, 1914_. - - ‘DEAR MRS. FAWCETT,--I wrote to you from the office this morning, - but I want to point out a little more fully what the Committee felt - about the name of the hospitals. We felt that our original scheme - was growing very quickly into something very big--much bigger than - anything we had thought of at the beginning--and we felt that if the - hospitals were called by a non-committal name it would be much easier - to get all men and women to help. The scheme is _of course_ a National - Union scheme, and that fact the Scottish Federation will never lose - sight of, or attempt to disguise. The National Union will be at the - head of all our appeals, and press notices, and paper. - - ‘But--if you could reverse the position, and imagine for a moment - that the Anti-Suffrage Society had thought of organising all these - skilled women for service, you can quite see that many more neutrals, - and a great many suffragists would have been ready to help if they - sent their subscriptions to the “Scottish Women’s Hospital for Foreign - Service,” than if they had to send to the Anti-Suffrage League - Hospital. - - ‘We were convinced that the more women we could get to help, the - greater would be the gain to the woman’s movement. - - ‘For we have hit upon a really splendid scheme. When Mrs. Laurie and - I went to see Sir George Beatson--the head of the Scottish Red Cross, - in Glasgow--he said at once: “Our War Office will have nothing to say - to you,” and then he added, “yet there is no knowing what they may do - before the end of the war.” - - ‘You see, we get these expert women doctors, nurses, and ambulance - workers organised. We send our units wherever they are wanted. Once - these units are out, the work is bound to grow. The need is there, - and too terrible to allow any haggling about who does the work. If - we have a thoroughly good organisation here, we can send out more - and more units, or strengthen those already out. We can add motor - ambulances, organise rest stations on the lines of communication, and - so on. It will all depend on how well we are supplied with funds and - brains at our base. Each unit ought to be carefully chosen, and the - very best women doctors must go out with them. I wrote this morning to - the Registered Medical Women’s Association in London, and asked them - to help us, and offered to address a meeting when I come up for your - meeting. Next week a special meeting of the Scottish Medical Women’s - Association is being called to discuss the question. - - ‘From the very beginning we must make it clear that our hospitals are - as well-equipped and well-manned as any in the field, more economical - (easy!), and thoroughly efficient. - - ‘I cannot think of anything more calculated to bring home to men the - fact that women _can help_ intelligently in any kind of work. So much - of our work is done where they cannot see it. They’ll see every bit of - this. - - ‘The fates seem to be fighting for us! Sometimes schemes do float off - with the most extraordinary ease. The Belgian Consul here is Professor - Sarolea--the editor of _Everyman_. He grasped at the help we offered, - and has written off to several influential people. And then yesterday - morning he wrote saying that his brother Dr. Leon Sarolea, would come - and “work under” us. He is an M.P., a man of considerable influence. - So you can see the Belgian Hospital will have everything in its favour. - - ‘Then Mr. Seton Watson, who has devoted his life to the Balkan States, - has taken up the Servian Unit. He puts himself “entirely at our - service.” He knows all the powers that be in Servia. - - ‘Two people in the Press have offered to help. - - ‘The money is the thing now. It must not be wasted, but we must have - lots. - - ‘And as the work grows do let’s keep it _together_, so that, however - many hospitals we send out, they all shall be run on the same lines, - and wherever people see the Union Jack with the red, white and green - flag below it, they’ll know it means efficiency and kindness and - intelligence. - - ‘I wanted the Executive, for this reason, to call the hospitals - “British Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service,” but of course it was - their own idea, and one understood the desire to call it “Scottish”; - but if there is a splendid response from England and from other - federations, that will have to be reconsidered, _I_ think. The great - thing is to do the thing well, and do it as _one_ scheme. - - ‘I do hope you’ll approve of all this. I am marking this letter - “Private,” because it isn’t an official letter, but just what I - think--to you, my Chief. But you can show it to anybody you like--as - that. - - ‘I can think of nothing except these “Units” just now! And when one - hears of the awful need, one can hardly sit still till they are ready. - Professor Sarolea simply made one’s heart bleed. He is just back from - Belgium. He said, “You talk of distress from the war here. You simply - know nothing about it.”--Ever yours sincerely, - - ‘ELSIE MAUD INGLIS.’ - -In October 1914 the scheme was finally adopted by the Scottish -Federation, and the name of Scottish Women’s Hospitals was chosen. - -At the same meeting the committee decided to send Dr. Inglis to London -to explain the plan to the National Union, and to speak at a meeting -in the Kingsway Hall, on ‘What women could do to help in the war.’ At -that meeting she was authorised to speak on the plans of the S.W.H. -The N.U.W.S.S. adopted the plan of campaign on 15th October, and the -London society was soon taking up the work of procuring money to start -new units, and to send Dr. Inglis out on her last enterprise, with a -unit fully equipped to work with the Serbian army, then fighting on the -Bulgarian front. - -The use she made of individuals is well illustrated by Miss Burke. She -was ‘found’ by Dr. Inglis in the office of the London Society, and sent -forth to speak and fill the Treasury chest of the S.W.H. It is written -in the records of that work how wonderfully Miss Burke influenced her -countrymen in America, and how nobly, through her efforts, they have -aided ‘the great adventure.’ - - ‘U.S.M.S. _St. Paul_, - ‘_Saturday, February 9th_. - - ‘DEAR LADY FRANCES,--Certainly I am one of Dr. Elsie’s children. It - was largely due to her intuition and clear judgment of character that - my feet were placed in the path which led to my reaching my maximum - efficiency as a hospital worker and a member of the Scottish Women’s - Hospitals. I first met Dr. Elsie after I had been the Secretary of the - London Committee for about a month. There was no question of meeting a - “stranger”; her kindly eyes smiled straight into mine. - - ‘Was I young and rather shy? Well, the best way to encourage me was to - give me responsibility. - - ‘“Do you speak French?” - - ‘“Yes.” - - ‘“Very well, go and write me a letter to General de Torcy, telling him - we accept the building he has offered at Troyes.” - - ‘Some one hazarded the suggestion that the letter should be passed on. - - ‘“Nonsense,” replied Dr. Elsie, “I know the type. That girl probably - speaks six languages. If she says she speaks French, she does.” - - ‘She practically signed the letter I wrote her without reading it. - Doubtless all the time I was with her I was under her keen scrutiny, - and when finally, after arranging a meeting for her at Oxford, which - she found impossible to take, owing to her sudden decision to leave - for Serbia, she had already judged me, and without hesitation she told - me to go to Oxford and speak myself. I have wondered often whether any - one else would have sent a young and unknown speaker--it needed Dr. - Elsie’s knowledge of human character and rapid energetic method of - making decisions. - - ‘It would be difficult for we young ones of the Scottish Women’s - Hospitals to analyse our feelings towards Dr. Elsie. A wave of her - hand in passing meant much to us.’ - -Space utterly forbids our following the fortunes of the Scottish -Women’s Hospitals as they went forth one by one to France, to Belgium, -to Serbia, to Corsica, and Russia. That history will have some day to -be written. It is only possible in this memoir to speak of their work -in relation to their founder and leader. ‘Not I, but my unit,’ was -her dying watchword, and when the work of her unit is reviewed, it is -obvious how they carried with them, as an oriflamme, the inspiration of -unselfish devotion set them by Dr. Inglis. - -Besides going into all the detailed work of the hospital equipment, Dr. -Inglis found time to continue her work of speaking for the cause of the -hospitals. We find her addressing her old friends: - - ‘I have the happiest recollection of Dr. I. addressing a small meeting - of the W. L. Association here. It was one of her first meetings to - raise money. She told us how she wanted to go to Serbia. She was so - convincing, but with all my faith in her, I never thought she _would_ - get there! That, and much more she did--a lesson in faith. - - ‘She looked round the little gathering in the Good Templar Hall and - said, “I suppose nobody here could lend me a yacht?” She did get her - ship there.’ - -To one of her workers in this time, she said, ‘My dear, we shall live -all our lives in the shadow of war.’ The one to whom she spoke says, ‘A -cold chill struck my heart. Did she feel it, and know that never again -would things be as they were?’ - -At the close of 1914 Dr. Inglis went to France to see the Scottish -Women’s Hospital established and working under the French Red Cross at -Royaumont. It was probably on her way back that she went to Paris on -business connected with Royaumont. She went into Notre Dame, and chose -a seat in a part of the cathedral where she could feel alone. She there -had an experience which she afterwards told to Mrs. M‘Laren. As she -sat there she had a strong feeling that some one was behind her. She -resisted the impulse to turn round, thinking it was some one who like -herself wanted to be quiet! The feeling grew so strong at last, that -she involuntarily turned round. There was no one near her, but for the -first time she realised she was sitting in front of a statue of Joan of -Arc. To her it appeared as if the statue was instinct with life. She -added: ‘Wasn’t it curious?’ Then later she said, ‘I would like to know -what Joan was wanting to say to me!’ I often think of the natural way -which she told me of the experience, and the _practical_ conclusion -of wishing to know what Joan wanted. Once again she referred to the -incident, before going to Russia. I see her expression now, just for a -moment forgetting everything else, keen, concentrated, and her humorous -smile, as she said, ‘You know I would like awfully to know what Joan -was trying to say to me.’ - -Elsie Inglis was not the first, nor will she be the last woman who has -found help in the story of the Maid of Orleans, when the causes dear to -the hearts of nations are at stake. It is easy to hear the words that -would pass between these two leaders in the time of their country’s -warfare. The graven figure of Joan was instinct with life, from the -undying love of race and country, which flowed back to her from the -woman who was as ready to dedicate to her country her self-forgetting -devotion, as Jeanne d’Arc had been in her day. Both, in their day and -generation, had heard-- - - ‘The quick alarming drum-- - Saying, Come, - Freemen, come, - Ere your heritage be wasted, said the quick alarming drum.’ - - ‘ABBAYE DE ROYAUMONT, - ‘_Dec. 22, 1914_. - - ‘DEAREST AMY,--Many, many happy Christmases to you, dear, and to - all the others. Everything is splendid here now, and if the General - from headquarters would only come and inspect us, we could begin. - The wards are perfect. I only wish you could see them with their - red bedcovers, and little tables. There are four wards, and we have - called them Blanche of Castille (the woman who really started the - building of this place, the mother of Louis IX., the Founder, as he - is called), Queen Margaret of Scotland, Joan of Arc, and Millicent - Fawcett. Now, don’t you think that is rather nice! The Abbaye itself - is a wonderful place. It has beautiful architecture, and is placed in - delightful woods. One wants to spend hours exploring it, instead of - which we have all been working like galley slaves getting the hospital - in order. The equipment has come out practically all right. There are - no thermometers and no sandbags. I feel they’ll turn up. Yesterday, - I was told there were no tooth-brushes and no nail-brushes, but they - appeared. After all the fuss, you can imagine our feelings when the - “Director,” an official of the French Red Cross, who has to live here - with us, told us French soldiers don’t want tooth-brushes! - - ‘Our first visitors were three French officers, whom we took for the - inspecting general, and treated with grovelling deference, till we - found they knew nothing about it, and were much more interested in the - tapestry in the proprietor’s house than in our instruments. However, - they were very nice, and said we were _bien meublé_. - - ‘Once we had all been on tenterhooks all day about the inspection. - Suddenly, a man poked his head round the door of the doctor’s - sitting-room and said, “The General.” In one flash every doctor was - out of the room and into her bedroom for her uniform coat, and I was - left sitting. I got up, and wandered downstairs, when an excited - orderly dashed past, singing, “Nothing but two British officers!” - Another time we were routed out from breakfast by the cry of “The - General,” but this time it turned out to be a French regiment, whose - officers had been moved by curiosity to come round by here. The - General has not arrived yet. - - ‘We have had to get a new boiler in the kitchen, new taps and - lavatories, and electric light, an absolute necessity in this huge - place, and all the theatre sinks. We certainly are no longer a - _mobile_ hospital, but as we are twelve miles from the point from - which the wounded are distributed (I am getting very discreet about - names since a telegram of mine was censored), we shall probably be as - useful here as anywhere. They even think we may get English Tommies. - - ‘You have no idea of the conditions to which the units came out, and - they have behaved like perfect bricks. The place was like an ice hole: - there were no fires, no hot water, no furniture, not even blankets, - and the equipment did not arrive for five days. They have scrubbed the - whole place out themselves, as if they were born housemaids; put up - the beds, stuffed the mattresses, and done everything. Really, I am - proud of them! They stick at absolutely nothing, and when Madame came, - she said, “What it is to belong to a practical nation!” - - ‘We had a service in the ward on Sunday. We are going to see if they - will let us use the little St. Louis Chapel. There are two other - chapels, one in use, that we hope the soldiers will go to, and a - beautiful chapel the same style of architecture as the chapel at Mont - St. Michel. It is a perfect joy to walk through it to meals. The - village curé has been to tea with us. - - ‘Will you believe it, that General hasn’t arrived _yet_!--Your loving - - ELSIE.’ - -Mr. Seton Watson has permitted his article in the December number of -the _New Europe_ (1917) to be reprinted here. His complete knowledge -of Serbia enables him to describe both the work and Dr. Inglis who -undertook the great task set before her. - - ‘Elsie Inglis was one of the heroic figures of the war, one whose - memory her many friends will cherish with pride and confidence--pride - at having been privileged to work with her, confidence in the race - which breeds such women. This is not the place to tell the full story - of her devotion to many a good cause at home, but the _New Europe_ - owes her a debt of special interest and affection. For in her own - person she stood for that spirit of sympathy and comprehension upon - which intercourse between the nations must be founded, if the ideal of - a New Europe is ever to become a reality. - - ‘Though her lifework had hitherto lain in utterly different fields, - she saw in a flash the needs of a tragic situation; and when war came - offered all her indomitable spirit and tireless energy to a cause - till recently unknown and even frowned upon in our country. Like - the Douglas of old, she flung herself where the battle raged most - fiercely--always claiming and at last obtaining permission to set up - her hospitals where the obstacles were greatest and the dangers most - acute. But absorbed as she was in her noble task of healing, she saw - beyond it the high national ideal that inspired the Serbs to endure - sufferings unexampled even in this war, and became an enthusiastic - convert to the cause of Southern Slav unity. To her, as to all true - Europeans, the principle of nationality is not, indeed, the end of - all human wisdom, but the sure foundation upon which a new and saner - internationalism is to be built, and an inalienable right to which - great and small alike are entitled. Perhaps the fact that she herself - came of a small nation which, like Serbia, has known how to celebrate - its defeats, was not without its share in determining her sympathies. - - ‘The full political meaning of her work has not yet been brought home - to her countrymen, and yet what she has done will live after her. Her - achievement in Serbia itself in 1915 was sufficiently remarkable, but - even that was a mere prelude to her achievement on the Eastern front. - The Serbian Division in Southern Russia, which the Scottish Women’s - Hospitals went out to help, was not Serbian at all in the _ordinary_ - sense of the word. Its proper name is the Jugoslav Division, for - it was composed entirely of volunteers drawn from among the Serbs, - Croats, and Slovenes of Austria-Hungary who had been taken prisoners - by the Russian army. Thousands of these men enrolled themselves on the - side of the Entente and in the service of Serbia, in order to fight - for the realisation of Southern Slav independence and unity under the - national dynasty of Kara George. Beyond the ordinary risks of war - they acted in full knowledge that capture by the enemy would mean the - same fate as Austria meted out to the heroic Italian deputy, Cesare - Battisti; and some of them, left wounded on the battle-field after - a retreat, shot each other to avoid being taken alive. Throughout - the Dobrudja campaign they fought with the most desperate gallantry - against impossible odds, and, owing to inadequate support during the - retreat, their main body was reduced from 15,000 to 4000. Latterly the - other divisions had been withdrawn to recruit at Odessa, after sharing - the defence of the Rumanian southern front. - - ‘To these men in the summer of 1916 Serbia had sent a certain number - of higher officers, but, for equipment and medical help, they were - dependent upon what the Russians could spare from their own almost - unlimited needs. At the worst hour Dr. Inglis and her unit came to the - help of the Jugoslavs, shared their privations and misfortunes, and - spared no effort in their cause. - - ‘History will record the name of Elsie Inglis, like that of Lady - Paget, as pre-eminent among that band of women who have redeemed for - all time the honour of Britain in the Balkans. Among the Serbs it is - already assuming an almost legendary quality. To us it will serve to - remind us that Florence Nightingale will never be without successors - among us. And in particular, every true Scotsman will cherish her - memory, every believer in the cause for which she gave her life will - gain fresh courage from her example. - - R. W. SETON-WATSON. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SERBIA - - ‘Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great - waters, from the hand of strange children.’ - - ‘And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those - days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the - creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.’ - - ‘On either side of the river, was there the tree of life: And the - leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.’ - - -Dr. Inglis remained at home directing the many operations necessary -to ensure the proper equipment of the units, and the difficult task of -getting them conveyed overseas. From the beginning, till her return -with her unit serving with the Serbian army in Russia, she had the -sustaining co-operation both of the Admiralty and the Foreign Office. -In the many complications surrounding the history of the hospitals -with the Allied armies, the Scottish women owed very much to both -Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, and very particularly to Lord -Robert Cecil in his department of the Foreign Office. - -It was not easy to get the scheme of hospitals staffed entirely by -women, serving abroad with armies fighting the common and unscrupulous -foe, accepted by those in authority. The Foreign Office was responsible -for the safety of these British outpost hospitals, and they knew well -the dangers and privations to which the devoted pioneer band of women -would be exposed. They made many stipulations with Dr. Inglis, which -she accepted, and abided by as long as her work was not hindered. No -care or diplomatic work was spared, and if at the end of their service -in Russia the safety of the unit was a matter of grave anxiety to -the Foreign Office, it had never cause to be ashamed of the way this -country’s honour and good faith was upheld by the hospitals under the -British flag, amid the chaotic sufferings of the Russian people. - -In the spring of 1915 Dr. Eleanor Soltau, who was in charge of the -First Serbian Unit, became ill with diphtheria in the midst of the -typhus epidemic which was devastating the Serbian people. The Serbian -Minister writes of that time:-- - - ‘They were the first to go to the help of Serbia when the Austrians, - after they were defeated, besides 60,000 prisoners, also left behind - them epidemics in all the districts which they had invaded. The - Scottish women turned up their sleeves, so to speak, at the railways - station itself, and went straight to typhus and typhoid-stricken - patients, who were pitifully dying in the crowded hospitals.’ - -Colonel Hunter, A.M.S., wrote after her death: ‘It was my privilege -and happiness to see much of her work in Serbia when I was officer in -charge of the corps of R.A.M.C. officers sent out by the W.O. to deal -with the raging epidemic of typhus and famine fevers then devastating -the land. I have never met with any one who gave me so deep an -impression of singlemindedness, gentleheartedness, clear and purposeful -vision, wise judgment, and absolutely fearless disposition.... No more -lovable personality than hers, or more devoted and courageous body of -women, ever set out to help effectively a people in dire distress than -the S.W.H.,’ which she organised and sent out, and afterwards took -personal charge of in Serbia in 1915. Amidst the most trying conditions -she, or they, never faltered in courage or endurance. Under her wise -and gentle leadership difficulties seemed only to stir to further -endeavour, more extended work, and greater endurance of hardship. -Captain Ralph Glyn writes from France:-- - - ‘I see you went to the funeral of that wonderful person, Dr. Elsie - Inglis. I shall never forget arriving where that S.W. unit was in the - midst of the typhus in Serbia, and finding her and all her people so - “clean” and obviously ready for anything.’ - -The Serbian nation lost no time in commemorating her services to them. -At Mladenovatz they built a beautiful fountain close to the camp -hospital. On 7th October 1915 it was formally opened with a religious -service according to the rites of the Greek Church. Dr. Inglis turned -on the water, which was to flow through the coming years in grateful -memory of the good work done by the Scottish Women’s Hospitals. - - IN HONOUR OF DR. ELSIE INGLIS - - (Obiit Nov. 27, 1917.) - - At Mladenovatz still the fountain sings - Raised by the Serbs to you their angel friend, - Who fought the hunger-typhus to its end; - A nobler fountain from your memory springs, - A fountain-head where Faith renews its wings - --Faith in the powers of womanhood to bend - War’s curse to blessing, and to make amend - By Love, for Hate’s unutterable things. - - Wherefore, when cannon-voices cease to roar, - A louder voice shall echo in our ears - --Voice of three peoples joined in one accord, - Telling that, gentle to your brave heart’s core, - You faced unwavering all that woman fears, - And clear of vision followed Christ the Lord. - - [NOTE.--Two years ago the Serbians dedicated a simple fountain in - ‘Mladenovatz’ to the grateful memory of one they spoke of as ‘the - angel of their people.’ The Rumanian and Russian refugees in the - Dobrudja will never forget her.] - - H. D. RAWNSLEY. - -_The Englishwoman_, April and June 1916, has two articles written by -Dr. Inglis, under the title ‘The Tragedy of Serbia.’ The literary power -of her narrative makes one regret that she did not live to give a -consecutive account of all she passed through in the countries in which -she suffered with the peoples:-- - - ‘When we reached Serbia in May 1915, she was lying in sunshine. Two - storms had raged over her during the preceding months--the Austrian - invasion and the terrific typhus epidemic. In our safe little island - we can hardly realise what either meant. At the end of 1914, the - Austrian Empire hurled its “punitive expedition” across the Danube--a - punitive expedition that ended in the condign punishment of the - invader. They left behind them a worse foe than themselves, and the - typhus, which began in the hospitals they left so scandalously filthy - and overcrowded, swept over the land.’ - -Dr. Inglis describes ‘the long peaceful summer,’ with its hopes of -an advance to their aid on the part of the Allies. The Serbs were -conscious the ‘Great Powers’ owed them much, for how often we heard the -words, ‘We are the only one, as yet, who has beaten our enemy.’ - -‘Not till September did any real sense of danger trouble them. Then the -clouds rolled up black and threatening on the horizon--Bulgaria arming, -and a hundred thousand Germans massing on the northern frontier. They -began to draw off the main part of their army from the Danube towards -the east, to meet their old enemies. The Powers refused to let them -attack, and they waited till the Bulgarian mobilisation was complete. -The Allies discounted the attack from the north; aeroplanes had been -out, and “there are no Germans there.” There are no signs whatever of -any military movements, so said the wiseacres. The only troops there -are untrained Austrian levies, which the Serbs ought to be able to deal -with themselves, if they are up to their form last year. - -‘Then the storm broke. The 100,000 Germans appeared on the northern -frontier. The Bulgars invaded from the east, the Greeks did not come -in, and the Austrians poured in from the west. The Serbian army -shortened the enormous line they had to defend, but they could not -stand against the long-distance German guns, and so began the retreat. - -‘“What is coming to Serbia?” said a Serb to me, “we cannot think.” -And then, hopefully, “But God is great and powerful, and our Allies -are great and powerful too.” Strong men could hardly speak of the -disaster without breaking down. They looked at one so eagerly. “When -are your men coming up? They must come soon.” “We must give our people -two months,” the experts among us answered, “to bring up the heavy -artillery. We thought the Serbs would be able to hold the West Morava -Valley.” “It is too hilly for the German artillery to be of any use,” -they said.’ - -Dr. Inglis goes on to relate how all the calculations were wrong, how -the Austrian force came down that very valley. The Serbs were caught -in a trap, and that 160,000 of their gallant little army escaped was -a wonderful feat. ‘That they are already keen to take the field again -is but one more proof of the extraordinary recuperative power of the -nation.’ - -Dr. Elsie gives an account of the typhus epidemic. The first unit -under Dr. Soltau, in 1914, was able at Kragujevatz to do excellent -work for the Serbian army after its victories, and it was only -evacuated owing to the retreat in October 1915. The unit had only -been a fortnight out when the committee got from it a telegram, ‘dire -necessity’ for more doctors and nurses. The word _dire_ was used, -hoping it would pass unnoticed by the censor, for the authorities did -not wish the state of Serbia from typhus to be generally known. We -shall never know what the death-rate was during the epidemic; but of -the 425 Serbian doctors, 125 died of the disease, and two-thirds of the -remainder had it. - -The Scottish Committee hastened out supplies and staff. - - ‘For three months the epidemic raged, and all women may ever be proud - of the way those women worked. It was like a long-drawn-out battle, - and not one of them played the coward. Not one of them asked to come - away. There were three deaths and nine cases of illness among the - unit; and may we not truly claim that those three women who died gave - their lives for the great cause for which our country stands to-day as - much as any man in the trenches.’ - -Dr. Inglis speaks of the full share of work taken by other British -units--Lady Paget’s Hospital at Skopio, ‘magnificently organised’; The -Red Cross under Dr. Banks ‘took more than its share of the burden’; and -how Dr. Ryan of the American hospital asserted that Serbia would have -been wiped out but for the work of the Foreign Missions. - -Miss Holme tells of some of her experiences with her leader:-- - - ‘KRAGUJEVATZ. - - ‘One day, Dr. Elsie Inglis took me out shopping with her, and we - wanted a great many things for our hospital in the way of drugs, etc., - and we also wanted more than anything else some medical scales for - weighing drugs. While we were in the shop Dr. Inglis saw hanging up - in it three pairs of these scales. So she asked the man, in her most - persuasive manner, if he would sell her a pair of these scales for our - hospital use. He explained at length that he used all the scales, and - was sorry that he could not possibly sell them. So Dr. Inglis bought - some more things--in fact, we stayed in the shop for about an hour - buying things to the amount of £10, and between each of the different - articles purchased, she would again revert to the scales and say, - “You know it is for _your_ men that we want them,” until at last the - man--exhausted by his refusals--took down the scales and presented - them to her. When she asked “How much are they?” he made a bow, and - said it would be a pleasure to give them to her. - - ‘When we were taken prisoners, and had been so for some time, and - before we were liberated, the German Command came bringing a paper - which they commanded Dr. Inglis to sign. The purport of the paper was - a statement which declared that the British prisoners had been well - treated in the hands of the Germans, and was already signed by two men - who were heads of other British units. Dr. Inglis said, “Why should - I sign this paper? I do not know if all the prisoners are being well - treated by you, therefore I decline to sign it.” To which the German - authorities replied, “You must sign it.” Dr. Inglis then said, “Well, - make me,” and that was the end of that incident--she never did sign it. - - ‘So convinced were some of the people belonging to the Scottish - Women’s unit that the British forces were coming to the aid of their - Serbian ally, that long after they were taken prisoners they thought, - each time they heard a gun from a different quarter, that their - liberators were close at hand. So much so indeed, that three of the - members of the unit begged that in the event of the unit being sent - home they might be allowed to stay behind in Serbia with the Serbs, - to help the Serbian Red Cross. Dr. Inglis _unofficially_ consented to - this, and with the help of the Serbian Red Cross these three people in - question adjourned to a village hard by which was about a mile from - the hospital, three days before the unit had orders to move. No one - except Dr. Inglis and three other people of the unit knew where these - three members were living. However, the date of the departure was - changed, and the unit was told they were to wait another twenty days. - This made it impossible for these three people to appear again with - the unit. They continued to live at the little house which sheltered - them. Suddenly one afternoon one of the members of the unit went to - ask at the German Command if there were any letters for the unit. At - this interview, which took place about three o’clock in the afternoon, - the person was informed that the whole unit was to leave that night - at 7.30. Dr. Inglis sent the person who received this command to tell - the three people in the cottage to get ready, and that they must go, - she thought. But the messenger only said, “We have had orders that the - unit is to go at 7.30 to-night,” but did not say that Dr. Inglis had - sent an order for the three people to get ready, so they did nothing - but simply went to bed at ten o’clock, thinking the unit had already - started. It was a wintry night, snowing heavily, and not a night that - one would have sent out a dog! - - ‘At about half-past ten a knock came to the window, and Dr. Inglis’ - voice was heard saying, “You have to come at once to the train. I - am here with an armed guard!” (All the rest of the unit had been at - the station for some hours, but the train was not allowed to start - until every one was there.) So Dr. Inglis came herself for us. It was - difficult to get her to enter the house, and naturally she seemed - rather ruffled, having had to come more than a mile in the deep snow, - as she was the only person who knew anything about us. One of the - party said, “Are you really cross, or are you pretending because the - armed guard understands English?” She gave her queer little smile, and - said, “No, I am not pretending.” The whole party tramped through the - snow to the station, and on the way she told them she was afraid that - she had smashed somebody’s window, having knocked at another cottage - before she found ours in the dark, thinking it was the one we lived - in, for which she was very much chaffed by her companions, who knew - well her views on the question of militant tactics! - - ‘The first stages of this journey were made in horse-boxes with no - accommodation whatsoever. Occasionally the train drew up in the middle - of the country, and anybody who wished to get out had simply to ask - the sentry who guarded the door, to allow them to get out for a moment. - - ‘The next night was spent lying on the floor of the station at - Belgrade, the eight sentries and all their charges all lying on the - floor together; the only person who seemed to be awake was the officer - who guarded the door himself all night. In the morning one was not - allowed to go even to wash one’s hands without a sentry to come and - stand at the door. The next two days were spent in an ordinary train - rather too well heated with four a side in second-class compartments. - At Vienna all the British units who were being sent away were formed - into a group on the station at 6 A.M., where they awaited the arrival - of the American Consul, guarded all the time by their sentries, who - gave his parole that if the people were allowed to go out of the - station they would return at eight o’clock, the time they had to leave - that town. This was granted. Dr. Inglis with a party adjourned to a - hotel where baths, etc., were provided. Other members were allowed to - do what they liked. - - ‘The unit was detained for eight days at Bludenz, close to the - frontier, for Switzerland. On their arrival at Zürich they were met - by the British Consul-General, Vice-Consul, and many members of the - British Colony, who gave Dr. Inglis and her unit a very warm-hearted - welcome, bringing quantities of flowers, and doing all they could to - show them kindness and pleasure at their safe arrival. - - ‘It is difficult for people who have never been prisoners to know what - the first day’s freedom means. Everybody had a different expression, - and seemed to have a different outlook on life. But already we could - see our leader was engrossed with plans and busy with schemes for the - future work of the unit. - - ‘The next day the Consul-General made a speech in which he told the - unit all that had passed during the last four months, of which they - knew nothing.’ - -_To her Sister._ - - ‘BRINDISI, _en route_ for SERBIA, - ‘_April 28, 1915_. - - ‘The boat ought to have left last night, but it did not even come in - till this morning. However, we have only lost twenty-four hours. - - ‘It has been a most luxurious journey, except the bit from Naples - here, and that was rather awful, with spitting men and shut windows, - in first-class carriages, remember. When we got here we immediately - ordered baths, but “the boiler was broken.” So, I said, “Well, then, - we must go somewhere else”--with the result that we were promised - baths in our rooms at once. That was a nice bath, and then I curled - up on the sofa and went to sleep. Our windows look right on to the - docks, and the blue Mediterranean beyond. It is so queer to see the - red, white, and green flags, and to think they mean Italy, and not the - N.U.W.S.S.! - - ‘I went out before dinner last night, and strolled through the quaint - streets. The whole population was out, and most whole-hearted and - openly interested in my uniform. - - ‘This is a most delightful window, with all the ships and the colours. - There are three men-of-war in, and half a dozen of the quaintest - little boats, which a soldier told me were “scouts.” I wished I had - asked a sailor, for I had never heard of “scouts.” The soldier I asked - is one of the bersaglieri with cock’s feathers, a huge mass of them, - in his hat. They all say Italy is certainly coming into the war. One - man on the train to Rome was coming from Cardiff to sell coal to the - Italian Government. He told us weird stories about German tricks to - get our coal through Spain and other countries. - - ‘It was a pleasure seeing Royaumont. It is a _huge_ success, and I do - think Dr. Ivens deserves a lot of credit. The wards and the theatre, - and the X-Ray department, and the rooms for mending and cleaning the - men’s clothes were all perfect.’ - -_To Mrs. Simson._ - - ‘S.W.H., KRAGUJEVATZ, - _May 30/15_. - - ‘Well, this is a perfectly lovely place, and the Serbians are - delightful. I am staying with a charming woman, Madame Milanovitz. She - is a Vice-President of the Serbian Women’s League, formed to help the - country in time of war. I think she wanted to help us because of all - the hospital has done here. Any how, _I_ score--I have a beautiful - room and everything. She gives me an early cup of coffee, and for the - rest I live with the unit. Neither she nor I can speak six words of - one another’s languages, but her husband can talk a little French. - Now, she has asked the little Serbian lady who teaches the unit - Serbian, to live with her to interpret. Anyhow, we are great friends! - - ‘We have had a busy time since we arrived. The unit is nursing 550 - beds, in three hospitals, having been sent out to nurse 300 beds. - There is first the surgical hospital, called Reserve No. 3. It was a - school, and is in two blocks with a long courtyard between. I think - we have got it really quite well equipped, with a fine X-Ray room. - The theatre, and the room opposite where the dressings are done, both - very well arranged, and a great credit to Sister Bozket. The one thing - that troubled me was the floor--old wood and holes in it, impossible - to sterilise--but yesterday, Major Protitch, our Director, said he was - going to get cement laid down in it and the theatre. Then it will be - perfect. He said to Dr. Chesney, “This is the best surgical hospital - in Serbia.” You must not believe that _quite_, for they are very good - at saying pleasant things here! - - ‘There are two other hospitals, the typhus one, No. 6 Reserve, and - one for relapsing fever and general diseases, No. 7 Reserve, both - barracks. We have put most of our strength in No. 6, and it is in - good working order, but No. 7 has had only one doctor, and two day - Sisters and one night, for over 200 beds. Still it is wonderful what - those three women have done. We have Austrian prisoners as orderlies - everywhere, in the hospitals and in the houses. The conglomeration of - languages is too funny for words--Serbian, German, French, English. - Sometimes, you have to get an orderly to translate Serbian into - German, and another to translate the German into French before you can - get at what is wanted. Two words we have all learnt, _dotra_, which - means “good,” and which these grateful people use at once if they - feel a little better, or are pleased about anything, and the other is - _boli_, pain--poor men! - - ‘So much for what we _have_ been doing; but the day before - yesterday we got our orders for a new bit of work. They are forming a - disinfecting centre at Mladanovatz, and Colonel Grustitch, who is the - head of the Medical Service here, wants us to go up there at once, - with our whole fever staff, under canvas. They are giving us the tents - till ours come out. Typhus is decreasing so much, that No. 6 is to be - turned into a surgical hospital, and there will be only one infectious - diseases hospital here. I am so pleased at being asked to do this, - for it is part of a big and well thought out scheme. The surgical - hospital is to remain here. Alice Hutchison goes to Posheravatz also - for infectious diseases. I hope she is at Salonika to-day. She left - Malta last Sunday. We really began to think the Governor was going to - keep her altogether! Her equipment has all come, and yesterday I sent - Mrs. Haverfield and Mr. Smith up to Posheravatz to choose the site and - pitch the tent. - - ‘They gave me an awfully exciting bit of news in Colonel G.’s office - yesterday, and that was that five motor cars were in Serbia, north of - Mladanovatz, for _me_. Of course, I had wired for six, but you have - been prompt about them. How they got into the north of Serbia I cannot - imagine, unless they were dropped out of aeroplanes. - - ‘Really, it is wonderful the work this unit has done in the most awful - stress all through March and April. We ought to be awfully proud of - them. The Serbian Government gave Dr. Soltau a decoration, and Patsy - Hunter had two medals. - -_To her Niece, Amy M‘Laren._ - - ‘VALJEVO, _August 16, 1915_. - - ‘DARLING AMY,--I wonder if you could find this place on the map. - I have spelt it properly, but if you want to say it you must say - _Valuvo_. One of the hospitals mother has been collecting so much - money for is here. Such a beautiful hospital it is. It is in tents, - on a bit of sloping ground looking south. There are big tents for - the patients, and little tents for the staff. I pull my bed out - of the tent every night, and sleep outside under the stars. Such - lovely starlight nights we have here. Dr. Alice Hutchison is head of - this unit, and I am here on a visit to her. My own hospital is in - a town--Kragujevatz. Now, I wonder if you can find that place? The - hospital there is in a girls’ school. Now--I wonder what will happen - to the lessons of all those little girls as long as the war lasts? - Serbia has been at war for three years, four wars in three years, and - the women of the country have kept the agriculture of the country - going all that time. A Serbian officer told me the other day that - the country is so grateful to them, that they are going to strike a - special medal for the women to show their thanks, when this war is - over. This is such a beautiful country, and such nice people. Some day - when the war is over, we’ll come here, and have a holiday. How are you - getting on, my precious? Is school as nice as ever? God bless you, - dear little girlie.--Ever your loving Aunt - - ELSIE.’ - -As the fever died out, a worse enemy came in. Serbia was overrun by -the Austro-German forces, and she, with others of her units, was taken -prisoner, as they had decided it was their duty to remain at their work -among the sick and wounded. - -Again the Serbian Minister is quoted:-- - - ‘When the typhus calamity was overcome, the Scottish women reorganised - themselves as tent hospitals and offered to go as near as possible - to the army at the front. Their camp in the town of Valjevo--which - suffered most of all from the Austrian invasion--might have stood - in the middle of England. In Lazarevatz, shortly before the new - Austro-German offensive, they formed a surgical hospital almost out - of nothing, in the devastated shops and the village inns, and they - accomplished the nursing of hundreds of wounded who poured in from - the battle-field. When it became obvious that the Serbian army could - not resist the combined Austrians, Germans, Magyars, and Bulgarians, - who were about four times their numbers, the main care of the Serbian - military authorities was what to do with the hospitals full of - wounded, and whom to leave with the wounded soldiers, who refused to - be left to fall into the hands of the cruel enemy. Then the Scottish - women declared that they were not going to leave their patients, and - that they would stay with them, whatever the conditions, and whatever - might be expected from the enemy. They remained with the Serbian - wounded as long as they could be of use to them. - -_To Mrs. Simson._ - - ‘KRUSHIEEVATZ, _Nov. 6, 1915_. - - ‘We are in the very centre of the storm, and it just feels exactly - like having the rain pouring down, and the wind beating in gusts, and - not being able to see for the water in one’s eyes, and just holding on - and saying, “It cannot last, it is so bad.” These poor little people, - you cannot imagine anything more miserable than they are. Remember, - they have been fighting for years for their independence, and now it - all seems to end. The whole country is overrun. Germans, Austrians, - Bulgars, and all that is left is this western Morava Valley, and - the country a little south of it. And their big Allies--from here - it looks as if they are never going to move. I went into Craijuvo - yesterday, in the car, to see about Dr. MacGregor’s unit. The road - was crowded with refugees pouring away, all their goods piled on - their rickety ox-wagons, little children on the top, and then bands - of soldiers, stragglers from the army. These men were forming up - again, as we passed back later on. The hospitals are packed with - wounded. We decided we must stand by our hospitals; it was too awful - leaving badly wounded men with no proper care. Sir Ralph eventually - agreed, and we gave everybody in the units the choice of going or - staying. We have about 115 people in the Scottish unit, and twenty - have gone. Mr. Smith brings up the rear-guard to-day, with one or two - laggards and a wounded English soldier we have had charge of. Two of - our units are here. Dr. MacGregor has trekked for Novi Bazaar. It is - the starting-place for Montenegro. We all managed wonderfully in our - first “evacuations,” and saved practically everything, but now it is - hopeless. The bridges are down, and the trucks standing anyhow on - sidings, and, worst of all, the people have begun looting. I don’t - wonder. There’ll be famine, as well as cold, in this corner of the - world soon, and then the distant prospect of 150,000 British troops at - Salonika won’t help much. - - ‘The beloved British troops,--the thought of them always cheers. But - not the thought of the idiots at the top who had not enough gumption - to _know_ this must happen. Anybody, even us women, could have told - them that the Germans must try and break through to the help of the - Turks. - - ‘We have got a nice building here for a hospital, and Dr. Holloway - is helping in the military hospital. I believe there are about 1000 - wounded in the place. I can’t write a very interesting letter, Amy - dear, because at the bottom of my heart I don’t believe it will ever - reach you. I don’t see them managing the Montenegrin passes at this - time of year! There is a persistent rumour that the French have - retaken Skopiro, and if that is true perhaps the Salonika route will - be open soon. - - ‘Some day, I’ll tell you all the exciting things that have been - happening, and all the funny things too! For there have been funny - things, in the middle of all the sadness. The guns are booming away, - and the country looking so lovely in the sunlight. I wonder if Serbia - is a particularly beautiful country, or whether it looks so lovely - because of the tragedy of this war, just as bed seems particularly - delightful when the night bell goes!’ - - ‘SERBIAN MILITARY HOSPITAL, - ‘KRUSHIEEVATZ, _Nov. 30, 1915_. - - ‘We have been here about a month. It was dreadfully sad work leaving - our beautiful little hospital at Krushieevatz. Here, we are working in - the Serbian military hospital, and living in it also. You can imagine - that we have plenty to do, when you hear we have 900 wounded. The - prisoners are brought in every day, sometimes thousands, and go on to - the north, leaving the sick. The Director has put the sanitation and - the laundry into our hands also. - - ‘We have had a hard frost for four days now, and snowstorms. My - warm things did not arrive--I suppose they are safe at Salonika. - Fortunately last year’s uniform was still in existence, and I wear - three pairs of stockings, with my high boots. We have all cut our - skirts short, for Serbian mud is awful. It is a lovely land, and the - views round here are very cheering. One sunset I shall never forget--a - glorious sky, and the hills deep blue against it. In the foreground - the camp fires, and the prisoners round them in the fading light.’ - -With the invasion came the question of evacuation. At one time it was -possible the whole of the British unit might escape _via_ Montenegro. -Sir Ralph Paget, realising that the equipment could not be saved, -allowed any of the hospital unit who wished to remain with their -wounded. Two parties went with the retreating Serbs, and their story -and the extraordinary hardships they endured has been told elsewhere. - -Those left at Krushieevatz were in Dr. Inglis’ opinion the fortunate -units. For three months they tended the Serbian wounded under foreign -occupation. The unit with Dr. Inglis kept to their work, and when -necessary confronted the Austro-German officers with all the audacity -of their leader and the Scottish thistle combined. - -Their hospital accommodation was designed for 400 beds. When we went up -there were 900 patients. During the greatest part of the pressure the -number rose to 1200. Patients were placed in the corridors--at first -one man to one bed, but later two beds together, and three men in them. -Then there were no more bedsteads, and mattresses were placed on the -floor. We filled up the outhouses. The magazine in full blast was a -sight, once seen, never to be forgotten. - -Upstairs the patients occupied the shelving. There were three tiers, -the slightly wounded men in the highest tier. The magazine was under -Dr. Holloway, and Dr. Inglis says the time to see the place at its -best or its worst was in the gloaming, when two or three feeble oil -lamps illuminated the gloom, and the tin bowls clattered and rattled as -the evening ration of beans was given out, and the men swarmed up and -down the poles of their shelves chattering as Serbs will chatter. The -Sisters called the place ‘the Zoo.’ - -The dread of the renewal of the typhus scourge, amid such conditions -of overcrowding, underfeeding, fatigue and depression, was great. Dr. -Inglis details the appalling tasks the unit undertook in sanitation. -There was no expert amongst them:-- - - ‘When we arrived, the hospital compound was a truly terrible - place--the sights and smells beyond description. We dug the rubbish - into the ground, emptied the overflowing cesspool, built incinerators, - and cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned. That is an Englishman’s job all - over the world. Our three untrained English girl orderlies took to it - like ducks to water. It was not the pleasantest or easiest work in the - world; but they did it, and did it magnificently. - - ‘Laundry and bathing arrangements were installed and kept going. We - had not a single case of typhus; we had a greater achievement than - its prevention. Late of an evening, when men among the prisoners were - put into the wards, straight from the march, unwashed and crawling - with lice, there was great indignation among the patients already in. - “Doktoritza,” they said, “if you put these dirty men in among us we - shall all get typhus.” Our hearts rejoiced. If we have done nothing - else, we thought, we have driven that fact home to the Serbian mind - that dirt and typhus go together.’ - -Dr. Inglis describes the misery of the Serbian prisoners:-- - - ‘They had seen men go out to battle, conscious of the good work they - had done for the Allies in driving back the Austrians in their first - punitive expedition. We are the only ones who, so far, have beaten - our enemy. They came back to us broken and dispirited. They were - turned into the hospital grounds, with a scanty ration of beans, with - a little meat and half a loaf of bread for twenty-four hours. Their - camp fires flickered fitfully through the long bitter cold nights. - Every scrap of wood was torn up, the foot bridges over the drains, and - the trees hacked down for firewood. We added to the rations of our - sanitary workers, we gave away all the bread we could, but we could - not feed that enclosure of hungry men. We used to hear them coughing - and moaning all night.’ - -Dr. Inglis details the starving condition of the whole country, the -weakness of the famine-stricken men who worked for them, the starved -yoke oxen, and all the manifold miseries of a country overrun by the -enemy. - - ‘There was,’ she says, ‘a curious exhilaration in working for those - grateful patient men, and in helping the director, Major Nicolitch, so - loyal to his country and so conscientious in his work, to bring order - out of chaos, and yet the unhappiness in the Serbian houses, and the - physical wretchedness of those cold hungry prisoners lay always like - a dead weight on our spirit. Never shall we forget the beauty of the - sunrises, or the glory of the sunsets, with clear, cold sunlit days - between, and the wonderful starlit nights. But we shall never forget - “the Zoo” either, or the groans outside the windows when we hid our - heads under the blankets to shut out the sound. The unit got no news, - and they made it a point of honour to believe nothing said in the - German telegrams. We could not believe Serbia had been sacrificed for - nothing. We were convinced it was some deep laid scheme for weakening - other fronts, and so it was natural to believe rumours, such as that - the English had taken Belgium, and the French were in Metz. - - ‘The end of the five months of service in captivity, and to captive - Serbs ended. On the 11th February 1916, they were sent north under an - Austrian guard with fixed bayonets, thus to Vienna, and so by slow - stages they came to Zürich. - - ‘It was a great thing to be once more “home” and to realise how strong - and straight and fearless a people inhabit these islands: to realise - not so much that they mean to win the war, but rather that they - consider any other issue impossible.’ - -So Dr. Inglis came back to plan new campaigns for the help of the -Serbian people, who lay night and day upon her heart. She knew she had -the backing of the Suffrage societies, and she intended to get the -ear of the English public for the cause of the Allies in the Balkans. -‘We,’ who had sent her out, found her changed in many ways. Physically -she had altered much, and if we could ever have thought of the body -in the presence of that dauntless spirit, we might have seen that the -Angel of Shadows was not far away. The privations and sufferings she -described so well when she had to speak of her beloved Serbs had been -fully shared by the unit. Their comfort was always her thought; she -never would have anything that could not be shared and shared alike, -but there was little but hardship to share, and one and all scorned to -speak of privations which were a light affliction compared to those -of a whole nation groaning and waiting to be redeemed from its great -tribulation. - -There was a look in her face of one whose spirit had been pierced by -the sword. The brightness of her eyes was dimmed, for she had seen the -days when His judgments were abroad upon the earth:-- - - ‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; - He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are - stored; - He has loosed the fatal lightning of His terrible swift sword: - I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps; - They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; - I have read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps.’ - -She could never forget the tragedy of Serbia, and she came home, not -to rest, but vowed to yet greater endeavours for their welfare. The -attitude of the Allies she did not pretend to understand. She had -something of the spirit of Oliver Cromwell, when he threatened to -send his fleet across the Alps to help the Waldensians. In her public -speeches, when she set forth what in her outlook could have been done, -no censor cut out the sentences which were touched by the live coals -from off her altar of service. Dr. Elsie never recognised the word -‘impossible’ for herself, and for her work that was well. As to her -political and military outlook, the story of the nations will find it a -place in the history of the war. - -For a few months she worked from the bases of her two loyal -Committees in London and Edinburgh. She spoke at many a public meeting, -and filled many a drawing-room. The Church of Scotland knew her -presence in London. ‘One of our most treasured memories will be that -keen, clever face of hers in St. Columba’s of a Sunday--with the far, -wistful melancholy in it, added to its firm determination.’ So writes -the minister. ‘We’ knew what lay behind the wistful brave eyes, a yet -more complete dedication to the service of her Serbian brethren. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -RUSSIA - -1917 - - ‘Even so in our mortal journey, - The bitter north winds blow, - And thus upon life’s red river, - Our hearts as oarsmen row. - - And when the Angel of Shadow - Rests his feet on wave and shore, - And our eyes grow dim with watching, - And our hearts faint at the oar, - - Happy is he who heareth - The signal of his release - In the bells of the holy city - The chimes of eternal peace.’ - - -Dr. Inglis’ return to England was the signal for renewed efforts -on the part of the Committees managing the S.W.H. This memoir has -necessarily to follow the personality of the leader, but it must never -be forgotten that her strength and all her sinews of war lay in the -work of those who carried on at home, week by week. Strong committees -of women, ably organised and thoroughly staffed, took over the burden -of finance--a matter Dr. Inglis once amusingly said, ‘did not interest -her.’ They found and selected the _personnel_ on which success so much -depended, they contracted for and supervised the sending out of immense -consignments of equipment and motor transport. They dealt with the -Government department, and in loyal devotion smoothed every possible -obstacle out of the path of those flying squadrons, the units of the -S.W.H. - -It was inevitable the quick brain and tenacious energy of Dr. Inglis, -far away from the base of her operations, should at times have found -it hard to understand why the wheels occasionally seemed to drag, and -the new effort she desired to make did not move at the pace which to -her eager spirit seemed possible. Two enterprises filled her mind on -her return in 1916. One, by the help of the London Committee, she put -through. This was the celebration of Kossovo Day in Great Britain. -The flag-day of the Serbian Patriot King was under her chairmanship -prepared for in six weeks. Hundreds of lectures on the history of -Serbia were arranged for and delivered throughout the country, and no -one failed to do her work, however remote they might think the prospect -of making the British people interested in a country and patriot so far -from the ken of their island isolation. - -Kossovo Day was a success, and through the rush of the work Dr. Inglis -was planning the last and most arduous of all the undertakings of the -S.W.H., that of the unit which was to serve with the Serbian Volunteers -on the Rumanian Russian front. Dr. Inglis knew from private sources the -lack of hospital arrangements in Mesopotamia, and she, with the backing -of the Committees, had approached the authorities for leave to take a -fully equipped unit to Basra. When the story of the Scottish Women’s -Hospital is written, the correspondence between the War Office, the -Foreign Office, and S.W.H. will throw a tragic light on this lamentable -episode, and, read with the report of the Committees, it will prove how -quick and foreseeing of trouble was her outlook. As soon as Dr. Inglis -brought her units back from Serbia, she again urged the War Office to -send her out. Of her treatment by the War Office, Mrs. Fawcett writes: -‘She was not only refused, but refused with contumely and insult.’ - -True to her instinct never to pause over a set-back, she lost no time -in pressing on her last enterprise for the Serbians. M. Curcin, in _The -Englishwoman_, says:-- - - ‘She was already acquainted with one side of the Serbian - problem--Serbia; she was told that in Russia there was the best - opportunity to learn about the second half--the Serbs of Austria, the - Jugoslavs. In six weeks Dr. Inglis succeeded in raising a hospital - unit and transport section staffed by eighty women heroes of the - Scottish Women’s Hospitals to start with her on a most adventurous - undertaking, _via_ Archangel, through Russia to Odessa and the - Dobrudja. Dr. Inglis succeeded also--most difficult of all--in - getting permission from the British authorities for the journey. - Eye-witnesses--officers and soldiers--tell everybody to-day how those - women descended, practically straight from the railway carriages, - after forty days’ travelling, beside the stretchers with wounded, - and helped to dress the wounds of those who had had to defend the - centre and also a wing of the retreating army. For fifteen months she - remained with those men, whose _rôle_ is not yet fully realised, but - is certain to become one of the most wonderful and characteristic - facts of the conflagration of nations.’ - -The Edinburgh Committee had already so many undertakings on behalf of -the S.W.H. that they gladly allowed the Committee formed by the London -Branch of the N.U.W.S.S. to undertake the whole work of organising this -last adventure for the Serbian Army. It was as their Commissioner that -Dr. Inglis and her unit sailed the wintry main, and to them she sent -the voluminous and brilliant reports of her work. When the Russian -revolution imperilled the safety of the Serbian Army on the Rumanian -front, she sent home members of her unit, charged with important -verbal messages to her Government. Through the last anxious month, -when communications were cut off, short messages, unmistakably her -own, came back to the London Committee, that they might order her to -return. She would come with the Serbian Army and not without them. We -at home had to rest on the assurances of the Foreign Office, always -alive to the care and encouragement of the S.W.H., that Dr. Inglis and -her unit were safe, and that their return would be expedited at the -safest hour. In those assurances we learnt to rest, and the British -Government did not fail that allied force--the Serbian Army and the -Scottish women serving them. The following letters were those written -to her family with notes from her graphic report to her Committees. The -clear style and beautiful handwriting never changed even in those last -days, when those who were with her knew that nothing but the spirit -kept the wasted body at its work. ‘The Serbian Division is superb; we -are proud to be attached to it.’ These were the last words in her last -letter from Odessa in June 1917. That pride of service runs through -all the correspondence. The spirit she inspired is noteworthy in a -book which covers the greater part of these fifteen months, _With the -Scottish Nurses in Rumania_, by Yvonne Fitzroy. In a daily diary a -searchlight is allowed to fall on some of the experiences borne with -such high-hearted nonchalance by the leader and her gallant disciples. - -Mrs. Haverfield, who saw her work, writes: - - ‘It was perfectly incredible that one human being could do the work - she accomplished. Her record piece of work perhaps was at Galatz, - Rumania, at the end of the retreat. There were masses and masses of - wounded, and she and her doctors and nurses performed operations and - dressings for fifty-eight hours out of sixty-three. Dr. Scott, of the - armoured cars, noted the time, and when he told her how long she had - been working, she simply said, “Well, it was all due to Mrs. Milne, - the cook, who kept us supplied with hot soup.” She had been very - tired for a long time; undoubtedly the lack of food, the necessity of - sleeping on the floor, and nursing her patients all the time told on - her health. In Russia she was getting gradually more tired until she - became ill. When she was the least bit better she was up again, and - all the time she attended to the business of the unit. - - ‘Just before getting home she had a relapse, and the last two or - three days on board ship, we know now, she was dying. She made all the - arrangements for the unit which she brought with her, however, and - interviewed every member of it. To Miss Onslow, her transport officer, - she said, when she arrived at Newcastle, “I shall be up in London in a - few days’ time, and we will talk the matter of a new unit over.” Miss - Onslow turned away with tears in her eyes.’ - - ‘H.M. TRANSPORT ----, - ‘_Sep. 6, 1916_. - - ‘DEAREST AMY,--Here we are more than half way through our voyage. We - got off eventually on Wednesday night, and lay all Thursday in the - river. You never in your life saw such a filthy boat as this was when - we came on board. The captain had been taken off an American liner the - day before. The only officer who had been on this boat before was the - engineer officer. All the rest were new. The crew were drunk to a man, - and, as the Transport officer said, “The only way to get this ship - right, is to get her _out_.” So we got out. I must say we got into - shape very quickly. We cleaned up, and now we are painting. They won’t - know her when she gets back. She is an Austrian Lloyd captured at the - beginning of the war, and she has been trooping in the Mediterranean - since. She was up at Glasgow for this new start, but she struck the - Glasgow Fair, and could therefore get nothing done, so she was brought - down to the port we started from--as she was. We are a wonderful - people! The captain seems to be an awfully good man. He is Scotch, - and was on the Anchor Line to Bombay. This is quite a tiny little - boat. She has all our equipment, fourteen of our cars. For passengers, - there are ourselves, seventy-five people, and three Serbian officers, - and the mother and sister of one of them, and thirty-two Serbian - non-commissioned officers. They are going to our Division. - - ‘The cabins are most comfortable. On the saloon deck there are - twenty-two very small, single cabins. And on this deck larger cabins - with either three or four berths. I am on this deck in the most - luxurious quarters. It is called _The Commanding Officer’s Cabin_ - (ahem). There is a huge cabin with one berth; off it on one side - another cabin with a writing-table and sofa, and off it on the other - side a bathroom and dressing-room! Of course, if we had had rough - weather, and the ports had had to be closed, it would not have been so - nice, especially as the glass in all the portholes is blackened, but - we have had perfectly glorious weather. At night every porthole and - window is closed to shut in the light, but the whole ship is very well - ventilated. A good many of them sleep up in the boats, or in one of - the lorries. - - ‘We sighted one submarine, but it took no notice of us, so we took - no notice of it. We had all our boats allotted to us the very first - day. We divided the unit among them, putting one responsible person - in charge of each, and had boat drill several times. Then one day the - captain sounded the alarm for practice, and everybody was at their - station in three minutes in greatcoat and life-belt. The amusing - thing was that some of them thought it was a real alarm, and were - most annoyed and disappointed to find there was not a submarine - really there! The unit as a whole seems very nice and capable, though - there are one or two queer characters! But most of them are healthy, - wholesome bricks of girls. I hope we shall get on all right. Of course - a field hospital is quite a new bit of work. - - ‘We reach our port of disembarkation this afternoon. The voyage - has been a most pleasant one in every way. As soon as sea-sickness - was over the unit developed a tremendous amount of energy, and we - have had games on deck, and concerts, and sports, and a fancy dress - competition! All this in addition to drill every morning, which was - compulsory. - - ‘We began the day at 8.30--breakfast, the cabins were tidied. - 9.30--roll call and cabin inspection immediately after; then - drill--ordinary drill, stretcher drill, and Swedish drill in sections. - Lunch was at 12.30, and then there were lessons in Russian, Serbian, - and French, to which they could go if they liked, and most of them - took one, or even two, and lectures on motor construction, etc. Tea at - 4, and dinner 6.30. You would have thought there was not much time for - anything else, but the superfluous energy of a British unit manages - to put a good deal more in. (The head of a British unit in Serbia - once said to me that the chief duty of the head of a British unit was - to use up the superfluous energy of the unit in harmless ways. He - said that the only time there was no superfluous energy was when the - unit was overworking. That was the time I found that particular unit - playing rounders!) The sports were most amusing. I was standing next - to a Serb officer during the obstacle race, and he suddenly turned to - me and said, “C’est tout-à-fait nouveau pour nous, Madame.” I thought - it must be, for at that moment they were getting under a sail which - had been tied down to the deck--two of them hurled themselves on the - sail and dived under it, you saw four legs kicking wildly, and then - the sail heaved and fell, and two dishevelled creatures emerged at the - other side, and tore at two life-belts which they went through, and so - on. I should think it was indeed _tout-à-fait nouveau_. Some of the - dresses at the fancy dress competition were most clever. There was - Napoleon--the last phase, in the captain’s long coat and somebody’s - epaulettes, and one of our grey hats, side to the front, excellent; - and Tweedledum and Tweedledee, in saucepans and life-belts. One of - them got herself up as a “greaser,” and went down to the engine-room - to get properly dirty, with such successful result that, when she was - coming up to the saloon, with her little oiling can in her hand, one - of the officers stopped her with, “Now, where are you going to, my - lad?” - - ‘We ended up with all the allied National Anthems, the Serbs leading - their own. - - ‘I do love to see them enjoying themselves, and to hear them - chattering and laughing along the passages, for they’ll have plenty - of hard work later. We had service on Sunday, which I took, as - the captain could not come down. Could you get us some copies of - the Archbishop of Canterbury’s war prayers? We have just had our - photograph taken. The captain declares he was snap-shotted six times - one morning. I don’t know if the Russian Government will let us take - all these cameras with us. We are flying the Union Jack for the first - time to-day since we came out. It is good to know you are all thinking - of us.--Ever your loving sister, - - ELSIE MAUD INGLIS.’ - - ‘ON THE TRAIN TO MOSCOW, - ‘_Sep. 14, 1916_. - - ‘DEAREST AMY,--Here we are well on our way to Moscow, having got - through Archangel in 2½ days--a feat, for we were told at home that it - might be six weeks. They did not know that there is a party of our - naval men there helping the Russians, and Archangel is magnificently - organised now. - - ‘When one realises that the population was 5000 before the war, - and is now 20,000, it is quite clear there was bound to be some - disorganisation at first. - - ‘I never met a kinder set of people than are collected at Archangel - just now. They simply did everything for us, and sent us off in a - train with a berth for each person, and gave us a wonderful send off. - The Russian Admiral gave us a letter which acts as a kind of magic - ring whenever it is produced. The first time it was really quite - startling. We were longing for Nyamdonia where we were to get dinner. - We were told we should be there at four o’clock, then at five, and - at six o’clock we pulled up at a place unknown, and rumours began - to spread that our engine was off, and sure enough it was, and was - shunting trucks. Miss Little, one of our Russian-speaking people, - and I got out. We tried our united eloquence, she in fluent Russian, - and I saying, _Shechaz_, which means “immediately” at intervals, and - still they looked helpless and said, “Two hours and a half.” Then I - produced my letter, and you never saw such a change. They said, “Five - minutes,” and we were off in three. We tried it all along the line - after that; my own belief is that we should still be at the unknown - place, without that letter, shunting trucks. At one station, Miss - Little heard the station-master saying, “There is a great row going - on here, and there will be trouble to-morrow if this train isn’t got - through.” Eventually, we reached Nyamdonia at 11.30, and found a - delightful Russian officer, and an excellent dinner paid for by the - Russian Government, waiting for us. We all thought the food very good, - and I thought the sauce of hunger helped. The next day, profiting - over our Nyamdonia experience, I said meals were to be had at regular - times from our stores in the train, and we should take the restaurants - as we found them, with the result that we arrived at Vorega, where - _déjeuner_ had been ordered just as we finished a solid lunch of ham - and eggs. I said they had better go out and have two more courses, - which they did with great content, and found it quite as nice as the - night before. - - ‘This is a special train for us and the Serbian officers and - non-coms. We broke a coupling after we left Nyamdonia, and they sent - out another carriage from there, but it had not top berths, so they - had another sleeper ready when we reached Vologda. They gave us - another and stronger engine at Nyamdonia, because we asked for it, and - have repaired cisterns, and given us chickens and eggs; and when we - thank them, they say, “It is for our friends.” The crowd stand round - three deep while we eat, and watch us all the time, quite silently in - the stations. In Archangel one old man asked, “Who, on God’s earth, - are you?” - - ‘They gave us such a send-off from Archangel! Russian soldiers were - drawn up between the ship and the train, and cheered us the whole way, - with a regular British cheer; our own crew turned out with a drum - and a fife and various other instruments, and marched about singing. - Then they made speeches, and cheered everybody, and then suddenly the - Russian soldiers seized the Serbian officers and tossed them up and - down, up and down, till they were stopped by a whistle. But they had - got into the mood by then, and they rushed at me. You can imagine, I - fled, and seized hold of the British Consul. I did think the British - Empire would stand by me, but he would do nothing but laugh. And I - found myself up in the air above the crowd, up and down, quite safe, - hands under one and round one. They were so happy that I waved my hand - to them, and they shouted and cheered. The unit is only annoyed that - they had not their cameras, and that anyhow it was dark. Then they - tossed Captain Bevan, who is in command there, because he was English, - and the Consul for the same reason, and the captain of the transport - because he had brought us out. We sang all the national anthems, and - then they danced for us. It was a weird sight in the moonlight. Some - of the dances were like Indian ones, and some reminded me of our - Highland flings. We went on till one in the morning--all the British - colony, there. I confess, I was tired--though I did enjoy it. Captain - Bevan’s good-bye was the nicest and so unexpected--simply “God bless - you.” Mrs. Young, the Consul’s wife, Mrs. Kerr, both Russians, simply - gave up their whole time to us, took the girls about, and Mrs. Kerr - had _the whole unit_ to tea. I had lunch one day at the British Mess, - and another day at the Russian Admiral’s. They all came out to dinner - with us. - - ‘Of course a new face means a lot in an out-of-the-way place, and - seventy-five new faces was a God-send. Well, as I said before, they - are the kindest set of people I ever came across. They brought us our - bread, and changed our money, and arranged with the bank, and got us - this train with berths, and thought of every single thing for us. - - ‘NEARING ODESSA, - ‘_Sep. 21, 1916_. - - ‘DARLING EVE,--We are nearing the second stage of our journey, and - _they say_ we shall be in Odessa to-night. We have all come to the - conclusion that a Russian minute is about ten times as long as ours. - If we get in to-night we shall have taken nine days from Archangel; - with all the lines blocked with military trains, that is not bad. - All the same we have had some struggles, but it has been a very - comfortable journey and very pleasant. The Russian officials all along - the line have been most helpful and kind. A Serbian officer on board, - or rather a Montenegrin, looked after us like a father. - - ‘What we should have done without M. and Mme. Malinina at Moscow, I - don’t know. They gave the whole afternoon up to us: took us to the - Kremlin--he, the whole unit on special tramcars, and she, three of - us in her motor. They are both very busy people. She has a beautiful - hospital, a clearing one at the station, and he is a member of the - Duma, and Commandant of all the Red Cross work in Moscow. We only had - a glimpse of the Kremlin, yet enough to make one want to see more. I - carried away one beautiful picture to remember--the view of Moscow in - the sunset light, simply gorgeous. - - ‘The unit are very very well, and exceedingly cheerful. I am not - sorry to have had these three weeks since we left to get the unit in - hand. They are in splendid order now. When M. Malinina said it was - time to leave the Kremlin, and the order was given to “Fall in,” I was - quite proud of them, they did it so quickly. It is wonderful even now - what they manage to do. Miss H. says they are like eels in a basket. - They were told not to eat fruit without peeling it, so one of them - peeled an apple with her teeth. They were told not to drink unboiled - water, so they handed their water-bottles out at dead of night to - Russian soldiers, to whom they could not explain, to fill for them, - as of course they understood they were not to fill them from water on - the train. I must say they are an awfully nice lot on the whole. We - certainly shall not fail for want of energy. The Russian crowds are - tremendously interested in them.--Ever your loving aunt, - - ‘ELSIE.’ - - ‘RENI, _Sep. 29, 1916_. - - ‘DEAREST AMY,--We have left Odessa and are really off to our - Division. We are going to the 1st Division. General Haditch is in - command there. We were told this is the important point in the war - just now--“A Second Verdun.” The great General Mackensen is in command - against us. He was in command at Krushinjevatz when we were taken - prisoners. Every one says how anxiously they are looking out for us, - and, indeed, we shall have our work cut out for us. We are two little - field hospitals for a whole Division. Think if that was the provision - for our own men. They are such a magnificent body of men. We saw the - 2nd Division preparing in Odessa. Only from the point of view of the - war, they ought to be looked after, but when one remembers that they - are men, every one of them with somebody who cares for them, it is - dreadful. I wish we were each six women instead of one. I have wired - home for another Base Hospital to take the place of the British Red - Cross units when they move on with the 2nd Division. The Russians are - splendid in taking the Serbs into their Base Hospitals, but you can - imagine what the pressure is from their own huge armies. We had such - a reception at Odessa. All the Russian officials, at the station, and - our Consul, and a line drawn up of twenty Serbian officers. They had - a motor car and forty droskies and a squad of Serbian soldiers to - carry up our personal luggage, and most delightful quarters for us on - the outskirts of the town in a sanatorium. We were the guests of the - city while we were there. Our Consul was so good and helpful. Odessa - is immensely interested in us. We were told that the form of greeting - while we were there was, “Have you seen _them_?” The two best things - were the evening at the Serbian Mess, and the gala performance at the - opera. The cheering of the Serbian mess when we went in was something - to remember, but I can tell you I felt quite choking when the whole - house last night turned round and cheered us after we tried to sing - our National Anthem to them with the orchestra. - - ‘RENI, _Oct. 28, 1916_. - - ‘DEAREST AMY,--Just a line to say I am all right. Four weeks to-morrow - since we reached Medgidia, and began our hospital. We evacuated it in - three weeks, and here we are all back on the frontier. Such a time it - has been, Amy dear. You cannot imagine what war is just behind the - lines, and in a retreat!--our second retreat, and almost to the same - day. We evacuated Kragujevatz on the 25th of October last year. We - evacuated Medgidia on the 22nd this year. On the 25th this year, we - were working in a Russian dressing-station at Harshova, and were moved - on in the evening. We arrived at Braila to find 11,000 wounded, and - seven doctors--only one of them a surgeon. - - ‘Boat came. Must stop. Am going back to Braila to do surgery. Have - sent every trained person there.--Your loving sister, - - ELSIE. - - ‘_P.S._--We have had lots of exciting things too, and amusing things, - and _good_ things.’ - - ‘ON THE DANUBE AT TULCEA, - ‘_Nov. 11/16_. - - ‘DEAREST AMY,--I am writing this on the boat between Tulcea and - Ismail, where I am going to see our second hospital and the transport. - Admiral Vesolskin has given me a special boat, and we motored over - from Braila. The Étappen command had been expecting us all afternoon, - and the boat was ready. They were very amused to find that “the - doctor” they had been expecting was a _woman_! - - ‘Our main hospital was at Medgidia, and our field hospital at - Bulbulmic, only about seven miles from the front. They gave us a - very nice building, a barrack, at Medgidia for the hospital, and the - _personnel_ were in tents on the opposite hill. We arrived on the - day of the offensive, and were ready for patients within forty-eight - hours. We were there less than three weeks, and during that time we - unpacked the equipment and repacked it. We made really a rather nice - hospital at Medgidia, and the field hospital. We pitched and struck - the camp--we were nursing and operating the whole time, and evacuating - rapidly too, and our cars were on the road practically always. - - ‘The first notice we got of the retreat was our field hospital being - brought back five versts. Then the transport. Then we were told to - send the equipment to Galatz, but to keep essential things and the - _personnel_. Then came orders to go ourselves. I never saw such a - retreat. Serbia was nothing to it. The whole country was covered with - groups of soldiers who had lost their regiments. Russians, Serbs, and - Rumanians. The Rumanian guns were simply being rushed back, through - the crowds of refugees. The whole country was moving: in some places - the panic was awful. One part of our scattered unit came in for it. - You would have thought the Bulgars were at the heels of the people. - One man threw away a baby right in front of the cars. They were - throwing everything off the carts to lighten them, and our people, - being of a calmer disposition, picked up what they wanted in the way - of vegetables, etc. Men, with their rifles and bayonets, climbed on - to the Red Cross cars to save a few minutes. We simply went head - over heels out of the country. I want to collect all the different - stories of our groups. My special lot slept the first night on straw - in Caromacat; the next night on the roadside round a lovely fire; the - next (much reduced in numbers, for I had cleared the majority off in - barges for Galatz), we slept in an empty room at Hershova, and spent - the next day dressing at the wharf. And by the next night we were in - Braila, involved in the avalanche of wounded that descended on that - place, and there we have been ever since. - - ‘We found some of our transport, and, while we were having tea, an - officer came in and asked us to go round and help in a hospital. - There, we were told, there were 11,000 wounded (I believe the official - figures are 7000). They had been working thirty-six hours without - stopping when we arrived. - - ‘The wounded had overflowed into empty houses, and were lying about in - their uniforms, and their wounds not dressed for four or five days. - You can imagine the conditions. - - ‘So we just turned up our sleeves and went in. I got back all the - trained Sisters from Galatz, and now the pressure is over. One thing - I am going up to Ismail for, is to get into touch with the Serbian H. - 2, and find out what they want us to do next. The Serb wounded were - evacuated straight to Odessa. - - ‘The unit as a whole has behaved splendidly, plucky and cheery through - everything, and game for any amount of work. - - ‘And we are prouder of our Serbs than ever. I do hope the papers at - home have realised what the 1st Division did, and how they suffered in - the fight in the middle of September. General Genlikoffsky said to me, - “_C’était magnifique, magnifique! Ils sont les héros_”;--and another - Russian: “We did not quite believe in these Austrian Serbs, but no one - will ever doubt them again.” - - ‘Personally, I have been awfully well, and prouder than ever of - British women. I wish you could have seen trained Sisters scrubbing - floors at Medgidia, and those strapping transport girls lifting the - stretchers out of the ambulances so steadily and gently. I have told - in the Report how Miss Borrowman and Miss Brown brought the equipments - through to Galatz. We lost only one Ludgate boiler and one box of - radiators. We lost two cars, but that was really the fault of a rather - stupid Serbian officer. It is a comfort to feel you are all thinking - of us.--Your loving sister, - - ‘E. I.’ - - ‘IN AN AMBULANCE TRAIN BETWEEN - ‘RENI AND ODESSA, _Jan. 24, 1917_. - - ‘DARLING EVE,--Now we have got a hospital at Reni again, for badly - wounded, working in connection with the evacuation station. We have - got the dearest little house to live in ourselves, but, as we are - getting far more people out from Odessa, we shall have to overflow - into the Expedition houses. Reni itself is quite a small village. I - remember thinking Reni a most uninteresting place--crowds of shipping - and the wharf all crammed with sacks. It was just a big junction like - Crewe! - - ‘The hospital at Reni is a real building, but it is not finished. One - unfinished bit is the windows, which have one layer of glass each, - though they have double sashes. When this was pointed out, I thought - it was a mere continental foible. When the cold came I realised - that there is some sense in this foible after all! We _cannot_ get - the wards warm, notwithstanding extra stoves and roaring fires. The - poor Russians do mind cold so much. But they don’t want to leave the - hospital. One man whom I told he must have an operation later on in - another hospital, said he would rather wait for it in ours. The first - time we had to evacuate, we simply could not get the men to go. Nice, - isn’t it? - - ‘We have got a Russian Secretary now, because we are using Russian - Red Cross money, and he told us he had been told in Petrograd that - the S.W.H. were beautifully organised, and the only drawback was - the language. Quite true. I wish we were polyglots. We have got a - certain number of Austrian prisoners as orderlies, and most of them - curiously can speak Russian, so we get on better. Did you know I could - speak German? I did not until I had to! This is a most comfortable - way of travelling, and the quickest. We have 500 wounded on board, - twenty-three of them ours. I am going to Odessa to find out why we - cannot get Serb patients. There are still thousands of them in Odessa, - and yet Dr. Chesney gets nothing but Russians. The Serbs we meet seem - to think it is somehow our fault! I tell them I have written and - telegraphed, and planned and made two journeys to Ismail, to try and - get a real Serbian Hospital going, and yet it doesn’t go. - - ‘What did happen over the change of Government? I do hope we have got - the right lot now, to put things straight at home, and carry through - things abroad. Remember it all depends on you people at home. _The - whole thing depends on us._ I know we lose the perspective in this - gloomy corner, but there is one thing quite clear, and that is that - they are all trusting to our _sticking_ powers. They know we’ll hold - on--of course--I only wish we would realise that it would be as well - to use our intellects too, and have them clear of alcohol.’ - - ‘IN AN AMBULANCE TRAIN, - ‘NEAR ODESSA, _Jan. 25, 1917_. - - ‘You don’t know what a comfort it is on this tumultuous front, to - know that all you people at home have just settled down to it, and - that you’ll put things right in the long run. It is curious to feel - how everybody is trusting to that. The day we left Braila, a Rumanian - said to me in the hall, “It is England we are trusting to. She has - got hold now like a strong dog!” But it is a bigger job than any of - you imagine, _I_ think. But there is not the slightest doubt we shall - pull it off. I am glad to think the country has discovered that it is - possible to have an alternative Government. If it does not do, we must - find yet another. - -_To her little Niece, Amy M‘Laren_ - - ‘ON AN AMBULANCE TRAIN, - ‘NEAR ODESSA, _Jan. 25, 1917_. - - ‘DARLING AMY,--How are you all? We have been very busy since we came - out here: first a hospital for the Serbs at Medgidia, then in a - Rumanian hospital at Braila, and then for the Russians at Galatz and - Reni. In the very middle, by some funny mistake, we were sent flying - right on to the front line. However we nipped out again just in time, - and the station was burnt to the ground just half an hour after we - left. I’ll tell you the name of the place when the war is over, and - show it to you on the map. We saw the petrol tanks on fire as we came - away, and the ricks of grain too. - - ‘Our hospital at Galatz was in a school. I don’t think the children - in these parts are doing many lessons during the war, and that will - be a great handicap for their countries afterwards. Perhaps, however, - they are learning other lessons. When we left the Dobrudja we saw the - crowds of refugees on their carts, with the things they had been able - to save, and all the little children packed in among the furniture and - pots and pans and pigs. - - ‘In one cart I saw two fascinating babies about three years old, - sitting in a kind of little nest made of pillows and rugs. They were - little girls, one fair and one dark, and they sat there, as good as - gold, watching everything with such interest. There were streams of - carts along the roads, and all the villages deserted. That is what - the war means out here. It is not quite so bad in our safe Scotland, - is it?--thanks to the fleet. And that is why it seems to me we have - got to help these people, because they are having the worst of it. - I wonder if you can knit socks yet, for I can use any number, and - bandages. Do you know how to roll bandages? Blessings on you, precious - little girl.--Your loving aunt, - - ELSIE.’ - - ‘I have had my meals with the Staff. Unfortunately, most of them - speak only Russian, but one man speaks French, and another German. - One of the Sisters speaks English. The man who speaks German is - having English lessons from her. His despair over the pronunciation - is comic. He picked up _Punch_ and showed _me_ YOU. So, I said “you.” - He repeated it quite nicely, and then found another OU. “Though,” - and when I said “though,” he flung up his hands, and said, “Why a - practical nation like the English should do things like this!”’ - - ‘S.W.H., - RENI, _March 5, 1917_. - - ‘DARLING MARY,--We have been having such icy weather here, such - snowstorms sweeping across the plain. You should see the snowdrifts. - One day I really thought the house would be cut off from the hospital. - The unit going over to Roll was quite a sight, with the indiarubber - boots, and peaked Russian caps, with the ends twisted round their - throats. We should have thoroughly enjoyed it if it had not been for - the shortage of fuel. However, we were never absolutely without wood, - and now have plenty, as a Cossack regiment sent a squad of men across - the Danube to cut for us, and we brought it back in our carts. The - Danube is frozen right across--such a curious sight. The first time in - seven years, they say--so nice of it to do it just when we are here! I - would not have missed it for anything. The hospital has only had about - forty patients for some time, as there has been no fighting, and it - was just as well when we were so short of wood. We collected them all - into one ward, and let the other fires out. - - ‘The chief of the medical department held an inspection. That was an - inspection! The old gentleman poked into every corner. Took off the - men’s shirts and looked for lice, turned up the sheets, and beat the - mattresses to look for dust, tasted the men’s food, and in the end - stated we were _ochin chesté_ (very clean), and that the patients - were well cared for medically and well nursed. All of which was - very satisfactory, but he added that the condition of the orderlies - was disgraceful, and so it was. I hadn’t realised they were my job. - However, I told him next time he came he should not find one single - louse. He was very amused and pleased. - - ‘Dr. Laird and I have a nice snug little room together. That is one - blessing here, we have plenty of sun. Very soon it will begin to get - quite hot. I woke up on the 1st of March and thought of getting home - last year that day, and two days after waking up in Eve’s dear little - room, with the roses on the roof. Bless all you dear people.--Ever - your loving aunt, - - ‘ELSIE.’ - - ‘_March 23, 1917._ - - ‘We have been awfully excited and interested in the news from - Petrograd. We heard of it, probably long after you people at home - knew all about it! It is most interesting to see how everybody is on - the side of the change, from Russian officers, who come to tea and - beam at us, and say, “Heresho” (good) to the men in the wards. In any - case they say we shall find the difference all over the war area. One - Russian officer, who was here before the news came, was talking about - the Revolution in England two hundred years ago, and said it was the - most interesting period of European history. “They say all these ideas - began with the French Revolution, but they didn’t--they began long - before in England,” he thought. He spoke English beautifully, and had - had an English nurse. He had read Milton’s political pamphlets, and - we wondered all the time whether he was thinking of changes in Russia - after the war, but now I wonder if he knew the changes were coming - sooner. - - ‘Do you know we have all been given the St. George Medal? Prince - Dolgourokoff, who is in command on this front, arrived quite - unexpectedly, just after roll call. The telegram saying he was coming - arrived a quarter of an hour after he left! General Kropensky, the - head of the Red Cross, rushed up, and the Prince arrived about two - minutes after him. He went all over the hospital, and a member of - his gilded staff told matron he was very pleased with everything. - He decorated two men in the wards with St. George’s Medal, and then - said he wanted to see us together, and shook hands with everybody and - said, “Thank you,” and gave each of us a medal too; Dr. Laird’s was - for service, as she had not been under fire. St. George’s Medal is a - silver one with “For Bravery” on its back. Our patients were awfully - pleased, and inpressed on us that it carried with it a pension of a - rouble a month for life. We gave them all cigarettes to commemorate - the occasion. - - ‘It was rather satisfactory to see how the hospital looked in its - ordinary, and even I was _fairly_ satisfied. I tell the unit that - they must remember that they have an old maid as commandant, and must - live up to it! I cannot stand dirt, and crooked charts and crumpled - sheets. One Sister, I hear, put it delightfully in a letter home: “Our - C.M.O. is an idealist!” I thought that was rather sweet; I believe she - added, “but she does appreciate good work.” Certainly, I appreciate - hers. She is in charge of the room for dressings, and it is one of the - thoroughly satisfactory points in the hospital. - - ‘The Greek priest came yesterday to bless the hospital. We put up - “Icons” in each of the four wards. The Russians are a very religious - people, and it seems to appeal to some mystic sense in them. The - priest just put on a stole, green and gold, and came in his long grey - cloak. The two wards open out of one another, so he held the service - in one, the men all saying the responses and crossing themselves. The - four icons lay on the table before him, with three lighted candles at - the inner comers, and he blessed water and sprinkled them, and then he - sprinkled everybody in the room. The icons were fixed up in the corner - of the wards, and I bought little lamps to burn in front of them, as - they always have them. We are going to have the evening hymn sung - every evening at six o’clock. I heard that first in Serbia from those - poor Russian prisoners, who sang it regularly every evening. - - ‘The mud has been literally awful. The night nurses come up from the - village literally wet through, having dragged one another out of mud - holes all the way. Now, a cart goes down to fetch them each evening. - We have twenty horses and nine carts belonging to us. I have made Vera - Holme master of the horse. - - ‘I have heard two delightful stories from the Sisters who have - returned from Odessa. There is a great rivalry between the Armoured - Car men and the British Red Cross men, about the capabilities of - their Sisters. (We, it appears, are the Armoured Car Sisters!) A - B.R.C. man said their Sisters were so smart they got a man on to the - operating-table five minutes after the other one went off. Said an - Armoured Car man: “But that’s nothing. The Scottish Sisters get the - second one on before the first one is off.” The other story runs that - there was some idea of the men waiting all night on a quay, and the - men said, “But you don’t think we are Scottish Sisters, sir, do you?” - I have no doubt that refers to Galatz, where we made them work all - night.’ - - ‘RENI, _Easter Day, 1917_. - - ‘We, all the patients, sick and wounded, belonging to the Army and - Navy, and coming from different parts of the great, free Russia, who - are at present in your hospital, are filled with feelings of the - truest respect for you. We think it our duty as citizens on this - beautiful day of Holy Easter to express to you, highly respected and - much beloved Doctor, as well as to your whole Unit, our best thanks - for all the care and attention you have bestowed upon us. We bow low - and very respectfully before the constant and useful work which we - have seen daily, and which we know to be for the well-being of our - allied countries. - - ‘We are quite sure that, thanks to the complete unity of action of - all the allied countries, the hour of gladness and the triumph of the - Allied arms in the cause of humanity and the honour of nations is near. - - ‘_Vive l’Angleterre!_ - - ‘Russian Soldiers, Citizens, and the Russian Sister, - ’VERA V. DE KOLESNIKOFF.’ - - ‘RENI, _March 2, 1917_. - - ‘DARLING EVE,--Very many thanks for the war prayers. They are a - great help on Sundays. The Archbishop’s prayers that I wanted are the - original ones at the beginning of the war. Just at present we are - very lucky as regards the singing, as there are three or four capital - voices in the unit. We have the service at 1.30 on Sunday. That lets - all the morning work be finished. I do wonder what has become of Miss - Henderson and the new orderlies! And the equipment! We want them all - so badly, not to speak of my cool uniform. That will be needed very - soon I think. It is so delicious to feel warm again. We are having - glorious weather, so sunny and warm. All the snow has gone, and the - mud is appalling. I thought I knew the worst mud could do in Serbia, - but it was nothing to this. We have made little tiled paths all about - our domain, and keep comparatively clean there. I wish we could take - over the lot of buildings. The other day I thought I had made a great - score, and bought two thousand poud of wood at a very small price. It - was thirty-five versts out. We got the Cossacks to lend us transport. - But the transport stuck in the mud, and came back the next day, having - had to haul the empty carts out of mud holes by harnessing four horses - first to one cart and then to another. It was no wonder I got the wood - so cheap. One of our great difficulties has been fuel. - - ‘_April 18, 1918._ - - ‘I am writing this sitting out in my little tent, with a glorious - view over the Danube. We have pitched some of the tents to relieve - the crowding in the house. They are no longer beautiful and white, as - they were at Medgidia. We have had to stain them a dirty grey colour, - so as to hide them from aeroplanes. Yesterday, we had an awful gale, - and a downpour of rain, and the tents stood splendidly, and not a - drop of water came through. Miss Pleister and the Austrian orderly - who helped her to pitch them are triumphant. Do get our spy-incident, - from the office. My dear, they thought we were spies. We had an awful - two days, but it is quite a joke to look back on. The unit were most - thoroughly and Britishly angry. Quite rightly. But I very soon saw - the other side, and managed to get them in hand once more. General - Kropensky, our chief, was a perfect brick. The armoured car section - sent a special despatch rider over to Galatz to fetch him, and he came - off at once. He talks perfect English, and he has since written me a - charming letter saying our _sang-froid_ and our _savoir-faire_ saved - the situation. I am afraid there was not much _sang-froid_ among us, - but some of us managed to keep hold of our common sense. As I told - the girls, in common fairness they must look at the other side--spy - fever raging, a foreign hospital right on the front, and a Revolution - in progress. I told them, even if they did not care about Russia, I - supposed they cared about the war and England, and I wondered what - effect it would have on all these Russian soldiers if we went away - with the thing not cleared up, and still under suspicion. After all, - the ordinary Russian soldier knows nothing about England, except in - the very concrete form of _us_. We should have played right into the - devil’s hands if we had gone away. Of course, they saw it at once, - and we stuck to our guns for England’s sake. The 6th Army, I think, - understands that England, as represented by this small unit, is keen - on the war, and does not spy! We have had a telegram from the General - in command, apologising, and our patients have been perfectly angelic. - And the men from all regiments round come up to the out-patients’ - department, and are most grateful and punctiliously polite. So all is - well that ends well. - - ‘We had a very interesting Easter. You know the Russian greeting - on Easter morning, “Christ is risen,” and the answer, “He is risen - indeed.” We learnt them both, and made our greetings in Russian - fashion. On Easter Eve we went to the church in the village. The - service is at midnight. The church was crowded with soldiers--very - few women there. They were most reverent and absorbed outside in the - courtyards. It was a very curious scene; little groups of people with - lighted candles waiting to get in. Here, we had a very nice Easter - service. My “choir” had three lovely Easter hymns, and we even sang - the Magnificat. One of the armoured car men, on his way from Galatz - to Belgrade, stayed for the service, and it was nice to have a man’s - voice in the singing. We gave our patients Easter eggs and cigarettes. - Except that we are very idle, we are very happy here. Our patients are - delightful, the hospital in good order. The Steppe is a fascinating - place to wander over, the little valleys, and the villages hidden - away in them, and the flowers! We have been riding our transport - horses--rather rough, but quite nice and gentle. We all ride astride - of course. - -‘_On Active Service._ - - ‘To Mrs. FLINDERS PETRIE, - Hon. Sec., Scottish Women’s Hospitals. - - ‘RENI, _May 8, 1917_. - - ‘DEAR MRS. PETRIE,--How perfectly splendid about the Egyptologists. - Miss Henderson brought me your message, saying how splendidly they are - subscribing. That is of course all due to you, you wonderful woman. - It was such a tantalising thing to hear that you had actually thought - of coming out as an Administrator, and that you found you could not. - I cannot tell you how splendid it would have been if you could have - come.... I want “a woman of the world” ... and I want an adaptable - person, who will talk to the innumerable officers who swarm about this - place, and ride with the girls, and manage the officials! - - ‘I do wish you could see our hospital now. It really is quite nice. - Such a nice story:--Matron was in Reni the other day, seeing the - Commandant of the town about some things for the hospital, and when - she came out she found a crowd of Russian soldiers standing round her - house. They asked her if she had got what she wanted, and she said the - Commandant was going to see about it. Whereupon the men said, “The - Commandant must be told that the Scottish Hospital (_Schottlandsche - bolnitza_) is the best hospital on this front, and must have whatever - it wants. That is the opinion of the Russian Soldier.” Do you - recognise the echo of the big reverberation that has shaken Russia. - We get on awfully well with the Russian soldier. Two of our patients - were overheard talking the other day, and they said, “The Russian - Sisters are pretty but not good, and the English Sisters are good - and not pretty.” The story was brought up to the mess-room by quite - a nice-looking girl who had overheard it. But we thought we’d let - the judgment stand and be like Kingsley’s “maid”--though we _don’t_ - undertake to endorse the Russian part of it! - - ‘We have got some of the _personnel_ tents pitched now, and it is - delightful. It was rather close quarters in the little house. I am - writing in my tent now, looking out over the Danube. Such a lovely - place, Reni is--and the Steppe is fascinating with its wide plains and - little unexpected valleys full of flowers. We have some glorious rides - over it. The other night our camp was the centre of a fight. Only a - sham one! They are drilling recruits here, and suddenly the other - night we found ourselves being defended by one party while another - attacked from the Steppe. The battle raged all night, and the camp was - finally carried at four o’clock in the morning amid shouts and cheers - and barking of dogs. It was even too much for me, and I have slept - through bombardments. - - ‘It has been so nice hearing about you all from Miss Henderson. How - splendidly the money is coming in. Only _one_ thing, dear Mrs. Petrie, - _do_ make them send the reliefs more quickly. I know all about boats, - but, as you knew the orderlies had to leave on the 15th of January, - the reliefs ought to have been off by the 1st. - - ‘I wish you could hear the men singing their evening hymn in hospital. - They have just sung it. I am so glad we thought of putting up the - icons for them. - - ‘Good-bye for the present, dear Mrs. Petrie. My kindest regards to - Professor Flinders Petrie.--Ever yours affectionately, - - ELSIE MAUD INGLIS.’ - - ‘_May 11, 1917._ - - ‘It was delightful seeing Miss Henderson, and getting news of all you - dear people. She took two months over the journey. But she did arrive - with all her equipment. The equipment I wired for in October, and - which was sent out by itself, arrived in Petrograd, got through to - Jassy, and has there stuck. We have not got a single thing, and the - Consuls have done their best. - - ‘Mr. French, one of the chaplains in Petrograd, came here. He said - he would have some services here. We pitched a tent, and we had the - Communion. It was a joy. I have sent down a notice to the armoured car - yacht, and I hope some of the men will come up. We and they are the - only English people here. - - ‘The Serbs have sent me a message saying we may have to rejoin our - Division soon. I don’t put too much weight on this, because I know - my dearly beloved Serbs, and their habit of saying the thing they - think you would like, but still we are preparing. I shall be very - sorry to leave our dear little hospital here, and the Russians. They - are a fascinating people, especially the common soldier. I hope that - as we have done this work for the Russians and therefore have some - little claim on them, it will help us to get things more easily for - the Serbs. We have one little laddie in, about ten years old, the - most amusing brat. He was wounded by an aeroplane bomb in a village - seven versts out, and was sent into Reni to a hospital. But, when he - got there he found the hospital was for sick only (a very inferior - place!), so he proceeded on to us. He wanders about with a Russian - soldier’s cap on his head and wrapped round with a blanket, and we - hear his pretty little voice singing to himself all over the place. - - ‘Nicolai, the man who came in when the hospital was first opened, - and has been so very ill, is really getting better. He had his - dressing left for two days for the first time the other day, and his - excitement and joy were quite pathetic. “_Ochin heroshe doktorutza, - ochin herosho_” (Very good, dear doctor, very good), he kept saying, - and then he added, “Now, I know I am not going to die!” Poor boy, - he has nearly died several times, and would have died if he had not - had English Sisters to nurse him. He has been awfully naughty--the - wretch. He bit one of the Sisters one day when she tried to give him - his medicine. Now, he kisses my hand to make up. The other day I - ordered massage for his leg, and he made the most awful row, howled - and whined, and declared it would hurt (really, he has had enough pain - to destroy anybody’s nerve), and then suddenly pointed to a Sister who - had come in, and said what she had done for him was the right thing. - I asked what she had done for him; “Massaged his leg,” she said. I - got that promptly translated into Russian, and the whole room roared - with laughter. Poor Nicolai--after a minute, he joined in. His home - is in Serbia, “a very nice home with a beautiful garden.” His mother - is evidently the important person there. His father is a smith, and - he had meant to be a smith too, but now he has got the St. George’s - Cross, which carries with it a pension of six roubles a month, and he - does not think he will do any work at all. He is the eldest of the - family, twenty-four years old, and has three sisters, and a little - brother of five. Can’t you imagine how he was spoilt! and how proud - they are of him now, only twenty-four, and a _sous-officier_, and - been awarded the St. George’s Cross which is better than the medal; - and been wounded, four months in hospital, and had three operations! - He has been so ill I am afraid the spoiling continued in the Scottish - Women’s Hospital. Dr. Laird says she would not be his future wife for - anything. - - ‘We admitted such a nice-looking boy to-day, with thick, curly, yellow - hair, which I had ruthlessly cropped, against his strong opposition. I - doubt if I should have had the heart, if I had known how ill he was. - He will need a very serious operation. I found him this evening with - tears running silently over his cheeks, a Cossack, a great big man. - His nerve is quite gone. He may have to go on to Odessa, as a severe - operation and bombs and a nervous breakdown don’t go together. We will - see how he settles down. - - ‘We have made friends with lots of the officers; there is one, also - a Cossack, who spends a great part of his time here. His regiment is - at the front, and he has been left for some special work, and he seems - rather lonely. He is a nice boy, and brings nice horses for us to - ride. We have been having quite a lot of riding, on our own transport - horses too. It is heavenly riding here across the great plain. We all - ride astride, and at first we found the Cossacks’ saddles most awfully - uncomfortable, but now we are quite used to them. Our days fly past - here, and in a sense are monotonous, but I don’t think we are any of - us the worse for a little monotony as an interlude! Alas! quite fairly - often there is a party at one of the regiments here! The girls enjoy - them, and matron and I chaperone them alternately and reluctantly. It - was quite a rest during Lent when there were no parties. - - ‘The spy incident has quite ended, and we have won. Matron was in Reni - the other day asking the Commandant about something, and when she came - out she found a little crowd of Russian soldiers round her house. They - asked her if she had got what she wanted, and she said the Commandant - had said he would see about it. They answered, “The Commandant must - be told that the S.W.H. is the best hospital on this front, and that - it must have everything it wants.” That is the opinion of the Russian - soldier! If you were here you would recognise the new tone of the - Russian soldier in these days,--but I am glad he approves of our - hospital.’ - - ‘ODESSA, _June 24, 1917_. - - ‘I wish you could realise how the little nations, Serbs and Rumanians - and Poles, count on us. What a comfort it is to them to think we are - “the most tenacious” nation in Europe. In their eyes it all hangs on - us. It is all terrible and awful. I don’t believe we can disentangle - it all in our minds just now. The only thing is just to go on doing - one’s bit. Because, one thing is quite clear, Europe won’t be a - habitable place if Germany wins--for anybody. - - ‘I think there are going to be a lot of changes here.’ - - ‘_July 15, 1917._ - - ‘I have had German measles! The Consul asked me what I meant by that - at my time of life! The majority of people say how unpatriotic and - Hunnish of you! Well, a few days off did not do me any harm. I had - a very luxurious time lying in my tent. The last lot of orderlies - brought it out.’ - - ‘ODESSA, _Aug. 15, 1917_. - - ‘The work at Reni is coming to an end, and we are to go to the front - with the Serbian Division. I cannot write about it owing to censors - and people. But I am going to risk this: the Serbs ought to be most - awfully proud. The Russian General on the front is going to insist on - having them “to stiffen up his Russian troops.” I think you people at - home ought to know what magnificent fighting men these Serbs are, and - so splendidly disciplined, simply worth their weight in gold. There - are only two divisions of them after all. We have about thirty-five of - them in hospital just now as sanitaries, and they are such a comfort; - their quickness and their devotion is wonderful. The hospital was full - and overflowing when I left--still Russians. Most of the cases were - slight; a great many left hands, if you know what that _means_. I - don’t think the British Army does know! - - ‘We had a Red Cross inspecting officer down from Petrograd. He was - very pleased with everything, and kissed my hand on departing, and - said we were doing great things for the Alliance. I wanted to say many - things, but thought I had better leave it alone. - - ‘We are operating at 5 A.M. now, because the afternoons are so hot. - The other day we began at 5, and had to go till 4 P.M. after all. - - ‘Matron and I had a delightful ride the other evening. Just as we - had turned for home, an aeroplane appeared, and the first shot from - the anti-aircraft guns close beside us was too much for our horses, - who promptly bolted. However, there was nothing but the clear Steppe - before us, so we just sat tight and went. After a little they - recovered themselves, and really behaved very well.’ - - ‘_Aug. 28._ - - ‘You dear, dear people, how sweet of you to send me a telegram for - my birthday. You don’t know how nice it was to get it and to feel you - were thinking of me. It made me happy for days. Miss G. brought it - me with a very puzzled face, and said, “I cannot quite make out this - telegram.” It was written in Russian characters. She evidently was not - used to people doing such mad things as telegraphing the “Many happy - returns of the day” half across the world. I understood it at once, - and it nearly made me cry. It was good to get it, though I think the - Food Controller or somebody ought to come down on you for wasting - money in the middle of a war. - - ‘I am finishing this letter in Reni. We closed the hospital yesterday, - and joined our Division somewhere on Friday. The rush that had begun - before I got to Odessa got much worse. They had an awfully busy time, - a faint reminiscence of Galatz, though, as they were operating twelve - hours on end, I don’t know it was so very faint. We had no more left - hands, but all the bad cases. Everybody worked magnificently, but they - always do in a push. The time a British unit goes to pieces is when - there is nothing to do! - - ‘So this bit of work ends, eight months. I am quite sorry to leave it, - but quite quite glad to get back to our Division. - - ‘Well, Amy dearest, good-bye for the present. I wonder what will - happen next! Love to all you dear people.’ - - ‘S.W.H., - ‘HADJI ABDUL, _Oct. 17, 1917_. - - ‘I wonder if this is my last letter from Russia! We hope to be off - in a very few days now. We have had a very pleasant time in this - place with its Turkish name. It shows how far north Turkey once came. - We are with the Division, and were given this perfectly beautiful - camping-ground, with trees, and a slope towards the east. The question - was whether we were going to Rumania or elsewhere. It is nice being - back with these nice people. They have been most kind and friendly, - and we have picnics and rides and _dances_, and dinners, and till this - turmoil of the move began we had an afternoon reception every day - under the walnut trees! Now, we are packed up and ready to go, and I - mean to walk in on you one morning. It does not stand thinking of! - - ‘We shall have about two months to refit, but one of those is my due - as a holiday, _which I am going to take_. I’ll see you all soon.--Your - loving aunt, - - ‘ELSIE.’ - -_To Mrs. Simson_ - - ‘ARCHANGEL, _Nov. 18, 1917_. - - ‘On our way home. Have not been very well; nothing to worry about. - Shall report in London, then come straight to you. Longing to see you - all. - - ‘INGLIS.’ - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE MOORINGS CUT - - ‘Not I, but my Unit.’ - - ‘My dear Unit, good-bye.’--Nov. 26, 1917. - - E. M. I. - - ‘Into the wide deep seas which we call God - You plunged. - This is not death, - You seemed to say, but fuller life.’ - -The reports of Dr. Inglis as chief medical officer to the London -Committee were as detailed and foreseeing in the very last one that -she wrote as in the first from on board the transport that took her -and her unit out. She writes:--‘In view of the fact that we are in the -middle of big happenings I should like Dr. Laird to bring ½ ton cotton -wool, six bales moss dressings, 100 lb. chloroform, 50 lb. ether, 20 -gallons rectified spirits. I wonder what news of the river boat for -Mesopotamia?’ After they had landed and were at work:--‘I have wired -asking for another hospital for the base. I know you have your hands -full, but I also know that if the people at home realise what their -help would mean out here just now, we would not have to ask twice. And -again:--’Keep the home fires burning and let us feel their warmth.’ She -soon encountered the usual obstacles:--‘I saw that there was no good in -the world talking about regular field hospitals to them until they had -tried our mettle. The ordinary male disbelief in our capacity cannot -be argued away. It can only be worked away.’ So she acted. Russia -created disbelief, but the men at arms of all nations saw and believed. -In November she wrote back incredulously:--‘Rumours of falling back. -Things look serious. Anxious about the equipment.’ In bombardments, in -retreat, and evacuations the equipment was her one thought. ‘Stand by -the equipment’ became a joke in her unit. On one occasion one of the -orderlies had a heavy fall from a lorry on which she was in charge of -the precious stuff. Dusty and shaken, she was gathering herself up, -when the voice of the chief rang out imperatively urgent, ‘Stand by the -equipment.’ On the rail certain trucks, bearing all the equipment, got -on a wrong line, and were carried away:--‘The blue ribbon belongs to -Miss Borrowman and Miss Brown. They saw our wagons disappearing with -a refugee train, whereupon these two ran after it and jumped on, and -finally brought the equipment safely to Galatz. They invented a General -Popovitch who would be very angry if it did not get through. Without -those two girls and their ingenuity, the equipment would not have got -through.’ - -She details all the difficulties of packing up and evacuating after -the despatch rider came with the order that the hospitals were to -fall back to Galatz. The only method their own, all else chaotic and -helpless, working night and day, the unit accomplished everything. At -the station, packed with a country and army in flight, Dr. Inglis had a -talk with a Rumanian officer. He told her that he had been in Glasgow, -and had there been invited out to dinner, and had seen ‘English -customs.’ ‘It was good to feel those English customs were still going -on quietly, whatever was happening here, breakfast coming regularly and -hot water for baths, and everything as it should be. It was probably -absurd, but it came like a great wave of comfort to feel that England -was there quiet and strong and invincible behind everything and -everybody.’ - -As we read these natural vivid diary reports, we too can feel it was -good of England that Dr. Inglis was to the last on that front-- - - ‘Ambassador from Britain’s Crown, - And type of all her race.’ - -Dr. Inglis never lost sight of the Army she went out to serve. She -refused to return unless they were brought away from the Russian front -with her. - - ‘I wonder if a proper account of what happened then went home to - the English papers? The Serbian Division went into the fight 15,000 - strong. They were in the centre--the Rumanians on their left, and the - Russians on their right. The Rumanians broke, and they fought for - twenty-four hours on two fronts. They came out of the fight, having - lost 11,000 men. It is almost incredible, and that is when we ought to - have been out, and could have been out if we had not taken so long to - get under way.’ - -In the last Report, dated October 29, 1917, she tells her Committee she -has been ‘tied by the leg to bed.’ There are notes on coming events:-- - - ‘There really seems a prospect of getting away soon. The Foreign - Office knows us only too well. Only 6000 of the Division go in this - lot, the rest (15,000) to follow.’ - -There is a characteristic last touch. - - ‘I have asked Miss Onslow to get English paper-back novels for the - unit on their journey. At a certain shop, they can be got for a rouble - each, and good ones.’ - -To members of that unit, doctors, sisters, orderlies, we are indebted -for many personal details, and for the story of the voyage west, -when for her the sun was setting. Her work was accomplished when on -the transport with her and her unit were the representatives of that -Serbian Army with whom she served, faithful unto death. - -Miss Arbuthnot, the granddaughter of Sir William Muir, the friend of -John Inglis, was one of those who helped to nurse Dr. Inglis:-- - - ‘I sometimes looked after her when the Sister attending her was - off duty. Her consideration and kindness were quite extraordinary, - while her will and courage were quite indomitable. To die as she did - in harness, having completed her great work in getting the Serbs away - from Russia, is what she would have chosen. - - ‘I first met Dr. Inglis at Hadji Abdul, a small mud village about ten - miles from Galatz. She was looking very ill, but was always busy. For - some time she had been ill with dysentery, but she never even stayed - in bed for breakfast till it was impossible for her to move from bed. - - ‘During our time at Hadji we had about forty Serbian patients, a few - wounded, but mostly sick. Dr. Inglis did a few minor operations, but - her last major one was a gastro-enterotomy performed on one of our own - chauffeurs, a Serb, Joe, by name. The operation took three hours and - was entirely satisfactory, although Dr. Inglis did not consider him - strong enough to travel back to England. She was particularly fond of - this man, and took no end of trouble with him. Even after she became - so very ill she used constantly to visit him. - - ‘The Serbs entertained us to several picnics, which we duly returned. - Dr. Inglis was always an excellent hostess, so charming and genial - to every one, and so eager that both entertainers and entertained - should equally enjoy themselves. Provided her permission was asked - first, and duty hours or regular meals not neglected, she was always - keen every one should enjoy themselves riding, walking, or going for - picnics. If any one was ill, she never insisted on their getting up - in spite of everything, as most doctors, and certainly all matrons, - wish us to do. She was strict during duty hours, and always required - implicit obedience to her orders--whatever they were. She was always - so well groomed--never a hair out of place. In appearance she was a - splendid head. One felt so proud of her among the dirty and generally - unsuitably dressed women in other hospitals. She was very independent, - and would never allow any of us to wait on her. The cooks were not - allowed to make her any special dishes that the whole unit could not - share. As long as she could, she messed with the unit, and there was - no possibility of avoiding her quick eye; anything which was reserved - for her special comfort was rejected. Once, a portion of chicken was - kept as a surprise for her. She asked whether there had been enough - for all, and when the cooks reluctantly confessed there was only the - one portion she sent it away. - - ‘During one of the evacuations, an order had been given that there - were only two blankets allowed in each valise. Some one, mindful of - her weakness, stuffed an extra one into Dr. Inglis’ bag, because in - her emaciated condition she suffered much from the cold. It stirred - her to impetuous anger, and with something of the spirit of David, as - he poured out the water brought him at the peril of the lives of his - followers, she flung the blanket out of the railway carriage, as a - lesson to those of her unit who had disobeyed an order. - - ‘Every Sunday Dr. Inglis read the Church service with great dignity - and simplicity. On the weekday evenings, before she became so ill, - she would join us in a game of bridge, and played nearly every night. - During the retreats when nothing more could be done, and she felt - anxious, she would sit down and play a game of patience. During the - weeks of uncertainty, when the future of the Serbs was doubtful, and - she was unable to take any active part, she fretted very much. - - ‘After endless conflicting rumours and days of waiting, the - news arrived that they were to go to England. Her delight was - extraordinary, for she had lain in her bed day after day planning how - she could help them, and sending endless wires to those in authority - in England, but feeling herself very impotent. Once the good news - arrived, her marvellous courage and tenacity helped her to recover - sufficiently, and prepare all the details for the journey with the - Serbs. We left on the 29th October, with the H.G. Staff and two - thousand Serbian soldiers, in a special train going to Archangel. - - ‘Dr. Inglis spent fifteen days on the train, in a second-class - compartment, with no proper bed. Her strength varied, but she was - compelled to lie down a great deal, although she insisted on dressing - every morning. On two occasions she walked for five minutes on the - station platform; each time it absolutely exhausted her. Though she - suffered much pain and discomfort, she never complained. She could - only have benger, chicken broth and condensed milk, and she often - found it impossible to take even these. If one happened to bring her - tea, or her food, she thanked one so charmingly. - - ‘At Archangel there was no means of carrying her on to the boat, so - with help (one orderly in front, and one lifting her behind), she - climbed a ladder twenty feet high, from the platform to the deck of - the transport. She was a good sailor, and had a comfortable cabin on - the ship. She improved on board slightly, and used to sit in the small - cabin allotted to us on the upper deck. She played patience, and was - interested in our sea-sick symptoms. There was a young naval officer - very seriously ill on the boat. Our people were nursing him, and she - constantly went to prescribe; she feared he would not live, and he - died before we reached our port. - - ‘After some improvement, Dr. Inglis had a relapse; violent pain set - in, and she had to return to bed. Even then, a few days before we - reached England, she insisted on going through all the accounts, - and prepared fresh plans to take the unit on to join the Serbs at - Salonika. In six weeks she expected to be ready to start. She sent for - each of us in turn, and asked if we would go with her. Needless to - say, only those who could not again leave home, refused, and then with - the deepest regret. The night before we reached Newcastle, Dr. Inglis - had a violent attack of pain, and had no sleep all night. Next morning - she insisted on getting up to say good-bye to the Serbian staff. - - ‘It was a wonderful example of her courage and fortitude, to see her - standing unsupported--a splendid figure of quiet dignity. Her face - ashen and drawn like a mask, dressed in her worn uniform coat, with - the faded ribbons that had seen such good service. As the officers - kissed her hand, and thanked her for all she had done for them, she - said to each of them a few words accompanied with her wonderful smile.’ - -As they looked on her, they also must have understood, ‘sorrowing most -of all, that they should see her face no more.’ - - ‘After that parting was over, Dr. Inglis collapsed from great - weakness. She left the boat Sunday afternoon, 25th November, and - arrived quite exhausted at the hotel. I was allowed to see her for - a minute before the unit left for London that night. She could only - whisper, but was as sweet and patient as she ever was. She said we - should meet soon in London.’ - -After her death, many who had watched her through these strenuous -years, regretted that she did not take more care of herself. Symptoms -of the disease appeared so soon, she must have known what overwork and -war rations meant in her state. This may be said of every follower of -the One who saved others, but could not save Himself. The life story -of Saint and Pioneer is always the same. To continue to ill-treat -‘brother body’ meant death to St. Francis; to remain in the fever -swamps of Africa meant death to Livingstone. The poor, and the freedom -of the slave, were the common cause for which both these laid down -their lives. Of the same spirit was this daughter of our race. Had she -remained at home on her return from Serbia she might have been with us -to-day, but we should not have the woman we now know, and for whom we -give thanks on every remembrance of her. - -The long voyage ended at last. Miss Arbuthnot makes no allusion to -its dangers. Everything written by the ‘unit’ is instinct with the -high courage of their leader. We know now how great were the perils -surrounding the transports on the North seas. Old, and unseaworthy, the -menace below, the storm above, through the night of the Arctic Circle, -she was safely brought to the haven where all would be. More than once -death in open boats was a possibility to be faced; there were seven -feet of water in the engine-room, and only the stout hearts of her -captain and crew knew all the dangers of their long watch and ward. -As the transport entered the Tyne a blizzard swept over the country. -We who waited for news on shore wondered where on the cold grey seas -laboured the ship bringing home ‘Dr. Elsie and her unit.’ - -In her last hours she told her own people of the closing days on -board:-- - - ‘When we left Orkney we had a dreadful passage, and even after we got - into the river it was very rough. We were moored lower down, and, - owing to the high wind and storm, a big liner suddenly bore down upon - us, and came within a foot of cutting us in two, when our moorings - broke, we swung round, and were saved. I said to the one who told - me--“Who cut our moorings?” She answered, “No one cut them, they - broke.”’ - -There was a pause, and then to her own she broke the knowledge that she -had heard the call and was about to obey the summons. - - ‘The same hand who cut our moorings then is cutting mine now, and I am - going forth.’ - -Her niece Evelyn Simson notes how they heard of the arrival:-- - - ‘A wire came on Friday from Aunt Elsie, saying they had arrived in - Newcastle. We tried all Saturday to get news by wire and ’phone, - but got none. We think now this was because the first news came by - wireless, and they did not land till Sunday. - - ‘Aunt Elsie answered our prepaid wire, simply saying, “I am in bed, do - not telephone for a few days.” I was free to start off by the night - train, and arrived about 2 A.M. at Newcastle. I found the S.W.H. were - at the Station Hotel, and I saw Aunt Elsie’s name in the book. I did - not like to disturb her at that hour, and went to my room till 7.30. I - found her alone; the night nurse was next door. She was surprised to - see me, as she thought it would be noon before any one could arrive. - She looked terribly wasted, but she gave me such a strong embrace that - I never thought the illness was more than what might easily be cured - on land, with suitable diet. - - ‘I felt her pulse, and she said. “It is not very good, Eve dear, I - know, for I have a pulse that beats in my head, and I know it has been - dropping beats all night.” She wanted to know all about every one, and - we had a long talk before any one came in. She told me how good Dr. - Ward had been to her, always, and we arranged that Dr. Ethel Williams - should come. Aunt Elsie then packed me off to get some breakfast, and - Dr. Ward told me she was much worse than she had been the night before. - - ‘I telephoned to Edinburgh saying she was “very ill.” When Dr. - Williams came, I learnt that there was practically no hope of her - living. They started injections and oxygen, and Aunt Elsie said, “Now - don’t think we didn’t think of all these things before, but on board - ship nothing was possible.” - - ‘It was not till Dr. Williams’ second visit that she asked me if the - doctor thought “this was the end.” When she saw that it was so, she - at once said, without pause or hesitation, “Eve, it will be grand - starting a new job over there,”--then, with a smile, “although there - are two or three jobs here I would like to have finished.” After this - her whole mind seemed taken up with the sending of last messages to - her committees, units, friends, and relations. It simply amazed me how - she remembered every one down to her grand-nieces and nephews. When I - knew mother and Aunt Eva were on their way, I told her, and she was - overjoyed. Early in the morning she told me wonderful things about - bringing back the Serbs. I found it very hard to follow, as it was an - unknown story to me. I clearly remember she went one day to the Consul - in Odessa, and said she must wire certain things. She was told she - could only wire straight to the War Office--“and so I got into touch - straight with the War Office.” - - ‘Mrs. M‘Laren at one moment commented--“You have done magnificent - work.” Back swiftly came her answer, “Not I, but my unit.” - - ‘Mrs. M‘Laren says: ‘Mrs. Simson and I arrived at Newcastle on Monday - evening. It was a glorious experience to be with her those last two - hours. She was emaciated almost beyond recognition, but all sense - of her bodily weakness was lost in the grip one felt of the strong - alert spirit, which dominated every one in the room. She was clear - in her mind, and most loving to the end. The words she greeted us - with were--“So, I am going over to the other side.” When she saw we - could not believe it, she said, with a smile, “For a long time I - _meant_ to live, but now I _know_ I am going.” She spoke naturally - and expectantly of going over. Certainly she met the unknown with a - cheer! As the minutes passed she seemed to be entering into some great - experience, for she kept repeating, “This is wonderful--but this is - wonderful.” Then, she would notice that some one of us was standing, - and she would order us to sit down--another chair must be brought if - there were not enough. To the end, she would revert to small details - for our comfort. As flesh and heart failed, she seemed to be breasting - some difficulty, and in her own strong way, without distress or fear, - she asked for help, “You must all of you help me through this.” We - repeated to her many words of comfort. Again and again she answered - back, “I know.” One, standing at the foot of the bed, said to her, - “You will give my love to father”; instantly the humorous smile lit - her face, and she answered, “Of course I will.” - - ‘At her own request her sister read to her words of the life - beyond--“Let not your heart be troubled--In my Father’s house are many - mansions; if it were not so I would have told you,” and, even as they - watched her, she fell on sleep. - - ‘After she had left us, there remained with those that loved her only - a great sense of triumph and perfect peace. The room seemed full of a - glorious presence. One of us said, “This is not death; it makes one - wish to follow after.”’ - -As ‘We’ waited those anxious weeks for the news of the arrival of Dr. -Inglis and her Army, there were questionings, how we should welcome -and show her all love and service. The news quickly spread she was not -well--might be delayed in reaching London; the manner of greeting her -must be to ensure rest. - -The storm had spent itself, and the moon was riding high in a cloudless -heaven, when others waiting in Edinburgh on the 26th learnt the news -that she too had passed through the storm and shadows, and had crossed -the bar. - -That her work here was to end with her life had not entered the minds -of those who watched for her return, overjoyed to think of seeing her -face once more. She had concealed her mortal weakness so completely, -that even to her own the first note of warning had come with the words -that she had landed, but was in bed:--‘then we thought it was time one -of us should go to her.’ - -Her people brought her back to the city of her fathers, and to the -hearts who had sent her forth, and carried her on the wings of their -strong confidence. There was to be no more going forth of her active -feet in the service of man, and all that was mortal was carried for -the last time into the church she had loved so well. Then we knew and -understood that she had been called where His servants shall serve Him. - -The Madonna lilies, the lilies of France and of the fields, were placed -around her. Over her hung the torn banners of Scotland’s history. The -Scottish women had wrapped their country’s flag around them in one of -their hard-pressed flights. On her coffin, as she lay looking to the -East in high St. Giles’, were placed the flags of Great Britain and -Serbia. - -She had worn ‘the faded ribbons’ of the orders bestowed on her by -France, Russia, and Serbia. It has often been asked at home and abroad -why she had received no decorations at the hands of her Sovereign. It -is not an easy question to answer. - -On November the 29th, Dr. Inglis was buried, amid marks of respect -and recognition which make that passing stand alone in the history of -the last rites of any of her fellow-citizens. Great was the company -gathered within the church. The chancel was filled by her family and -relatives--her Suffrage colleagues, representatives from all the -societies, the officials of the hospitals and hostels she had founded -at home, the units whom she had led and by whose aid she had done great -things abroad. Last and first of all true-hearted mourners the people -of Serbia represented by their Minister and members of the Legation. -The chief of the Scottish Command was present, and by his orders -military honours were paid to this happy warrior of the Red Cross. - -The service had for its keynote the Hallelujah Chorus, which was played -as the procession left St. Giles’. It was a thanksgiving instinct with -triumph and hope. The Resurrection and the Life was in prayer and -praise. The Dean of the Order of the Thistle revealed the thoughts of -many hearts in his farewell words:-- - - ‘We are assembled this day with sad but proud and grateful hearts to - remember before God a very dear and noble lady, our beloved sister, - Elsie Inglis, who has been called to her rest. We mourn only for - ourselves, not for her. She has died as she lived, in the clear light - of faith and self-forgetfulness, and now her name is linked for ever - with the great souls who have led the van of womanly service for God - and man. A wondrous union of strength and tenderness, of courage - and sweetness, she remains for us a bright and noble memory of high - devotion and stainless honour. Especially to-day, in the presence of - representatives of the land for which she died, we think of her as an - immortal link between Serbia and Scotland, and as a symbol of that - high courage which will sustain us, please God, till that stricken - land is once again restored, and till the tragedy of war is eradicated - and crowned with God’s great gifts of peace and of righteousness.’ - -The buglers of the Royal Scots sounded ‘the Reveille to the waking -morn,’ and the coffin with the Allied flags was placed on the gun -carriage. Women were in the majority of the massed crowd that awaited -the last passing. ‘Why did they no gie her the V.C.?’ asked the -shawl-draped women holding the bairns of her care: these and many -another of her fellow-citizens lined the route and followed on foot -the long road across the city. As the procession was being formed, -Dr. Inglis’ last message was put into the hands of the members of the -London Committee for S.W.H. It ran:-- - - ‘_November 26, 1917._ - - ‘So sorry I cannot come to London. Dr. Williams and Dr. Ward are - agreed, and quite rightly. Will send Gwynn in a day or two with - explanations and suggestions. Colonel Miliantinovitch and Colonel - Tcholah Antitch were to make appointment this week or next from - Winchester; do see them, and also as many of the committee as possible - and show them every hospitality. They have been very kind to us, and - whatever happens, dear Miss Palliser, do beg the Committee to make - sure that they (the Serbs) have their hospitals and transport, for - they do need them. - - ‘Many thanks to the Committee for their kindness to me and their - support of me. - - ‘ELSIE INGLIS. - - ‘Dictated to Miss Evelyn Simson.’ - -How the people loved her! was the thought, as she passed through the -grief-stricken crowds. These, who knew her best, smiled as they said -one to another, ‘How all this would surprise her!’ - -Edinburgh is a city of spires and of God’s acres, the graves cut in -the living rock, within gardens and beside running waters. Across the -Water of Leith the long procession wound its way. Within sight of the -grave, it was granted to her grateful brethren, the representatives -of the Serbian nation, to carry her coffin, and lower it to the place -where the mortal in her was to lie in its last rest. Her life’s story -was grouped around her--the Serbian officers, the military of her own -nation at war, the women comrades of the common cause, the poor and -suffering--to one and all she had been the inspiring succourer. - -November mists had drifted all day across the city, veiling the -fortress strength of Scotland, and the wild wastes of seas over which -she had returned home to our island strength. Even as we turned and -left her, the grey clouds at eventide were transfused and glorified by -the crimson glow of the sunset on the hills of Time. - - -Printed in Great Britain by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His -Majesty at the Edinburgh University Press - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Illustrations have been moved to be near the text they illustrate. - -Variant spelling is retained. - -A very few changes have been made to punctuation for consistency. - -On page 210 “C’état” has been changed to “C’était” in “C’était -magnifique, magnifique! Ils sont les héros”. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DR. ELSIE INGLIS*** - - -******* This file should be named 51410-0.txt or 51410-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/4/1/51410 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. 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- padding-top: 1em; - padding-bottom: 1em; - text-align: center; -} - -p.caption{ - text-indent: 0em; - text-align: center; -} - - h1.pg,h2.pg,h3.pg { line-height: 1em; } - h2.pg { font-size: 135%; - margin-bottom: 1em; } - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pg">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Dr. Elsie Inglis, by Lady Frances Balfour</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Dr. Elsie Inglis</p> -<p>Author: Lady Frances Balfour</p> -<p>Release Date: March 9, 2016 [eBook #51410]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DR. ELSIE INGLIS***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="center">E-text prepared by MWS, Fay Dunn,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org/details/toronto">https://archive.org/details/toronto</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/drelsieinglis00balfuoft"> - https://archive.org/details/drelsieinglis00balfuoft</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<div class="transnote"> - <h2 class="nopagebreak" title="">Transcriber’s Note</h2> - -<p>Notes about the transcription can be found at <a href="#end-tn" title="">the end</a> of the book.</p> -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<h1 class="faux">DR. ELSIE INGLIS</h1> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="faux" title="">Frontispiece</h2> - -<p class="main_title">DR. ELSIE INGLIS</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" alt="Dr. Elsie Inglis, 1916" width="487" height="700" /> - <p class="caption">DR. ELSIE INGLIS, 1916</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - -<div> - -<p class="title1">DR. ELSIE INGLIS</p> -<p class="title3 space_above">BY</p> -<p class="title2">LADY FRANCES BALFOUR</p> -<p class="title5">AUTHOR OF ‘THE LIFE OF LADY VICTORIA CAMPBELL’</p> -<p class="title5">‘LIFE AND LETTERS OF REV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D.D.’</p> -<p class="title4 space_above">WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</p> -<p class="title2 space_above">HODDER AND STOUGHTON</p> -<p class="title3">LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO</p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - -<div> -<p class="title5">TO</p> -<p class="title3">SERBIA</p> -<p class="title5">AND THE</p> -<p class="title4">SCOTTISH WOMEN’S HOSPITALS</p> -<p class="title5">THAT SERVED AND LOVED</p> -<p class="title5">THEIR BRETHREN</p> -<p class="title5">1914–1917</p> -<p class="title5">‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - -<div> - -<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></p> - -<h2>PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">The</span> story of Elsie Inglis needs little introduction. -From first to last she was the woman nobly planned. -She achieved what she did because she was ready -when the opportunity came. Consistently she had -lived her life, doing whatever her hand found to do -with all her might, and ever following the light. -She had the spirit of her nation and of her race: -the spirit of courageous adventure, the love of -liberty, and equal freedom for all people.</p> - -<p>If this memoir represents her faithfully, it is -because it has been written among her own family -and kindred. Every letter or story of her is part -of a consistent whole. Transparently honest, -warmly affectioned to all, the record could hardly -err if, following exactly her footprints in the sands -of time, it presents a portrait of one of old Scotia’s -truest daughters. I owe manifold thanks to her -sisters, her friends, her patients, above all, to her -Units, for the help they have given me in what has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> -been a labour of love and growing respect. She, -being dead, yet speaketh; and, while we thank our -God for every remembrance of her, we hope that -those who are her living memorials, the patients in -the Hospice, and the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, -will not be forgotten by those who read and pass -on the pilgrim way.</p> - -<p>The design for the book cover has been drawn -by Dr. Inglis’ countryman, Mr. Anning Bell. It -is the emblem of her nation and of the S.W.H.</p> - -<p class="signed"> -F. B. -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> - -<div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> - -<table class="toc" summary="Contents"> - <tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="1">I</abbr></td></tr> - <tr> - <th></th> - <th>PAGE</th> - </tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">INGLIS OF KINGSMILLS, INVERNESS-SHIRE</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1" title="Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="2">II</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">ELSIE MAUD INGLIS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17" title="Page_17">17</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="3">III</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">THE LADDER OF LEARNING</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27" title="Page_27">27</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="4">IV</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">THE STUDENT DAYS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40" title="Page_40">40</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="5">V</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">LONDON AND DUBLIN</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_59" title="Page_59">59</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="6">VI</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">POLITICAL ENFRANCHISEMENT AND NATIONAL POLITICS</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82" title="Page_82">82</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="7">VII</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">THE PROFESSION AND THE FAITH</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111" title="Page_111">111</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="8">VIII</abbr><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">WAR AND THE SCOTTISH WOMEN</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_137" title="Page_137">137</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="9">IX</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">SERBIA</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_162" title="Page_162">162</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="10">X</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">RUSSIA</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191" title="Page_191">191</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="chap_cont" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="11">XI</abbr></td></tr> -<tr><td class="td_name">THE MOORINGS CUT</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_234" title="Page_234">234</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER I: INGLIS OF KINGSMILLS, INVERNESS-SHIRE">CHAPTER <abbr title="1">I</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">INGLIS OF KINGSMILLS, INVERNESS-SHIRE</span></h2> - -<h3 title=""><i>PART <abbr title="1">I</abbr></i><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">AMERICA</span></h3> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Their graves are scattered far and wide,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">O’er mountain, stream and sea.’</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘God of our fathers! be the God</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Of their succeeding race.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Among</span> the records of the family from whom Elsie -Inglis was descended there are letters which date -back to 1740. In that year the property of Kingsmills, -Inverness-shire, was in the hands of Hugh -Inglis. He had three sons, George, Alexander, -and William. George inherited Kingsmills, and -the Inglis now in Inverness are descended from -him. Alexander, the great-grandfather of Elsie, -married Mary Deas, and about 1780 emigrated to -Carolina, leaving his four children to be educated -in Scotland, in charge of his brother, William -Inglis. The portrait of Alexander, in the dress of -the period, has the characteristic features of the -race descended from him. The face is stamped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> -with the impress of a resolute, fearless character, -one who was likely to leave his mark on any -country in which he took up his abode. There -is an account of the property and estates of Alexander -Inglis of Charleston ‘merchant in his own -right.’ The account sets forth how the estates are -confiscated on account of the loyalty of the said -Alexander, and his adherence to, and support of -the British Government and constitution.</p> - -<p>In the schedule of property there occur, in close -relation, these items: 125 head of black cattle, -<abbr title="125 pounds">£125</abbr>; 69 slaves at <abbr title="60 pounds">£60</abbr> a head, <abbr title="4140 pounds">£4140</abbr>; a pew, -No. 31 in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Michael’s Church, Charleston, <abbr title="150 pounds">£150</abbr>; -11 house negroes, <abbr title="700 pounds">£700</abbr>; and a library of well-chosen -books, at a much lower figure. Alexander -never lost sight of the four children left in his -native land. In 1784 he congratulates his son -David on being Dux of his class, and says that he -prays constantly for him.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/alexander.jpg" alt="Alexander Inglis, 1916" width="575" height="700" /> - <p class="caption">ALEXANDER INGLIS (<i><abbr title="died">d.</abbr></i> 1791)<br /> - <span class="sub_head">GREAT-GRANDFATHER OF DR. ELSIE INGLIS</span></p> -</div> - -<p>Mary Deas, Alexander Inglis’ wife, through her -ancestor Sir David Dundas, was a direct descendant -of Robert the Bruce. All that is known of -her life is contained in the undated obituary notice -of the American newspaper of the day:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘The several duties of her station in life she discharged -as became the good Christian, supporting with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -exemplary fortitude the late trying separation from -her family.’</p> - -</blockquote> - -<p>Alexander’s restless and adventurous life was -soon to have a violent end.</p> - -<p>After their mother’s death, the three daughters -must have joined their father in America. One -of them, Katherine, whose face has been immortalised -by Raeburn, writes to her brother David, -who had been left in Scotland, to inform him of -the death of their father in a duel.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/katherine.jpg" alt="Mrs. Robertson" width="532" height="700" /> - <p class="caption"> MRS. ROBERTSON, <i>née</i> KATHERINE INGLIS<br /> - <span class="sub_head">GREAT-AUNT OF DR. ELSIE INGLIS<br /></span> - <span class="sub_head3">(<i>Portrait by Raeburn</i>)</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The letter which Alexander Inglis wrote to be -given to his children, should he fall in the duel, -is as fresh and clear as on the day when it was -written:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">My dear, dear Children</span>,—If ever you receive -this letter it will be after my death. You were present -this morning when I received the grossest insult that -could be offered me—and such as I little expected -from the young man who dared to offer it. Could -the epithets which in his passion he ventured to make -use of be properly applied to me—I would not wish to -live another hour, but as a man of honour, and the -natural guardian and protector of everything that is -dear and valuable to myself and to you, I have no -alternative left, but that of demanding reparation for -the injury I have received. If I fall—I do so in -defence of that honour, which is dearer to me than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -life. May that great, gracious and good Being, who is -the protector of innocence, and the sure rewarder of -goodness, bless, preserve and keep you.—I am, my -dear, dear children, your affectionate father,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap"><abbr title="Alexander">Alexr.</abbr> Inglis</span>.</p> -<p class="place_date">‘<span class="smcap">Charleston</span>,<br /> -‘<i>Tuesday evening, 29 March 1791</i>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The letter is addressed by name to the four -children.</p> - -<p>Katherine writes to her brother David in the -following May:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘In what manner, my dearest brother, shall I relate -to you the melancholy event that has befallen us. Our -dear parent, the best of fathers, is no more. How -shall I go on? Alas! you will hear too soon by whose -hand he fell; therefore I will not distress you with the -particulars of his death. The second day of our dear -father’s illness he called us to his bedside, when he told -us he had left a letter for us three and his dear boy -which would explain all things. Judge if you are able, -my dear brother, what must have been our thoughts -on this sad occasion to see our only dear parent tortured -with the most excruciating pains and breathing his -last. We were all of us too young, my brother, to -experience the heavy loss we met with when our dear -mother died, we had then a good father to supply our -wants. I have always thought the Almighty kind to -all His creatures, but more so in this particular that -He seldom deprives us of one friend without raising<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -another to comfort us. My dear sisters and self are -at present staying with good Mrs. Jamieson, who is -indeed a truly amiable woman. I am sure you will -regard her for your sisters’ sakes. You are happily -placed, my brother, under the care of kind uncles and -aunts who will no doubt (as they ever have done) prove -all you have lost. How happy would it make me in my -present situation to be among my friends in Scotland, -but as that is impossible for some time I must endeavour -to be as happy as I can. My kind duty to uncle and -aunts.—I am, my dearest brother, your truly affectionate -sister,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Katherine Inglis</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Thus closes the chapter of Alexander Inglis -and Mary Deas, his wife, both ‘long, long ago at -rest’ in the land of their exile, both bearing the -separation with fortitude, and the one rendering -his children fatherless rather than live insulted by -some nameless and graceless youth.</p> - -<p>David Inglis grew up in charge of the kind Uncle -William, and endeared himself to his adopted father. -He also was to fare to dominions beyond the sea, -and he carried the name of Inglis to India, where -he went in 1798 as writer to the East India -Company.</p> - -<p>Uncle William followed him with the usual good -advice. In a letter he tells David he expects him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -to make a fortune in India that will give him -‘<abbr title="3000 pounds">£3000</abbr> a year, that being the lowest sum on which -it is possible to live in comfort.’</p> - -<p>David’s life was a more adventurous one than -that which usually falls to a writer. He went -through the Mahratta War in 1803. He left India -in 1812. On applying for a sick certificate, the -resolution of Council, dated 1811, draws the -attention of the Honourable Company to his services, -‘most particularly when selected to receive -charge of the territorial cessions of the Peshwa -under the Treaty of Bassein in the year 1803, displaying -in the execution of that delicate and -difficult mission, proofs of judgment and talents -with moderation and firmness combined, which -averted the necessity of having recourse to coercive -measures, accomplished the peaceable transfer of -a valuable territory, and conciliated those whose -power and consequence were annihilated or abridged -by the important change he so happily effected.’ -David Inglis seems to have roamed through India, -always seeking new worlds to conquer, and confident -in his own powers to achieve.</p> - -<p>One of the Napoleonic invasion scares alarmed -the Company, and David, with two companions, -was sent out on a cruising expedition to see if they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -could sight the enemy’s fleet. As long as he wrote -from India, his letters bear the stamp of a man -full of vital energy and resource.</p> - -<p>The only thing he did not accomplish while in -the service of the Company was the fortune of -<abbr title="3000 pounds">£3000</abbr> a year.</p> - -<p>He entered a business firm in Bombay and there -made enough to be able to keep a wife. In 1806 he -married Martha Money, whose father was a partner -in the firm. They came home in 1812, and all their -younger children were born in England at Walthamstow, -the home of the Money family. One of the -descendants, who has read the letters of these three -brothers and their families, makes this comment -on them:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘The letters are pervaded with a sense of activity, -and of wandering. Each one entering into any pursuit -that came to hand. All the family were travellers. -There are letters from aunts in Gibraltar and many -other airts.</p> - -<p>‘The extraordinary thing in all the letters, whether -they were written by an Inglis, a Deas, or a Money, -is the pervading note of strong religious faith. They -not only refer to religion, but often, in truly Scottish -fashion they enter on long theological dissertations. -David Inglis, Elsie’s grandfather, when he was settled -in England gave missionary addresses. Two of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -exist, and must have taken fully an hour to read. Even -the restless Alexander in Carolina, and the “whirlwind” -David in India scarcely ever write a letter without -a reference to some religious topic. You get the impression -of strong breezy men sure of themselves, and -finding the world a great playground.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<h3 title=""><i>PART <abbr title="2">II</abbr></i><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">INDIA</span></h3> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘God of our fathers, known of old.</div> - <div class="p_line_i0"> <span class="spread-out">.....</span></div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Beneath Whose awful hand we hold</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Dominion over palm and pine.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>John, the second youngest son of David and -Martha Inglis, was born in 1820. His mother -being English, there entered with her some of the -douce Saxon disposition and ways. Though the -call of the blood was to cast his lot in India, John, -or as he was generally called David, appears first -as a student. His tutor, the <abbr title="Reverend">Rev.</abbr> Dr. Niblock, -wrote a report of him as he was passing out of his -hands to Haileybury. Mrs. Inglis notes on the -letter: ‘Dr. Niblock is esteemed one of the best -Greek scholars in England, and his Greek Grammar -is the one in use in Eton.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> -<blockquote> -<p>‘Of Master David Inglis I can speak with pleasure -and pride almost unmixed. I can only loudly express -how I regret that I have not the finishing of -such a boy, for I feel, and shall ever feel, that he is -<em>mine</em>. He has long begun to do what few boys do -till they are leaving, or have left, school, viz. to think. -I shall long cherish the hope, that as I laid the foundation, -so shall I have the power and pleasure of crowning -my own and other’s labours. He will make a fine -fellow and be a comfort to his parents, and an honour -to his tutor.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>John Inglis received a nomination for Haileybury -College from one of the directors of the East -India Company, and went there as a student in -1839. There he was noted as a cricketer and -a good horseman, and also for his reading. He -knew Shakespeare almost by heart, and could tell -where to find any quotation from his works. On -leaving Haileybury he sailed for Calcutta, and was -there for two years learning the language. He -went as assistant magistrate to Agra. He married -in 1846, and in 1847 he was transferred to the -newly-acquired province of the Punjab. He was -sent as magistrate to Sealkote, remaining there -till 1856. He then brought his family home on -three years’ furlough. With the outbreak of the -Mutiny all civilians were recalled, and he returned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -to India in 1858. He was sent to Bareilly to take -part in the suppression of the Mutiny, and was -attached to the force under General Jones. He -was present at the action at Najibabad, with the -recapture of Bareilly, and the pacification of the -province of Rohilcund. He remained in the province -ten years till 1868, and during those years he -rose to be Commissioner of Rohilcund. In 1868 -he was made a member of the Board of Revenue -in the North-West Provinces. As a member of the -Legislative Council of India, he moved, in 1873, -to Calcutta. From 1875 to 1877 he was Chief -Commissioner of Oude.</p> - -<p>The position Inglis made for himself in India, -in yet early life, is to be gauged by a letter written -in 1846 by Sir Frederick Currie, who was then -Commissioner of Lahore. He had married Mrs. -Inglis’ sister Katherine.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘We have applied to Mr. Thomasen (Lieutenant-Governor -of the N.W.P.) for young civilians for the -work which is now before us, and we must take several -with us into the Punjab. One whom he strongly -recommends is Inglis at Agra. I will copy what he -says about him. Sir Henry Hardinge (the Governor-General) -has not seen the letter yet. “Another man -who might suit you is Inglis at Agra; an assistant -on <abbr title="400 pounds">£400</abbr>, acting as joint magistrate which gives him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -one hundred more. Active, energetic, conciliating -to natives, fine-tempered, and thoroughly honest in -all his works. I am not sure that he is not as good a -man as you can have. I shall be glad to hear that you -send for him.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The letter was addressed to Inglis’ eighteen-year-old -bride, and Sir Frederick goes on:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Shall I send for him or not? I am almost sure I -should have done so, had I not heard of your getting -hold of his heart. We don’t want <em>heartless</em> men, but -really you have no right to keep <em>such</em> a man from us. -At the present moment, however, for your sake, little -darling, I won’t take him from his present work, but -if, after the honeymoon, he would prefer active and -stirring employment, with the prospect of distinction, -to the light-winged toys of feathered cupid, I dare say -I shall be able to find an opening for him.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Mr. Inglis’ wife was Harriet Louis Thompson, -one of nine daughters. Her father was one of the -first Indian civilians in the old company’s days. -All of the nine sisters married men in the Indian -Civil, with the exception of one who married an -army officer. Harriet came out to her parents in -India when she was seventeen, and she married in -her eighteenth year. She must have been a girl -of marked character and ability. She met her -future husband at a dance in her father’s house,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -and she appears to have been the first to introduce -the waltz into India. She was a fine rider, and -often drove tandem in India. She must have had -a steady nerve, for her letters are full of various -adventures in camp and tiger-haunted jungles, and -most of them narrate the presence of one of her -infants who was accompanying the parents on their -routine of Indian official life.</p> - -<p>Her daughter says of her:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘She was deeply religious. Some years after their -marriage, when she must have been a little over thirty -and was alone in England with the six elder children, -she started and ran most successfully a large working-men’s -club in Southampton. Such a thing was not -as common as it is to-day. There she lectured on -Sunday evenings on religious subjects to the crowded -hall of men.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In the perfectly happy home of the Inglis family -in India, the Indian ayah was one of the household -in love and service to those she served. Mrs. -Simson has supplied some memories of this faithful -retainer:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>‘The early days, the nursery days in the life of a -family, are always looked back upon with loving -interest, and many of us can trace to them many -sweet and helpful influences. So it was with our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -early days, though the nursery was in India, and the -dear nurse who lives in our memories was an Indian. -Her name was Sona (Gold). She came into our family -when the eldest of us was born, and remained one -of the household for more than thirty years. Her -husband came with her, and in later years three of her -sons were table servants. Sona came home with us in -1857, and remained in England till the beginning of -1858. It was a sign of great attachment to us, for she -left her own family away up in the Punjab, and fared -out in the long sea voyage, into a strange country and -among new peoples. She made friends wherever she -was, and her stay in England was a great help to her -in after life. When I returned to India after my -school life at home, I found the dear nurse of my -childhood days installed again as nurse to the little -sisters and brother I found there.</p> - -<p>‘She was a sweet, gentle woman, and we never learnt -anything but kind, gentle ways from her. By the time -I returned she was recognised by the whole compound -of servants as one to be looked up to and respected. -She became a Christian and was baptized in 1877, but -long before she made profession of her faith by baptism -she lived a consistent Christian life. My dear mother’s -influence was strong with her, and she was a reader -of the Bible. One of my earliest recollections is our -reading together the fourteenth chapter of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> John.</p> - -<p>‘She died some years after we had all settled in -Scotland. My parents left her, with a small pension -for life, in charge of the missionaries at Lucknow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -When she died, they wrote to us saying that old Sona -had been one of the pillars of the Indian Christian -Church in Lucknow.</p> - -<p>‘We look forward with a sure and certain hope to -our reunion in the home of many mansions, with her, -around whom our hearts still cling with love and -affection.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In 1856 Mr. Inglis resolved to come home on -furlough, accompanied by Mrs. Inglis, and what was -called ‘the first family,’ namely, the six boys and -one girl born to them in India. It was a formidable -journey to accomplish even without children, -and one writes, ‘How mother stood it all I cannot -imagine.’ They came down from the Punjab to -Calcutta trekking in dâk garris. It took four -months to reach Calcutta by this means of progression, -and another four months to come home -by the Cape. The wonderful ayah, Sona, was a -great help in the toilsome journey when they -brought the children back to England. Mrs. -Inglis was soon to have her first parting with her -husband. When they landed in England, news -of the outbreak of the Mutiny met them, and Mr. -Inglis returned almost at once to take his place -beside John Lawrence. Together they fought -through the Mutiny, and then he worked under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -him. Inglis was one of John Lawrence’s men in -the great settling of the Punjab which followed on -that period of stress and strain in the Empire of -India. His own district was Bareilly, and the -house where he lived in Sealkote is still known as -Inglis Sahib ke koti (Inglis Sahib’s house). His -children remember the thrilling stories he used to -tell them of these great days, and of the great -men who made their history.</p> - -<p>His admiration was unbounded for those northern -races of India. He loved and respected them, and -they, in their turn, gave him unbounded confidence -and affection. ‘Every bit as good as an Englishman,’ -was a phrase often on his lips when speaking -of the fine Sikhs and Punjabis and Rajpoots.</p> - -<p>Englishwomen were not allowed in India during -this period, and Mrs. Inglis had to remain in -Southampton with her six children and their ayah. -It was then that she found work in her leisure time -for the work she did in the Men’s Club.</p> - -<p>In 1863, when life in India had resumed its -normal course, Mrs. Inglis rejoined her husband, -leaving the children she had brought back at home.</p> - -<p>It must have taken all the ‘fortitude’ that -Mary Deas had shown long before in Carolina to -face this separation. There was no prospect of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -the running backwards and forwards, which steam -was so soon to develop, and to draw the dominions -into closer bonds. Letters took months to pass, -and no cable carried the messages of life and death -across ‘the white-lipped seas.’ Again, one of the -survivors says: ‘I always felt even as a child, -and am sure of it now, she left her heart behind -with the six elder children. What it must have -meant to a woman of her deep nature, I cannot -imagine.’ The decision was made, and Mr. Inglis -was to have the great reward of her return to him, -after his seven years of strenuous and anxious -loneliness. The boys were sent, three of them to -Eton, and two more to Uppingham and to Rugby. -Amy Inglis the daughter was left with friends. -Relatives were not lacking in this large clan and -its branches, and the children were ‘looked after’ -by them. We owe much of our knowledge of ‘the -second little family,’ which were to comfort the -parents in India, by the correspondence concerning -them with the dearly-loved children left in the -homelands.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="CHAPTER II: ELSIE MAUD INGLIS">CHAPTER <abbr title="2">II</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">ELSIE MAUD INGLIS<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">1864–1917</span></h2> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> - -<p>‘Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the -fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the -hand of the mighty man, so are children of the youth. -Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; -they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with -the enemies in the gate.’</p> - -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="smcap">Naini Tal</span>, <i><abbr title="August">Aug.</abbr> 16, 1864</i>. -</p> - -<p class="noindent">‘<span class="smcap">My darling Amy</span>,—Thank God, I am able to tell you -that your dearest mother, and your little sister who -was born this morning are well. Aunt Ellen thinks -that baby is very like your dearest mother, but I do -not see the resemblance at present. I hope I may -by and by. We could not form a better wish for her, -than that she may grow up like her dear mother in -every respect. Old Sona is quite delighted to have -another baby to look after again. She took possession -of her the moment she was born, as she has done with -all of you. The nurse says she is a very strong and -healthy baby. I wish to tell you as early as possible -the good news of God’s great mercy and goodness -towards us in having brought your dearest mother -safely through this trial.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Inglis writes a long account of Elsie at a -month old, and says she is supposed to have a -temper, as she makes herself heard all over the -house, and strongly objects to being brought -indoors and put into her cradle.</p> - -<p>In October she writes how the two babies, her -own and Aunt Ellen’s little boy, had been taken -to church to be baptized, the one by the name of -Elsie Maude, the other Cyril Powney. Both children -were thriving, and no one would know that -there were two babies in the house. ‘Elsie always -stares very hard at papa when he comes to speak -to her, as if she did not quite know what to make -of his black beard, something different to what she -is accustomed to see, but she generally ends by -laughing at him’—the first notice of that radiant -friendship in which father and daughter were to -journey together in a happy pilgrimage through -life.</p> - -<p>Elsie had early to make long driving expeditions -with her parents, and her mother reports her as -‘accommodating herself to circumstances, watching -the trees, sleeping under them, and the jolliest -little traveller I ever saw.’</p> - -<p>In December 1864 Mrs. Inglis reports their -return from camp:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘It has been most extraordinarily warm for the time -of year, and there has been very little rain during -the whole twelvemonth. People attribute it to the -wonderful comet which has been visible in the southern -hemisphere. Elsie is very well, but she is a very little -thing with a very wee face. She has a famous pair -of large blue eyes, and it is quite remarkable how she -looks about her and seems to observe everything. -She lies in her bed at night in the dark and talks away -out loud in her own little language, and little voice, -and she is always ready for a laugh.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Later on Mrs. Inglis writes: ‘I think she is one -of the most intelligent babies I ever met with.’</p> - -<p>Every letter descriptive of the dark, blue-eyed -baby with the fast growing light hair, speaks of -the smile ready for every one who speaks to her, -and the hearty laughs which seem to have been -one of her earliest characteristics.</p> - -<p>One journey tried Elsie’s philosophy of taking -life as she found it. Mrs. Inglis writes to her -daughter:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="smcap">Naini Tal</span>, 1865. -</p> - -<p>‘We came in palkies from Beharin to a place called -Jeslie, half way up the hill to Naini Tal, and were -about ten hours in the palkies. I had arranged to -have Elsie with me in my palkie, but the little monkey -did not like being away from Sona, and then the -strangeness of the whole proceedings bewildered her,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -and the noise of the bearers seemed to frighten her, -so I was obliged to make her over to Sona. She went -to sleep after a little while. As we came near the hills -it became cold and a wind got up, and then Papa -brought her back to me, for we did not quite like her -being in Sona’s doolie, which was not so well protected -as mine. She had become more reconciled to the -disagreeables of dâk travelling by that time. We -reached our house about nine o’clock yesterday morning. -The change from the dried-up hot plains is very -pleasant. You may imagine how often I longed for -the railroad and our civilised English way of travelling.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Mrs. Shaw M‘Laren, the companion sister of -Elsie, and to whom her correspondence always -refers, has written down some memories of the happy -childhood days in India. The year was divided -between the plains and the hills of India. Elsie -was born in August 1864, at Naini Tal, one of the -most beautiful hill stations in the Himalayas. -From the verandah, where much of the day was -spent, the view was across the masses of ‘huddled -hills’ to the ranges crowned by the everlasting -snows. An outlook of silent and majestic stillness, -and one which could not fail to influence -such a spirit as shone out in the always wonderful -eyes of Elsie. She grew up with the vision of the -glory of the earthly dominion, and it gave a new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -meaning to the kingdom of the things of the -spirit.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘All our childhood is full of remembrances of -“Father.” He never forgot our birthdays; however -hot it was down in the scorched plains, when the day -came round, if we were up in the hills, a large parcel -would arrive from him. His very presence was joy -and strength when he came to us at Naini Tal. -What a remembrance there is of early walks and early -breakfasts with him and the three of us. The table -was spread in the verandah between six and seven. -Father made three cups of cocoa, one for each of us, -and then the glorious walk! Three ponies followed -behind, each with their attendant grooms, and two or -three red-coated chaprasis, father stopping all along -the road to talk to every native who wished to speak -to him, while we three ran about, laughing and interested -in everything. Then, at night, the shouting -for him after we were in bed and father’s step bounding -up the stair in Calcutta, or coming along the matted -floor of our hill home. All order and quietness flung -to the winds while he said good night to us.</p> - -<p>‘It was always understood that Elsie and he were -special chums, but that never made any jealousy. -Father was always just! The three cups of cocoa were -exactly the same in quality and quantity. We got -equal shares of his right and his left hand in our walks, -but Elsie and he were comrades, inseparables from the -day of her birth.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘In the background of our lives there was always -the quiet strong mother, whose eyes and smile live on -through the years. Every morning before the breakfast -and walk, there were five minutes when we sat in front -of her in a row on little chairs in her room and read the -scripture verses in turn, and then knelt in a straight, -quiet row and repeated the prayers after her. Only -once can I remember father being angry with any of -us, and that was when one of us ventured to hesitate in -instant obedience to some wish of hers. I still see the -room in which it happened, and the thunder in his voice -is with me still.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Both Mr. and Mrs. Inglis belonged to the -Anglican Church, though they never hesitated to -go to any denomination where they found the best -spiritual life. In later life in Edinburgh, they -were connected with the Free Church of Scotland. -To again quote from his daughter: ‘His religious -outlook was magnificently broad and beautiful, -and his belief in God simple and profound. His -devotion to our mother is a thing impossible to -speak about, but we all feel that in some intangible -way it influenced and beautified our childhood.’</p> - -<p>In 1870 Mrs. Inglis writes of the lessons of Elsie -and her sister Eva. ‘The governess, Mrs. Marwood, -is successful as a teacher; it comes easy -enough to Elsie to learn, and she delights in stories<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -being told her. Every morning after their early -morning walk, and while their baths are being got -ready, their mother says they come to her to say -their prayers and learn their Bible lesson.’ There -are two letters more or less composed by Elsie and -written by her father. In as far as they were -dictated by herself, they take stock of independent -ways, and the spirit of the Pharisee is early developed -in the courts of the Lord’s House, as she -manages not to fall asleep all the time, while the -weaker little sister slumbers and sleeps.</p> - -<p>Eva, the sleepy sister, has some further reminiscences -of these nursery days:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘We had forty dolls! Elsie decreed once that they -should all have measles—so days were spent by us -three painting little red dots all over the forty faces -and the forty pairs of arms and legs. She was the -doctor and prescribed gruesome drugs which we had -to administer. Then it was decreed that they should -slowly recover, so each day so many spots were washed -off until the epidemic was wiped out!</p> - -<p>‘Another time one of the forty dolls was lost! Maria -was small and ugly, but much loved, and the search -for her was <em>tremendous</em>, but unsuccessful. The younger -sister gave it up. After all there were plenty other -dolls—never mind Maria! But Elsie stuck to it. -Maria must be found. Father would find her when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -he came home from Kutcherry in the evening, if nobody -else could. So father was told with many tears of -Maria’s disappearance. He agreed—Maria must be -found. The next day all the enormous staff of Indian -servants, numbering all told about thirty or so, were -had up in a row and told that unless Maria was found -sixpence would be cut from each servant’s pay for interminable -months! <em>What</em> a search ensued! and Maria -came to light within half an hour—in the pocket of -one of the dresses of her little mistress found by one of -the ayahs! Her mistress declared at the time, and -always maintained with undiminished certainty, that -she had first been put there, and then found by the -ayah in question during that half-hour’s search!’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>These reminiscences have more of interest than -just the picture of the little child who was to -carry on the early manifestations of a keen interest -in life. A smile, surely one of the clouds of glory -she trailed from heaven, and carried back untarnished -by the tragedies of a stricken earth; they -are chiefly valuable in the signs of a steadfast, -independent will. The interest of all Elsie’s early -development lay in the comradeship with a father -whose wide benevolence and understanding love -was to be the guide and helper in his daughter’s -career. Not for the first time in the history of -outstanding lives, the daughter has been the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -friend, and not the subjugated child of a selfish -and dominant parent.</p> - -<p>The date of Elsie’s birth was in the dawn of the -movement which believed it possible that women -could have a mind and a brain of their own, and -that the freedom of the one and the cultivation -of the other was not a menace to the possessive -rights of the family, or the ruin of society at large. -Thousands of women born at the same date were -instructed that the aim of their lives must be to -see to the creature comforts of their male parent, -and when he was taken from them, to believe it -right that he had neither educated them, nor made -provision for the certain old age and spinsterdom -which lay before the majority.</p> - -<p>There have been many parents who gave their -daughters no reason to call them blessed, when -they were left alone unprovided with gear or education. -In all periods of family history, such -instances as Mr. Inglis’ outlook for his daughters -is uncommon. He desired for them equal opportunities, -and the best and highest education. He -gave them the best of his mind, not its dregs, and -a comradeship which made a rare and happy -entrance for them into life’s daily toil and struggle. -The father asked for nothing but their love, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -he had his own unselfish devotion returned to him -a hundredfold.</p> - -<p>It must have been a great joy to him to watch -the unfolding of talent and great gifts in this -daughter who was always ‘his comrade.’ He -could not live to see the end of a career so blessed, -so rich in womanly grace and sustaining service, -but he knew he had spared no good thing he could -bring into her life, and when her mission was -fulfilled, then, those who read and inwardly digest -these pages will feel that she first learnt the secret -of service to mankind in the home of her father.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER III: THE LADDER OF LEARNING">CHAPTER <abbr title="3">III</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">THE LADDER OF LEARNING<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">1876–1885</span></h2> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Hast thou come with the heart of thy childhood back:</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">The free, the pure, the kind?</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">So murmured the trees in my homeward track,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">As they played to the mountain wind.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Hath thy soul been true to its early love?</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Whispered my native streams.</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Hath the spirit nurs’d amid hill and grove,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Still revered its first high dream?’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">After</span> Mr. Inglis had been Chief Commissioner of -Oude, he decided to retire from his long and -arduous service. Had he been given the Lieutenant-Governorship -of the North-West, as was -expected by some in the service, he would probably -have accepted it and remained longer in -India. He was not in sympathy with Lord -Lytton’s Afghan policy, and that would naturally -alter his desire for further employment.</p> - -<p>As with his father before him, his work was -highly appreciated by those he served. Lord -Lytton, the Viceroy, in a letter to Lord Salisbury,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -then Secretary of State for India, writes, February -1876:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘During the short period of my own official tenure -I have met with much valuable assistance from Mr. -Inglis, both as a member of my Legislative Council, -and also as officiating Commissioner in Oudh, more -especially as regards the amalgamation of Oudh with -the <abbr title="North West">N.W.</abbr> Provinces. Of his character and abilities -I have formed so high an opinion that had there been -an available vacancy I should have been glad to secure -to my government his continued services.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Two of Mr. Inglis’ sons had settled in Tasmania, -and it was decided to go there before bringing -home the younger members of his family. The -eldest daughter, Mrs. Simson, was now married and -settled in Edinburgh, and the Inglis determined -to make their home in that city.</p> - -<p>Two years were spent in Hobart settling the two -sons on the land. Mrs. M‘Laren says:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘When in Tasmania, Elsie and I went to a very good -school. Miss Knott, the head-mistress, had come out -from Cheltenham College for Girls. Here in the days -when such things were practically unknown, Elsie, -backed by Miss Knott, instituted ‘school colours.’ -They were very primitive, not beautiful hatbands, -but two inches of blue and white ribbon sewn on to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -safety pin, and worn on the lapel of our coats. How -proud we were of them.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Mr. Inglis, writing to his daughter in Edinburgh, -says of their school life:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Elsie has done very well, she is in the second class -and last week got up to second in the class.</p> - -<p>‘We are all in a whirl having to sort and send off -our boxes, some round the Cape, some to Melbourne, -and some to go with us.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Mrs. Inglis, on board the <i>Durham</i> homeward -bound, writes:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Elsie has found occupation for herself in helping -to nurse sick children, and look after turbulent boys who -trouble everybody on board, and a baby of seven -months old is an especial favourite with her. Eva -has met with a bosom friend in a little girl named -Pearly Macmillan, without whom she would have -collapsed altogether. Our vessel is not a fast one, but -we have been only five instead of six weeks getting to -Suez.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The family took a house at 70 Bruntsfield Place, -and the two girls were soon at school. Mrs. -M‘Laren says:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Elsie and I used to go daily to the Charlotte Square -Institution, which used in those days to be the Edinburgh -school for girls. Mr. Oliphant was headmaster. -Father never approved of the Scotch custom of children<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -walking long distances to school, and we used to be -sent every morning in a cab. The other day, when -telling the story of the S.W.H.’s to a large audience of -working women in Edinburgh, one woman said to me, -“My husband is a prood man the day! He tells -everybody how he used to drive Dr. Inglis to school -every morning when she was a girl.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Of her school life in Edinburgh, Miss Wright -gives these memories:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I remember quite distinctly when the girls of 23 -Charlotte Square were told that two girls from Tasmania -were coming to the school, and a certain feeling of -surprise that the said girls were just like ordinary -mortals, though the big, earnest brows and the quaint -hair parted in the middle and done up in plaits fastened -up at the back of the head were certainly not ordinary. -Elsie was put in a higher English class than I was in, -and though I knew her, I did not know her very well.</p> - -<p>‘A friend has a story of a question going round the -class, she thinks Clive or Warren Hastings was the -subject of the lesson, and the question was what one -would do if a calumny were spread about one. “Deny -it,” one girl answered. “Fight it,” another. Still the -teacher went on asking. “Live it down,” said Elsie. -“Right, Miss Inglis.” My friend writes, “The question -I cannot remember, it was the bright confident smile -with the answer, and Mr. Hossack’s delighted wave to -the top of the class that abides in my memory.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘I always think a very characteristic story of Elsie -is her asking that the school might have permission to -play in Charlotte Square gardens. In those days no -one thought of providing fresh air exercise for girls -except by walks, and tennis was just coming in. Elsie -had the courage (to us schoolgirls it seemed the extraordinary -courage) to confront the three directors of -the school and ask if we might be allowed to play in the -gardens of the Square. The three directors together -were to us the most formidable and awe-inspiring -body, though separately they were amiable and -estimable men!</p> - -<p>‘The answer was we might play in the gardens if -the neighbouring proprietors would give their consent, -and the heroic Elsie, with I think one other girl, actually -went round to each house in the Square and asked -consent of the owner.</p> - -<p>‘In those days the inhabitants of Charlotte Square -were very select and exclusive indeed, and we all felt -it was a brave thing to do. Elsie gained her point, -and the girls played at certain hours in the Square -till a regular playing field was arranged.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Her sister Eva reports that the first answer of -the directors was enough for the rest of the school. -But Elsie, undaunted, interviewed each of the -three directors herself. After every bell in Charlotte -Square had been rung and all interviewed, -she returned from this great expedition triumphant.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -All had consented, so the damsels interned from -nine to three were given the gardens, and the -grim, dull, palisaded square must have suddenly -been made to blossom like the rose. Would that -some follower of Elsie Inglis even now might ring -the door bells and get the gates unlocked to the -rising generation. Elsie’s companion or companions -in this first attempt to influence those in -authority have been spoken of as ‘her first -unit.’</p> - -<p>Elsie was, for a time, joint editor of the <cite>Edina</cite>, -a school magazine of the ordinary type. Her great -achievement was in making it pay, which, it is -recorded, no other editor was able to do. There -are various editorial anxieties alluded to in her -correspondence with her father. The memories -quoted take us further than school days, but they -find a fitting place here.</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Our more intimate acquaintance came after Mrs. -Inglis’ death and when Elsie was thinking of and -beginning her medical work. In 1888 six of us girls -who had been at the same school started the “Six -Sincere Students Society,” which met in one house. -The first year we read and discussed Emerson’s Essays -on “<cite class="plain">Self-Reliance</cite> and <cite class="plain">Heroism</cite>.” I am pretty sure -it was Elsie who suggested those Essays. Also, Helps,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -and Matthew Arnold’s <cite>Culture and Anarchy</cite>. I have -a note on this “two very hot discussions as to what -Culture means, and if it is sufficiently powerful to -regenerate the world. Culture of the masses and also -of women largely gone into.”</p> - -<p>‘This very friendly and happy society lasted on -till 1891, when it was enlarged and became a Debating -Society. I find Elsie taking up such subjects as “That -our modern civilisation is a development not a degeneration.” -“That character is formed in a busy life rather -than in solitude.” Papers on Henry Drummond’s -<cite>Ascent of Man</cite>, and on the “Ethics of War.”</p> - -<p>‘Always associated with Elsie in those days I think -of her father, and no biography of her will be true which -does not emphasise the beautiful and deep love and -sympathy between Elsie and Mr. Inglis. He used -to meet us girls as if we were his intellectual equals, -and would discuss problems and answer our questions -with the utmost cordiality and appreciation of our -point of view, and always there was the feeling of the -entire understanding and fellowship between father -and daughter.</p> - -<p>‘She was a keen croquet player, and tolerated -no frivolity when a stroke either at croquet or golf -were in the balance. She was fond of long walks with -Mr. Inglis, and then by herself, and time never hung on -her hands in holiday time, she was always serene and -happy.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>It was decided that Elsie should go to school in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -Paris in September 1882—a decision not lightly -made; and Mr. Inglis writes after her departure:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I do not think I could have borne to part with you, -my darling, did I not feel the assurance that in doing -so we are following the Lord’s guidance. Your dear -mother and I both made it the subject of earnest prayer, -and I feel we have been guided to do what was best for -you; and we shall see this when the weary time is -over, and we have got you back again with us.</p> - -<p>‘When I return to Edinburgh, I feel that I shall -have no one to find out my Psalms for me, or to cut -my <cite>Spectator</cite>, that we shall have no more discussions -regarding the essays of Mr. Fraser, and no more -anxieties about the forthcoming number of the <cite>Edina</cite>. -The nine months will pass quickly.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Elsie’s letters from Paris have not been preserved, -but the ones from her father show the -alert intelligence and interest in all she was reporting. -Of the events at home and abroad, Mr. -Inglis writes to her of the Suez Canal, the bringing -to justice of the Phœnix Park murderers, the great -snowstorm at home, and the Channel Tunnel. -Mrs. Inglis writes with maternal scepticism on -some passing events: ‘I cannot imagine you -making the body of your dress. I think there -would not be many carnivals if you had to make -the dresses yourselves.’ Mr. Inglis, equally sceptical,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -has a more satisfactory solution for dressmaking. -‘I hope you have more than one dinner -frock, two or three, and let them be pretty ones.’ -Mrs. Inglis, commenting on Elsie’s description of -Gambetta’s funeral, says: ‘He is a loss to France. -Poor France, she always seems to me like a vessel -without a helm driven about just where the winds -take it. She has no sound Christian principle to -guide her. So different from our highly favoured -England.’</p> - -<p>Mr. Inglis’ letters are full of the courteous consideration -for Elsie and for others which marked -all the way of his life, and made him the man -greatly beloved, in whatever sphere he moved. -<cite>Punch</cite> and the <cite>Spectator</cite> went from him every -week, and he writes: ‘I hope there was nothing -in that number of <cite>Punch</cite> you gave <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr"><abbr title="Monsieur">M.</abbr> Survelle</span> to -study while you were finishing your breakfast to -hurt his feelings as a Frenchman. <cite>Punch</cite> has not -been very complimentary to them of late.’ And -when Elsie’s sense of humour had been moved by -a saying of her <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">gouvernante</span></i>, Mr. Inglis writes, -desirous of a very free correspondence with home, -but—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I fear if I send your letter to Eva, at school, that -your remark about Miss —— proposal to go down to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -the lower flat of your house, because the Earl of -Anglesea once lived there, may be repeated and ultimately -reach her with exaggerations, as those things -always do, and may cause unpleasant feelings.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>There must have been some exhibition of British -independence, and in dealing with it Mr. Inglis -reminds Elsie of a day in India ‘when you went -off for a walk by yourself, and we all thought -you were lost, and all the Thampanies and chaprasies -and everybody were searching for you all -over the hill.’ One later episode was not on a -hillside, and except for <i><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">les demoiselles</span></i> in Paris, -equally harmless.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"><i>‘<abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> 1883</i>.</p> - -<p>‘I can quite sympathise with you, my darling, in -the annoyance you feel at not having told Miss Brown -of your having walked home part of the way from -<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Madame M——</span> last Wednesday. It would have been -far better if you had told her, as you wished to do, -what had happened. Concealment is always wrong, -and very often turns what was originally only a trifle -into a serious matter. In this case, I don’t suppose -Miss B. could have said much if you had told her, -though she may be seriously angry if it comes to her -knowledge hereafter. If she does hear of it, you had -better tell her that you told me all about it, and that I -advised you, under the circumstances, as you had not -told her at the time, and that as by doing so now you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -could only get the others into trouble, not to say -anything about it; but keep clear of these things for -the future, my darling.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>When the end came here, in this life, one of her -school-fellows wrote:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Elsie has been and is such a world-wide inspiration -to all who knew her. One more can testify to -the blessedness of her friendship. Ever since the -Paris days of ’83 her strong loving help was ready -in difficult times, and such wonderfully strengthening -comfort in sorrow.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The Paris education ended in the summer of -1883, and Miss Brown, who conducted and lived -with the seven girls who went out with her from -England, writes after their departure:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I cannot tell you how much I felt when you all -disappeared, and how sad it was to go back to look at -your deserted places. I cannot at all realise that you -are now all separated, and that we may never meet -again on earth. May we meet often at the throne of -grace, and remember each other there. It is nice to -have a French maid to keep up the conversations, and -if you will read French aloud, even to yourself, it is of -use.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Paris was, no doubt, an education in itself, but -the perennial hope of fond parents that languages<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -and music are in the air of the continent, were -once again disappointed in Elsie. She was timber-tuned -in ear and tongue, and though she would -always say her mind in any vehicle for thought, -the accent and the grammar strayed along truly -British lines. Her eldest niece supplies a note on -her music:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘She was still a schoolgirl when they returned from -Tasmania. At that time she was learning music at -school. I thought her a wonderful performer on the -piano, but afterwards her musical capabilities became a -family joke which no one enjoyed more than herself. -She had two “pieces” which she could play by heart, -of the regular arpeggio drawing-room style, and these -always had to be performed at any family function as -one of the standing entertainments.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Elsie returned from Paris, the days of the schoolgirlhood -left behind. Her character was formed, -and she had the sense of latent powers. She had -not been long at home when her mother died of a -virulent attack of scarlet fever, and Mr. Inglis lost -the lodestar of his loving nature. ‘From that day -Elsie shouldered all father’s burdens, and they two -went on together until his death.’</p> - -<p>In her desk, when it was opened, these ‘Resolutions’ -were found. They are written in pencil,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -and belong to the date when she became the stay -and comfort of her father’s remaining years:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I must give up dreaming,—making stories.</p> - -<p>‘I must give up getting cross.</p> - -<p>‘I must devote my mind more to the housekeeping.</p> - -<p>‘I must be more thorough in everything.</p> - -<p>‘I must be truthful.</p> - -<p>‘The bottom of the whole evil is the habit of dreaming, -which must be given up. So help me, God.</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Elsie Inglis.</span>’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER IV: THE STUDENT DAYS">CHAPTER <abbr title="4">IV</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">THE STUDENT DAYS<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">1885–1892<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head3">EDINBURGH—GLASGOW</span></h2> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Let knowledge grow from more to more,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">But more of reverence in us dwell;</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">That mind and soul, according well,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">May make one music as before,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">But vaster.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">‘I remember</span> well the day Elsie came in and, -sitting down beside father, divulged her plan of -“going in for medicine.” I still see and hear him, -taking it all so perfectly calmly and naturally, and -setting to work at once to overcome the difficulties -which were in the way, for even then all was not -plain sailing for the woman who desired to study -medicine.’ So writes Mrs. M‘Laren, looking back -on the days when the future doctor recognised her -vocation and ministry. If it had been a profession -of ‘plain sailing,’ the adventurous spirit would -probably not have embarked in that particular -vessel. The seas had only just been charted, and -not every shoal had been marked. In the midst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -of them Elsie’s bark was to have its hairbreadth -escapes. The University Commission decided that -women should not be excluded any longer from -receiving degrees owing to their sex. The writer -recollects the description given of the discussion -by the late Sir Arthur Mitchell, K.C.B., one of the -most enlightened minds of the age in which he -lived and achieved so much. He, and one or more -of his colleagues, presented the Commissioners with -the following problem: ‘Why not? On what -theory or doctrine was it just or beneficent to -exclude women from University degrees?’ There -came no answer, for logic cannot be altogether -ignored by a University Commission, so, without -opposition or blare of trumpets, the Scottish -Universities opened their degrees to all students. -It was of good omen that the Commission sat in -high Dunedin, under that rock bastion where -Margaret, saint and queen, was the most learned -member of the Scottish nation in the age in which -she reigned.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jex Blake had founded the Edinburgh -School of Medicine for Women, and it was there -that Elsie received her first medical teaching. -Everything was still in its initial stages, and every -step in the higher education of women had to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -fought and won, against the forces of obscurantism -and professional jealousy.</p> - -<p>University Commissions might issue reports, but -the working out of them was left in the hands of -men who were determined to exclude women from -the medical profession.</p> - -<p>Clinical teaching could only be carried on in a -few hospitals. Anatomy was learnt under the -most discouraging circumstances. Mixed classes -were, and still are, refused. Extra-mural teaching -became complicated, on the one hand, by the extra -fees which were wrung from women students, and -by the careless and perfunctory teaching accorded -by the twice-paid profession. Professors gave the -off-scourings of their minds, the least valuable of -their subjects, and their unpunctual attendance to -all that stood for female students. It will hardly -be believed that the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh -refused to admit women to clinical teaching in -the wards, until they had raised seven hundred -pounds to furnish two wards in which, and in -which alone, they might work. To these two -wards, with their selected cases, they are still -confined, with the exception of one or two other -less important subjects. Medicals rarely belong -to the moneyed classes, and very few women can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -command the money demanded of the medical -course, and that women should have raised at once -the tax thus put upon them by the Royal Infirmary -is an illustration of how keenly and bravely they -fought through all the disabilities laid upon them.</p> - -<p>Women had always staunch friends among the -doctors. The names of many of them are written -in gold in the story of the opening of the profession -to women. It has been observed that <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Paul -had the note of all great minds, a passion to share -his knowledge of a great salvation, with both Jews -and Gentiles. That test of greatness was not conspicuous -in the majority of the medical profession -at the time when Elsie Inglis came as a learner -to the gates of medical science. That kingdom, -like most others, had to suffer violence ere she was -to be known as the good physician in her native -city and in those of the allied nations.</p> - -<p>There are no letters extant from Elsie concerning -her time with Dr. Jex Blake. After Mrs. -Inglis’ death, Mr. Inglis decided to leave their -home at Bruntsfield, and the family moved to -rooms in Melville Street. Here Elsie was with her -father, and carried on her studies from his house. -It was not an altogether happy start, and very -soon she had occasion to differ profoundly with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -Dr. Jex Blake in her management of the school. -Two of the students failed to observe the discipline -imposed by Dr. Jex Blake, and she expelled them -from the school. Any high-handed act of injustice -always roused Elsie to keen and concentrated -resistance. A lawsuit was brought against Dr. -Jex Blake, and it was successful, proving in its -course that the treatment of the students had been -without justification.</p> - -<p>Looking back on this period of the difficult task -of opening the higher education to women, it is -easy to see the defects of many of those engaged -in the struggle. The attitude towards women was -so intolerably unjust that many of the pioneers -became embittered in soul, and had in their bearing -to friends or opponents an air which was often -provocative of misunderstanding. They did not -always receive from the younger generation for -whom they had fought that forbearance that -must be always extended to ‘the old guard,’ -whose scars and defects are but the blemishes of -a hardly-contested battle. Success often makes -people autocratic, and those who benefit from the -success, and suffer under the overbearing spirit -engendered, forget their great gains in the galling -sensation of being ridden over rough-shod. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -an episode on which it is now unnecessary to -dwell, and Dr. Inglis would always have been the -first to render homage to the great pioneer work -of Dr. Jex Blake.</p> - -<p>Through it all Elsie was living in the presence -chamber of her father’s chivalrous, high-minded -outlook. Whatever action she took then, must have -had his approval, and it was from him that she -received that keen sense of equal justice for all.</p> - -<p>These student years threw them more than ever -together. On Sundays they worshipped in the -morning in Free <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> George’s Church, and in the -evening in the Episcopal Cathedral. Mr. Inglis -was a great walker, and Elsie said, ‘I learnt to -walk when I used to take those long walks with -father, after mother died.’ Then she would explain -how you <em>should</em> walk. ‘Your whole body should -go into it, and not just your feet.’</p> - -<p>Of these student days her niece, Evelyn Simson, -says:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘When she was about eighteen she began to wear a -bonnet on Sunday. She was the last <em>girl</em> in our connection -to wear one. My Aunt Eva who is two years -younger never did, so I think the fashion must have -changed just then. I remember thinking how very -grown up she must be.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<p>Another niece writes:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘At the time when it became the fashion for girls to -wear their hair short, when she went out one day, and -came home with a closely-cropped head, I bitterly -resented the loss of Aunt Elsie’s beautiful shining fair -hair, which had been a real glory to her face. She -herself was most delighted with the new style, especially -with the saving of trouble in hairdressing.</p> - -<p>‘She only allowed her hair to grow long again -because she thought it was better for a woman doctor -to dress well and as becomingly as possible. This -opinion only grew as she became older, and had been -longer in the profession; in her student days she -rather prided herself on not caring about personal -appearance, and she dressed very badly.</p> - -<p>‘Her sense of fairplay was very strong. Once in -college there was an opposition aroused to the Student -Christian Union, and a report was spread that the -students belonging to it were neglecting their college -work. It happened to be the time for the class examinations, -and the lists were posted on the College -notice-board. The next morning, the initials C.U. -were found printed opposite the names of all the -students who belonged to the Christian Union, and, -as these happened to head the list in most instances, the -unfair report was effectually silenced. No one knew -who had initialed the list; it was some time afterwards -I discovered it had been Aunt Elsie.</p> - -<p>‘She was a beautiful needlewoman. She embroidered -and made entirely herself two lovely little flannel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -garments for her first grand-nephew, in the midst -of her busy life, then filled to overflowing with the -work of her growing practice, and of her suffrage -activities.</p> - -<p>‘The babies as they arrived in the families met with -her special love. In her short summer holidays with -any of us, the children were her great delight.</p> - -<p>‘She was a great believer in an open-air life. One -summer she took three of us a short walking tour from -Callander, and we did enjoy it. We tramped over the -hills, and finally arrived at Crianlarich, only to find the -hotel crammed and no sleeping accommodation. She -would take no refusal, and persuaded the manager to -let us sleep on mattresses in the drawing-room, which -added to the adventures of our trip.</p> - -<p>‘On the way she entertained us with tales of her -college life, and imbued us with our first enthusiasm -for the women’s cause.</p> - -<p>‘When I myself began to study medicine, no one -could have been more enthusiastically encouraging, and -even through the stormy and somewhat depressing -times of the early career of the Medical College for -Women, Edinburgh, her faith and vision never faltered, -and she helped us all to hold on courageously.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In 1891 Elsie went to Glasgow to take the -examination for the Triple Qualification at the -Medical School there. She could not then take -surgery in Edinburgh, and the facilities for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -clinical teaching were all more favourable in -Glasgow.</p> - -<p>It was probably better for her to be away from -all the difficulties connected with the opening of -the second School of Medicine for Women in Edinburgh. -The one founded by Dr. Jex Blake was -the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women, and -the one promoted by Elsie Inglis and other women -students was known as the Medical College for -Women. ‘It was with the fortunes of this school -that she was more closely associated,’ writes Dr. -Beatrice Russell.</p> - -<p>In Glasgow she resided at the Y.W.C.A. Hostel. -Her father did not wish her to live alone in lodgings, -and she accommodated herself very willingly to -the conditions under which she had to live. Miss -Grant, the superintendent, became her warm friend. -Elsie’s absence from home enabled her to give a -vivid picture of her life in her daily letters to her -father.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Glasgow</span>, <i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 4, 1891</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘It was not nice seeing you go off and being left all -alone. After I have finished this letter I am going to -set to work. It seems there are twelve or fourteen -girls boarding here, and there are regular rules. Miss -Grant told me if I did not like some of them to speak -to her, but I am not going to be such a goose as that.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -One rule is you are to make your own bed, which she -did not think I could do! But I said I could make it -beautifully. I would much rather do what all the -others do. Well, I arranged my room, and it is as neat -as a new pin. Then we walked up to the hospital, -to the dispensary; we were there till 4.30, as there were -thirty-six patients, and thirty-one of them new.</p> - -<p>‘I am most comfortable here, and I am going to -work like <em>anything</em>. I told Miss Barclay so, and she -said, “Oh goodness, we shall all have to look out for our -laurels!”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 7, ’91.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘Mary Sinclair says it is no good going to the dispensaries -on Saturday, as there are no students there, -and the doctors don’t take the trouble to teach. I -went to Dr. MacEwan’s wards this morning. I was the -first there, so he let me help him with an operation; -then I went over to Dr. Anderson’s.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 9.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘This morning I spent the whole time in Dr. MacEwan’s -wards. He put me through my facings. I could not -think what he meant, he asked me so many questions. -It seems it is his way of greeting a new student. Some -of them cannot bear him, but I think he is really nice, -though he can be abominably sarcastic, and he is a -first-rate surgeon and capital teacher.</p> - -<p>‘To-day, it was the medical jurists and the police -officers he was down on, and he told story after story -of how they work by red tape, according to the text-books. -He said that, while he was casualty surgeon,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -one police officer said to him that it was no good having -him there, for he never would try to make the medical -evidence fit in with the evidence they had collected. -Once they brought in a woman stabbed in her wrist, -and said they had caught the man who had done it -running away, and he had a knife. Dr. MacEwan said -the cut had been done by glass and not by a knife, so -they could not convict the man, and there was an -awful row over it. Some of them went down to the -alley where it had happened, and sure enough there -was a pane of glass smashed right through the centre. -When the woman knew she was found out, she confessed -she had done it herself. The moral he impressed -on us was to examine your patient before you hear the -story.</p> - -<p>‘A. is beginning to get headaches and not sleep at -night. I am thankful to say that is not one of my -tricks. Miss G. is getting unhappy about her, and is -going to send up beef-tea every evening. She offered -me some, but I like my glass of milk much better. I -am taking my tonic and my tramp regularly, so I ought -to keep well. I am quite disgusted when girls break -down through working too hard. They must remember -they are not as strong as men, and then they do idiotic -things, such as taking no exercise, into the bargain.</p> - -<p>‘Dr. MacEwan asked us to-day to get the first stray -<abbr title="20,000 pounds">£20,000</abbr> we could for him, as he wants to build a -proper private hospital. So I said he should have the -second <abbr title="20,000 pounds">£20,000</abbr> I came across, as I wanted the first -to build and endow a woman’s College in Edinburgh.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -He said he thought that would be great waste; there -should not be separate colleges. “If women are going -to be doctors, equal with the men, they should go to the -same school.” I said I quite agreed with him, but -when they won’t admit you, what are you to do? -“Leave them alone,” he said; “they will admit you -in time,” and he thought outside colleges would only -delay that.</p> - -<p>‘This morning in Dr. MacEwan’s wards a very curious -case came in. Some of us tried to draw it, never -thinking he would see us, and suddenly he swooped -round and insisted on seeing every one of the scribbles. -He has eyes, I believe, in the back of his head and ears -everywhere. He forgot, I thought, to have the ligature -taken off a leg he was operating on, and I said so in -the lowest whisper to M. S. About five minutes afterwards, -he calmly looked straight over to us, and said, -“<em>Now</em>, we’ll take off the ligature!”</p> - -<p>‘I went round this morning and saw a few of my -patients. I found one woman up who ought to have -been in bed. I discovered she had been up all night -because her husband came in tipsy about eleven -o’clock. He was lying there asleep on the bed. I -think he ought to have been horse-whipped, and when -I have the vote I shall vote that all men who turn -their wives and families out of doors at eleven o’clock -at night, especially when the wife is ill, shall be horse-whipped. -And, if they make the excuse that they were -tipsy, I should give them double. They would very -soon learn to behave themselves.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘As to the father of the cherubs you ask about, his -family does not seem to lie very heavily on his mind. -He is not in work just now, and apparently is very -often out of work. One cannot take things seriously -in that house.</p> - -<p>‘In the house over the Clyde I saw the funniest -sight. It is an Irish house, as dirty as a pig-sty, and -there are about ten children. When I got there, at -least six of the children were in the room, and half of -them without a particle of clothing. They were sitting -about on the table and on the floor like little cherubs -with black faces. I burst out laughing when I saw -them, and they all joined in most heartily, including -the mother, though not one of them saw the joke, for -they came and stood just as they were round me in a -ring to see the baby washed. Suddenly, the cherubs -began to disappear and ragged children to appear -instead. I looked round to see who was dressing them, -but there was no one there. They just slipped on their -little black frocks, without a thing on underneath, and -departed to the street as soon as the baby was washed.</p> - -<p>‘Three women with broken legs have come in. I -don’t believe so many women have ever broken their -legs together in one day before! One of them is a shirt -finisher. She sews on the buttons and puts in the gores -at the rate of <abbr title="4 pence ha’penney">4½d.</abbr> a dozen shirts. We know the shop, -and they <em>sell</em> the shirts at <abbr title="4 shillings and 6 pence">4s. 6d.</abbr> each. Of course, -political economy is quite true, but I hope that shopkeeper, -if ever he comes back to this earth, will be a -woman and have to finish shirts at <abbr title="4 pence ha’penney">4½d.</abbr> a dozen, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -then he’ll see the other side of the question. I told -the woman it was her own fault for taking such small -wages, at which she seemed amused. It is funny the -stimulating effect a big school has on a hospital. The -Royal here is nearly as big and quite as rich as the -Edinburgh Royal, but there is no pretence that they -really are in their teaching and arrangements the -third hospital in the kingdom, as they are in size. -<em>The</em> London Hospital is the biggest, and then comes -Edinburgh, and this is the third. Guy’s and Bart.’s, -that one hears so much about, are quite small in comparison, -but they have big medical schools attached. -The doctors seem to lie on their oars if they don’t -have to teach.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 1892.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘I thought the Emperor of Germany’s speech the -most impertinent piece of self-glorification I ever -met with. Steed’s egotism is perfect humility beside -it. He and his house are the chosen instruments of -“our supreme Lord,” and anybody who does not approve -of what he does had better clear out of Germany. -As you say, Makomet and Luther and all the great -epoch-makers had a great belief in themselves and -their mission, but the German Emperor will have to -give some further proof of his divine commission -(beyond a supreme belief in himself) before I, for one, -will give in my submission. I never read such a -speech. I think it was perfectly blasphemous.</p> - -<p>‘The <cite>Herald</cite> has an article about wild women. It -evidently thinks <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Andrews has opened the flood-gates,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -and now there is the deluge. <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Andrews has -done very well—degrees and mixed classes from next -October. Don’t you think our Court might send a -memorial to the University Court about medical -degrees? It is splendid having Sir William Muir on -our side, and I believe the bulk of the Senators are all -right—they only want a little shove.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In Glasgow the women students had to encounter -the opposition to ‘mixed classes,’ and the -fight centred in the Infirmary. It would have been -more honest to have promulgated the decision of -the Managers before the women students had paid -their fees for the full course of medical tuition.</p> - -<p>Elsie, in her letters, describes the toughly fought -contest, and the final victory won by the help of -the just and enlightened leaders in the medical -world. ‘So here is another fight,’ writes the -student, with a sigh of only a half regret! It was -too good a fight, and the backers were too strong -for the women students not to win their undoubted -rights. Through all the chaffing and laughter, one -perceives the thread of a resolute purpose, and -Elsie’s great gift, the unconquerable facing of -‘the Hill Difficulty.’ True, the baffled and puzzled -enemy often played into their hands, as when -Dr. T., driven to extremity in a weak moment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -threatened to prevent their attendance by ‘physical -force.’ The threat armed the students with yet -another legal grievance. Elsie describes on one -occasion in her haste going into a ward where -Dr. Gemmel, one of the ‘mixed’ objectors, was -demonstrating. She perceived her mistake, and -retreated, not before receiving a smile from her -enemy. The now Sir William MacEwan enjoyed -the fight quite as much as his women students; -and if to-day he notes the achievements of the -Scottish Women’s Hospitals, he may count as his -own some of their success in the profession in which -he has achieved so worthy a name. The dispute -went on until at length an exhausted foe laid down -its weapons, and the redoubtable Dr. T. conveyed -the intimation that the women students might go -to any of the classes—and a benison on them!</p> - -<p>The faction fight, like many another in the -brave days of old, roared and clattered down the -paved causeways of Glasgow. Dr. T., in his gate-house, -must have wished his petticoat foes many -times away and above the pass. If he, or any of -the obstructionists of that day survive, we know -that they belong to a sect that needs no repentance. -They may, however, note with self-complacency -that their action trained on a generation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -skilled in the contest of fighting for democratic -rights in the realm of knowledge. It is a birthright -to enter into that gateway, and the keys are given -to all who possess the understanding mind and -reverent attitude towards all truth.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 1891.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘Those old wretches, the Infirmary Managers, have -reared their heads again, and now have decided that -we are not to go to mixed classes, and we have been -tearing all over the wards seeing all sorts of people -about it. I went to Dr. K.’s this morning—all right. -Crossing the quadrangle, a porter rushed at me and -said, “Dr. T. wants to see all the lady students at the -gate-house.” I remarked to Miss M., “I am certainly -not going to trot after Dr. T. for casual messages like -that. He can put up a notice if he wants me.” We -were going upstairs to Dr. R. when another porter -ran up and said, “Dr. T. is in his office. He would -be much obliged if you would speak to him.” So we -laughed, and said that was more polite anyhow, and -went into the office. So he hummed and hawed, -looked everywhere except at us, and then said the -Infirmary Managers said we were not to go to mixed -classes. So I promptly said, “Then I shall come for -my fees to-morrow,” and walked out of the room. I -was angry. I went straight back to Dr. K., who said he -was awfuly sorry and angry, and he would see Dr. T., -but he was afraid he could do nothing.</p> - -<p>‘So here is another fight. But you see we cannot -be beat here, for the same reason that we cannot beat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -them in Edinburgh. Were the managers, managers a -hundred times over, they cannot turn Mr. MacEwan off.</p> - -<p>‘The <cite>Glasgow Herald</cite> had an article the other day, -saying there was a radical change in the country, and -that no one was taking any notice of it, and no one -knew where it was to land us. This was the draft -ordinance of the Commissioners which actually put -the education of women on the same footing as that -of men, and, worse still, seemed to countenance mixed -classes. The <cite>G. H.</cite> seems to think this is the beginning -of the end, and will necessarily lead to woman’s -suffrage, and it will probably land them in the pulpit; -because if they are ordinary University students they -may compete for any of the bursaries, and many -bursaries can only be held on condition that the holder -means to enter the Church! You never read such an -article, and it was not the least a joke but sober earnest.</p> - -<p>‘I saw Dr. P. about my surgery. The chief reason -I tried to get that prize was to pay for those things and -not worry you about them. I want to pass awfully -well, as it tells all one’s life through, and I <em>mean</em> to -be very successful!</p> - -<p>‘Dr. B. has the most absurd way of agreeing with -everything you say. He asked me what I would do -with a finger. I thought it was past all mending and -said, “Amputate it.” “Quite so, quite so,” he said -solemnly, “but we’ll dress it to-day with such and such -a thing.” There were two or three other cases in which -I recommended desperate measures, in which he agreed, -but did not follow. Finally, he asked Mr. B. what he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -would do with a swelling. Mr. B. hesitated. I said, -“Open it.” Whereupon he went off into fits of laughter, -and proclaimed to the whole room my prescriptions, and -said I would make a first-rate surgeon for I was afraid -of nothing.</p> - -<p>‘It is one thing to recommend treatment to another -person and another to do it yourself.</p> - -<p>‘Queen Margaret is to be taken into the University, -not affiliated, but made an integral part of the -University and the lecturers appointed again by the -Senators. That means that the Glasgow degrees in -everything are to be given from October, Arts, Medicine, -Science, and <i>Theology</i>. The “decrees of the primordial -protoplasm,” that Sir James Crichton-Browne knows -all about, are being reversed right and left, and not only -by the Senatus Academicus of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Andrews!’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The remaining letters are filled with all the hopes -and fears of the examined. Mr. MacEwan tells her -she will pass ‘with one hand,’ and Elsie has the -usual moan over a defective memory, and the -certainties that she will be asked all the questions -to which she has no answering key. The evidences -of hard and conscientious study abound, and, after -she had counted the days and rejoined her father, -she found she had passed through the heavy ordeal -with great success, and, having thus qualified, could -pass on to yet unconquered realms of experience -and service.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER V: LONDON AND DUBLIN">CHAPTER <abbr title="5">V</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">LONDON<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">THE NEW HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head">DUBLIN<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">THE ROTUNDA<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">1892–1894</span></h2> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> -<p class="noindent center">‘We take up the task eternal and the burden and the -lesson, Pioneers, O Pioneers.’—<span class="smcap">Walt Whitman.</span></p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">After</span> completing her clinical work in Glasgow, -and passing the examination for the Triple Qualification -in 1892, it was decided that Elsie should -go to London and work as house-surgeon in the -new Hospital for Women in the Euston Road. In -1916 that hospital kept its jubilee year, and when -Elsie went to work there it had been established -for nearly thirty years. Its story contains the -record of the leading names among women doctors. -In the commemorative prayer of Bishop Paget, -an especial thanksgiving was made ‘for the good -example of those now at rest, Elizabeth Blackwell, -and Sophia Jex Blake, of good work done by -women doctors throughout the whole world, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -now especially of the high trust and great responsibility -committed to women doctors in this hour -of need.’ The hearts of many present went over -the washing seas, to the lands wasted by fire and -sword, and to the leader of the Scottish Women’s -Hospitals, who had gained her earliest surgical -experience in the wards of the first hospital founded -by the first woman doctor, and standing for the new -principle that women can practise the healing art.</p> - -<p>Elsie Inglis took up her work with keen energy -and a happy power of combining work with varied -interests. In the active months of her residence -she resolutely ‘tramped’ London, attended most -of the outstanding churches, and was a great -sermon taster of ministers ranging from Boyd -Carpenter to Father Maturin. Innumerable relatives -and friends tempted her to lawn tennis and -the theatres. She had a keen eye to all the -humours of the staff, and formed her own opinions -on patients and doctors with her usual independence -of judgment.</p> - -<p>Elsie’s letters to her father were detailed and -written daily. Only a very small selection can be -quoted, but every one of them is instinct with a -buoyant outlook, and they are full of the joy of -service.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - -<p>It is interesting to read in these letters her -descriptions of the work of Dr. Garrett Anderson, -and then to read Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson’s -speech on her mother at the jubilee of the hospital. -‘I shall never forget her at Victoria Station on the -day when the Women’s Hospital Corps was leaving -England for France, early in September 1914. She -was quite an old woman, her life’s work done, -but the light of battle was in her eyes, and she -said, “Had I been twenty years younger I would -have been taking you myself.” Just twenty-one -years before the war broke down the last of the -barriers against women’s work as doctors, Elsie -Inglis entered the New Hospital for Women, to -learn with that staff of women doctors who had -achieved so much under conditions so full of -difficulties and discouragements.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">New Hospital for Women</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit1">‘<span class="smcap">Euston Rd.</span>, 1892–3.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">My own dearest Papa</span>,—Here we begin another -long series of letters. The people in the carriage were -very quiet, so I slept all right. Of course they shut -up all the windows, so I opened all the ventilators, and -I also opened the window two or three times. I had -breakfast at once, and then a bath, and then came in -for a big operation by Mrs. Boyd. Her husband came -up to help her. Mrs. Scharlieb and Mrs. de la Cherois<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -were up too—both of them visiting doctors. I have been -all round the wards and got a sort of idea of the cases -in my head, but I shall have to get them all up properly. -The visiting physicians seem to call all over the day, -from nine o’clock in the morning till three in the afternoon. -Some of the students from the School of Medicine -are dressers and clerks. I believe I have to drill them, -but of course they are only very senior students, -because their real hospital is the Royal Free. There -are four wards, two of them round, with two fireplaces -back to back in the middle. The other two wards -are oblong, and they are all prettily painted, and -bright. Then there are two small wards for serious -cases. I have not arranged my room yet, as I have -not had a minute. I am going out to post this and -get a stethescope. Mrs. de la Cherois has been here; -she is a nice old lady, and awfully particular. I would -much rather work with people like that than people -who are anyhow. Mrs. Scharlieb is about forty, very -dark and solemn. The nurses seem nice, but they -don’t have any special uniform, which I think is a pity; -so they are pinks and greys and blues, and twenty -different patterns of caps. I think I shall like being -here very much. I only hope I shall get on with all -my mistresses! And, I <em>hope</em> I shall always remember -what to do.</p> - -<p>‘The last big operation case died. It was very sad, -and very provoking, for she really was doing well, but -she had not vitality enough to stand the shock. That -was the case whose doctor told her and her husband that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -she was suffering from <em>hysteria</em>. And that man, you -know, can be a fellow of the colleges, and member of -any society he likes to apply to, while Mrs. G. Anderson -and Mrs. Scharlieb cannot! Is it not ridiculous?</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. G. Anderson said she was going to speak to -Mrs. M‘Call about my having one of her maternity -posts. I shall come home first, however, my own -dearest Papa. Mrs. G. A. said she thought I should -have a good deal more of that kind of work if I was -going to set up in a lonely place like Edinburgh, as I -ought <em>never</em> to have to call in a man to help me out of -a hole!</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. G. Anderson is going to take me to a Cinderella -dance to-night in aid of the hospital. I am to meet her -at <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> James’ Hall. We had an awful morning of it. -Mrs. G. A. is taking Mrs. M.’s ward, and turned up 9.30, -Mrs. S.’s hour. Then Miss C. came in on the top to -consult about two of her cases. Into the bargain, A. -slept late, and did not arrive till near ten, so, by the -time they had all left, I had a lovely medley of treatment -in my head. My fan has arrived, and will come -in for to-night. I hope Mrs. G. Anderson will be a nice -chaperone and introduce one properly. I am to go -early, and her son is to look out for me, and begin the -introducing till she comes. Miss Garrett has been -to-day painting the hall for the Chicago Exhibition. -She is going to the dance to-night. She says Mrs. -Fawcett got some more money out of the English Commissioners -in a lovely way. These Commissioners have -spent <abbr title="17,000 pounds">£17,000</abbr> in building themselves a kiosk in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -ground, and they allowed Mrs. Fawcett <abbr title="500 pounds">£500</abbr> to represent -women’s work in England. Every one is -furious about it. Well, Mrs. Fawcett has managed to -get an extra <abbr title="500 pounds">£500</abbr>. She wrote, and said that if she did -not get any more she could not mount all the photographs -and drawings, but would put up a notice that -“the English Commission was too poor to allow for -mounting and framing.” This, with the kiosk in the -ground!</p> - -<p>‘One of the patients here was once upon a time a -servant at the Baroness Burdett Coutts’. She certainly -was most awfully kind to her, sent her <abbr title="10 pounds">£10</abbr> to pay her -rent, and has now paid to send her to the Cottage. -Miss B. is in hopes she may get her interested in the -hospital now, but it seems she does not approve of -women doctors and such things. Perhaps, as the old -housemaid did so well here, she may change her mind. -The Report is out now. I shall send them to some of -the doctors in Edinburgh. I see in it that Mr. Robertson -left <abbr title="1000 pounds">£1000</abbr> in memory of his wife to the hospital, and -that is how that bed comes to be called the “Caroline -Croom Robertson bed.”</p> - -<p>‘We had two big operations to-day. We had the -usual round in the morning, and then we had to prepare. -I did one lovely thing! This morning, I pointed out -to Mrs. Scharlieb with indignation that our galvanic -battery had run out. I said that it really was disgraceful -of C., for it had only been used once for a quarter -of an hour since the last time he had charged it. Mrs. -S. agreed, and said she would go in and speak to him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -and tell him to send her battery, which was with him -being charged. We wanted a battery for the galvanic -cautery. Well, Mrs. Scharlieb’s battery arrived. I -tried it, and found it would not heat the cautery -properly. So I was very angry, and I sat down and -wrote C. a peppery letter. I told him to send some -competent person <em>at once</em> to look at the battery, and -to be prepared to lend us one, if this competent person -saw it was necessary. M. flew off, and in twenty -minutes a man from C. arrived, very humble. I turned -on the batteries, and showed him that they would not -heat up properly. Sister said I talked to him like a -mother. He departed very humbly to bring another -battery. In about half an hour Sister whistled up, -C.’s man would like to see me. Down I went. He -looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. “You had not -taken the resistance off, Miss,” and held one of the -cautery red-hot attached to our own battery. Was -not I sold! I had humbly to apologise. And the -amount of nervous energy I had wasted on that -battery!</p> - -<p>‘We began to-day with a big operation. It went -perfectly splendidly. The chloroform was given by a -Dr. B., some special friend of the patient, so, I hoped -there would be no hitch, and there was none. He -had the cheek afterwards to say to Dr. S., that no one -could have done it better! Mrs. S. seemed rather -pleased, but I thought it awfully patronising, was it -not?</p> - -<p>‘Did I tell you that Mrs. S. and Miss Walker were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -talking the other morning of the time when they would -make this a qualifying hospital? Miss C. said it would -certainly come some day, and of course, to make it a -qualifying hospital, they must have men’s beds, and -that will mean a mixed staff. However, all that is -in the future. Then, we will show the old-fashioned -hospitals, with their retrograde managers, etc., <em>how</em> -a mixed staff can work. I wonder if they will have -mixed classes too!</p> - -<p>‘I enjoyed <cite>King Lear</cite> very much. The scenery was -magnificent. King Lear was not a bit kingly, but just -a weak, old man. I suppose that was what he was -meant to be. Ellen Terry was splendid. The storm -on the heath awful. I shivered in my seat when the -wind whistled. The last scene—the French camp on -the cliffs on Dover—was really beautiful.</p> - -<p>‘Yesterday, I did a lovely thing—slept like a top till -almost nine. I suppose I was tired after the exciting -cases. Janet burst into my room with “Mrs. S. will -be here in a very few minutes, Miss.” So, out I -tumbled, and tore downstairs to meet Mrs. S. in the -hall! I tried to look as if I had had breakfast <em>hours</em> -before, and I don’t think she suspected that was my -first appearance. She did her visit, and then I went -to breakfast. As luck would have it, Mrs. G. Anderson -chose that morning of all others to show a friend of -hers round the hospital. She marched calmly into the -board-room to find me grubbing. I saw the only thing -to do was to be quite cool, so I got up and shook hands, -and remarked, “I am rather late this morning,” and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -she only laughed. It was about 10.30, a nice time for -an H.S. to be having breakfast.</p> - -<p>‘I did not go to hear Father Maturin after all yesterday. -I have been very busy; we have had another -big operation, doing all right so far. She is an artist’s -wife; she has had an unhappy time for four years, -because she has been very ill, and their doctor said -it was hysteria, and told her husband not to give in -to the nonsense. Really, some of these general -practitioners are <em>grand</em>. They send some of the -patients in with the most outrageous diagnoses you -can imagine. One woman was told her life was not -worth a year’s purchase, and she must have a big -operation. So she came in. We pummelled her all -over, and could not find the grounds of his diagnosis, -and finally treated for something quite different, and -she went out well in six weeks. Her doctor came to -see her, and said, “Well, madam, I could not have -believed it.” It is better they should err in that -direction than in the direction of calling real illness -“hysteria.”</p> - -<p>‘I mean to have a hospital of my own in Edinburgh -some day.</p> - -<p>‘A patient with a well-balanced nervous system -will get well in just half the time that one of these -hysterical women will. There is one plucky little -woman in just now. She has had a bad operation, -but nothing has ever disturbed her equilibrium. She -smiles away in the pluckiest way, and gets well more -quickly than anybody. I agree with Kingsley: one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -of the necessities of the world is to teach girls to be -brave, and not whine over everything, and the first step -for that is to teach them to play games!</p> - -<p>‘Fancy who has been here this evening—Bailie -Walcot. He has come up to London on Parliamentary -business. He investigated every hole and corner of -the hospital. He says our girls are going to Dr. -Littlejohn’s class with Jex’s girls at Surgery Hall. It -is wonderful how these men who would do nothing -at first are beginning to see it pays to be neutral now.</p> - -<p>‘We have a lot to be grateful to J. B. for; Bailie W. -told me the Leith managers have approached the -Edinburgh managers, saying, “If you will undertake -no more women students, we will undertake to take -both schools, and to build immediately.” Bailie -Walcot said he and Mr. Scott of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> George’s were the -<em>only</em> two who opposed this. If they send us down to -Leith we must make the best of it, and really try to -make it a good school, but it will be a great pity.</p> - -<p>‘The dance was awfully nice. Mrs. G. Anderson -is a capital chaperone. I managed to go off without -my ticket, and the damsel at the door was very severe, -and said I must wait till Mrs. Garrett Anderson came. -I waited quietly a minute or two, and was just going -to ask her to send in to see if Mrs. Anderson had come, -then a man marched in, and said in a lovely manner, -“I have forgotten my ticket,” and she merely said, -“You must give me your name, sir,” and let him pass. -After that I gave my name and passed too! I found -I might have waited till doomsday, for Mrs. G. A. was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -inside. I danced every dance; it was a lovely floor -and lovely music, and you may make up your mind, -papa dear, that I go to all the balls in Edinburgh after -this. They had two odd dances called Barn-door. I -thought it would be a kind of Sir Roger, but it was the -oddest kind of hop, skip and dance I ever saw. I said -to Mrs. G. A. it was something like a Schottische, only -not a quarter so pretty. She said it was pretty when -nicely danced, but people have not learnt it yet. I -rashly said to Mrs. G. A. that I could get some tea from -the night nurse when I got home (because I wanted to -dance the extras), but she was horrified at tea just -before going to sleep, and swept me into the refreshment-room -and made me drink soup by the gallon. I -came home with Miss Garrett. We had an operation -this morning, so you see dances don’t interfere with -the serious business of life.</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. Scharlieb came in here the other day, and -declared I was qualifying for acute bronchitis; but I -told her nobody could have acute bronchitis who had -a cold bath every morning, and had been brought up -to open windows. This is the third sit down to your -letter. Talk of women at home never being able to do -anything without being interrupted every few minutes! -I think you have only to be house surgeon to know -what being interrupted means. They not only knock -and march in at the door, but they also whistle up the -tube—most frightfully startling it used to be at first, -to hear a sort of shrill fog-horn in the room. There -are three high temperatures, and the results are sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -up to me whenever they are taken. We are sponging -them, and may have to put them into cold baths, -but I hope not. Mrs. G. A. told me to do it without -waiting for the chief, if I thought it necessary, whereupon -Mrs. B. remarked, “I think Miss Inglis ought to -be warned the patient may die.”</p> - -<p>‘Lovely weather here. I have been prescribing -sunshine, sunshine, sunshine for all the patients. -There are only two balconies on each floor, and nurse -Rose is reported to have said that she supposed I wanted -the patients hung out over the railings, for otherwise -there would not be room. Miss W. came this morning, -to Sister’s indignation. “Does not she think she can -trust me for one day?” So I said it was only that -she was so delighted at having a ward; and that I was -sure I would do the same. “Oh,” said Sister, “I -am thankful you have not a ward. You would bring -a box with sandwiches and sit there all day.” I am -always having former H.S.’s thrown at my head who -came round exactly to the minute, twice a day, whereas -they say I am never out of the wards, at least they -never know when I am coming. I tell them I don’t -want them to trot round after me with an ink-bottle. -Miss R. says I have no idea of discipline! I make -one grand round a day, with the ink-bottle, and then -I don’t want the nurses to take any more notice of me. -I think that is far more sensible than having fixed -times. I quite agree the ink-bottle round ought to -be at a fixed time, but I cannot help other things -turning up to be done.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘I had to toddle off and ask for Mrs. K. She is the -one who is appointed to give anæsthetics in the -hospital. They are all most frightfully nervous about -anæsthetics here, in all the hospitals, and have regular -anæsthetists. In Edinburgh and Glasgow the students -give it, under the house surgeons of course. I never -saw any death, or anything that was very frightening. -One real reason is, I believe, that they watch the wrong -organ, viz. the heart. In Scotland they hardly think -of the heart, and simply watch the breathing. The -Hydrabad Commission settled conclusively that it was -the breathing gave out first; but having made up their -minds that it does not, all the Commissions in the world -won’t convince them to the contrary. In the meantime -they do their operations in fear and trembling, continually -asking if the patient is all right.</p> - -<p>‘You never saw such a splendid out-patient department -as they have here—a perfectly lovely, comfortable -waiting-room, and pretty receiving waiting-room. -The patients have to pay a small sum, yet they had -over 20,000 visits this year up to November—that is -about half the size of the Glasgow Royal, one of the -biggest out-patients in the kingdom, and general. This -is paying, and for women! Who says women doctors -are not wanted!</p> - -<p>‘This morning I started off, meaning to go to Dr. -Vaughan in the Temple Church. Sister C. told me I -ought to be early, and of course I was as late as I could -be. As I was running downstairs Nurse Helen asked -me if I had ever heard Stopford Brooke. I had heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -his name, but I could not remember anything about -him. Nurse H. said he was an awful heretic, and had -got into trouble for his opinions. As a general rule -men who get into trouble for their opinions are worth -listening to—at least they <em>have</em> opinions. So I left -Dr. Vaughan, and went off to Mr. S. Brooke. He gave -a capital sermon with nothing heterodox in it, about -loving our fellow-men. I liked him, and would -go to-night to hear his lecture on “In Memoriam,” -but Sister C. is going out.</p> - -<p>‘You know you must not aim at a separate but at a -mixed school in Edinburgh. I am sure this is best, and -all the women here think so too. I wonder when the -University means to succumb.</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. G. Anderson asked me to come and help her -with a small operation in an hotel. She gave me a -half-guinea fee for so doing. We drove there in a -hansom, and drove back in her carriage. She was -most jovial and talkative. We went into the Deanery, -Westminster Abbey, on our way back to leave cards on -somebody. You suddenly seem to get out of the noise -and rush of London when you turn in there. It is -quite quiet and green. All sorts of men were wandering -about in red gowns and black gowns. We were told -it was Convocation.</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. Scharlieb was awfully nice and kind. She said -she hoped I would get on always as well as I had here. -Was not it nice of her? I said I hoped I would do -much better, for I thought I had made an awful lot of -mistakes since I came here. She says everybody has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -to make mistakes. The worst of being a doctor is that -one’s mistakes matter so much. In everything else -you just throw away what you have messed and begin -again, but you cannot do that as a doctor.</p> - -<p>‘She said she expects to be called in as my consultant -when I am a surgeon. Won’t my patients have to pay -fees to get her up from London!</p> - -<p>‘Miss C. has been trying to get on to some of the -medical societies, and has failed. I shall not demean -myself by asking to get on—shall wait till they beseech -the honour of adding my name.</p> - -<p>‘As to women doctors here having an assured -position, I rather like the pioneer work, I think! I -mean to make friends with all the nice doctors, and -vanquish all the horrid selfish ones, and end by being a -Missionary Professor.</p> - -<p>‘If I don’t get into the Infirmary in Edinburgh, I -mean to build a hospital for myself, like this one. -Indeed I don’t know that I should not like the hospital -to myself better! I’ll build it where the Cattle Market -is, at the head of Lady Lawson Street. That would -be convenient for all the women in Fountainbridge, and -the Grassmarket and Cowgate, and it would be comparatively -high. To begin with, I mean to rent Eva’s -hall from her for a dispensary. You see it is all -arranged!’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The next course Elsie decided on taking was one -of three months in Midwifery in the Rotunda, -Dublin. There was a greater equality of teaching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -there in mixed classes, and also she thought the -position of the whole hospital staff was on lines -which would enable her to gain the most experience -in this branch, where she ultimately achieved -so much for her fellow-citizens in Edinburgh.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Costigan’s Hotel, Upper Sackville St.</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit4">‘<span class="smcap">Dublin</span>, <i><abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 18, 1893</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘I went over to the Rotunda and saw Dr. Glenn, -the assistant master. I am “clerk” on Mondays and -Thursdays. The only other person here is a native -from the Nizam’s Dominions. At breakfast this morning -he told me about his children, who are quite fair -“like their mother.” How fond he was of London, -and how he would not live in India now for anything; -he finds the climate enervating! I told him I thought -India a first-rate place to live in, and that I should like -to go back.</p> - -<p>‘By the way, fancy the franchise for the Parish -Councils being carried. The first thing I saw when -I landed was defeat of the Government! The <cite>Independent</cite> -here is jubilant, partly because the point -of woman’s suffrage is carried, partly because the -Government is beaten.</p> - -<p>‘So the strike has ended, and the men go back to -work on their old wages till February. I expect both -sides are sick of it, but I am glad the men have carried -it so far. Lord Rosebery is a clever man.</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. C. evidently thinks I am quite mad, for I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -have asked for a cold bath in my room. “Good -gracious me, miss! it’s not cold entoirely ye’ll be -meaning.”</p> - -<p>‘I went to see the D.’s. The first thing I was told -was that a Miss D. sat in their church, an M.B. of the -Royal Infirmary. A very clever girl, she has just taken -a travelling bursary and is going to Vienna. “But -we don’t know her, they are Home Rulers!” Mrs. D. -went on to say both she and her father were Home -Rulers, but that she for one would not mind if they did -not obtrude their politics. So, I thought, “Well, I -won’t obtrude mine.” Then Mrs. D. said, “You must -take a side, you know, and say distinctly what side you -are on when you are asked.” So I thought, “Well, -I’ll wait till I am asked,” and I have got through to-day -without being asked. But, positively, they used the -word “boycott” about those D.’s. They have been -boycotted by the congregation. It must be rather -hard to be a Home Ruler and a Presbyterian just now -in Ireland. Positively, they frightened me so, I nearly -squirmed under the table. However, when I looked -round the congregation I thought I should not mind -much being boycotted by them. The sermon was one -about forgiving your enemies. Mrs. D. has given me -a standing invitation to come to dinner on Sunday. -What will happen when I am suddenly asked to take -my side, I don’t know. In the meantime I will let -things slide! Mrs. D. asked me if the Costigans were -Catholics, and said she thought Mrs. C. looked so nice -she could not be one.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="December">Dec.</abbr> 1893.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘I have done nothing but race after cases to-day. -One old woman was killing. She came for Dr. B., -whom she said she had known before he was born. Dr. -B. could not go, so I went. “Hech,” she said, “I -came for a <em>doctor</em>.” “Well, I’m the doctor. Come -along.” “Deed no,” she said; “ye’re no a doctor—ye’re -just a wumman.” I did laugh, and marched her -off. She was grandly tipsy when I left the home, so -I am going back to see how the patient has got on, in -spite of the nursing.</p> - -<p>‘I had a second polite speech made to me last night. -I was introduced into a house by the person who came -for me as the doctor. When I had been in about two -minutes, a small man of four years old, said suddenly in -a clear voice “That is <em>not</em> a doctor, it’s a girl!” I told -him he was behind the age not to know that one could -be both.</p> - -<p>‘We had a chloroform scare this morning. I admired -Dr. S.’s coolness immensely. He finished tying his -stitches quietly while two doctors were skipping round -like a pair of frightened girls. It ended all right. They -don’t know how to give chloroform anywhere out of -Scotland. It is very odd.</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. D. declared she was going to write to you that -she had found I had gone out without my breakfast. -So, here are the <em>facts</em>! I was out last night, and was -not up when they rang over for me. So, before having -my breakfast I just ran over to see what they wanted -me for, and finding it would keep I came back for my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -breakfast to find Mrs. D. here. I am not such an idiot -as to miss my meals, Papa, dearest. My temper won’t -stand it! I always have a glass of milk and a biscuit -when I go out at night. I am as sensible as I can be. -I know you cannot do work with blunt instruments, -and this instrument blunts very easily without food -and exercise.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> 1, 1894.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘I have been round all my patients to-day, and had -to drink glasses of very questionable wine in each house. -It is really very trying to a practical teetotaller like me. -Literally, I could hardly see them when I left the last -house! There was simply no getting off it, and I did -not want to hurt their feelings. When they catch -hold of your hand and say “Now, doctor dear, or doctor -jewel, ye’ll just be takin’ a wee glass, deed an ye will,” -what are you to do?</p> - -<p>‘Do you think this “Famasha” with the French in -Africa is going to be the beginning of the big war? -That is an awful idea. England single-handed against -Europe. But, it would be the English-speaking peoples, -Australia, the States, and Canada.</p> - -<p>‘I have made a convert to the ranks of women’s -rights. Did I tell you that Dr. B. and I had had an -awful argument. I never mentioned the subject again, -for it is no good arguing with a man who has made up -his mind (and is a North of Ireland man, who will die -in the last ditch into the bargain). However, in the -middle of the operation, he suddenly said, “By the -way, you are right about the suffrage, Miss Inglis.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -Then I found he had come over about the whole -question. As a convert is always the most violent -supporter, I hope he’ll do some good.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 5, 1894.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘After three months you have learnt all the Rotunda -can teach. If you were a man, it would be worth while -to stay, because senior students, if they are men, get a -lot of the C.C.’s work to do. But they never think of -letting you do it if you are a woman. It is not deliberate -unfairness, but they never think of it. If -one stays six months they examine one, and give a -degree, L.M., Licentiate of Midwifery. If I could I -would rather spend three months in Paris with Pozzi. -I have learnt a tremendous lot here, and feel very happy -about my work in this special line. It is their methods -which are so good. If you can really afford to give me -another three months it would be wiser to go to Paris. -There are three men who are quite in the front rank -there, Pozzi, Apostoli, and Péon.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Costigan’s, Upper Sackville Street,<br /></span> -<span class="in_a_bit4">‘<span class="smcap">Dublin</span>, <i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 10, 1894.</i></span> -</p> - -<p>‘I got your letter at eleven when I came down to -breakfast. I shall never get into regular order for -home again. No one blames one for lying in bed here -or being late, for no one knows how late you have -been up the night before, or how many cases you have -been at before you get to the lecture. It is partly that, -and partly their casual Irish ways. I have had a letter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -from Miss MacGregor this morning, asking what I -should say to our starting together in Edinburgh. It -is a thing to be thought about. It is quite true, as -she says, that two women are much more comfortable -working together. They can give chloroform for one -another and so on, and consult together. On the -other hand, we could do that just as well if we simply -started separately, and were friends.</p> - -<p>‘Miss MacGregor was one of the J.-B. lot, and she -and I had awful rows over that question. But we -certainly got on very well before that, and, as she says, -that was not a personal question. I am quite sure -Miss MacGregor is Scotch enough not to propose any -arrangement which won’t be to her own advantage. -Probably, I know a good many more people than she -does. The question for me is whether it will be for -my advantage. I am rather inclined to think it will. -Miss MacGregor is a splendid pathologist. Nowadays -one ought to do a lot of that work with one’s cases, and -I have been puzzling over how one could, and yet keep -aseptic. If we could make some arrangement by -which we could work into one another’s hands in that -way, I think it would be for both our advantages. -There is one thing in favour of it, if Miss MacGregor -and I are definitely working together, no one can be -astonished at our not calling in other people. Miss -MacGregor, apart from everything else, is distinctly one -of our best women, and it would be nice working -with her. What do you think of it, Papa, dear? Of -course I should live at home in any case. My consulting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -rooms anyhow would have to be outside, for the -old ladies would not climb up the stair!</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Dublin</span>, <i><abbr title="February">Feb.</abbr> 1894</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘I do thank you so much for having let me come -here. I have learnt such a lot. The money has -certainly not been wasted. But it was awfully good -of you to let me come. I am sure it will make a -difference all my life. I really feel on my feet in this -subject now. The more I think of it, the more I think -it would be wise to start with Miss MacGregor. Apart -altogether from Eva’s instincts! we will start the -dispensary, and we’ll end by having a hospital like the -Rotunda, where students shall live on the premises—female -students only. Not that these boys are not -very nice and good-natured, only they are out of place -in the Rotunda.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>This was nearly the last letter written by Elsie -to her father. In most of her letters during the -preceding months it was obvious Mr. Inglis’ health -was causing her anxiety, and the inquiries and -suggestions for his well-being grew more urgent -as the shadow of death fell increasingly dark on -the written pages.</p> - -<p>Elsie returned to receive his eager welcome, but -even her eyes were blinded to the rapidly approaching -parting. On the 15th of March 1894, she wrote -to her brother Ernest in India, telling all the story<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -of Mr. Inglis’ passing on the 13th of that month. -There was much suffering borne with quiet patience, -‘He never once complained: I never saw such a -patient.’ At the end, he turned towards the -window, and then a bright look came into his eyes. -He said, ‘Pull down the blind.’ Then the chivalrous, -knightly soul passed into the light that never -was on sea or land.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘It was a splendid life he led,’ writes Elsie to her -brother; ‘his old Indian friends write now and say how -“the name of John Inglis always represented everything -that was upright and straightforward and high principled -in the character of a Christian gentleman.” He always -said that he did not believe that death was the stopping -place, but that one would go on growing and learning -through all eternity. God bless him in his onward -journey. I simply cannot imagine life without him. We -had made such plans, and now it does not seem worth -while to go on working at all. I wish he could have -seen me begin. He was so pleased about my beginning. -I said it would be such a joke to see Dr. Elsie Inglis up. -Saturday afternoons were to be his, and he was to come -over in my trap.</p> - -<p>‘He never thought of himself at all. Even when he -was very ill at the end, he always looked up when one -went in, and said, “Well, my darling.” I am glad I -knew about nursing, for we did not need to have any -stranger about him. He would have hated that.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER VI: POLITICAL ENFRANCHISEMENT AND NATIONAL POLITICS">CHAPTER <abbr title="6">VI</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">POLITICAL ENFRANCHISEMENT AND -NATIONAL POLITICS</span></h2> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> -<p>‘Well done, New Zealand! I expect I shall live to -have a vote.’—E. M. I., 1891.</p> -</blockquote> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘I envy not in any mood</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">The captive void of noble rage,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">The linnet born within the cage,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">That never knew the summer woods.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> -<p class="noindent">‘So the vote has come! and for our work. Fancy its -having taken the war to show them how ready we were -to work! Or even to show that that work was necessary. -Where do they think the world would have -been without women’s work all these ages?’—E. M. I., -Reni, Russia, June 1917.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Mr. David Inglis</span>, writing to his son on his -marriage in 1845, says:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I cannot express the deep interest, or the ardent -hopes with which my bosom is filled on the occasion, or -the earnest though humble prayer to the Giver of all -good which it has uttered that He may shed abundantly -upon you <em>both</em> the rich mercies of His grace: with those -feelings I take each of you to my heart, and give you -my parental love and blessing. You have told me -enough of the object of your fond choice to make her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -henceforth dear to me, to all of us, on her own account, -as well as yours.</p> - -<p>‘And here, my beloved David, I would turn for a -moment more immediately to yourself, as being now -in a situation very different from that in which you -have hitherto been placed. As a husband, then, it -will now behove you to remember that you are not -your own exclusive property—that for a single moment -you must never forget; the tender love and affectionate -respect and consideration which are due from you to -the amiable individual who has bestowed on you her -hand and heart, it will, I assure myself, be your -pleasing duty to prove, by unceasing attention to, and -solicitude for, her every wish how dearly you appreciate -her worth, as well as <em>gift</em>; and that her future comfort -and happiness will invariably possess an estimation -in your view paramount to every feeling that can more -immediately or personally affect yourself. Let such -be manifest in your every act, as connected with every -object in which <em>she</em> is concerned. Her love and -affection for you will then be reciprocal and pure and -lasting, and thus will you become to each other what, -under God’s blessing, you are meant to be—a mutual -comfort and an abiding stay. Make her the confidential -friend of your bosom, to whom its every thought -must unreservedly be imparted—the soother of all its -cares, its anxieties, and disappointments, when they -chance to arise; the fond participator in all your -happiness and joys, from whatever source they may -spring—you will thus be discharging a duty which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -your sacred obligations at the altar have entailed -upon you.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>This letter has been quoted with its phrasing of -seventy years ago, because it shows an advanced -outlook on the position of husband and wife, and -the setting forth of their equality and the respect -paid to their several positions. It may have -influenced Mr. Inglis’ views, both in his perfect -relations with his wife and the sympathetic liberty -of thought and action which he encouraged in his -own family.</p> - -<p>This chapter is devoted to the political and -public life of Elsie Inglis. It can be written in a -fortunate hour. The ‘common cause’ to which she -gave so much of her life has now been won. The -tumult and the turmoil are now hushed in peace -and security. The age which began in John -Stuart Mill’s ‘Subjection of Women’ has ended -in the Representation of the People’s Bill. It is -possible to review the political period of the -generation which produced Elsie Inglis, and her -comrades in the struggle against the disqualification -of sex, without raising any fresh controversy.</p> - -<p>We may safely say that Dr. Inglis was one of -the finest types of women produced by the ideals -and inspiring purposes of the generation to which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -she belonged. She was born when a woman was -the reigning Sovereign, and when her influence and -power were at its height. Four years after her -birth the Reform Bill of 1868 was to make the -first claim for women as citizens in the British -Parliament. The Married Woman’s Property Act, -and the laws affecting Divorce, had recognised them -as something else than the goods and chattels or -the playthings and bondwomen of the ‘predominant -partner.’ Mary Somerville had convinced -the world that a woman could have a -brain. Timidly, and yet resolutely, women were -claiming a higher education, and Universities were -slamming to their doors, with a petty horde of -maxims claimed to be based on divine authority. -Women pioneers mounted platforms and asserted -‘Rights,’ and qualified for jealously closed professions—always, -from the first, upheld and companied -by ‘Greathearts,’ men few but chosen, -who, like John Inglis, recognised that no community -was the stronger for keeping its people, be -they black or white, male or female, in any form -of ignorance or bonded serfdom.</p> - -<p>As Elsie grew up, she found herself walking in -the new age. Doors were set ajar, if not fully -opened. The first wave of ridicule and of conscientious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -objections had spent its force. A girl’s -school might play games decorously and not lose -all genteel deportment. Girls might show a love -of knowledge, and no longer be hooted as blue-stockings. -The use of the globes and cross-stitch -gave place to learning which might fit them -to be educated, and useful members of the community. -Ill-health ceased to be considered part -of the curse of Eve, to be borne with swooning -resignation on the wide sofas of the early Victorian -Age. Ignorance and innocence were not recognised -as twin sisters, and women, having eaten of the -tree of knowledge, looked round a world which -prided itself on giving equal justice to all men, -and discovered that very often that axiom covered -a multitude of sins of injustice against all womankind.</p> - -<p>It was through Elsie’s professional life that she -learnt to know how often the law was against the -woman’s best interests, and it was always in connection -with some reform that she longed to -initiate, that she expressed a desire for the Vote.</p> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To her Father</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Glasgow</span>, 1891. -</p> - -<p>‘Many thanks for your letter about women’s rights. -You are ahead of all the world in everything, and they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -gradually come up into line with you—the Westminster -Confession and everything except Home Rule! The -amusing thing about women preaching is that they do -it, but as it is not in the churches it is not supposed -to be in opposition to Paul. They are having lots of -meetings in the hall downstairs; every single one of -them is addressed by a woman. But, of course, they -could not give the same address in a church and with -men listening! At Queen Margaret’s here, they are -having a course of lectures on the Old Testament from -the lecturer on that subject in the University, but then, -of course it is not “Divinity.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The opponents to Woman’s Franchise admittedly -occupied an illogical position, and Elsie’s abounding -sense of humour never failed to make use of -all the opportunities of laughter which the many -absurdities of the long fight evoked. No one with -that sense as highly developed could ever turn -cynical or bitter. It was only when cruelty and -injustice came under her ken that a fine scorn -dominated her thought and speech. She gives to -her father some of these instances:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>‘I got a paper to sign to thank the M.P.’s who voted -for Sir A. Rollitt’s Woman’s Suffrage Bill. I got it -filled up in half a minute. I wish she had sent half -a dozen. There is no question among women who have -to work for themselves about wanting the suffrage.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -It is the women who are safe and sound in their own -drawing-rooms who don’t see what on earth they want -it for.</p> - -<p>‘I have just been so angry! A woman came in -yesterday very ill. A. took down her case, and thought -she would have to have an operation. Then her -husband arrived, and calmly said she was to go home, -because he could not look after the children. So I -said that if she went she went on her own responsibility, -for I would not give my consent. He said the baby -was ill. I said, “Well, take it to a hospital.” Then -it turned out it was not ill, but had cried last night. -I said I saw very well what it was, that he had had a -bad night, and had just determined that his wife should -have the bad night to-night, even though she was ill, -instead of him. He did look ashamed of himself, -selfish cad! Helpless creature, he could not even -arrange for some one to come in and take charge of -those children unless his wife went home to do it. She -had got some one yesterday, but he had had a row with -her. I gave him my mind pretty clearly, but I went in -just now to find she had gone. I said she was stupid. -So one woman said, “It was not ’er fault, Miss; ’e -would have it.”</p> - -<p>‘I wonder when married women will learn they have -any other duty in the world than to obey their husbands. -They were not even her children—they were step-children. -You don’t know what trouble we have here -with the husbands. They will come in the day before -the operation, after the woman has been screwed up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -to it, and worry them with all sorts of outside things, -and want them home when they are half dying. Any -idea that anybody is to be thought of but themselves -never enters their lordly minds, and the worst of it is -these stupid idiots of women don’t seem to think so -either: “’E wants it, Miss,” settles the question. I -always say—“It does not matter one fig what he wants. -The question is what you want.” They don’t seem to -think they have any right to any individual existence. -Well, I feel better now, but I wish I could have scragged -that beast. I have to go to the wards now!</p> - -<p>‘We had another row with a tyrannical husband. I -did not know whether to be most angry with him or his -fool of a wife. She had one of the most painful things -anybody can have, an abscess in her breast. It was so -bad Miss Webb would not do anything for it in the -out-patients’, but said she was to come in at once. The -woman said she would go and arrange for somebody -to look after her baby and come back at six. At six -appeared her lord and master. “<em>I</em> cannot let my wife -come in, as the baby is not old enough to be left with -anybody else.” Did you ever hear anything so -monstrous? That one human being is to settle for -another human being whether she is to be cured or not. -I asked him whether he knew how painful it was, and if -he had to bear the pain. Miss Webb appealed to him, -that he <em>was</em> responsible for his wife’s health, for he -seemed to assume he was not. Both grounds were far -above his intellect, either his responsibility or his wife’s -rights. He just stood there like an obstinate mule.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -We told him it was positively brutal, and that he was to -go <em>at once</em> and get a good doctor home with him if he -would not let her in. Of course, he did not.</p> - -<p>‘What a fool the woman must have been to have -educated him up to that. There really was no necessity -for her to stay out because he said she was to—poor -thing. Miss Webb and I have struck up a great -friendship as the result. After we had both fumed -about for some time, I said, “Well, the only way to -educate that kind of man, or that kind of woman, is -to get the franchise.” Miss Webb said, “Bravo, bravo,” -then I found she was a great franchise woman, and has -been having terrible difficulties with her L.W.A. here.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The writer may add one more to these instances. -Suffrage meetings were of a necessity much alike, -and the round of argument was much the same. -Spade-work had to be done among men and women -who had the mental outlook of these patients and -the overlords of their destiny. Meetings were -rarely enthusiastic or crowded, and it was often -like speaking into the heart of a pincushion. To -one of these meetings Dr. Inglis came by train -straight from her practice. In memory’s halls all -meetings are alike, but one stands out, where Dr. -Inglis illustrated her argument by a fact in her -day’s experience. The law does not permit an -operation on a married woman without her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -husband’s consent. That day the consent had -been refused, and the woman was to be left to -lingering suffering from which only death could -release her. The voice and the thrill which pervaded -speaker and audience as Dr. Inglis told the -tale and pointed the moral, remains an abiding -memory.</p> - -<p>Her politics were Liberal, and, what was more -remarkable, she was a convinced Home Ruler. -Those who believe that women in politics naturally -take the line of the home, may find here a very -strong instance of the independent mind, producing -no rift within the lute that sounded such a perfect -note of unison between her and the prevailing -influence of her youth. Mr. Inglis had done his -work in India, and his politics were of an Imperialist -rather than that of a ‘Home Ruler All -Round.’ When Mr. Gladstone introduced his -Home Rule Bill of 1893, Elsie complains of the -obstructive talk in Parliament. Mr. Inglis gently -says she seems to wish it passed without discussion. -Elsie replies on the points she thinks salient and -likely to work, and wonders why they should -not commend themselves to sense and not words. -The family have recollections of long and not -acrimonious debates well sustained on either side.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p> - -<p>She was a member of the W.L.F., and was always -impatient of the way Party was placed before the -Franchise.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>‘I was sorry to see how the Suffrage question was -pushed into the background by Lady Aberdeen. -However, I shall stick to the Federation, and bring -them to their senses on that point as far as my influence -goes. It is simply sham Liberalism that will not -recognise that it is a real Liberal question (1893).</p> - -<p>‘That is a capital letter of Miss M‘Laren’s. It -is quite true, and women are awful fools to truckle to -their party, instead of putting their foot down, about -the Franchise. You would certainly hear more about -wife murders than you do at present, if the women had -a vote.</p> - -<p>‘Do you know what they said at the Liberal Club -the other day in answer to some deputation, or appeal, -or rather it was said, in the discussion, that the Liberal -Party would do all they could to remedy abuses and -give women justice, but the vote they would not give, -because they would put a power into women’s hand -which could never be taken away. Plain speaking, -was it not?</p> - -<p>‘Did I tell you that I have to speak at a drawing-room -meeting on Woman’s Suffrage? Mrs. Elmy -asked me to. I had just refused to write a paper for -her on the present state of medical education in the -country, for I thought that would be too great cheek in -a house surgeon, so I did not like to refuse the other.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘The drawing-room meeting yesterday was very -good. I got there late, and found a fearfully and -awfully fashionable audience being harangued by a -very smart-looking man, who spoke uncommonly well, -and was saying everything I meant to say.</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. Elmy smiled and nodded away to me, and -suddenly it flashed on me that I was to second the -motion this man was speaking to. I was in such an -awful funk that I got cool, and got up and told them -that I did not think Mr. Wilkins had left any single -thing for me to say; however, as things struck people -in different ways I should simply tell them how it -struck me, and then went ahead with what I meant -to say when I got in. Mrs. Elmy was quite pleased, -and several people came up afterwards, and said I -had got on all right. Mrs. Elmy said, I had not repeated -Mr. W., only emphasised him. He was such a -fluent speaker, he scared me awfully.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The decade that saw the controversy of Home -Rule for Ireland, was the first that brought women -prominently into political organisations. Many -women’s associations were formed, and the religious -aspect as between Ulster and the South interested -many very deeply. Elsie was not a Liberal-Unionist, -and, as she states her case to her father, -there is much that shows that she was thinking -the matter out for herself, on lines which were -then fresher than they are to-day.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p> - -<p>From Glasgow, in 1891, she writes:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I have spent a wicked Sunday. I read all the -morning, and then went up to the Infirmary to bandage -with Dr. D. Dr. T. says I am quite sure to be plucked, -after such worldliness. I have discovered he is an -Australian from Victoria. Dr. D. is an Aberdeen man -and a great admirer of George Smith. Also, a violent -Home Ruler. Never mind about the agricultural -labourer, Papa dear! I am afraid Gladstone’s majority -won’t be a working one, and we shall have the whole -row over again in six months. Dr. D. says every -available voter has been seized by the scruff of his -neck and made to vote this time. And, six months -hence there’ll be no fresh light on the situation, and -we’ll be where we are now. I should not wonder -if the whole thing makes us devise some plan for -one Imperial Parliament and local government for -Ireland, Scotland, and the Colonies, ending in making -the integrity of the Empire “and unity of the English -speaking race” more apparent than it is now, <em>and</em> -with the Irish contented and managing their own -affairs in their own mad way. Our future trouble is -with the Labour Party.</p> - -<p>‘Mr. Gladstone has been so engrossed with his H.R. -measure that he does not seem to have noticed these -other questions that have been quickly growing, and -he has made two big blunders about Woman’s Suffrage -and the Labour question. I have no doubt these men -are talking a lot of nonsense, and are trying for impossibilities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -but there is a great deal of sense in what -they say. It is no good shutting our eyes to the facts -they bring forward.</p> - -<p>‘As to Mr. D., I am very much afraid you would -not agree with him. He is a rank Socialist. The only -point in which he agrees with you is that he would -make everybody do what he thinks right. Only his -ideas of right are very different from yours. He believes -in an eight-hour day, local option, and State-owned -mines. His chief amusement at present is arguing -with me. He generally gets angry, and says, “I argue -like a woman,” but he always pluckily begins again. -He was a tradesman, and gave it up because he says -you cannot be an honest tradesman nowadays. He is -studying medicine; the last day I worked at “brains” -he rampaged about the room arguing about the unearned -increment. I tell him he must come and argue -in Edinburgh—I have not time at present.</p> - -<p>‘I will tell you what I think of the Home Rule Bill -to-morrow—that is to say, if I have time to read it. It -is really a case of officers and men here just now. I -can’t say “go on” instead of “come on.” I cannot -order cold spongings and hot fomentations by the dozen -and then sit in my room and read the newspapers, -can I?’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Glasgow</span>, <i>May 1892</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘What do you think of Lord Salisbury’s speech, -inciting to rebellion and civil war? Now, don’t think -of it as Lord Salisbury and Ulster, but think of it as -advice given by Mr. Gladstone to the rest of Ireland.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -If you like to take the lead into your own hands and -march on Dublin; I don’t know that any Government -would care to use the forces of the Crown against you. -You will be quite justified because the Government -of your country is in the hands of your hereditary foes. -There is only one good point in Lord Salisbury’s speech, -and that is that he does not sham that the Ulster men -are Irishmen. He calls them a colony from this -country. Lord S. must have been feeling desperate -before he made that speech.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i>1894</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘I think Mr. Chamberlain’s speech was very clever. -It was this special Home Rule Bill he pulled to pieces, -and one could not help feeling that that would have -been the result whatever the Bill had been, if it had -been introduced by anybody but Mr. C. His argument -seemed to be in favour of Imperial Federation, as far -as I could make out. I have no doubt the Bill can be -very much improved in committee, but the groundwork -of it is all right. The two Houses and the gradual -giving over of the police and land, when they have had -time to find their feet. As to the retaining the Irish -members in Parliament being totally illogical, there is -nothing in that; we always make illogical things work. -And the Irish members must stay.</p> - -<p>‘I <em>do</em> like Mr. Balfour. He is so honest. I expect -he hates the Irish Party as much as any man, but he -spoke up for them all the same. If he had not, I don’t -believe Mr. Chamberlain and some of the others would -have spoken as they did. The Conservative Party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -was quite inclined to laugh at the paid stipendiaries until -Mr. Balfour spoke.</p> - -<p>‘I have been reading up the Bishop of Chester’s -scheme and the Direct Veto Bill. I don’t like his -scheme. It would be very nice to turn all the pubs -into coffee-houses, but a big company over whom the -ratepayers have no control would be just as likely to -do what would pay best, as the tramway companies -now, who work their men seventeen hours and their -horses three, at a stretch. It would be quite a different -thing to put the pubs under the Town and County -Councils. As to this Bill it is not to stop people drinking, -but simply to shut up pubs. A man can still buy his -whisky and get drunk in his own house, but a community -says, “We won’t have the nuisance of a pub -at every corner,” and I am not sure that they have not -that right, just as much as the private individual has -to get drunk if he chooses. A great many men would -keep straight if the temptation were not thrown in -their faces. The system of licences was instituted for -the good of the public, not the good of the publican.</p> - -<p>‘The Elections will be three weeks after my exam. -Dearest Papa!—There is as much chance of Mr. -Gladstone being beaten in Midlothian as there is of a -Conservative majority.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Another friend writes:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I should like to send you a recollection of her in -the early Nineties. My friend, Dr. Jessie MacGregor, -wrote to my home in Rothesay, asking us to put up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -Dr. Inglis, who was to give an address at a Sanitary -Congress to be held there. It was, I believe, her first -public appearance, and she did do well. One woman -alone on a platform filled with well-known doctors from -all parts! Her subject was advocating women as -sanitary inspectors. She was one of the pioneers in -that movement also. I can well remember her, a slim -little girl in black, fearless as ever, doing her part. -After she had finished, there was a running criticism -of her subject. Many against her view, few for the -cause on which she was speaking. It was an unique -experience. The discussion got quite hot. One well-known -doctor asked us to picture his dear friend Elsie -Inglis carrying out a six-foot smallpox patient.</p> - -<p>‘I think she was the first lady medical to speak at -a Congress. It was such a pleasure to entertain her, -she was so quiet and unobtrusive, and yet so humorous. -I never met her again, but I could never forget her, -though we were just like ships that pass in the night.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>One of her Suffrage organisers, Miss Bury, gives -a vivid picture of her work in the Suffrage cause:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘It was Dr. Elsie Inglis who brought me to Scotland, -and sent me to organise Suffrage societies in the -Highlands. I speak of her as I knew her, the best of -chiefs, so kind and encouraging and appreciative of -one’s efforts, even when they were not always crowned -with success. I remember saying I was disappointed -because the hall was only about three-quarters full, and -her reply was, “My dear, I was not counting the people,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -I was thinking of the efforts which had brought those -who were there.”</p> - -<p>‘Her letters were an inspiration. She gave one the -full responsibility of one’s position, and always expected -the best. Resolutely direct, and straightforward in -her dealings with me as a subordinate worker, she -never failed to tell me of any word of appreciation that -reached her, as she also told me candidly if she heard -of any criticism. She had such a big, generous mind, -even condescending to give an opportunity for argument -when there was any difference of opinion, and -absolutely tolerant and kind when one did not agree -with her.</p> - -<p>‘She was always considerate of one’s health, and insisted -that the hours laid down for work were not to be -exceeded, or, if this was unavoidable, that the time must -be taken off as soon as possible afterwards. She only -saw difficulties to conquer them, and I well remember -in one of her letters from Lazaravatz, she wrote so -characteristically—“the work is most interesting, -bristling with difficulties.”</p> - -<p>‘My happiest recollection is of a visit to the Highlands, -to speak at some Suffrage meetings I had arranged -for her. In the train she was always busy writing, -in that beautiful clear characteristic hand, like herself, -triumphing over the jolting of the Highland Railway, -as she did later in Serbia. In the early morning she -had to catch a train at Inverness, and we went by motor -from Nairn. For once the writing was laid aside, and -she gave herself up to the enjoyment of the sunrise,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> - -and the beautiful lights on the Ross-shire hills, as we -travelled along the shores of the Moray Firth. When -the car broke down, out came the despatch case again, -while the chauffeur and I put on the Stepney. There -was no complaining about the lost train, a wire was -sent to the committee apologising for her absence, and -then she immediately turned her attention to other -business.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>One who first came under her influence as a -patient, and became a warm friend, gives some -reminiscences. Her greeting to the elect at the -beginning of the year was, ‘A good new year, and -the Vote <em>this</em> year.’</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I remember once, as we descended the steps of -<abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Giles’ after attending a service at which the Edinburgh -Town Council was present, she spoke joyfully -of the time coming when we, the women of Edinburgh -and of Scotland, would “help to build the New Jerusalem, -with the weapon ready to our hand—the Vote.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The year 1906 brought the Liberals into political -power, and with the great wave of democratic -enthusiasm which gave the Government of Sir -Henry Campbell-Bannerman an enormous majority -there came other expressions of the people’s will.</p> - -<p>The Franchise for women had hitherto been of -academic interest in the community: a crank, -many thought it, like total abstinence or Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -Science. The claims of women were frequently -brought before Parliament by private members, -and if the Bill was not ‘talked out,’ it was talked -round, as one of the best jests of a Parliamentary -holiday. The women who advocated it were -treated with tolerance, their public advocacy was -deemed a <i>tour de force</i>, and their portraits were -always of the nature of caricatures, except those -in <cite>Punch</cite>, where the opponent was caricatured, -and the women immortalised.</p> - -<p>The Liberal party found its right wing mainly -composed of Labour, and Socialist members were -returned to Parliament. From that section of -thought sprang the militant movement, and the -whole question of the enfranchisement of women -took on a different aspect.</p> - -<p>This chapter does not attempt to give a history -of the ‘common cause,’ or the reasons for the -rapid way it came to the front, and ranked -with Ireland as among the questions which, left -unsettled, became a thorn in the side of any -Government that attempted to govern against, or -leaving outside the expressed will of the people.</p> - -<p>This is no place to examine the causes which, -along with the militant movement, but always -separated from them, poured such fresh life and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -vigour into the old constitutional and law-abiding -effort to procure the free rights of citizenship for -women.</p> - -<p>The pace quickened to an extent which was -bewildering. Where a dozen meetings a year had -been the portion of many speakers, they were -multiplied by the tens and scores. Organisations -had to be expanded. A fighting fund collected, -meetings arranged, debates were held all over the -country and among all classes. A press, which -had never written up the subject while its advocates -were law-abiding, tumbled over each other -to advertise every movement of all sections of -suffragists. It must be admitted the militants -gave them plenty of copy, and the constitutionalists -had an uneasy sense that their stable companions -would kick over the traces in some embarrassing -and unexpected way on every new occasion. Still -the tide flowed steadily for the principle, and -those who had its guidance in Parliament and the -country had to use all the strength of the movement -in getting it well organised and carefully worked. -Societies were federated, and the greatly growing -numbers co-ordinated into a machine which could -bring the best pressure to bear on Parliament. -The well-planned Federation of Scottish Suffrage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -Societies owed much to Dr. Inglis’ gift of organisation -and of taking opportunity by the hand. She -was Honorary Secretary to the Scottish Federation, -and in those fighting years between 1906 and -1914 she impressed herself much on its policy. In -the early years of her professional life, she used -gaily to forecast for herself a large and paying -practice. Her patients never suffered, but she -sacrificed her professional prospects in a large -measure for her work for the Franchise. She gave -her time freely, and she raised money at critical -times by parting with what was of value and in her -power to give. Perhaps, the writer may here again -give her own reminiscences. Her fellowship with -Dr. Inglis was all too rarely social; they met -almost entirely in their suffrage work. To know -Dr. Inglis at all was to know her well. The transparent -sincerity and simplicity of her manner left -nothing to be discovered. One felt instinctively -she was a comrade one could ‘go tiger-hunting -with,’ and to be in her company was to be sustained -by a true helpmate. We were asked to -speak together. Invited by the elect, and sometimes -by the opponents to enjoy hospitality, Dr. -Inglis was rarely able to come in time for the -baked meats before we ascended the platform,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -and uttered our platitudes to rooms often empty -woodyards, stuck about with a remnant of those -who would be saved. She usually met us on the -platform, having arrived by the last train, and -obliged to leave by the first. But she never came -stale or discouraged. There was always the smile at -the last set-back, the ready joke at our opponents, -the subtle sense that she was out to win, the -compelling force of sustained effort that made at -least one of her yoke-fellows ashamed of the faint -heart that could never hope to win through. -Sometimes we travelled back together; more often -we would meet next day in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Giles’ after the -daily service, and our walk home was always a -cheer. ‘Never mind’ the note to discouragement. -‘Remember this or that in our favour; -our next move must be in this direction.’ And -the thought was always there (if her unselfconsciousness -prevented it being spoken—as one wishes -to-day it had been)—‘The meeting went, because -you were there and set your whole soul on “willing” -it through.’</p> - -<p>She had no sympathy with militantism. There -was no better fighter with legitimate weapons, -but she saw how closely the claim to do wrong -that good might come was related to anarchy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -and her sense of true citizenship was outraged by -law-breaking which, to her clear judgment, could -only retard the ultimate triumph of a cause rooted -in all that was just and righteous. She was not -confused by any cross-currents of admiration for -individual courage and self-sacrifice, and her one -desire was to see that the Federation was ‘purged’ -of all those who belonged to the forces of disintegration.</p> - -<p>She had the fruit of her political sagacity, and -her fearless pursuit after integrity in deed and in -word. When the moment came when she was to -go to the battle fronts of the world, a succourer of -many, she went in the strength of the Suffrage -women of Scotland. They were her shield and -buckler, and their loyal support of her work and -its ideals was her exceeding great reward. Without -their organised strength she could never have -called into existence those units and their equipment -which have justly earned the praises of -nations allied in arms.</p> - -<p>With the rise of the militant movement, the -whole Suffrage cause passed through a cloud of -opprobrium and almost universal objurgation. -Women were all tarred with the same stick, and -fell under one condemnation. It is now of little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -moment to recall this, except in as much as it -affected Elsie Inglis. The Scottish Suffrage societies, -who gave their organisation and their workers to -start the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, found that -the community desired to forget the unpopular -Suffrage, and to remember only the Scottish Hospitals. -Speakers for the work that Dr. Inglis was -doing were asked to avoid ‘the common cause.’ -No one who knew her would consent to deny by -implication one of the deepest mainsprings of her -work. The Churches were equally timid in aught -that gave comfort or consolation to those who -were loyal to their Christian social ideal for women. -No organised society owes more to the administrative -work of women than does the Christian -Church throughout the world. No body of administrators -have been slower to perceive that -women in responsible positions would be a strength -to the Church than have been the clergy of the -Church. The writer of <cite>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</cite> puts -into the mouth of the clerical type of that day -the argument that the Old Testament gave an -historic basis for the enslavement of races, and <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> -Paul had sanctioned slavery in the New Testament. -The spirit of Christianity has raised women -from a ‘low estate,’ and women owe everything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -to the results of Christianity; but the ecclesiastical -mind has never shaken off the belief that they are -under a special curse from the days of Eden, and -that <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Paul’s outlook on women in his day was -the last revelation as to their future position in -a jealously-guarded corporation. Which of us, -acquainted with the Church history of our day, -but remembers the General Assembly when the -women missionaries were first invited to stand -by their fellow-workers and be addressed by the -Moderator on their labours and sufferings in a -common cause? It was a great shock to the -fathers and brethren that their sex should not -disqualify them from standing in the Assembly, -which would have more democratic weight in the -visible Church on earth if some of its elected lay -members were women serving in the courts of the -Church. In this matter and in many others concerning -women, the Church is not yet triumphant -over its prejudices bedded in the geological structure -of Genesis.</p> - -<p>In all periods of the enfranchisement struggle -there were individual clergy who aided women -with their warm advocacy and the helpful direction -of thought. Elsie Inglis was a leader of this movement -in its connection with a high Christian ideal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -of the citizenship of women. To those who -gathered in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Margaret’s, the church of Parliament -in history, to commemorate all her works -begun and ended as a member of Christ’s Church -here on earth, it was fitting that Bishop Gore, who -had so consistently upheld the cause, should speak -of her work as one who had helped to win the -equality of women in a democratic, self-governing -State.</p> - -<p>This memoir would utterly fail to reproduce a -picture of Dr. Inglis if it did not emphasise how -her spirit was led and disciplined, tempered and -steeled, through this long and fiery trial to the -goal of a leading ideal. The contest trained her -for her splendid achievements in overcoming all -obstacles in ministering to the sufferings of nations, -‘rightly struggling to be free.’ Her friend, Miss -Wright, says:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘We did not always agree. Many were the arguments -we had with her, but she was always willing to -understand another point of view and willing to allow -for difference of opinion. She was very fair-minded -and reasonable, and deplored the excesses of the militant -suffragettes. She was in no sense a man-hater; -to her the world was composed of men and women, and -she thought it a mistake to exalt the one unduly over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -the other. She was never embittered by her struggle -for the position of women. She loved the fight, and -the endeavour, and to arrive at any point just meant a -fresh setting forward to another further goal.</p> - -<p>‘From her girlhood onward, her effort was to free -and broaden life for other women, to make the world -a better place to live in.</p> - -<p>‘I had a letter this week from Annie Wilson, Elsie’s -great friend. She says, “It seems to me Elsie’s whole -life was full of championship of the weak, and she was -so strong in maintaining what was right. I feel sure -she has inspired many. I remember once saying in -connection with some work I was going to begin, ‘I -wonder if I shall be able,’ and Elsie saying in her bright -way, ‘What man has done man can do.’ I am so glad -that she had the opportunity of showing her great -administrative capacity, and that her power is known -and acknowledged. She is a great woman. I cannot -tell you what it will be not to have her welcome to -look forward to when I come home.”</p> - -<p>‘Elsie had in many respects what is, perhaps wrongly, -called a man’s mind. She was an Imperialist in the -very best sense, and had high ideals for her country -and people. She was a very womanly woman, never -affecting mannish ways as a pose. If she seemed a -strong-minded woman it was because she had strenuous -work to do. She was never “a lone woman.” She -was always one of a family, and in the heart of the -family. Elsie always had the <em>lovingest</em> appreciation -and backing from her nearest and dearest, and that a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -wide and varied circle. So, also, she did not need to -fight for her position; it has been said of her, “Whenever -she began to speak her pleasant well-bred accent and -manner gained her a hearing.” She was ever a fighter, -but it was because she wanted those out in the cold -and darkness to come into the love and light which -she herself experienced and sought after always more -fully.</p> - -<p>‘We looked forward to more frequent meetings when -working days were done. Now she has gone forward -to the great work beyond:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘“Somewhere, surely, afar</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">In the sounding labour home vast</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Of being, is practised that strength—</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Zealous, beneficent, firm.”’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER VII: THE PROFESSION AND THE FAITH">CHAPTER <abbr title="7">VII</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">THE PROFESSION AND THE FAITH</span></h2> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Run the straight race through God’s good grace,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Lift up thine eyes and seek His face;</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Life with its way before us lies,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.’</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Elsie Inglis</span> took up practice in Edinburgh, and -worked in a happy partnership with the late Dr. -Jessie MacGregor, until the latter left Scotland for -work in America.</p> - -<p>When the University of Edinburgh admitted -women to the examinations for degrees in medicine, -Dr. Inglis graduated M.B., C.M. in 1899. From -that date onwards her practice, her political and -suffrage work, and the founding of the Hospice in -the High Street of Edinburgh, as a nursing home -and maternity centre staffed by medical women, -occupied a life which grew and strengthened amid -so many and varied experiences.</p> - -<p>Her father’s death deprived her of what had -been the very centre and mainspring of her existence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -As she records the story of his passing on, -she says that she cannot imagine life without him, -and that he had been so glad to see her begin her -professional career. She was not one to lose her -place in the stream of life from any morbid inaction -or useless repining. She shared the spirit -of the race from which she had sprung, a reaching -forward to obtain the prize of life fulfilled with -service, and she had inherited the childlike faith -and confidence which inspired their belief in the -Father of Spirits.</p> - -<p>Elsie lost in her father the one who had made -her the centre of his thoughts and of his most -loving watchfulness. From the day that her home -with him was left unto her desolate, she was to -become a centre to many of her father’s wide -household, and, even as she had learnt from him, -she became a stay and support to many of his -children’s children.</p> - -<p>The two doctors started practice in Atholl -Place, and later on they moved into 8 Walker -Street, an abode which will always be associated -with the name of Dr. Elsie Inglis.</p> - -<p>Mrs. M‘Laren says:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>‘My impressions of their joint house are all pleasant -ones. They got on wonderfully together, and in every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -thing seemed to appreciate one another’s good qualities. -They were very different, and had in many ways -a different outlook. I remember Jessie saying once, -“Elsie is so exceptionally generous in her attitude of -mind, it would be difficult not to get on with her!” -They both held their own opinions on various subjects -without the difference of opinion really coming between -them. Elsie said once about the arrangement, -“It has all the advantages of marriage without any -of its disabilities.” We used always to think they did -each other worlds of good. I know how I always enjoyed -a visit to them if it was only for an afternoon -or some weeks. There was such an air of freedom in -the whole house. You did what you liked, thought -what you liked, without any fear of criticism or of -being misunderstood.</p> - -<p>‘I do not know much about her practice, as medicine -never interested me, but I believe at one time, before -the Suffrage work engrossed her so much, she was -making quite a large income.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Professionally she suffered under two disabilities: -the restricted opportunities for clinical work in -the days when she was studying her profession, -combined with the constant interruptions which -the struggle against the medical obstructionists -necessitated; secondly, the various stages in the -political fight incident to obtaining that wider -enfranchisement which aimed at freeing women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -from all those lesser disabilities which made them -the helots of every recognised profession and -industry.</p> - -<p>When in the Scottish Women’s Hospitals abroad, -Dr. Inglis rapidly acquired a surgical skill, under -the tremendous pressure of work, which often kept -her for days at the operating-table, which showed -what a great surgeon she might have been, given -equal advantages in the days of her peace practice.</p> - -<p>Dr. Inglis lost no opportunity of enlarging her -knowledge. She was a lecturer on Gynecology in -the Medical College for Women which had been -started later than Dr. Jex Blake’s school, and was -on slightly broader lines. After she had started -practice she went to study German clinics; she -travelled to Vienna, and later on spent two months -in America studying the work and methods of -the best surgeons in New York, Chicago, and -Rochester.</p> - -<p>She advocated, at home and abroad, equal opportunities -for work and study in the laboratories for -both men and women students. She maintained -that the lectures for women only were not as good -as those provided for the men, and that the women -did not get the opportunity of thorough laboratory -practice before taking their exams. She thus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -came into conflict with the University authorities, -who refused to accept women medical students -within the University, or to recognise extra-mural -mixed classes in certain subjects. Step by step -Dr. Inglis fought for the students. ‘With a great -price’ she might truly say she had purchased her -freedom, and nothing would turn her aside. If -one avenue was closed, try another. If one -Principal was adamant, his day could not last for -ever; prepare the way for his successor. Indomitable, -unbeaten, unsoured, Dr. Inglis, with -the smiling, fearless brow, trod the years till the -influence of the ‘red planet Mars’ opened to her -and others the gate of opportunity. She had -achieved many things, and was far away from -her city and its hard-earned practice when at -length, in 1916, the University, under a new ‘open-minded, -generous-hearted Head,’ opened its doors -to women medical students.</p> - -<p>There were other things, besides her practice, -which Dr. Inglis subordinated in these years to the -political enfranchisement of women. It has been -shown in a previous chapter how keen were her -political beliefs. She joined the Central Edinburgh -Women’s Liberal Association in its earliest -organised years. She acted as Vice-President in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -it for sixteen years, and was one of its most active -members.</p> - -<p>Mr. Gulland, the Liberal Whip, knew the value -of her work, and must have had reason to respect -the order in which she placed her political creed—first -the citizenship of women, then the party -organisation. He speaks of her fearless partisanship -and aloof attitude towards all local political -difficulties. An obstacle to her was a thing to be -overcome, not to be sat down before. Any one -in politics who sees what is right, and cannot -understand any reason why the action should not -be straight, rather than compromising, is a help -to party agents at rare intervals; normally such -minds cause anxiety. Her secretary, Miss Cunningham, -says about her place in the Liberal -organisation:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Not only as a speaker—though as that she was -invaluable—but as one who mixed freely with all our -members, with her sympathy, in fact, her enthusiasm -for everything affecting the good of women, she won -respect and liking on every side. It was not until she -became convinced that she could help forward the great -cause for women better by being unattached to any -party organisation that she severed her connection with -the Liberal Party. Regretted as that severance was by -all, we understood her point of view so well that we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -recognised there was no other course open to her. Her -firm grasp of and clear insight into matters political -made her a most valued colleague, especially in times -of difficulty, when her advice was always to be relied -upon.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In 1901 she was a member of the Women’s -Liberal League, a branch of the W.L.A. which -split off at the time of the Boer War, in opposition -to the ‘Little Englanders.’ Dr. Inglis was on its -first committee, and lent her drawing-room for -meetings, addressing other meetings on the Imperialist -doctrines born in that war. When that -phase of politics ended, the League became an -educational body and worked on social and factory -legislation.</p> - -<p>Among her other enterprises was the founding -of the Muir Hall of Residence for Women Students -at the University. Many came up from the -country, and, like herself in former days in Glasgow, -had to find suitable, and in many cases uncomfortable, -lodgings.</p> - -<p>Principal Muir’s old Indian friendship with Mr. -Inglis had been most helpful in former years, and -now Lady Muir and other friends of the women -students started a Residence in George Square for -them, and Miss Robertson was appointed its first<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -warden. Dr. Inglis was Hon. Secretary to the -Muir Hall till she died, and from its start was a -moving spirit in all that stood for the comfort of -the students. She attended them when they were -ill, and was always ready to help them in their -difficulties with her keen, understanding advice. -The child of her love, amid all other works, was her -Maternity Hospice. Of this work Miss Mair, who -was indeed ‘a nursing mother’ to so many of the -undertakings of women in the healing profession, -writes of Dr. Inglis’ feeling with perfect understanding:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘To Dr. Inglis’ clear vision, even in her early years of -student life, there shone through the mists of opposition -and misunderstandings a future scene in which a -welcome recognition would be made of women’s services -for humanity, and with a strong, glad heart she joined -with other pioneers in treading “the stony way” -that leads to most reforms. Once landed on the firm -rock of professional recognition, Dr. Inglis set about -the philanthropic task of bringing succour and helpful -advice to mothers and young babies and expectant -mothers in the crowded homes in and about the High -Street. There, with the help of a few friends, she -founded the useful little Hospice that we trust now to -see so developed and extended by an appreciative -public, that it will merit the honoured name “The Dr. -Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospice.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘This little Hospice lay very near the heart of its -founder—she loved it—and with her always sensitive -realisation of the needs of the future, she was convinced -that this was a bit of work on the right lines for recognition -in years to come. Some of us can recall the -kindling eye, the inspiring tones, that gave animation -to her whole being when talking of her loved Hospice. -She saw in it a possible future that might effect much, -not only for its patients, but for generations of medical -women.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>With Dr. Elsie one idea always started another, -and ‘a felt want’ in any department of life always -meant an instantly conceived scheme of supplying -the need. Those who ‘came after’ sometimes felt -a breathless wonder how ways and means could be -found to establish and settle the new idea which -had been evolved from the fertile brain. The -Hospice grew out of the establishment of a nursing -home for working women, where they could be -cared for near their own homes. Through the -kindness of Dr. Barbour, a house was secured at a -nominal rent in George Square, and opened in -1901. That sphere of usefulness could be extended -if a maternity home could be started in a poorer -district. Thus the Hospice in the High Street was -opened in 1904. Dr. Inglis devoted herself to the -work. An operating theatre and eight beds were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -provided. The midwifery department grew so -rapidly that after a few years the Hospice became -a centre, one of five in Scotland, for training nurses -for the C.M.B. examination.</p> - -<p>Dr. Inglis looked forward to a greater future for -it in infant welfare work, and she always justified -the device of the site as being close to where the -people lived, and in air to which they were accustomed. -Trained district nurses visited the people -in their own homes, and in 1910 there were more -cases than nurses to overtake them. In that year -the Hospice was amalgamated with Bruntsfield -Hospital; medical, surgical, and gynecological cases -were treated there, while the Hospice was devoted -entirely to maternity and infant welfare cases.</p> - -<p>Dr. Inglis’ ‘vision’ was nearly accomplished -when she had a small ward of five beds for malnutrition -cases, a baby clinic, a milk depot, health -centres, and the knowledge that the Hospice has -the distinction of being the only maternity centre -run by women in Scotland. This affords women -students opportunities denied to them in other -maternity hospitals.</p> - -<p>A probationer in that Hospice says:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Dr. Inglis’ idea was that everything, as far as -possible, should be made subservient to the comfort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -of the patients. This was always considered when -planning the routine. She disapproved of the system -prevalent in so many hospitals of rousing the patients -out of sleep in the small hours of the morning in order -to get through the work of the wards. She would not -have them awakened before 6 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, and she instituted -a cup of tea before anything else was done. To her -nurses she was very just and appreciative of good -work, and, if complaints were made against any one, -the wrongdoing had to be absolutely proved before she -would take action. She also insisted on the nurses -having adequate time off, and that it should not be -infringed upon.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>These, in outline, are the interests which filled -the years after Dr. Elsie began her practice. Of -her work among the people living round her -Hospice, it is best told in the words of those who -watched for her coming, and blessed the sound of -her feet on their thresholds. Freely she gave them -of her best, and freely they gave her the love and -confidence of their loyal hearts.</p> - -<p>Mrs. B. had been Dr. Inglis’ patient for twenty -years, and she had also attended her mother and -grandmother. Of several children one was called -Elsie Maud Inglis, and the child was christened -in the Dean Church by Dr. Williamson, who had -known Dr. Inglis as a child in India. The whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -family seem to have been her charge, for when -Mrs. B.’s husband returned from the South African -War, Dr. Inglis fought the War Office for nine -months to secure him a set of teeth, and, needless -to say, after taking all the trouble entailed by a -War Office correspondence, she was successful. A -son fought in the present war, and when Dr. Inglis -saw the death of a Private B., she sent a telegram -to the War Office to make sure it was not the son -of Mrs. B. She would never take any fees from -this family. On one occasion Mr. B. gave her -some feathers he had brought home from Africa. -She had them put in a new hat she had got for a -wedding, and came round before she went to the -festival to show them to the donor. Her cheery -ways ‘helped them all,’ and when a child of the -family broke its leg, and was not mending all -round in the Infirmary, Dr. Inglis was asked to go -and see her, and the child from then ‘went forrit.’</p> - -<p>In another family there was some stomach weakness, -and three infants died. Dr. Inglis tried hard -to save the life of the third, a little boy, who was -evidently getting no nourishment. So anxious -was she, that she asked a sister who had recently -had a baby, to try if she could nurse the child. -This was done, the foster mother going every day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -to the house, but they could not save the infant. -When the next one arrived, Dr. Inglis was so -determined the child should live, she came every -day, whatever were her engagements, to sterilise -the milk. The child throve under her care, and -grew up in health.</p> - -<p>Another of these patients of her care ‘could not -control her feelings’ when speaking of the good -physician. It was evident the family had lost their -best friend. The husband spoke most warmly of -Dr. Inglis’ kindness to them. She would come -round, after she had finished her other work at -night, to bath the baby. When another child -was ill, she told the mother not to open the door -even if the King himself wished to come in. The -husband said she was so bright one felt the better -for her visit, ‘though her orders had to be obeyed -and no mistake, and she would tell you off at -once if you did not carry them out.’ If they -offered payment, she would say, ‘Now, go and -buy a nice chop for yourself.’</p> - -<p>Another family had this story. Mr. G.: ‘That -woman has done more for the folk living between -Morrison Street and the High Street than all the -ministers in Edinburgh and Scotland itself ever -did for any one. She would never give in to difficulties.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -She gave her house, her property, her -practice, her money to help others.’ Mrs. G. fell -ill after the birth of one of her children. Dr. Elsie -came in one night, made her a cup of tea and some -toast, and, as she failed to get well, she raised -money to keep her in a sanatorium for six months. -After she had been there one child, in charge of a -friend, fell ill, and finally died, Dr. Inglis doing all -she could to spare the absent mother and save the -child. When it died, she wrote:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">My dear Mrs. G.</span>,—You will have got the news -by now. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for you, -my dear. But you will believe, won’t you, that we -all did everything we could for your dear little boy. -Mrs. E. was simply goodness itself. Dr. H. and I saw -him three times a day between us, and yesterday we -saw him four times. When I sent you the card I hoped -the high temperature was due to his teeth, because his -pulse seemed good. However, later, Dr. H. telephoned -that she was afraid that his pulse was flagging, and he -died suddenly about one. Mr. G. has just been here; -you must get well, my dear, for his sake, and for the -sake of all the other little children. Poor little Johnnie -has had a great many troubles in his little life has he not? -But he is over them all now, dear little man. And the -God in whose <em>safe</em> keeping he is, comfort you, dear Mrs. -G.—Ever your sincere friend,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Elsie Maud Inglis</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>The caretaker of the dispensary in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Cuthbert’s -Mission in Morrison Street speaks of Dr. Inglis as -the true friend of all who needed her. She gave -an hour three mornings in the week, and if she -could not overtake all the cases in the time, she -would occasionally come back later in the day.</p> - -<p>Another of her patients was the mother of -twelve children; six of them were ‘brought home’ -by Dr. Inglis. She was a friend to them all, and -never minded what trouble she took. If they did -not send for her, wishing to spare her, she scolded -them for thinking of herself and not of their need -for her services. All the children loved her, and -they would watch from the window on her dispensary -days for her, and she would wave to them -across the street. She would often stop them in -the street to ask after their mother, and even after -she had been to Serbia and returned to Edinburgh, -she remembered about them and their home affairs. -She always made them understand that her orders -must be carried out. Once Mrs. C. was very ill, -and Dr. Inglis came to attend her. The eldest -girl was washing the floor, and Dr. Inglis told her -to go for some medicine. The girl continued to -finish the work she was at. ‘Child,’ said Dr. Inglis, -‘don’t you know that when I say a thing I mean<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -it?’ Another time she had told Mrs. C. to remain -in her bed till she came. Household cares were -pressing, and Mrs. C. rose to wash the dishes. Dr. -Inglis suddenly appeared at the door. ‘What did -I tell you? Do not touch another dish.’ And she -herself helped Mrs. C. back to bed. Later on two -of the children got scarlet fever, and Dr. Inglis -told the mother she was proud of her, as, through -her care, the infection did not spread in the family -or outside it.</p> - -<p>The people in Morrison Street showed their -gratitude by collecting a little sum of money to -buy an electric lamp to light their doctor friend up -the dark staircase of the house. These were the -true mourners who stood round <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Giles’ with the -bairns she had ‘brought home’ on the day when -her earthly presence passed from their sight. -These were they who had fitted her for her strenuous -enterprises in the day when the battle was -set in array, and these were the people who knew -her best, and never doubted that when called -from their midst she would go forth strong in that -spirit which is given to the weak things of the -earth, and that it would be her part to strengthen -the peoples that had no might.</p> - -<p>The Little Sisters of the Poor had a dispensary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -of <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Anne, and Dr. Elsie had it in her charge -from 1903 to 1913, and the Sister Superior speaks -of the affection of the people and the good work -done among them.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘“How often,” writes one in charge of the servant -department of the Y.W.C.A., “her deliberate tread has -brought confidence to me when getting heartless over -some of these poor creatures who would not rouse -themselves, judging the world was against them. Many -a time the patient fighting with circumstances needed -a sisterly word of cheer which Dr. Inglis supplied, -and sent the individual heartened and refreshed. -The expression on her face, <em>I mean business</em>, had a -wonderful uplift, while her acuteness in exactly describing -the symptoms to those who were in constant -contact gave a confidence which made her a power -amongst us.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>A patient has allowed some of her written -prescriptions to be quoted. They were not of a -kind to be made up by a chemist:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I want you never to miss or delay meals. I want -you to go to bed at a reasonable time and go to sleep -early. I want you to do your work regularly, and to -take an interest in outside things—such as your church -and suffrage.’</p> - -<p>‘We should not let these Things (with a capital T) -affect us so much. Our cause is too righteous for it to -be really affected by them—if we don’t weaken.’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘My dear, the potter’s wheel isn’t a pleasant instrument.’</p> - -<p>‘Go home and say your prayers.’</p> - -<p>‘Realise what you are, a free born child of the -Universe. Perfection your Polar Star.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>These stories of her healing of mind and body -might be endlessly multiplied. Sorrow and disease -are much the same whether they come to the rich -or the poor, and poverty is not always the worst -trial of many a sad tale. Dr. Elsie’s power of -sympathy and understanding was as much called -upon in her paying practice as among the very -poor. She made no distinction in what she gave; -her friendship was as ready as her trained skill. -There was one patient whose sufferings were largely -due to her own lack of will power. Elsie, after -prescribing, bent down and kissed her. It awoke -in the individual the sense that she was not ‘altogether -bad,’ and from that day forward there was -a newness of life.</p> - -<p>From what sources of inner strength did she -increasingly minister in that sphere in which she -moved? ‘Thy touch has still its ancient power,’ -and no one who knew this unresting, unhasting, -well-balanced life, but felt it had drawn its spiritual -strength from the deep wells of Salvation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> - -<p>In these years the kindred points of heaven and -home were always in the background of her life. -Her sisters’ homes were near her in Edinburgh, -and when her brother Ernest died in India, in -1910, his widow and her three daughters came -back to her house. Her friendship and understanding -of all the large circle that called her aunt -was a very beautiful tie. The elder ones were -near enough to her own age to be companions to -her from her girlhood. Miss Simson says that she -was more like an elder sister to them when she -stayed with the family on their arrival from -Tasmania. ‘The next thing I remember about -her was when she went to school in Paris, she -promised to bring us home Paris dolls. She asked -us how we wanted them dressed, and when she -returned we each received a beautiful one dressed -in the manner chosen. Aunt Elsie was always -most careful in the choice of presents for each -individual. One always felt that she had thought -of and got something that she knew you wanted. -While on her way to Russia she sent me a cheque -because she had not been able to see anything -while at home. She wrote, “This is to spend on -something frivolous that you want, and not on -stockings or anything like that.”’</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘It is not her great gifts that I remember now,’ -says another of that young circle, ‘it is that she -was always such a darling.’</p> - -<p>These nieces were often the companions of Dr. -Elsie’s holidays. She had her own ideas as to how -these should be spent. She always had September -as her month of recreation. She used to go away, -first of all, for a fortnight quite alone to some -out-of-the-way place, when not even her letters -were sent after her. She would book to a station, -get out, and bicycle round the neighbourhood till -she found a place she liked. She wanted scenery -and housing accommodation according to her mind. -Her first requirement was hot water for ‘baths.’ -If that was found in abundance she was suited; if -it could not be requisitioned, she went elsewhere. -Her paintbox went with her, and when she returned -to rejoin or fetch away her family she -brought many impressions of what she had seen. -The holidays were restful because always well -planned. She loved enjoyment and happiness, -and she sought them in the spirit of real relaxation -and recreation. If weather or circumstances turned -out adverse, she was amused in finding some way -out, and if nothing else could be done she had a -power of seeing the ludicrous under all conditions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -which in itself turned the rain-clouds of life into -bursts of sunlight.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Inglis gives a happy picture of the life in -8 Walker Street, when she was the guest of Dr. -Inglis. Her love for the three nieces, the one in -particular who bore her name, and in whose medical -education she deeply interested herself, was great.</p> - -<p>She used to return from a long day’s work, often -late, but with a mind at leisure from itself for the -talk of the young people. However late she was, -a hot bath preluded a dinner-party full of fun and -laughter, the account of all the day’s doings, and -then a game of bridge or some other amusement. -Often she would be anxious over some case, but -she used to say, ‘I have done all I know, I can -only sleep over it,’ and to bed and to sleep she -went, always using her will-power to do what was -best in the situation. Those who were with her -in the ‘retreats’ in Serbia or Russia saw the same -quality of self-command. If transport broke down, -then the interval had better be used for rest, in -the best fashion in which it could be obtained.</p> - -<p>Her Sundays, as far as her profession permitted, -were days of rest and social intercourse with her -family and friends. After evening church she -went always to supper in the Simson family, often<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -detained late by pacings to and fro with her -friends, Dr. and Mrs. Wallace Williamson, engaged -in some outpouring of the vital interests which -were absorbing her. One of the members of her -household says:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘We all used to look forward to hearing all her doings -in the past week, and of all that lay before her in the -next. Sunday evening felt quite wrong and flat when -she was called out to a case and could not come to us. -It was the same with our summer holidays. Her visit -in September was the best bit of the holidays to us. -She laid herself out to be with us in our bathing and -golfing and picnics.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The house was ‘well run.’ Those who know -what is the highest meaning of service, have always -good servants, and Dr. Elsie had a faithful household. -Her cooks were all engaged under one -stipulation, ‘Hot water for any number of baths -at any time of the day or night,’ and the hot -water never failed under the most exacting conditions. -Her guests were made very comfortable, -and there was only one rigid rule in the house. -However late she came downstairs after any night-work, -there was always family prayers before breakfast. -The book she used was <cite>Euchologion</cite>, and -when in Russia asked that a copy should be sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -her. Her consulting-room was lined with bookshelves -containing all her father’s books, and of -these she never lost sight. Any guest might -borrow anything else in her house and forget to -return it, but if ever one of those books were -borrowed, it had to be returned, for the quest after -it was pertinacious. In her dress she became -increasingly particular, but only as the adornment, -not of herself, but of the cause of women as citizens -or as doctors. When a uniform became part of her -equipment for work, she must have welcomed it -with great enthusiasm. It is in the hodden grey -with the tartan shoulder straps, and the thistles -of Scotland that she will be clothed upon, in the -memory of most of those who recall her presence.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to write of the things that belong -to the Spirit, and Dr. Elsie’s own reserve on these -matters was not often broken. She had been reared -in a God-fearing household, and surrounded from -her earliest years with the atmosphere of an intensely -devout home. That she tried all things, -and approved them to her own conscience, was -natural to her character. Certain doctrines and -formulas found no acceptance with her. Man was -created in God’s image, and the Almighty did not -desire that His creatures should despise or underrate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -the work of His Hand. The attitude of regarding -the world as a desert, and human beings as miserable -sinners incapable of rendering the highest -service, never commended itself to her eminently -just mind. Such difficulties of belief as she may -have experienced in early years lay in the relations -of the created to the Creator of all that is divine in -man. Till she had convinced herself that a reasonable -service was asked for and would be accepted, -her mind was not completely at rest. In her correspondence -with her father, both in Glasgow and -London, her interest was always living and vital -in the things which belonged to the kingdom of -heaven within. She wandered from church to -church in both places. Oblivious of all distinctions -she would take her prayer book and go for ‘music’ -to the Episcopal Church, or attend the undenominational -meetings connected with the Y.W.C.A. -Often she found herself most interested in the -ministry of the <abbr title="Reverend">Rev.</abbr> Dr. Hunter, who subsequently -left Glasgow for London. There are many shrewd -comments on other ministers, on the ‘Declaratory -Acts,’ then agitating the Free Church. She thought -the Westminster Confession should either be -accepted or rejected, and that the position was made -no simpler by ‘declarations.’ In London she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -attended the English Church almost exclusively, -listening to the many remarkable teachers who -in the Nineties occupied the pulpits of the Anglican -Church. It was not till after her father’s death -that she came to rest entirely in the ministry of the -Church of Scotland, and found in the teaching and -friendship of Dr. Wallace Williamson that which -gave her the vital faith which inspired her life and -work, and carried her at last triumphantly through -the swellings of Jordan.</p> - -<p><abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Giles’ lay in the centre of her healing mission, -and her alert active figure was a familiar sight, as -the little congregation gathered for the daily service. -When the kirk skailed in the fading light of the -short days, the westering sun on the windows would -often fall on the fair hair and bright face of her -whose day had been spent in ministering work. -On these occasions she never talked of her work. -If she was joined by a friend, Dr. Elsie waited to -see what was the pressing thought in the mind of -her companion, and into that she at once poured -her whole sympathy. Few ever walked west with -her to her home without feeling in an atmosphere -of high and chivalrous enterprise. Thus in an -ordered round passed the days and years, drawing -ever nearer to the unknown destiny, when that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -which was to try the reins and the hearts of many -nations was to come upon the world. When that -storm burst, Elsie Inglis was among those whose -lamp was burning, and whose heart was steadfast -and prepared for the things which were coming on -the earth.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/elsie.jpg" alt="Dr. Elsie Inglis, 1916" width="517" height="700" /> - <p class="caption">DR. ELSIE INGLIS, 1916</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER VIII: WAR AND THE SCOTTISH WOMEN">CHAPTER <abbr title="8">VIII</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">WAR AND THE SCOTTISH WOMEN</span></h2> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘God the all-terrible King, Who ordainest</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Great winds Thy clarion, the lightnings Thy sword,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Show forth Thy pity on high where Thou reignest,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0">God the All-wise, by the fire of Thy chastening</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Earth shall to freedom and truth be restored,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Through the thick darkness Thy kingdom is hastening,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Thou wilt give peace in Thy time, O Lord.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">The</span> year of the war coincided with that period -in the life of Dr. Inglis when she was fully qualified -for the great part she was to play among the armies -of the Allied nations.</p> - -<p>It is now admitted that this country was unprepared -for war, and incredulous as to the German -menace. The services of women have now attained -so high a value in the State that it is difficult to -recast their condition in 1914.</p> - -<p>In politics there had been a succession of efforts -to obtain their enfranchisement. Each effort had -been marked by a stronger manifestation in their -favour in the country, and the growing force of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -movement, coupled with the unrest in Ireland, had -kept all political organisations in a high state of -tension.</p> - -<p>It has been shown how fully organised were -all the Women Suffrage societies. Committees, -organisers, adherents, and speakers were at work, -and in the highest state of efficiency. Women -linked by a common cause had learnt how to work -together. The best brains in their midst were put -at the service of the Suffrage, and they had watched -in the political arena where to expect support, and -who could be trusted among the leaders of all -parties. No shrewder or more experienced body -of politicians were to be found in the country -than those women drawn from all classes, in all -social, professional, and industrial spheres, who -acknowledged Mrs. Fawcett as their leader, and -trusted no one party, sect, or politician in the year -1914.</p> - -<p>When the war caused a truce to be pronounced -in all questions of acute political difference, the -unenfranchised people realised that this might -mean the failure of their hopes for an indefinite -time. They never foresaw that, for the second -time within a century, emancipation was to be -bought by the life blood of a generation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> - -<p>The truce made no difference to any section of -the Suffrage party. It was accepted by the whole -people. War found both men and women unprepared, -but the path of glory was clear for the -men. A great army must be formed in defence -of national liberty. The army was mobilised. -It would have been well had the strength of the -women been mobilised in the same hour. Their -long claim for the rights of citizenship made -them keenly alive and responsive to the call of -national service.</p> - -<p>War and its consequences had for many years -been uppermost in their thoughts. In the struggle -for emancipation, the great argument they had had -to face among the rapidly decreasing anti-party, -was the one that women could take no part in war, -and, as all Government rested ultimately on brute -force, women could not fight, and therefore must -not vote.</p> - -<p>In countering this outlook, women had watched -what war meant all over the world, wherever it -took place. With the use of scientific weapons of -destruction, with the development of scientific -methods of healing, with all that went to the maintenance -of armies in the field, and the support of -populations at home, women had some vision in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -what manner they would be needed if war ever came -to this country.</p> - -<p>The misfortune of such a controversy as that of -the ‘Rights of Women’ is that it necessarily means -the opposition has to prove a negative proposition—a -most sterilising process. Political parties were -so anxious to prove that women were incapable of -citizenship, that the whole community got into a -pernicious habit of mind. Women were underrated -in every sphere of industry or scientific -knowledge. Their sense of incapacity and irresponsibility -was encouraged, and when they turned -militant under such treatment, they were only -voted a nuisance which it was impossible to totally -exterminate.</p> - -<p>Those who watched the gathering war clouds, -and the decline of their Parliamentary hopes, did -not realise that, in the overruling providence of -God, the devastating war among nations was to -open a new era for women. They were no longer -to be held cheap, as irresponsibles—mere clogs on -the machinery of the State. They were to be called -on to take the place of men who were dying by the -thousand for their homes, fighting against the -doctrine that military force is the only true Government -in a Christian world.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> - -<p>After mobilisation, military authorities had to -make provision for the wounded. We can remember -the early sensation of seeing buildings raised for -other purposes taken over for hospitals. Since the -Crimea, women as nurses at the base were institutions -understood of all men. In the vast camps -which sprang up at the commencement of the war, -women modestly thought they might be usefully -employed as cooks. The idea shocked the War -Office till it rocked to its foundations. A few -adventurous women started laundries for officers, -and others for the men. They did it on their own, -and in peril of their beneficent soap suds, being -ordered to a region where they would be out of -sight, and out of any seasonable service, to the -vermin-ridden camps.</p> - -<p>The Suffrage organisations, staffed and equipped -with able practical women Jacks of all trades, in -their midst, put themselves at the call of national -service, but were headed back from all enterprises. -It had been ordained that women could not fight, -and therefore they were of no use in war time. A -few persisted in trying to find openings for service. -Among these were Dr. Inglis. It is one thing to -offer to be useful without any particular qualification; -it is another to have professional knowledge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -to give, and the medical women were strong in the -conviction that they had their hard-won science -and skill to offer.</p> - -<p>Those who have read the preceding pages will -realise that Dr. Inglis carried into this offer a perfect -knowledge how women doctors were regarded by -the community, and she knew political departments -too well to believe that the War Office would have -a more enlightened outlook. In the past she had -said in choosing her profession that she liked -‘pioneer work,’ and she was to be the pioneer woman -doctor who, with the aid of Suffrage societies, -founded and led the Scottish Women’s Hospitals -to the healing of many races.</p> - -<p>After bringing the story of Dr. Inglis to this -point, it is easy to imagine the working of her -fertile brain, and her sense of vital energy, in the -opening weeks of the war. What material for -instant action she had at hand, she used. She had -helped to form a detachment of the V.A.D. when -the idea of this once despised and now greatly -desired body began to take shape. Before the war -men spoke slightingly of its object, and it was much -depreciated. Dr. Inglis saw all the possibilities -which lay in the voluntary aid offer. Dr. Inglis -was in Edinburgh at the commencement of the war,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -and the 6th Edinburgh V.A.D., of which she was -commandant, was at once mobilised. For several -weeks she worked hard at their training. She -gave up the principal rooms in her house for a -depot for the outfit of Cargilfield as an auxiliary -hospital. The hospital was not accepted. If it -had been, and Dr. Inglis put in charge of it, the -wider work of her life might never have had its -fulfilment. Dr. Inglis from the first advocated -that the V.A.D. should be used as probationers -in military hospitals, and the orderlies who served -in her units were chiefly drawn from this body.</p> - -<p>In September she went to London to put her -views before the National Union and the War Office, -and to offer the services of herself and women -colleagues. Miss Mair expresses the thoughts -which were dominating her mind. ‘To her it -seemed wicked that women with power to wield -the surgeon’s knife in the mitigation of suffering -and with knowledge to diagnose and cure, should be -withheld from serving the sick and wounded.’</p> - -<p>Her love for the wounded and suffering gave her -a clear vision as to what lay before the armies of the -Allies. ‘At the root of all her strenuous work of -the last three years,’ says her sister, ‘was the -impelling force of her sympathy with the wounded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -men. This feeling amounted at times to almost -agony. Only once did she allow herself to show -this innermost feeling. This was at the root of -her passionate yearning to get with her unit to -Mesopotamia during the early months of 1916. “I -cannot bear to think of them, <em>our Boys</em>.” To the -woman’s heart within her the wounded men of all -nations made the same irresistible appeal.’</p> - -<p>In that spirit she approached a departmental -chief. Official reserve at last gave way, and the -historic sentence was uttered—‘My good lady, go -home and sit still.’ In that utterance lay the -germ of that inspiration which was to carry the -Red Cross and the Scottish women among many -nations, kindreds, and tongues.</p> - -<p>It is easy to picture the scene. The overworked -red-tape-bound official: the little figure of the -woman with the smile, and the ready answer, -before him. There is a story that, while a town in -Serbia was under bombardment, Dr. Inglis was also -in it with some of her hospital work. She sought -an official in his quarters, as she desired certain -things for her hospital. The noise of the firing was -loud, and shells were flying around. Dr. Inglis -seemed oblivious of any sound save her own voice, -and she requested of an under officer an interview<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -with his chief. The official had at last to confess -that his superior was hiding in the cellar till the -calamity of shell-fire was overpast. In much the -same condition was the local War Office official -when confronted with Dr. Inglis and her practical -importunity. No doubt she saw it was useless -to continue her offers of service. Mrs. Fawcett -says:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Nearly all the memorial notices of her have recorded -the fact that at the beginning of her work in 1914 the -War Office refused her official recognition. The recognition -so stupidly refused by her own country was -joyfully and gratefully given by the French and later -the Serbian A.M.S. and Red Cross.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>She went home to her family, who so often had -inspired her to good work, and as she sat and talked -over the war and her plans with one of her nieces, -she suddenly said, ‘I know what we will do! We -will have a unit of our own.’</p> - -<p>The ‘We’ referred to that close-knit body of -women with whom she had worked for a common -cause, and she knew at once that ‘We’ would -work with her and in her for the accomplishment -of this ideal which so rapidly took shape in her -teeming brain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p> - -<p>She was never left alone in any part of her life’s -work. Her personality knit not only her family -to her in the closest bonds of love, but she had -devoted friends among those who did not see eye -to eye with her in the common cause. She never -loved them the less for disagreeing with her, and -though their indifference to her views might at -times obscure her belief in their mental calibre, it -never interfered with the mutual affections of all. -She did not leave these friends out of her scheme -when it began to take shape.</p> - -<p>The Edinburgh Suffrage offices, no longer needed -for propaganda and organisation work, became the -headquarters of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, -and the enlarged committee, chiefly of Dr. Inglis’ -personal friends, began its work under the steam-hammer -of her energy. Miss Mair may again be -quoted.</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Well do I recall the first suggestion that passed -between us on the subject of directing the energies of -our Suffrage Societies to the starting of a hospital. -Let us gather a few hundred pounds, and then appeal -to the public, was the decision of our ever courageous -Dr. Elsie, and from that moment she never swerved -in her purpose. Some of us gasped when she announced -that the sum of <abbr title="50,000 pounds">£50,000</abbr> must speedily be advertised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -for. Some timid souls advised the naming of a smaller -amount as our goal. With unerring perception, our -leader refused to lower the standard, and abundantly -has she been proved right! Not <abbr title="50,000, pounds">£50,000,</abbr> but over -<abbr title="200,000 pounds">£200,000</abbr> have rewarded her faith and her hope.</p> - -<p>‘This quick perception was one of the greatest -of her gifts, and it was with perfect simplicity she -stated to me once that when on rare occasions she -had yielded her own conviction to pressure from -others, the result had been unfortunate. There was -not an ounce of vanity in her composition. She was -merely stating a simple fact. Her outlook was both -wide and direct. She saw the object aimed at, and -she marched straight on. If, on the road, some -obstacles had to be not exactly ruthlessly, but very -firmly brushed aside, her strength of purpose was in -the end a blessing to all concerned. Strength combined -with sweetness—with a wholesome dash of -humour thrown in—in my mind sums up her character. -What that strength did for agonised Serbia -only the grateful Serbs can fully tell.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>A letter written in October of this year to Mrs. -Fawcett tells of the rapid formation of the hospital -idea.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">8 Walker Street</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit1">‘<i><abbr title="October">Oct.</abbr> 9, 1914</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dear Mrs. Fawcett</span>,—I wrote to you from the -office this morning, but I want to point out a little -more fully what the Committee felt about the name<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -of the hospitals. We felt that our original scheme -was growing very quickly into something very big—much -bigger than anything we had thought of at the -beginning—and we felt that if the hospitals were -called by a non-committal name it would be much -easier to get all men and women to help. The scheme -is <em>of course</em> a National Union scheme, and that fact -the Scottish Federation will never lose sight of, or -attempt to disguise. The National Union will be at -the head of all our appeals, and press notices, and -paper.</p> - -<p>‘But—if you could reverse the position, and imagine -for a moment that the Anti-Suffrage Society had -thought of organising all these skilled women for -service, you can quite see that many more neutrals, -and a great many suffragists would have been ready -to help if they sent their subscriptions to the “Scottish -Women’s Hospital for Foreign Service,” than if they -had to send to the Anti-Suffrage League Hospital.</p> - -<p>‘We were convinced that the more women we could -get to help, the greater would be the gain to the -woman’s movement.</p> - -<p>‘For we have hit upon a really splendid scheme. -When Mrs. Laurie and I went to see Sir George Beatson—the -head of the Scottish Red Cross, in Glasgow—he -said at once: “Our War Office will have nothing -to say to you,” and then he added, “yet there is no -knowing what they may do before the end of the -war.”</p> - -<p>‘You see, we get these expert women doctors, nurses,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -and ambulance workers organised. We send our units -wherever they are wanted. Once these units are out, -the work is bound to grow. The need is there, and -too terrible to allow any haggling about who does the -work. If we have a thoroughly good organisation here, -we can send out more and more units, or strengthen -those already out. We can add motor ambulances, -organise rest stations on the lines of communication, -and so on. It will all depend on how well we are supplied -with funds and brains at our base. Each unit ought to -be carefully chosen, and the very best women doctors -must go out with them. I wrote this morning to the -Registered Medical Women’s Association in London, -and asked them to help us, and offered to address a -meeting when I come up for your meeting. Next -week a special meeting of the Scottish Medical -Women’s Association is being called to discuss the -question.</p> - -<p>‘From the very beginning we must make it clear -that our hospitals are as well-equipped and well-manned -as any in the field, more economical (easy!), -and thoroughly efficient.</p> - -<p>‘I cannot think of anything more calculated to bring -home to men the fact that women <em>can help</em> intelligently -in any kind of work. So much of our work is -done where they cannot see it. They’ll see every -bit of this.</p> - -<p>‘The fates seem to be fighting for us! Sometimes -schemes do float off with the most extraordinary ease. -The Belgian Consul here is Professor Sarolea—the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -editor of <cite>Everyman</cite>. He grasped at the help we offered, -and has written off to several influential people. And -then yesterday morning he wrote saying that his brother -Dr. Leon Sarolea, would come and “work under” us. -He is an M.P., a man of considerable influence. So -you can see the Belgian Hospital will have everything -in its favour.</p> - -<p>‘Then Mr. Seton Watson, who has devoted his life -to the Balkan States, has taken up the Servian Unit. -He puts himself “entirely at our service.” He knows -all the powers that be in Servia.</p> - -<p>‘Two people in the Press have offered to help.</p> - -<p>‘The money is the thing now. It must not be wasted, -but we must have lots.</p> - -<p>‘And as the work grows do let’s keep it <em>together</em>, so -that, however many hospitals we send out, they all -shall be run on the same lines, and wherever people -see the Union Jack with the red, white and green -flag below it, they’ll know it means efficiency and -kindness and intelligence.</p> - -<p>‘I wanted the Executive, for this reason, to call the -hospitals “British Women’s Hospitals for Foreign -Service,” but of course it was their own idea, and one -understood the desire to call it “Scottish”; but if -there is a splendid response from England and from -other federations, that will have to be reconsidered, -<em>I</em> think. The great thing is to do the thing well, and -do it as <em>one</em> scheme.</p> - -<p>‘I do hope you’ll approve of all this. I am marking -this letter “Private,” because it isn’t an official letter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -but just what I think—to you, my Chief. But you -can show it to anybody you like—as that.</p> - -<p>‘I can think of nothing except these “Units” just -now! And when one hears of the awful need, one -can hardly sit still till they are ready. Professor -Sarolea simply made one’s heart bleed. He is just -back from Belgium. He said, “You talk of distress -from the war here. You simply know nothing about -it.”—Ever yours sincerely,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Elsie Maud Inglis</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In October 1914 the scheme was finally adopted -by the Scottish Federation, and the name of Scottish -Women’s Hospitals was chosen.</p> - -<p>At the same meeting the committee decided to -send Dr. Inglis to London to explain the plan to -the National Union, and to speak at a meeting in -the Kingsway Hall, on ‘What women could do to -help in the war.’ At that meeting she was authorised -to speak on the plans of the S.W.H. The -N.U.W.S.S. adopted the plan of campaign on -15th October, and the London society was soon -taking up the work of procuring money to start new -units, and to send Dr. Inglis out on her last enterprise, -with a unit fully equipped to work with the -Serbian army, then fighting on the Bulgarian front.</p> - -<p>The use she made of individuals is well illustrated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -by Miss Burke. She was ‘found’ by Dr. Inglis -in the office of the London Society, and sent forth -to speak and fill the Treasury chest of the S.W.H. -It is written in the records of that work how -wonderfully Miss Burke influenced her countrymen -in America, and how nobly, through her efforts, -they have aided ‘the great adventure.’</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="in_a_bit1">‘U.S.M.S. <i><abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Paul</i>,<br /></span> -‘<i>Saturday, February 9th</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dear Lady Frances</span>,—Certainly I am one of -Dr. Elsie’s children. It was largely due to her intuition -and clear judgment of character that my feet -were placed in the path which led to my reaching my -maximum efficiency as a hospital worker and a member -of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals. I first met Dr. -Elsie after I had been the Secretary of the London -Committee for about a month. There was no question -of meeting a “stranger”; her kindly eyes smiled -straight into mine.</p> - -<p>‘Was I young and rather shy? Well, the best way -to encourage me was to give me responsibility.</p> - -<p>‘“Do you speak French?”</p> - -<p>‘“Yes.”</p> - -<p>‘“Very well, go and write me a letter to General -de Torcy, telling him we accept the building he has -offered at Troyes.”</p> - -<p>‘Some one hazarded the suggestion that the letter -should be passed on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘“Nonsense,” replied Dr. Elsie, “I know the type. -That girl probably speaks six languages. If she says -she speaks French, she does.”</p> - -<p>‘She practically signed the letter I wrote her without -reading it. Doubtless all the time I was with her I -was under her keen scrutiny, and when finally, after -arranging a meeting for her at Oxford, which she -found impossible to take, owing to her sudden decision -to leave for Serbia, she had already judged me, and -without hesitation she told me to go to Oxford and -speak myself. I have wondered often whether any -one else would have sent a young and unknown speaker—it -needed Dr. Elsie’s knowledge of human character -and rapid energetic method of making decisions.</p> - -<p>‘It would be difficult for we young ones of the -Scottish Women’s Hospitals to analyse our feelings -towards Dr. Elsie. A wave of her hand in passing -meant much to us.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Space utterly forbids our following the fortunes -of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals as they went -forth one by one to France, to Belgium, to -Serbia, to Corsica, and Russia. That history will -have some day to be written. It is only possible -in this memoir to speak of their work in -relation to their founder and leader. ‘Not I, -but my unit,’ was her dying watchword, and -when the work of her unit is reviewed, it is -obvious how they carried with them, as an oriflamme,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -the inspiration of unselfish devotion set -them by Dr. Inglis.</p> - -<p>Besides going into all the detailed work of the -hospital equipment, Dr. Inglis found time to continue -her work of speaking for the cause of the -hospitals. We find her addressing her old friends:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I have the happiest recollection of Dr. I. addressing -a small meeting of the W. L. Association here. It was -one of her first meetings to raise money. She told us -how she wanted to go to Serbia. She was so convincing, -but with all my faith in her, I never thought -she <em>would</em> get there! That, and much more she did—a -lesson in faith.</p> - -<p>‘She looked round the little gathering in the Good -Templar Hall and said, “I suppose nobody here could -lend me a yacht?” She did get her ship there.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>To one of her workers in this time, she said, ‘My -dear, we shall live all our lives in the shadow of -war.’ The one to whom she spoke says, ‘A cold -chill struck my heart. Did she feel it, and know -that never again would things be as they were?’</p> - -<p>At the close of 1914 Dr. Inglis went to France -to see the Scottish Women’s Hospital established -and working under the French Red Cross at Royaumont. -It was probably on her way back that she -went to Paris on business connected with Royaumont.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -She went into Notre Dame, and chose a -seat in a part of the cathedral where she could feel -alone. She there had an experience which she -afterwards told to Mrs. M‘Laren. As she sat there -she had a strong feeling that some one was behind -her. She resisted the impulse to turn round, -thinking it was some one who like herself wanted -to be quiet! The feeling grew so strong at last, -that she involuntarily turned round. There was -no one near her, but for the first time she realised -she was sitting in front of a statue of Joan of Arc. -To her it appeared as if the statue was instinct with -life. She added: ‘Wasn’t it curious?’ Then -later she said, ‘I would like to know what Joan -was wanting to say to me!’ I often think of the -natural way which she told me of the experience, -and the <em>practical</em> conclusion of wishing to know -what Joan wanted. Once again she referred to the -incident, before going to Russia. I see her expression -now, just for a moment forgetting everything -else, keen, concentrated, and her humorous smile, as -she said, ‘You know I would like awfully to know -what Joan was trying to say to me.’</p> - -<p>Elsie Inglis was not the first, nor will she be the -last woman who has found help in the story of the -Maid of Orleans, when the causes dear to the hearts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -of nations are at stake. It is easy to hear the words -that would pass between these two leaders in the -time of their country’s warfare. The graven figure -of Joan was instinct with life, from the undying -love of race and country, which flowed back to her -from the woman who was as ready to dedicate to -her country her self-forgetting devotion, as <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Jeanne -d’Arc</span> had been in her day. Both, in their day -and generation, had heard—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘The quick alarming drum—</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Saying, Come,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Freemen, come,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Ere your heritage be wasted, said the quick alarming drum.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Abbaye de Royaumont</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit2">‘<i><abbr title="December">Dec.</abbr> 22, 1914</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dearest Amy</span>,—Many, many happy Christmases -to you, dear, and to all the others. Everything is -splendid here now, and if the General from headquarters -would only come and inspect us, we could -begin. The wards are perfect. I only wish you could -see them with their red bedcovers, and little tables. -There are four wards, and we have called them Blanche -of Castille (the woman who really started the building -of this place, the mother of Louis <abbr title="9"><span class="smcap">IX.</span></abbr>, the Founder, -as he is called), Queen Margaret of Scotland, Joan of -Arc, and Millicent Fawcett. Now, don’t you think -that is rather nice! The Abbaye itself is a wonderful -place. It has beautiful architecture, and is placed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -in delightful woods. One wants to spend hours -exploring it, instead of which we have all been working -like galley slaves getting the hospital in order. The -equipment has come out practically all right. There -are no thermometers and no sandbags. I feel they’ll -turn up. Yesterday, I was told there were no tooth-brushes -and no nail-brushes, but they appeared. -After all the fuss, you can imagine our feelings when -the “Director,” an official of the French Red Cross, -who has to live here with us, told us French soldiers -don’t want tooth-brushes!</p> - -<p>‘Our first visitors were three French officers, whom -we took for the inspecting general, and treated with -grovelling deference, till we found they knew nothing -about it, and were much more interested in the tapestry -in the proprietor’s house than in our instruments. -However, they were very nice, and said we were -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bien meublé</i>.</p> - -<p>‘Once we had all been on tenterhooks all day about -the inspection. Suddenly, a man poked his head -round the door of the doctor’s sitting-room and said, -“The General.” In one flash every doctor was out -of the room and into her bedroom for her uniform coat, -and I was left sitting. I got up, and wandered downstairs, -when an excited orderly dashed past, singing, -“Nothing but two British officers!” Another time -we were routed out from breakfast by the cry of “The -General,” but this time it turned out to be a French -regiment, whose officers had been moved by curiosity to -come round by here. The General has not arrived yet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘We have had to get a new boiler in the kitchen, new -taps and lavatories, and electric light, an absolute -necessity in this huge place, and all the theatre sinks. -We certainly are no longer a <em>mobile</em> hospital, but as -we are twelve miles from the point from which the -wounded are distributed (I am getting very discreet -about names since a telegram of mine was censored), -we shall probably be as useful here as anywhere. -They even think we may get English Tommies.</p> - -<p>‘You have no idea of the conditions to which the -units came out, and they have behaved like perfect -bricks. The place was like an ice hole: there were -no fires, no hot water, no furniture, not even blankets, -and the equipment did not arrive for five days. They -have scrubbed the whole place out themselves, as -if they were born housemaids; put up the beds, -stuffed the mattresses, and done everything. Really, -I am proud of them! They stick at absolutely nothing, -and when Madame came, she said, “What it is to -belong to a practical nation!”</p> - -<p>‘We had a service in the ward on Sunday. We are -going to see if they will let us use the little <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Louis -Chapel. There are two other chapels, one in use, -that we hope the soldiers will go to, and a beautiful -chapel the same style of architecture as the chapel at -<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mont <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Michel</span>. It is a perfect joy to walk through -it to meals. The village curé has been to tea with -us.</p> - -<p>‘Will you believe it, that General hasn’t arrived -<em>yet</em>!—Your loving</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Seton Watson has permitted his article in the -December number of the <cite>New Europe</cite> (1917) to be -reprinted here. His complete knowledge of Serbia -enables him to describe both the work and Dr. -Inglis who undertook the great task set before her.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘Elsie Inglis was one of the heroic figures of the war, -one whose memory her many friends will cherish with -pride and confidence—pride at having been privileged -to work with her, confidence in the race which breeds -such women. This is not the place to tell the full story -of her devotion to many a good cause at home, but the -<cite>New Europe</cite> owes her a debt of special interest and -affection. For in her own person she stood for that -spirit of sympathy and comprehension upon which -intercourse between the nations must be founded, if the -ideal of a New Europe is ever to become a reality.</p> - -<p>‘Though her lifework had hitherto lain in utterly -different fields, she saw in a flash the needs of a tragic -situation; and when war came offered all her indomitable -spirit and tireless energy to a cause till recently unknown -and even frowned upon in our country. Like the -Douglas of old, she flung herself where the battle raged -most fiercely—always claiming and at last obtaining -permission to set up her hospitals where the obstacles -were greatest and the dangers most acute. But -absorbed as she was in her noble task of healing, she -saw beyond it the high national ideal that inspired -the Serbs to endure sufferings unexampled even in this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -war, and became an enthusiastic convert to the cause of -Southern Slav unity. To her, as to all true Europeans, -the principle of nationality is not, indeed, the end of all -human wisdom, but the sure foundation upon which -a new and saner internationalism is to be built, and an -inalienable right to which great and small alike are -entitled. Perhaps the fact that she herself came of -a small nation which, like Serbia, has known how to -celebrate its defeats, was not without its share in -determining her sympathies.</p> - -<p>‘The full political meaning of her work has not yet -been brought home to her countrymen, and yet what -she has done will live after her. Her achievement in -Serbia itself in 1915 was sufficiently remarkable, but -even that was a mere prelude to her achievement on -the Eastern front. The Serbian Division in Southern -Russia, which the Scottish Women’s Hospitals went -out to help, was not Serbian at all in the <em>ordinary</em> sense -of the word. Its proper name is the Jugoslav Division, -for it was composed entirely of volunteers drawn from -among the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes of Austria-Hungary -who had been taken prisoners by the Russian -army. Thousands of these men enrolled themselves -on the side of the Entente and in the service of Serbia, -in order to fight for the realisation of Southern Slav -independence and unity under the national dynasty -of Kara George. Beyond the ordinary risks of war -they acted in full knowledge that capture by the enemy -would mean the same fate as Austria meted out to the -heroic Italian deputy, Cesare Battisti; and some of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -them, left wounded on the battle-field after a retreat, -shot each other to avoid being taken alive. Throughout -the Dobrudja campaign they fought with the most -desperate gallantry against impossible odds, and, owing -to inadequate support during the retreat, their main -body was reduced from 15,000 to 4000. Latterly the -other divisions had been withdrawn to recruit at -Odessa, after sharing the defence of the Rumanian -southern front.</p> - -<p>‘To these men in the summer of 1916 Serbia had sent -a certain number of higher officers, but, for equipment -and medical help, they were dependent upon what the -Russians could spare from their own almost unlimited -needs. At the worst hour Dr. Inglis and her unit came -to the help of the Jugoslavs, shared their privations and -misfortunes, and spared no effort in their cause.</p> - -<p>‘History will record the name of Elsie Inglis, like that -of Lady Paget, as pre-eminent among that band of -women who have redeemed for all time the honour of -Britain in the Balkans. Among the Serbs it is already -assuming an almost legendary quality. To us it will -serve to remind us that Florence Nightingale will never -be without successors among us. And in particular, -every true Scotsman will cherish her memory, every -believer in the cause for which she gave her life will gain -fresh courage from her example.</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">R. W. Seton-Watson.</span> -</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="CHAPTER IX: SERBIA">CHAPTER <abbr title="9">IX</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">SERBIA</span></h2> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> - -<p>‘Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me -out of great waters, from the hand of strange children.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> - -<p>‘And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. -For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not -from the beginning of the creation which God created -unto this time, neither shall be.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote class="chapter_quote"> - -<p>‘On either side of the river, was there the tree of life: -And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of -the nations.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Dr. Inglis</span> remained at home directing the many -operations necessary to ensure the proper equipment -of the units, and the difficult task of getting -them conveyed overseas. From the beginning, till -her return with her unit serving with the Serbian -army in Russia, she had the sustaining co-operation -both of the Admiralty and the Foreign Office. In -the many complications surrounding the history of -the hospitals with the Allied armies, the Scottish -women owed very much to both Secretaries of State -for Foreign Affairs, and very particularly to Lord -Robert Cecil in his department of the Foreign Office.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was not easy to get the scheme of hospitals -staffed entirely by women, serving abroad with -armies fighting the common and unscrupulous -foe, accepted by those in authority. The Foreign -Office was responsible for the safety of these British -outpost hospitals, and they knew well the dangers -and privations to which the devoted pioneer band -of women would be exposed. They made many -stipulations with Dr. Inglis, which she accepted, -and abided by as long as her work was not hindered. -No care or diplomatic work was spared, and if -at the end of their service in Russia the safety of -the unit was a matter of grave anxiety to the -Foreign Office, it had never cause to be ashamed of -the way this country’s honour and good faith was -upheld by the hospitals under the British flag, -amid the chaotic sufferings of the Russian people.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1915 Dr. Eleanor Soltau, who -was in charge of the First Serbian Unit, became ill -with diphtheria in the midst of the typhus epidemic -which was devastating the Serbian people. The -Serbian Minister writes of that time:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘They were the first to go to the help of Serbia when -the Austrians, after they were defeated, besides 60,000 -prisoners, also left behind them epidemics in all the -districts which they had invaded. The Scottish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -women turned up their sleeves, so to speak, at the -railways station itself, and went straight to typhus and -typhoid-stricken patients, who were pitifully dying in -the crowded hospitals.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Colonel Hunter, A.M.S., wrote after her death: -‘It was my privilege and happiness to see much of -her work in Serbia when I was officer in charge -of the corps of R.A.M.C. officers sent out by the -W.O. to deal with the raging epidemic of typhus -and famine fevers then devastating the land. I -have never met with any one who gave me so deep -an impression of singlemindedness, gentleheartedness, -clear and purposeful vision, wise judgment, -and absolutely fearless disposition.... No more -lovable personality than hers, or more devoted and -courageous body of women, ever set out to help -effectively a people in dire distress than the S.W.H.,’ -which she organised and sent out, and afterwards -took personal charge of in Serbia in 1915. Amidst -the most trying conditions she, or they, never -faltered in courage or endurance. Under her wise -and gentle leadership difficulties seemed only to -stir to further endeavour, more extended work, -and greater endurance of hardship. Captain Ralph -Glyn writes from France:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I see you went to the funeral of that wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -person, Dr. Elsie Inglis. I shall never forget arriving -where that S.W. unit was in the midst of the typhus in -Serbia, and finding her and all her people so “clean” -and obviously ready for anything.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The Serbian nation lost no time in commemorating -her services to them. At Mladenovatz they -built a beautiful fountain close to the camp hospital. -On 7th October 1915 it was formally opened with a -religious service according to the rites of the Greek -Church. Dr. Inglis turned on the water, which was -to flow through the coming years in grateful -memory of the good work done by the Scottish -Women’s Hospitals.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i2">IN HONOUR OF DR. ELSIE INGLIS</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i8 smaller">(Obiit <abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 27, 1917.)</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0">At Mladenovatz still the fountain sings</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Raised by the Serbs to you their angel friend,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Who fought the hunger-typhus to its end;</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">A nobler fountain from your memory springs,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">A fountain-head where Faith renews its wings</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">—Faith in the powers of womanhood to bend</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">War’s curse to blessing, and to make amend</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">By Love, for Hate’s unutterable things.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0">Wherefore, when cannon-voices cease to roar,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">A louder voice shall echo in our ears</div> - <div class="p_line_i4">—Voice of three peoples joined in one accord,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">Telling that, gentle to your brave heart’s core,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">You faced unwavering all that woman fears,</div> - <div class="p_line_i4">And clear of vision followed Christ the Lord.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> -<blockquote> -<p class="smaller">[<span class="smcap">Note.</span>—Two years ago the Serbians dedicated a simple -fountain in ‘Mladenovatz’ to the grateful memory of one they -spoke of as ‘the angel of their people.’ The Rumanian and -Russian refugees in the Dobrudja will never forget her.]</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">H. D. Rawnsley.</span> -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><cite>The Englishwoman</cite>, April and June 1916, has -two articles written by Dr. Inglis, under the title -‘The Tragedy of Serbia.’ The literary power of -her narrative makes one regret that she did not -live to give a consecutive account of all she passed -through in the countries in which she suffered with -the peoples:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘When we reached Serbia in May 1915, she was lying -in sunshine. Two storms had raged over her during -the preceding months—the Austrian invasion and the -terrific typhus epidemic. In our safe little island we -can hardly realise what either meant. At the end of -1914, the Austrian Empire hurled its “punitive expedition” -across the Danube—a punitive expedition -that ended in the condign punishment of the invader. -They left behind them a worse foe than themselves, -and the typhus, which began in the hospitals they left -so scandalously filthy and overcrowded, swept over the -land.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Dr. Inglis describes ‘the long peaceful summer,’ -with its hopes of an advance to their aid on the part -of the Allies. The Serbs were conscious the ‘Great -Powers’ owed them much, for how often we heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -the words, ‘We are the only one, as yet, who has -beaten our enemy.’</p> - -<p>‘Not till September did any real sense of danger -trouble them. Then the clouds rolled up black -and threatening on the horizon—Bulgaria arming, -and a hundred thousand Germans massing on the -northern frontier. They began to draw off the -main part of their army from the Danube towards -the east, to meet their old enemies. The Powers -refused to let them attack, and they waited till -the Bulgarian mobilisation was complete. The -Allies discounted the attack from the north; aeroplanes -had been out, and “there are no Germans -there.” There are no signs whatever of any military -movements, so said the wiseacres. The only -troops there are untrained Austrian levies, which -the Serbs ought to be able to deal with themselves, -if they are up to their form last year.</p> - -<p>‘Then the storm broke. The 100,000 Germans -appeared on the northern frontier. The Bulgars -invaded from the east, the Greeks did not come in, -and the Austrians poured in from the west. The -Serbian army shortened the enormous line they had -to defend, but they could not stand against the -long-distance German guns, and so began the -retreat.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘“What is coming to Serbia?” said a Serb to me, -“we cannot think.” And then, hopefully, “But -God is great and powerful, and our Allies are great -and powerful too.” Strong men could hardly speak -of the disaster without breaking down. They -looked at one so eagerly. “When are your men -coming up? They must come soon.” “We must -give our people two months,” the experts among us -answered, “to bring up the heavy artillery. We -thought the Serbs would be able to hold the West -Morava Valley.” “It is too hilly for the German -artillery to be of any use,” they said.’</p> - -<p>Dr. Inglis goes on to relate how all the calculations -were wrong, how the Austrian force came down that -very valley. The Serbs were caught in a trap, and -that 160,000 of their gallant little army escaped -was a wonderful feat. ‘That they are already -keen to take the field again is but one more -proof of the extraordinary recuperative power of -the nation.’</p> - -<p>Dr. Elsie gives an account of the typhus epidemic. -The first unit under Dr. Soltau, in 1914, was able -at Kragujevatz to do excellent work for the Serbian -army after its victories, and it was only evacuated -owing to the retreat in October 1915. The unit -had only been a fortnight out when the committee<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -got from it a telegram, ‘dire necessity’ for more -doctors and nurses. The word <em>dire</em> was used, -hoping it would pass unnoticed by the censor, for -the authorities did not wish the state of Serbia -from typhus to be generally known. We shall -never know what the death-rate was during the -epidemic; but of the 425 Serbian doctors, 125 died -of the disease, and two-thirds of the remainder -had it.</p> - -<p>The Scottish Committee hastened out supplies -and staff.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘For three months the epidemic raged, and all women -may ever be proud of the way those women worked. -It was like a long-drawn-out battle, and not one of them -played the coward. Not one of them asked to come -away. There were three deaths and nine cases of illness -among the unit; and may we not truly claim that -those three women who died gave their lives for the -great cause for which our country stands to-day as much -as any man in the trenches.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Dr. Inglis speaks of the full share of work taken -by other British units—Lady Paget’s Hospital -at Skopio, ‘magnificently organised’; The Red -Cross under Dr. Banks ‘took more than its share -of the burden’; and how Dr. Ryan of the American -hospital asserted that Serbia would have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -wiped out but for the work of the Foreign -Missions.</p> - -<p>Miss Holme tells of some of her experiences with -her leader:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Kragujevatz.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘One day, Dr. Elsie Inglis took me out shopping -with her, and we wanted a great many things for our -hospital in the way of drugs, etc., and we also wanted -more than anything else some medical scales for weighing -drugs. While we were in the shop Dr. Inglis saw -hanging up in it three pairs of these scales. So she -asked the man, in her most persuasive manner, if he -would sell her a pair of these scales for our hospital use. -He explained at length that he used all the scales, and -was sorry that he could not possibly sell them. So Dr. -Inglis bought some more things—in fact, we stayed in -the shop for about an hour buying things to the amount -of <abbr title="10 pounds">£10</abbr>, and between each of the different articles -purchased, she would again revert to the scales and say, -“You know it is for <em>your</em> men that we want them,” -until at last the man—exhausted by his refusals—took -down the scales and presented them to her. -When she asked “How much are they?” he made -a bow, and said it would be a pleasure to give them -to her.</p> - -<p>‘When we were taken prisoners, and had been so for -some time, and before we were liberated, the German -Command came bringing a paper which they commanded -Dr. Inglis to sign. The purport of the paper was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -statement which declared that the British prisoners -had been well treated in the hands of the Germans, -and was already signed by two men who were heads -of other British units. Dr. Inglis said, “Why should -I sign this paper? I do not know if all the prisoners -are being well treated by you, therefore I decline to -sign it.” To which the German authorities replied, -“You must sign it.” Dr. Inglis then said, “Well, -make me,” and that was the end of that incident—she -never did sign it.</p> - -<p>‘So convinced were some of the people belonging -to the Scottish Women’s unit that the British forces -were coming to the aid of their Serbian ally, that long -after they were taken prisoners they thought, each -time they heard a gun from a different quarter, that -their liberators were close at hand. So much so indeed, -that three of the members of the unit begged that in -the event of the unit being sent home they might be -allowed to stay behind in Serbia with the Serbs, to help -the Serbian Red Cross. Dr. Inglis <em>unofficially</em> consented -to this, and with the help of the Serbian Red Cross -these three people in question adjourned to a village -hard by which was about a mile from the hospital, -three days before the unit had orders to move. No -one except Dr. Inglis and three other people of the unit -knew where these three members were living. However, -the date of the departure was changed, and the -unit was told they were to wait another twenty -days. This made it impossible for these three people -to appear again with the unit. They continued to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -live at the little house which sheltered them. Suddenly -one afternoon one of the members of the unit went to -ask at the German Command if there were any letters -for the unit. At this interview, which took place about -three o’clock in the afternoon, the person was informed -that the whole unit was to leave that night at 7.30. -Dr. Inglis sent the person who received this command -to tell the three people in the cottage to get ready, and -that they must go, she thought. But the messenger -only said, “We have had orders that the unit is to go -at 7.30 to-night,” but did not say that Dr. Inglis had -sent an order for the three people to get ready, so they -did nothing but simply went to bed at ten o’clock, -thinking the unit had already started. It was a wintry -night, snowing heavily, and not a night that one would -have sent out a dog!</p> - -<p>‘At about half-past ten a knock came to the window, -and Dr. Inglis’ voice was heard saying, “You have to -come at once to the train. I am here with an armed -guard!” (All the rest of the unit had been at the -station for some hours, but the train was not allowed -to start until every one was there.) So Dr. Inglis came -herself for us. It was difficult to get her to enter the -house, and naturally she seemed rather ruffled, having -had to come more than a mile in the deep snow, as she -was the only person who knew anything about us. One -of the party said, “Are you really cross, or are you -pretending because the armed guard understands -English?” She gave her queer little smile, and said, -“No, I am not pretending.” The whole party tramped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -through the snow to the station, and on the way she -told them she was afraid that she had smashed somebody’s -window, having knocked at another cottage -before she found ours in the dark, thinking it was the -one we lived in, for which she was very much chaffed -by her companions, who knew well her views on the -question of militant tactics!</p> - -<p>‘The first stages of this journey were made in horse-boxes -with no accommodation whatsoever. Occasionally -the train drew up in the middle of the country, and -anybody who wished to get out had simply to ask the -sentry who guarded the door, to allow them to get out -for a moment.</p> - -<p>‘The next night was spent lying on the floor of the -station at Belgrade, the eight sentries and all their -charges all lying on the floor together; the only person -who seemed to be awake was the officer who guarded -the door himself all night. In the morning one was -not allowed to go even to wash one’s hands without a -sentry to come and stand at the door. The next two -days were spent in an ordinary train rather too well -heated with four a side in second-class compartments. -At Vienna all the British units who were being sent -away were formed into a group on the station at -6 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span>, where they awaited the arrival of the American -Consul, guarded all the time by their sentries, who gave -his parole that if the people were allowed to go out of the -station they would return at eight o’clock, the time they -had to leave that town. This was granted. Dr. Inglis -with a party adjourned to a hotel where baths, etc., were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -provided. Other members were allowed to do what they -liked.</p> - -<p>‘The unit was detained for eight days at Bludenz, -close to the frontier, for Switzerland. On their arrival -at Zürich they were met by the British Consul-General, -Vice-Consul, and many members of the British Colony, -who gave Dr. Inglis and her unit a very warm-hearted -welcome, bringing quantities of flowers, and doing all -they could to show them kindness and pleasure at their -safe arrival.</p> - -<p>‘It is difficult for people who have never been -prisoners to know what the first day’s freedom means. -Everybody had a different expression, and seemed to -have a different outlook on life. But already we could -see our leader was engrossed with plans and busy with -schemes for the future work of the unit.</p> - -<p>‘The next day the Consul-General made a speech -in which he told the unit all that had passed during the -last four months, of which they knew nothing.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To her Sister.</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Brindisi</span>, <i>en route</i> for <span class="smcap">Serbia</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit3">‘<i>April 28, 1915</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘The boat ought to have left last night, but it did -not even come in till this morning. However, we have -only lost twenty-four hours.</p> - -<p>‘It has been a most luxurious journey, except the -bit from Naples here, and that was rather awful, with -spitting men and shut windows, in first-class carriages, -remember. When we got here we immediately ordered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -baths, but “the boiler was broken.” So, I said, “Well, -then, we must go somewhere else”—with the result -that we were promised baths in our rooms at once. -That was a nice bath, and then I curled up on the sofa -and went to sleep. Our windows look right on to the -docks, and the blue Mediterranean beyond. It is so -queer to see the red, white, and green flags, and to think -they mean Italy, and not the N.U.W.S.S.!</p> - -<p>‘I went out before dinner last night, and strolled -through the quaint streets. The whole population was -out, and most whole-hearted and openly interested in -my uniform.</p> - -<p>‘This is a most delightful window, with all the ships -and the colours. There are three men-of-war in, and -half a dozen of the quaintest little boats, which a soldier -told me were “scouts.” I wished I had asked a sailor, -for I had never heard of “scouts.” The soldier I -asked is one of the <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">bersaglieri</span> with cock’s feathers, a huge -mass of them, in his hat. They all say Italy is certainly -coming into the war. One man on the train to Rome -was coming from Cardiff to sell coal to the Italian -Government. He told us weird stories about German -tricks to get our coal through Spain and other -countries.</p> - -<p>‘It was a pleasure seeing Royaumont. It is a <em>huge</em> -success, and I do think Dr. Ivens deserves a lot of -credit. The wards and the theatre, and the X-Ray -department, and the rooms for mending and cleaning -the men’s clothes were all perfect.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To Mrs. Simson.</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘S.W.H., <span class="smcap">Kragujevatz</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit2"><i>May 30/15</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘Well, this is a perfectly lovely place, and the -Serbians are delightful. I am staying with a charming -woman, Madame Milanovitz. She is a Vice-President of -the Serbian Women’s League, formed to help the country -in time of war. I think she wanted to help us because -of all the hospital has done here. Any how, <em>I</em> score—I -have a beautiful room and everything. She gives me -an early cup of coffee, and for the rest I live with the -unit. Neither she nor I can speak six words of one -another’s languages, but her husband can talk a little -French. Now, she has asked the little Serbian lady -who teaches the unit Serbian, to live with her to interpret. -Anyhow, we are great friends!</p> - -<p>‘We have had a busy time since we arrived. The -unit is nursing 550 beds, in three hospitals, having been -sent out to nurse 300 beds. There is first the surgical -hospital, called Reserve No. 3. It was a school, and -is in two blocks with a long courtyard between. I -think we have got it really quite well equipped, with -a fine X-Ray room. The theatre, and the room opposite -where the dressings are done, both very well arranged, -and a great credit to Sister Bozket. The one thing that -troubled me was the floor—old wood and holes in it, -impossible to sterilise—but yesterday, Major Protitch, -our Director, said he was going to get cement laid down -in it and the theatre. Then it will be perfect. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -said to Dr. Chesney, “This is the best surgical hospital -in Serbia.” You must not believe that <em>quite</em>, for they -are very good at saying pleasant things here!</p> - -<p>‘There are two other hospitals, the typhus one, -No. 6 Reserve, and one for relapsing fever and general -diseases, No. 7 Reserve, both barracks. We have put -most of our strength in No. 6, and it is in good working -order, but No. 7 has had only one doctor, and two day -Sisters and one night, for over 200 beds. Still it is -wonderful what those three women have done. We -have Austrian prisoners as orderlies everywhere, in the -hospitals and in the houses. The conglomeration of -languages is too funny for words—Serbian, German, -French, English. Sometimes, you have to get an -orderly to translate Serbian into German, and another -to translate the German into French before you can get -at what is wanted. Two words we have all learnt, -<i>dotra</i>, which means “good,” and which these grateful -people use at once if they feel a little better, or are -pleased about anything, and the other is <i>boli</i>, pain—poor -men!</p> - -<p>‘So much for what we <em>have</em> been doing; but the -day before yesterday we got our orders for a new bit -of work. They are forming a disinfecting centre at -Mladanovatz, and Colonel Grustitch, who is the head of -the Medical Service here, wants us to go up there at -once, with our whole fever staff, under canvas. They -are giving us the tents till ours come out. Typhus -is decreasing so much, that No. 6 is to be turned into -a surgical hospital, and there will be only one infectious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -diseases hospital here. I am so pleased at being asked -to do this, for it is part of a big and well thought out -scheme. The surgical hospital is to remain here. -Alice Hutchison goes to Posheravatz also for infectious -diseases. I hope she is at Salonika to-day. She left -Malta last Sunday. We really began to think the -Governor was going to keep her altogether! Her -equipment has all come, and yesterday I sent Mrs. -Haverfield and Mr. Smith up to Posheravatz to choose -the site and pitch the tent.</p> - -<p>‘They gave me an awfully exciting bit of news in -Colonel G.’s office yesterday, and that was that five -motor cars were in Serbia, north of Mladanovatz, for -<em>me</em>. Of course, I had wired for six, but you have been -prompt about them. How they got into the north of -Serbia I cannot imagine, unless they were dropped out -of aeroplanes.</p> - -<p>‘Really, it is wonderful the work this unit has done -in the most awful stress all through March and April. -We ought to be awfully proud of them. The Serbian -Government gave Dr. Soltau a decoration, and Patsy -Hunter had two medals.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To her Niece, Amy M‘Laren.</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Valjevo</span>, <i>August 16, 1915</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Darling Amy</span>,—I wonder if you could find this -place on the map. I have spelt it properly, but if you -want to say it you must say <i>Valuvo</i>. One of the -hospitals mother has been collecting so much money<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -for is here. Such a beautiful hospital it is. It is in -tents, on a bit of sloping ground looking south. There -are big tents for the patients, and little tents for the -staff. I pull my bed out of the tent every night, and -sleep outside under the stars. Such lovely starlight -nights we have here. Dr. Alice Hutchison is head of -this unit, and I am here on a visit to her. My own -hospital is in a town—Kragujevatz. Now, I wonder -if you can find that place? The hospital there is in a -girls’ school. Now—I wonder what will happen to the -lessons of all those little girls as long as the war lasts? -Serbia has been at war for three years, four wars in -three years, and the women of the country have kept -the agriculture of the country going all that time. A -Serbian officer told me the other day that the country -is so grateful to them, that they are going to strike a -special medal for the women to show their thanks, -when this war is over. This is such a beautiful country, -and such nice people. Some day when the war is over, -we’ll come here, and have a holiday. How are you -getting on, my precious? Is school as nice as ever? -God bless you, dear little girlie.—Ever your loving -Aunt</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>As the fever died out, a worse enemy came in. -Serbia was overrun by the Austro-German forces, -and she, with others of her units, was taken prisoner, -as they had decided it was their duty to remain at -their work among the sick and wounded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p> - -<p>Again the Serbian Minister is quoted:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘When the typhus calamity was overcome, the -Scottish women reorganised themselves as tent hospitals -and offered to go as near as possible to the army at the -front. Their camp in the town of Valjevo—which -suffered most of all from the Austrian invasion—might -have stood in the middle of England. In Lazarevatz, -shortly before the new Austro-German offensive, they -formed a surgical hospital almost out of nothing, in the -devastated shops and the village inns, and they accomplished -the nursing of hundreds of wounded who poured -in from the battle-field. When it became obvious that -the Serbian army could not resist the combined -Austrians, Germans, Magyars, and Bulgarians, who -were about four times their numbers, the main care -of the Serbian military authorities was what to do -with the hospitals full of wounded, and whom to leave -with the wounded soldiers, who refused to be left to -fall into the hands of the cruel enemy. Then the -Scottish women declared that they were not going to -leave their patients, and that they would stay with -them, whatever the conditions, and whatever might be -expected from the enemy. They remained with the -Serbian wounded as long as they could be of use to -them.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To Mrs. Simson.</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Krushieevatz</span>, <i><abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 6, 1915</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘We are in the very centre of the storm, and it just -feels exactly like having the rain pouring down, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -wind beating in gusts, and not being able to see for the -water in one’s eyes, and just holding on and saying, -“It cannot last, it is so bad.” These poor little people, -you cannot imagine anything more miserable than they -are. Remember, they have been fighting for years -for their independence, and now it all seems to end. -The whole country is overrun. Germans, Austrians, -Bulgars, and all that is left is this western Morava -Valley, and the country a little south of it. And their -big Allies—from here it looks as if they are never going -to move. I went into Craijuvo yesterday, in the car, -to see about Dr. MacGregor’s unit. The road was -crowded with refugees pouring away, all their goods -piled on their rickety ox-wagons, little children on the -top, and then bands of soldiers, stragglers from the -army. These men were forming up again, as we passed -back later on. The hospitals are packed with wounded. -We decided we must stand by our hospitals; it was too -awful leaving badly wounded men with no proper care. -Sir Ralph eventually agreed, and we gave everybody -in the units the choice of going or staying. We have -about 115 people in the Scottish unit, and twenty have -gone. Mr. Smith brings up the rear-guard to-day, -with one or two laggards and a wounded English -soldier we have had charge of. Two of our units are -here. Dr. MacGregor has trekked for Novi Bazaar. -It is the starting-place for Montenegro. We all -managed wonderfully in our first “evacuations,” and -saved practically everything, but now it is hopeless. -The bridges are down, and the trucks standing anyhow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -on sidings, and, worst of all, the people have begun -looting. I don’t wonder. There’ll be famine, as -well as cold, in this corner of the world soon, and -then the distant prospect of 150,000 British troops at -Salonika won’t help much.</p> - -<p>‘The beloved British troops,—the thought of them -always cheers. But not the thought of the idiots at -the top who had not enough gumption to <em>know</em> this -must happen. Anybody, even us women, could have -told them that the Germans must try and break -through to the help of the Turks.</p> - -<p>‘We have got a nice building here for a hospital, and -Dr. Holloway is helping in the military hospital. I -believe there are about 1000 wounded in the place. I -can’t write a very interesting letter, Amy dear, because -at the bottom of my heart I don’t believe it will ever -reach you. I don’t see them managing the Montenegrin -passes at this time of year! There is a persistent -rumour that the French have retaken Skopiro, -and if that is true perhaps the Salonika route will be -open soon.</p> - -<p>‘Some day, I’ll tell you all the exciting things that -have been happening, and all the funny things too! -For there have been funny things, in the middle of all -the sadness. The guns are booming away, and the -country looking so lovely in the sunlight. I wonder -if Serbia is a particularly beautiful country, or whether -it looks so lovely because of the tragedy of this war, just -as bed seems particularly delightful when the night bell -goes!’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="in_a_bit1">‘<span class="smcap">Serbian Military Hospital</span>,<br /></span> -‘<span class="smcap">Krushieevatz</span>, <i><abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 30, 1915</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘We have been here about a month. It was dreadfully -sad work leaving our beautiful little hospital at -Krushieevatz. Here, we are working in the Serbian -military hospital, and living in it also. You can -imagine that we have plenty to do, when you hear we -have 900 wounded. The prisoners are brought in -every day, sometimes thousands, and go on to the -north, leaving the sick. The Director has put the -sanitation and the laundry into our hands also.</p> - -<p>‘We have had a hard frost for four days now, and -snowstorms. My warm things did not arrive—I suppose -they are safe at Salonika. Fortunately last year’s -uniform was still in existence, and I wear three pairs of -stockings, with my high boots. We have all cut our -skirts short, for Serbian mud is awful. It is a lovely -land, and the views round here are very cheering. -One sunset I shall never forget—a glorious sky, and the -hills deep blue against it. In the foreground the camp -fires, and the prisoners round them in the fading light.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>With the invasion came the question of evacuation. -At one time it was possible the whole of the -British unit might escape <i>via</i> Montenegro. Sir Ralph -Paget, realising that the equipment could not be -saved, allowed any of the hospital unit who wished -to remain with their wounded. Two parties went -with the retreating Serbs, and their story and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -extraordinary hardships they endured has been -told elsewhere.</p> - -<p>Those left at Krushieevatz were in Dr. Inglis’ -opinion the fortunate units. For three months they -tended the Serbian wounded under foreign occupation. -The unit with Dr. Inglis kept to their work, -and when necessary confronted the Austro-German -officers with all the audacity of their leader and the -Scottish thistle combined.</p> - -<p>Their hospital accommodation was designed for -400 beds. When we went up there were 900 -patients. During the greatest part of the pressure -the number rose to 1200. Patients were placed in -the corridors—at first one man to one bed, but later -two beds together, and three men in them. Then -there were no more bedsteads, and mattresses were -placed on the floor. We filled up the outhouses. -The magazine in full blast was a sight, once seen, -never to be forgotten.</p> - -<p>Upstairs the patients occupied the shelving. -There were three tiers, the slightly wounded men -in the highest tier. The magazine was under Dr. -Holloway, and Dr. Inglis says the time to see the -place at its best or its worst was in the gloaming, -when two or three feeble oil lamps illuminated the -gloom, and the tin bowls clattered and rattled as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -the evening ration of beans was given out, and the -men swarmed up and down the poles of their shelves -chattering as Serbs will chatter. The Sisters called -the place ‘the Zoo.’</p> - -<p>The dread of the renewal of the typhus scourge, -amid such conditions of overcrowding, underfeeding, -fatigue and depression, was great. Dr. Inglis -details the appalling tasks the unit undertook in -sanitation. There was no expert amongst them:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘When we arrived, the hospital compound was a -truly terrible place—the sights and smells beyond -description. We dug the rubbish into the ground, -emptied the overflowing cesspool, built incinerators, -and cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned. That is an -Englishman’s job all over the world. Our three untrained -English girl orderlies took to it like ducks to -water. It was not the pleasantest or easiest work in the -world; but they did it, and did it magnificently.</p> - -<p>‘Laundry and bathing arrangements were installed -and kept going. We had not a single case of typhus; -we had a greater achievement than its prevention. -Late of an evening, when men among the prisoners -were put into the wards, straight from the march, -unwashed and crawling with lice, there was great indignation -among the patients already in. “Doktoritza,” -they said, “if you put these dirty men in among us -we shall all get typhus.” Our hearts rejoiced. If we -have done nothing else, we thought, we have driven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -that fact home to the Serbian mind that dirt and -typhus go together.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Dr. Inglis describes the misery of the Serbian -prisoners:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘They had seen men go out to battle, conscious of -the good work they had done for the Allies in driving -back the Austrians in their first punitive expedition. -We are the only ones who, so far, have beaten our -enemy. They came back to us broken and dispirited. -They were turned into the hospital grounds, with a -scanty ration of beans, with a little meat and half a loaf -of bread for twenty-four hours. Their camp fires -flickered fitfully through the long bitter cold nights. -Every scrap of wood was torn up, the foot bridges -over the drains, and the trees hacked down for firewood. -We added to the rations of our sanitary workers, we -gave away all the bread we could, but we could not feed -that enclosure of hungry men. We used to hear them -coughing and moaning all night.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>Dr. Inglis details the starving condition of the -whole country, the weakness of the famine-stricken -men who worked for them, the starved yoke oxen, -and all the manifold miseries of a country overrun -by the enemy.</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘There was,’ she says, ‘a curious exhilaration in working -for those grateful patient men, and in helping the -director, Major Nicolitch, so loyal to his country and so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -conscientious in his work, to bring order out of chaos, -and yet the unhappiness in the Serbian houses, and the -physical wretchedness of those cold hungry prisoners -lay always like a dead weight on our spirit. Never -shall we forget the beauty of the sunrises, or the glory -of the sunsets, with clear, cold sunlit days between, -and the wonderful starlit nights. But we shall never -forget “the Zoo” either, or the groans outside the -windows when we hid our heads under the blankets to -shut out the sound. The unit got no news, and they -made it a point of honour to believe nothing said in -the German telegrams. We could not believe Serbia -had been sacrificed for nothing. We were convinced -it was some deep laid scheme for weakening other -fronts, and so it was natural to believe rumours, such -as that the English had taken Belgium, and the French -were in Metz.</p> - -<p>‘The end of the five months of service in captivity, -and to captive Serbs ended. On the 11th February -1916, they were sent north under an Austrian guard -with fixed bayonets, thus to Vienna, and so by slow -stages they came to Zürich.</p> - -<p>‘It was a great thing to be once more “home” and -to realise how strong and straight and fearless a people -inhabit these islands: to realise not so much that they -mean to win the war, but rather that they consider -any other issue impossible.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>So Dr. Inglis came back to plan new campaigns -for the help of the Serbian people, who lay night<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -and day upon her heart. She knew she had the -backing of the Suffrage societies, and she intended -to get the ear of the English public for the cause -of the Allies in the Balkans. ‘We,’ who had sent -her out, found her changed in many ways. Physically -she had altered much, and if we could ever -have thought of the body in the presence of that -dauntless spirit, we might have seen that the -Angel of Shadows was not far away. The privations -and sufferings she described so well when she -had to speak of her beloved Serbs had been fully -shared by the unit. Their comfort was always -her thought; she never would have anything that -could not be shared and shared alike, but there -was little but hardship to share, and one and all -scorned to speak of privations which were a light -affliction compared to those of a whole nation -groaning and waiting to be redeemed from its great -tribulation.</p> - -<p>There was a look in her face of one whose spirit -had been pierced by the sword. The brightness of -her eyes was dimmed, for she had seen the days -when His judgments were abroad upon the earth:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> - <div class="p_line_i0">He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">He has loosed the fatal lightning of His terrible swift sword:</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">I have read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>She could never forget the tragedy of Serbia, and -she came home, not to rest, but vowed to yet -greater endeavours for their welfare. The attitude -of the Allies she did not pretend to understand. -She had something of the spirit of Oliver Cromwell, -when he threatened to send his fleet across the Alps -to help the Waldensians. In her public speeches, -when she set forth what in her outlook could have -been done, no censor cut out the sentences which -were touched by the live coals from off her altar -of service. Dr. Elsie never recognised the word -‘impossible’ for herself, and for her work that was -well. As to her political and military outlook, the -story of the nations will find it a place in the history -of the war.</p> - -<p>For a few months she worked from the bases -of her two loyal Committees in London and Edinburgh. -She spoke at many a public meeting, and -filled many a drawing-room. The Church of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -Scotland knew her presence in London. ‘One of -our most treasured memories will be that keen, -clever face of hers in <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Columba’s of a Sunday—with -the far, wistful melancholy in it, added to -its firm determination.’ So writes the minister. -‘We’ knew what lay behind the wistful brave eyes, -a yet more complete dedication to the service of her -Serbian brethren.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER X: RUSSIA">CHAPTER <abbr title="10">X</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">RUSSIA<br /></span> - -<span class="sub_head2">1917</span></h2> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Even so in our mortal journey,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">The bitter north winds blow,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">And thus upon life’s red river,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Our hearts as oarsmen row.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0">And when the Angel of Shadow</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">Rests his feet on wave and shore,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">And our eyes grow dim with watching,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">And our hearts faint at the oar,</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0">Happy is he who heareth</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">The signal of his release</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">In the bells of the holy city</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">The chimes of eternal peace.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Dr. Inglis’</span> return to England was the signal for -renewed efforts on the part of the Committees -managing the S.W.H. This memoir has necessarily -to follow the personality of the leader, but it must -never be forgotten that her strength and all her -sinews of war lay in the work of those who carried -on at home, week by week. Strong committees of -women, ably organised and thoroughly staffed, took -over the burden of finance—a matter Dr. Inglis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -once amusingly said, ‘did not interest her.’ They -found and selected the <i>personnel</i> on which success -so much depended, they contracted for and supervised -the sending out of immense consignments of -equipment and motor transport. They dealt with -the Government department, and in loyal devotion -smoothed every possible obstacle out of the path -of those flying squadrons, the units of the S.W.H.</p> - -<p>It was inevitable the quick brain and tenacious -energy of Dr. Inglis, far away from the base of her -operations, should at times have found it hard to -understand why the wheels occasionally seemed to -drag, and the new effort she desired to make did -not move at the pace which to her eager spirit -seemed possible. Two enterprises filled her mind -on her return in 1916. One, by the help of the -London Committee, she put through. This was the -celebration of Kossovo Day in Great Britain. The -flag-day of the Serbian Patriot King was under her -chairmanship prepared for in six weeks. Hundreds -of lectures on the history of Serbia were arranged -for and delivered throughout the country, and no -one failed to do her work, however remote they -might think the prospect of making the British -people interested in a country and patriot so far -from the ken of their island isolation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kossovo Day was a success, and through the rush -of the work Dr. Inglis was planning the last and -most arduous of all the undertakings of the S.W.H., -that of the unit which was to serve with the Serbian -Volunteers on the Rumanian Russian front. Dr. -Inglis knew from private sources the lack of hospital -arrangements in Mesopotamia, and she, with the -backing of the Committees, had approached the -authorities for leave to take a fully equipped unit -to Basra. When the story of the Scottish Women’s -Hospital is written, the correspondence between the -War Office, the Foreign Office, and S.W.H. will -throw a tragic light on this lamentable episode, and, -read with the report of the Committees, it will prove -how quick and foreseeing of trouble was her outlook. -As soon as Dr. Inglis brought her units back -from Serbia, she again urged the War Office to send -her out. Of her treatment by the War Office, -Mrs. Fawcett writes: ‘She was not only refused, -but refused with contumely and insult.’</p> - -<p>True to her instinct never to pause over a set-back, -she lost no time in pressing on her last enterprise -for the Serbians. M. Curcin, in <cite>The Englishwoman</cite>, -says:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘She was already acquainted with one side of the -Serbian problem—Serbia; she was told that in Russia<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -there was the best opportunity to learn about the -second half—the Serbs of Austria, the Jugoslavs. In -six weeks Dr. Inglis succeeded in raising a hospital -unit and transport section staffed by eighty women -heroes of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals to start with -her on a most adventurous undertaking, <i>via</i> Archangel, -through Russia to Odessa and the Dobrudja. Dr. -Inglis succeeded also—most difficult of all—in getting -permission from the British authorities for the journey. -Eye-witnesses—officers and soldiers—tell everybody -to-day how those women descended, practically straight -from the railway carriages, after forty days’ travelling, -beside the stretchers with wounded, and helped to -dress the wounds of those who had had to defend the -centre and also a wing of the retreating army. For -fifteen months she remained with those men, whose -<i>rôle</i> is not yet fully realised, but is certain to become -one of the most wonderful and characteristic facts of the -conflagration of nations.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The Edinburgh Committee had already so many -undertakings on behalf of the S.W.H. that they -gladly allowed the Committee formed by the London -Branch of the N.U.W.S.S. to undertake the whole -work of organising this last adventure for the -Serbian Army. It was as their Commissioner that -Dr. Inglis and her unit sailed the wintry main, -and to them she sent the voluminous and brilliant -reports of her work. When the Russian revolution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -imperilled the safety of the Serbian Army on the -Rumanian front, she sent home members of her -unit, charged with important verbal messages to -her Government. Through the last anxious month, -when communications were cut off, short messages, -unmistakably her own, came back to the London -Committee, that they might order her to return. She -would come with the Serbian Army and not without -them. We at home had to rest on the assurances -of the Foreign Office, always alive to the care and -encouragement of the S.W.H., that Dr. Inglis and -her unit were safe, and that their return would be -expedited at the safest hour. In those assurances -we learnt to rest, and the British Government did -not fail that allied force—the Serbian Army and -the Scottish women serving them. The following -letters were those written to her family with notes -from her graphic report to her Committees. The -clear style and beautiful handwriting never changed -even in those last days, when those who were with -her knew that nothing but the spirit kept the wasted -body at its work. ‘The Serbian Division is superb; -we are proud to be attached to it.’ These were the -last words in her last letter from Odessa in June -1917. That pride of service runs through all the -correspondence. The spirit she inspired is noteworthy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -in a book which covers the greater part of -these fifteen months, <cite>With the Scottish Nurses in -Rumania</cite>, by Yvonne Fitzroy. In a daily diary -a searchlight is allowed to fall on some of the experiences -borne with such high-hearted nonchalance -by the leader and her gallant disciples.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Haverfield, who saw her work, writes:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘It was perfectly incredible that one human being -could do the work she accomplished. Her record -piece of work perhaps was at Galatz, Rumania, at the -end of the retreat. There were masses and masses -of wounded, and she and her doctors and nurses performed -operations and dressings for fifty-eight hours -out of sixty-three. Dr. Scott, of the armoured cars, -noted the time, and when he told her how long she had -been working, she simply said, “Well, it was all due to -Mrs. Milne, the cook, who kept us supplied with hot -soup.” She had been very tired for a long time; undoubtedly -the lack of food, the necessity of sleeping on -the floor, and nursing her patients all the time told on -her health. In Russia she was getting gradually more -tired until she became ill. When she was the least -bit better she was up again, and all the time she -attended to the business of the unit.</p> - -<p>‘Just before getting home she had a relapse, and the -last two or three days on board ship, we know now, she -was dying. She made all the arrangements for the -unit which she brought with her, however, and interviewed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -every member of it. To Miss Onslow, her -transport officer, she said, when she arrived at Newcastle, -“I shall be up in London in a few days’ time, -and we will talk the matter of a new unit over.” Miss -Onslow turned away with tears in her eyes.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">H.M. Transport</span> ——,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit2">‘<i><abbr title="September">Sep.</abbr> 6, 1916</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dearest Amy</span>,—Here we are more than half way -through our voyage. We got off eventually on -Wednesday night, and lay all Thursday in the river. -You never in your life saw such a filthy boat as this -was when we came on board. The captain had been -taken off an American liner the day before. The only -officer who had been on this boat before was the -engineer officer. All the rest were new. The crew -were drunk to a man, and, as the Transport officer said, -“The only way to get this ship right, is to get her <em>out</em>.” -So we got out. I must say we got into shape very -quickly. We cleaned up, and now we are painting. -They won’t know her when she gets back. She is an -Austrian Lloyd captured at the beginning of the war, -and she has been trooping in the Mediterranean since. -She was up at Glasgow for this new start, but she struck -the Glasgow Fair, and could therefore get nothing done, -so she was brought down to the port we started from—as -she was. We are a wonderful people! The captain -seems to be an awfully good man. He is Scotch, and -was on the Anchor Line to Bombay. This is quite a -tiny little boat. She has all our equipment, fourteen of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -our cars. For passengers, there are ourselves, seventy-five -people, and three Serbian officers, and the mother -and sister of one of them, and thirty-two Serbian non-commissioned -officers. They are going to our Division.</p> - -<p>‘The cabins are most comfortable. On the saloon -deck there are twenty-two very small, single cabins. -And on this deck larger cabins with either three or -four berths. I am on this deck in the most luxurious -quarters. It is called <em>The Commanding Officer’s Cabin</em> -(ahem). There is a huge cabin with one berth; off it -on one side another cabin with a writing-table and sofa, -and off it on the other side a bathroom and dressing-room! -Of course, if we had had rough weather, and -the ports had had to be closed, it would not have been -so nice, especially as the glass in all the portholes is -blackened, but we have had perfectly glorious weather. -At night every porthole and window is closed to shut -in the light, but the whole ship is very well ventilated. -A good many of them sleep up in the boats, or in one -of the lorries.</p> - -<p>‘We sighted one submarine, but it took no notice -of us, so we took no notice of it. We had all our boats -allotted to us the very first day. We divided the unit -among them, putting one responsible person in charge -of each, and had boat drill several times. Then one -day the captain sounded the alarm for practice, and -everybody was at their station in three minutes in greatcoat -and life-belt. The amusing thing was that some -of them thought it was a real alarm, and were most -annoyed and disappointed to find there was not a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -submarine really there! The unit as a whole seems -very nice and capable, though there are one or two -queer characters! But most of them are healthy, -wholesome bricks of girls. I hope we shall get on all -right. Of course a field hospital is quite a new bit of -work.</p> - -<p>‘We reach our port of disembarkation this afternoon. -The voyage has been a most pleasant one in every way. -As soon as sea-sickness was over the unit developed a -tremendous amount of energy, and we have had games -on deck, and concerts, and sports, and a fancy dress -competition! All this in addition to drill every morning, -which was compulsory.</p> - -<p>‘We began the day at 8.30—breakfast, the cabins -were tidied. 9.30—roll call and cabin inspection immediately -after; then drill—ordinary drill, stretcher -drill, and Swedish drill in sections. Lunch was at -12.30, and then there were lessons in Russian, Serbian, -and French, to which they could go if they liked, and -most of them took one, or even two, and lectures on -motor construction, etc. Tea at 4, and dinner 6.30. -You would have thought there was not much time for -anything else, but the superfluous energy of a British -unit manages to put a good deal more in. (The head -of a British unit in Serbia once said to me that the chief -duty of the head of a British unit was to use up the -superfluous energy of the unit in harmless ways. He -said that the only time there was no superfluous energy -was when the unit was overworking. That was the -time I found that particular unit playing rounders!)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -The sports were most amusing. I was standing next -to a Serb officer during the obstacle race, and he -suddenly turned to me and said, “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">C’est tout-à-fait -nouveau pour nous, Madame.</span>” I thought it must be, -for at that moment they were getting under a sail -which had been tied down to the deck—two of them -hurled themselves on the sail and dived under it, you -saw four legs kicking wildly, and then the sail heaved -and fell, and two dishevelled creatures emerged at the -other side, and tore at two life-belts which they went -through, and so on. I should think it was indeed -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tout-à-fait nouveau</i>. Some of the dresses at the fancy -dress competition were most clever. There was -Napoleon—the last phase, in the captain’s long coat -and somebody’s epaulettes, and one of our grey hats, -side to the front, excellent; and Tweedledum and -Tweedledee, in saucepans and life-belts. One of them -got herself up as a “greaser,” and went down to the -engine-room to get properly dirty, with such successful -result that, when she was coming up to the saloon, -with her little oiling can in her hand, one of the officers -stopped her with, “Now, where are you going to, my -lad?”</p> - -<p>‘We ended up with all the allied National Anthems, -the Serbs leading their own.</p> - -<p>‘I do love to see them enjoying themselves, and to -hear them chattering and laughing along the passages, -for they’ll have plenty of hard work later. We had -service on Sunday, which I took, as the captain could -not come down. Could you get us some copies of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -Archbishop of Canterbury’s war prayers? We have -just had our photograph taken. The captain declares -he was snap-shotted six times one morning. I don’t -know if the Russian Government will let us take all -these cameras with us. We are flying the Union Jack -for the first time to-day since we came out. It is good -to know you are all thinking of us.—Ever your loving -sister,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">Elsie Maud Inglis</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">On the Train to Moscow</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit4">‘<i><abbr title="September">Sep.</abbr> 14, 1916</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dearest Amy</span>,—Here we are well on our way to -Moscow, having got through Archangel in 2½ days—a -feat, for we were told at home that it might be six -weeks. They did not know that there is a party of our -naval men there helping the Russians, and Archangel -is magnificently organised now.</p> - -<p>‘When one realises that the population was 5000 -before the war, and is now 20,000, it is quite clear there -was bound to be some disorganisation at first.</p> - -<p>‘I never met a kinder set of people than are collected -at Archangel just now. They simply did everything -for us, and sent us off in a train with a berth for each -person, and gave us a wonderful send off. The Russian -Admiral gave us a letter which acts as a kind of magic -ring whenever it is produced. The first time it was -really quite startling. We were longing for Nyamdonia -where we were to get dinner. We were told we should -be there at four o’clock, then at five, and at six o’clock -we pulled up at a place unknown, and rumours began<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -to spread that our engine was off, and sure enough it -was, and was shunting trucks. Miss Little, one of our -Russian-speaking people, and I got out. We tried our -united eloquence, she in fluent Russian, and I saying, -<i>Shechaz</i>, which means “immediately” at intervals, -and still they looked helpless and said, “Two hours and -a half.” Then I produced my letter, and you never -saw such a change. They said, “Five minutes,” and -we were off in three. We tried it all along the line -after that; my own belief is that we should still be -at the unknown place, without that letter, shunting -trucks. At one station, Miss Little heard the station-master -saying, “There is a great row going on here, -and there will be trouble to-morrow if this train isn’t -got through.” Eventually, we reached Nyamdonia at -11.30, and found a delightful Russian officer, and an -excellent dinner paid for by the Russian Government, -waiting for us. We all thought the food very good, -and I thought the sauce of hunger helped. The -next day, profiting over our Nyamdonia experience, I -said meals were to be had at regular times from our -stores in the train, and we should take the restaurants -as we found them, with the result that we arrived at -Vorega, where <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">déjeuner</i> had been ordered just as we -finished a solid lunch of ham and eggs. I said they -had better go out and have two more courses, which -they did with great content, and found it quite as nice -as the night before.</p> - -<p>‘This is a special train for us and the Serbian officers -and non-coms. We broke a coupling after we left<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -Nyamdonia, and they sent out another carriage from -there, but it had not top berths, so they had another -sleeper ready when we reached Vologda. They gave -us another and stronger engine at Nyamdonia, because -we asked for it, and have repaired cisterns, and given -us chickens and eggs; and when we thank them, they -say, “It is for our friends.” The crowd stand round -three deep while we eat, and watch us all the time, -quite silently in the stations. In Archangel one old -man asked, “Who, on God’s earth, are you?”</p> - -<p>‘They gave us such a send-off from Archangel! -Russian soldiers were drawn up between the ship -and the train, and cheered us the whole way, with -a regular British cheer; our own crew turned out with -a drum and a fife and various other instruments, -and marched about singing. Then they made speeches, -and cheered everybody, and then suddenly the Russian -soldiers seized the Serbian officers and tossed them -up and down, up and down, till they were stopped by -a whistle. But they had got into the mood by then, -and they rushed at me. You can imagine, I fled, -and seized hold of the British Consul. I did think -the British Empire would stand by me, but he would -do nothing but laugh. And I found myself up in -the air above the crowd, up and down, quite safe, -hands under one and round one. They were so happy -that I waved my hand to them, and they shouted and -cheered. The unit is only annoyed that they had -not their cameras, and that anyhow it was dark. -Then they tossed Captain Bevan, who is in command<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -there, because he was English, and the Consul for -the same reason, and the captain of the transport -because he had brought us out. We sang all the -national anthems, and then they danced for us. It -was a weird sight in the moonlight. Some of the -dances were like Indian ones, and some reminded me -of our Highland flings. We went on till one in the -morning—all the British colony, there. I confess, I -was tired—though I did enjoy it. Captain Bevan’s -good-bye was the nicest and so unexpected—simply -“God bless you.” Mrs. Young, the Consul’s wife, -Mrs. Kerr, both Russians, simply gave up their whole -time to us, took the girls about, and Mrs. Kerr had -<em>the whole unit</em> to tea. I had lunch one day at the -British Mess, and another day at the Russian Admiral’s. -They all came out to dinner with us.</p> - -<p>‘Of course a new face means a lot in an out-of-the-way -place, and seventy-five new faces was a God-send. -Well, as I said before, they are the kindest set of -people I ever came across. They brought us our -bread, and changed our money, and arranged with -the bank, and got us this train with berths, and thought -of every single thing for us.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Nearing Odessa</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit0">‘<i><abbr title="September">Sep.</abbr> 21, 1916</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Darling Eve</span>,—We are nearing the second stage -of our journey, and <em>they say</em> we shall be in Odessa -to-night. We have all come to the conclusion that a -Russian minute is about ten times as long as ours. -If we get in to-night we shall have taken nine days<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -from Archangel; with all the lines blocked with military -trains, that is not bad. All the same we have had -some struggles, but it has been a very comfortable -journey and very pleasant. The Russian officials all -along the line have been most helpful and kind. A -Serbian officer on board, or rather a Montenegrin, looked -after us like a father.</p> - -<p>‘What we should have done without <abbr title="Monsieur" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">M.</abbr> and <abbr title="Madame" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mme.</abbr> -Malinina at Moscow, I don’t know. They gave the -whole afternoon up to us: took us to the Kremlin—he, -the whole unit on special tramcars, and she, three -of us in her motor. They are both very busy people. -She has a beautiful hospital, a clearing one at the -station, and he is a member of the Duma, and Commandant -of all the Red Cross work in Moscow. We -only had a glimpse of the Kremlin, yet enough to -make one want to see more. I carried away one beautiful -picture to remember—the view of Moscow in the -sunset light, simply gorgeous.</p> - -<p>‘The unit are very very well, and exceedingly cheerful. -I am not sorry to have had these three weeks since we -left to get the unit in hand. They are in splendid -order now. When <abbr title="Monsieur" lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">M.</abbr> Malinina said it was time to leave -the Kremlin, and the order was given to “Fall in,” I -was quite proud of them, they did it so quickly. It -is wonderful even now what they manage to do. -Miss H. says they are like eels in a basket. They were -told not to eat fruit without peeling it, so one of them -peeled an apple with her teeth. They were told not -to drink unboiled water, so they handed their water-bottles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -out at dead of night to Russian soldiers, to -whom they could not explain, to fill for them, as of -course they understood they were not to fill them from -water on the train. I must say they are an awfully -nice lot on the whole. We certainly shall not fail for -want of energy. The Russian crowds are tremendously -interested in them.—Ever your loving aunt,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Reni</span>, <i><abbr title="September">Sep.</abbr> 29, 1916</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dearest Amy</span>,—We have left Odessa and are really -off to our Division. We are going to the 1st Division. -General Haditch is in command there. We were told -this is the important point in the war just now—“A -Second Verdun.” The great General Mackensen is -in command against us. He was in command at -Krushinjevatz when we were taken prisoners. Every -one says how anxiously they are looking out for us, and, -indeed, we shall have our work cut out for us. We -are two little field hospitals for a whole Division. -Think if that was the provision for our own men. They -are such a magnificent body of men. We saw the -2nd Division preparing in Odessa. Only from the -point of view of the war, they ought to be looked after, -but when one remembers that they are men, every one -of them with somebody who cares for them, it is -dreadful. I wish we were each six women instead of -one. I have wired home for another Base Hospital -to take the place of the British Red Cross units when -they move on with the 2nd Division. The Russians are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -splendid in taking the Serbs into their Base Hospitals, -but you can imagine what the pressure is from their -own huge armies. We had such a reception at Odessa. -All the Russian officials, at the station, and our Consul, -and a line drawn up of twenty Serbian officers. They -had a motor car and forty droskies and a squad of -Serbian soldiers to carry up our personal luggage, and -most delightful quarters for us on the outskirts of the -town in a sanatorium. We were the guests of the -city while we were there. Our Consul was so good and -helpful. Odessa is immensely interested in us. We -were told that the form of greeting while we were there -was, “Have you seen <em>them</em>?” The two best things -were the evening at the Serbian Mess, and the gala -performance at the opera. The cheering of the Serbian -mess when we went in was something to remember, but -I can tell you I felt quite choking when the whole house -last night turned round and cheered us after we tried -to sing our National Anthem to them with the orchestra.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Reni</span>, <i><abbr title="October">Oct.</abbr> 28, 1916</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dearest Amy</span>,—Just a line to say I am all right. -Four weeks to-morrow since we reached Medgidia, -and began our hospital. We evacuated it in three -weeks, and here we are all back on the frontier. Such -a time it has been, Amy dear. You cannot imagine -what war is just behind the lines, and in a retreat!—our -second retreat, and almost to the same day. We -evacuated Kragujevatz on the 25th of October last -year. We evacuated Medgidia on the 22nd this year.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -On the 25th this year, we were working in a Russian -dressing-station at Harshova, and were moved on in the -evening. We arrived at Braila to find 11,000 wounded, -and seven doctors—only one of them a surgeon.</p> - -<p>‘Boat came. Must stop. Am going back to -Braila to do surgery. Have sent every trained person -there.—Your loving sister,</p> - -<p> -<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>. -</p> - -<p>‘<i>P.S.</i>—We have had lots of exciting things too, and -amusing things, and <em>good</em> things.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">On the Danube at Tulcea</span>,<br /> -<span class="in_a_bit4">‘<i><abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 11/16</i>.</span> -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dearest Amy</span>,—I am writing this on the boat -between Tulcea and Ismail, where I am going to see our -second hospital and the transport. Admiral Vesolskin -has given me a special boat, and we motored over from -Braila. The Étappen command had been expecting -us all afternoon, and the boat was ready. They were -very amused to find that “the doctor” they had been -expecting was a <em>woman</em>!</p> - -<p>‘Our main hospital was at Medgidia, and our field -hospital at Bulbulmic, only about seven miles from -the front. They gave us a very nice building, a barrack, -at Medgidia for the hospital, and the <i>personnel</i> were in -tents on the opposite hill. We arrived on the day of -the offensive, and were ready for patients within forty-eight -hours. We were there less than three weeks, -and during that time we unpacked the equipment and -repacked it. We made really a rather nice hospital -at Medgidia, and the field hospital. We pitched and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -struck the camp—we were nursing and operating the -whole time, and evacuating rapidly too, and our cars -were on the road practically always.</p> - -<p>‘The first notice we got of the retreat was our field -hospital being brought back five versts. Then the -transport. Then we were told to send the equipment -to Galatz, but to keep essential things and the <i>personnel</i>. -Then came orders to go ourselves. I never saw such a -retreat. Serbia was nothing to it. The whole country -was covered with groups of soldiers who had lost their -regiments. Russians, Serbs, and Rumanians. The -Rumanian guns were simply being rushed back, -through the crowds of refugees. The whole country -was moving: in some places the panic was awful. -One part of our scattered unit came in for it. You -would have thought the Bulgars were at the heels of the -people. One man threw away a baby right in front of -the cars. They were throwing everything off the carts -to lighten them, and our people, being of a calmer -disposition, picked up what they wanted in the way of -vegetables, etc. Men, with their rifles and bayonets, -climbed on to the Red Cross cars to save a few minutes. -We simply went head over heels out of the country. -I want to collect all the different stories of our groups. -My special lot slept the first night on straw in Caromacat; -the next night on the roadside round a lovely fire; -the next (much reduced in numbers, for I had cleared -the majority off in barges for Galatz), we slept in an -empty room at Hershova, and spent the next day -dressing at the wharf. And by the next night we were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -in Braila, involved in the avalanche of wounded that -descended on that place, and there we have been ever -since.</p> - -<p>‘We found some of our transport, and, while we were -having tea, an officer came in and asked us to go round -and help in a hospital. There, we were told, there -were 11,000 wounded (I believe the official figures are -7000). They had been working thirty-six hours -without stopping when we arrived.</p> - -<p>‘The wounded had overflowed into empty houses, -and were lying about in their uniforms, and their -wounds not dressed for four or five days. You can -imagine the conditions.</p> - -<p>‘So we just turned up our sleeves and went in. I -got back all the trained Sisters from Galatz, and now -the pressure is over. One thing I am going up to -Ismail for, is to get into touch with the Serbian H. 2, -and find out what they want us to do next. The Serb -wounded were evacuated straight to Odessa.</p> - -<p>‘The unit as a whole has behaved splendidly, plucky -and cheery through everything, and game for any -amount of work.</p> - -<p>‘And we are prouder of our Serbs than ever. I do -hope the papers at home have realised what the 1st -Division did, and how they suffered in the fight in the -middle of September. General Genlikoffsky said to -me, “<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">C’était magnifique, magnifique! Ils sont les héros</i>”;—and -another Russian: “We did not quite believe in -these Austrian Serbs, but no one will ever doubt -them again.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘Personally, I have been awfully well, and prouder -than ever of British women. I wish you could have -seen trained Sisters scrubbing floors at Medgidia, and -those strapping transport girls lifting the stretchers -out of the ambulances so steadily and gently. I have -told in the Report how Miss Borrowman and Miss -Brown brought the equipments through to Galatz. -We lost only one Ludgate boiler and one box of radiators. -We lost two cars, but that was really the fault of a -rather stupid Serbian officer. It is a comfort to feel -you are all thinking of us.—Your loving sister,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘E. I.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="in_a_bit1">‘<span class="smcap">In an Ambulance Train between</span><br /></span> -‘<span class="smcap">Reni and Odessa</span>, <i><abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> 24, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Darling Eve</span>,—Now we have got a hospital at -Reni again, for badly wounded, working in connection -with the evacuation station. We have got the -dearest little house to live in ourselves, but, as we are -getting far more people out from Odessa, we shall -have to overflow into the Expedition houses. Reni -itself is quite a small village. I remember thinking -Reni a most uninteresting place—crowds of shipping -and the wharf all crammed with sacks. It was just -a big junction like Crewe!</p> - -<p>‘The hospital at Reni is a real building, but it is not -finished. One unfinished bit is the windows, which -have one layer of glass each, though they have double -sashes. When this was pointed out, I thought it was -a mere continental foible. When the cold came I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -realised that there is some sense in this foible after -all! We <em>cannot</em> get the wards warm, notwithstanding -extra stoves and roaring fires. The poor Russians -do mind cold so much. But they don’t want to leave -the hospital. One man whom I told he must have -an operation later on in another hospital, said -he would rather wait for it in ours. The first time -we had to evacuate, we simply could not get the men -to go. Nice, isn’t it?</p> - -<p>‘We have got a Russian Secretary now, because we -are using Russian Red Cross money, and he told us -he had been told in Petrograd that the S.W.H. were -beautifully organised, and the only drawback was -the language. Quite true. I wish we were polyglots. -We have got a certain number of Austrian prisoners -as orderlies, and most of them curiously can speak -Russian, so we get on better. Did you know I could -speak German? I did not until I had to! This is a -most comfortable way of travelling, and the quickest. -We have 500 wounded on board, twenty-three of -them ours. I am going to Odessa to find out why -we cannot get Serb patients. There are still thousands -of them in Odessa, and yet Dr. Chesney gets nothing but -Russians. The Serbs we meet seem to think it is somehow -our fault! I tell them I have written and telegraphed, -and planned and made two journeys to Ismail, -to try and get a real Serbian Hospital going, and yet it -doesn’t go.</p> - -<p>‘What did happen over the change of Government? -I do hope we have got the right lot now, to put things<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -straight at home, and carry through things abroad. -Remember it all depends on you people at home. -<em>The whole thing depends on us.</em> I know we lose the -perspective in this gloomy corner, but there is one -thing quite clear, and that is that they are all trusting -to our <em>sticking</em> powers. They know we’ll hold on—of -course—I only wish we would realise that it would -be as well to use our intellects too, and have them -clear of alcohol.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="in_a_bit2">‘<span class="smcap">In an Ambulance Train</span>,<br /></span> -‘<span class="smcap">near Odessa</span>, <i><abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> 25, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘You don’t know what a comfort it is on this tumultuous -front, to know that all you people at home have -just settled down to it, and that you’ll put things -right in the long run. It is curious to feel how everybody -is trusting to that. The day we left Braila, a -Rumanian said to me in the hall, “It is England we -are trusting to. She has got hold now like a strong -dog!” But it is a bigger job than any of you imagine, -<em>I</em> think. But there is not the slightest doubt we -shall pull it off. I am glad to think the country has discovered -that it is possible to have an alternative Government. -If it does not do, we must find yet another.</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To her little Niece, Amy M‘Laren</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="in_a_bit2">‘<span class="smcap">On an Ambulance Train</span>,<br /></span> -‘<span class="smcap">near Odessa</span>, <i><abbr title="January">Jan.</abbr> 25, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Darling Amy</span>,—How are you all? We have been -very busy since we came out here: first a hospital -for the Serbs at Medgidia, then in a Rumanian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -hospital at Braila, and then for the Russians at Galatz -and Reni. In the very middle, by some funny mistake, -we were sent flying right on to the front line. However -we nipped out again just in time, and the station -was burnt to the ground just half an hour after we -left. I’ll tell you the name of the place when the -war is over, and show it to you on the map. We saw -the petrol tanks on fire as we came away, and the -ricks of grain too.</p> - -<p>‘Our hospital at Galatz was in a school. I don’t -think the children in these parts are doing many -lessons during the war, and that will be a great handicap -for their countries afterwards. Perhaps, however, -they are learning other lessons. When we left the -Dobrudja we saw the crowds of refugees on their -carts, with the things they had been able to save, -and all the little children packed in among the furniture -and pots and pans and pigs.</p> - -<p>‘In one cart I saw two fascinating babies about three -years old, sitting in a kind of little nest made of pillows -and rugs. They were little girls, one fair and one -dark, and they sat there, as good as gold, watching -everything with such interest. There were streams -of carts along the roads, and all the villages deserted. -That is what the war means out here. It is not quite -so bad in our safe Scotland, is it?—thanks to the -fleet. And that is why it seems to me we have got -to help these people, because they are having the worst -of it. I wonder if you can knit socks yet, for I can -use any number, and bandages. Do you know how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -to roll bandages? Blessings on you, precious little -girl.—Your loving aunt,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I have had my meals with the Staff. Unfortunately, -most of them speak only Russian, but one -man speaks French, and another German. One of the -Sisters speaks English. The man who speaks German -is having English lessons from her. His despair over -the pronunciation is comic. He picked up <cite>Punch</cite> and -showed <em>me</em> <span class="smcap">YOU</span>. So, I said “you.” He repeated it -quite nicely, and then found another <span class="smcap">OU</span>. “Though,” -and when I said “though,” he flung up his hands, -and said, “Why a practical nation like the English -should do things like this!”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -<span class="in_a_bit4">‘S.W.H.,<br /></span> -<span class="smcap">Reni</span>, <i>March 5, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Darling Mary</span>,—We have been having such icy -weather here, such snowstorms sweeping across the -plain. You should see the snowdrifts. One day I -really thought the house would be cut off from the -hospital. The unit going over to Roll was quite a -sight, with the indiarubber boots, and peaked Russian -caps, with the ends twisted round their throats. We -should have thoroughly enjoyed it if it had not been -for the shortage of fuel. However, we were never -absolutely without wood, and now have plenty, as a -Cossack regiment sent a squad of men across the -Danube to cut for us, and we brought it back in our -carts. The Danube is frozen right across—such a -curious sight. The first time in seven years, they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -say—so nice of it to do it just when we are here! I -would not have missed it for anything. The hospital -has only had about forty patients for some time, as there -has been no fighting, and it was just as well when we -were so short of wood. We collected them all into -one ward, and let the other fires out.</p> - -<p>‘The chief of the medical department held an inspection. -That was an inspection! The old gentleman -poked into every corner. Took off the men’s -shirts and looked for lice, turned up the sheets, and -beat the mattresses to look for dust, tasted the men’s -food, and in the end stated we were <i>ochin chesté</i> (very -clean), and that the patients were well cared for -medically and well nursed. All of which was very -satisfactory, but he added that the condition of the -orderlies was disgraceful, and so it was. I hadn’t -realised they were my job. However, I told him -next time he came he should not find one single louse. -He was very amused and pleased.</p> - -<p>‘Dr. Laird and I have a nice snug little room together. -That is one blessing here, we have plenty of sun. Very -soon it will begin to get quite hot. I woke up on the -1st of March and thought of getting home last year that -day, and two days after waking up in Eve’s dear little -room, with the roses on the roof. Bless all you dear -people.—Ever your loving aunt,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i>March 23, 1917.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘We have been awfully excited and interested in -the news from Petrograd. We heard of it, probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -long after you people at home knew all about it! -It is most interesting to see how everybody is on the -side of the change, from Russian officers, who come -to tea and beam at us, and say, “Heresho” (good) -to the men in the wards. In any case they say we -shall find the difference all over the war area. One -Russian officer, who was here before the news came, -was talking about the Revolution in England two -hundred years ago, and said it was the most interesting -period of European history. “They say all these -ideas began with the French Revolution, but they -didn’t—they began long before in England,” he thought. -He spoke English beautifully, and had had an English -nurse. He had read Milton’s political pamphlets, and -we wondered all the time whether he was thinking -of changes in Russia after the war, but now I wonder -if he knew the changes were coming sooner.</p> - -<p>‘Do you know we have all been given the <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> George -Medal? Prince Dolgourokoff, who is in command -on this front, arrived quite unexpectedly, just after -roll call. The telegram saying he was coming arrived -a quarter of an hour after he left! General Kropensky, -the head of the Red Cross, rushed up, and the Prince -arrived about two minutes after him. He went all -over the hospital, and a member of his gilded staff told -matron he was very pleased with everything. He -decorated two men in the wards with <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> George’s -Medal, and then said he wanted to see us together, -and shook hands with everybody and said, “Thank -you,” and gave each of us a medal too; Dr. Laird’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -was for service, as she had not been under fire. <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> -George’s Medal is a silver one with “For Bravery” on -its back. Our patients were awfully pleased, and inpressed -on us that it carried with it a pension of a rouble -a month for life. We gave them all cigarettes to commemorate -the occasion.</p> - -<p>‘It was rather satisfactory to see how the hospital -looked in its ordinary, and even I was <em>fairly</em> satisfied. -I tell the unit that they must remember that they have -an old maid as commandant, and must live up to it! -I cannot stand dirt, and crooked charts and crumpled -sheets. One Sister, I hear, put it delightfully in a letter -home: “Our C.M.O. is an idealist!” I thought that -was rather sweet; I believe she added, “but she does -appreciate good work.” Certainly, I appreciate hers. -She is in charge of the room for dressings, and it is -one of the thoroughly satisfactory points in the hospital.</p> - -<p>‘The Greek priest came yesterday to bless the -hospital. We put up “Icons” in each of the four -wards. The Russians are a very religious people, and -it seems to appeal to some mystic sense in them. The -priest just put on a stole, green and gold, and came -in his long grey cloak. The two wards open out of -one another, so he held the service in one, the men -all saying the responses and crossing themselves. The -four icons lay on the table before him, with three -lighted candles at the inner comers, and he blessed -water and sprinkled them, and then he sprinkled everybody -in the room. The icons were fixed up in the -corner of the wards, and I bought little lamps to burn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -in front of them, as they always have them. We are -going to have the evening hymn sung every evening at -six o’clock. I heard that first in Serbia from those poor -Russian prisoners, who sang it regularly every evening.</p> - -<p>‘The mud has been literally awful. The night nurses -come up from the village literally wet through, having -dragged one another out of mud holes all the way. -Now, a cart goes down to fetch them each evening. -We have twenty horses and nine carts belonging to -us. I have made Vera Holme master of the horse.</p> - -<p>‘I have heard two delightful stories from the Sisters -who have returned from Odessa. There is a great -rivalry between the Armoured Car men and the British -Red Cross men, about the capabilities of their Sisters. -(We, it appears, are the Armoured Car Sisters!) A -B.R.C. man said their Sisters were so smart they got -a man on to the operating-table five minutes after -the other one went off. Said an Armoured Car man: -“But that’s nothing. The Scottish Sisters get the -second one on before the first one is off.” The other -story runs that there was some idea of the men waiting -all night on a quay, and the men said, “But you -don’t think we are Scottish Sisters, sir, do you?” I -have no doubt that refers to Galatz, where we made -them work all night.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Reni</span>, <i>Easter Day, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘We, all the patients, sick and wounded, belonging -to the Army and Navy, and coming from different -parts of the great, free Russia, who are at present in -your hospital, are filled with feelings of the truest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -respect for you. We think it our duty as citizens on -this beautiful day of Holy Easter to express to you, -highly respected and much beloved Doctor, as well as -to your whole Unit, our best thanks for all the care and -attention you have bestowed upon us. We bow low -and very respectfully before the constant and useful -work which we have seen daily, and which we know -to be for the well-being of our allied countries.</p> - -<p>‘We are quite sure that, thanks to the complete -unity of action of all the allied countries, the hour of -gladness and the triumph of the Allied arms in the cause -of humanity and the honour of nations is near.</p> - -<p>‘<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vive l’Angleterre!</i></p> - -<p class="extra_indent"> -‘Russian Soldiers, Citizens, and the Russian Sister,</p> -<p class="bigsig"><span class="smcap">’Vera V. de Kolesnikoff</span>.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Reni</span>, <i>March 2, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Darling Eve</span>,—Very many thanks for the war -prayers. They are a great help on Sundays. The -Archbishop’s prayers that I wanted are the original -ones at the beginning of the war. Just at present -we are very lucky as regards the singing, as there are -three or four capital voices in the unit. We have the -service at 1.30 on Sunday. That lets all the morning -work be finished. I do wonder what has become of -Miss Henderson and the new orderlies! And the -equipment! We want them all so badly, not to -speak of my cool uniform. That will be needed very -soon I think. It is so delicious to feel warm again. -We are having glorious weather, so sunny and warm.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -All the snow has gone, and the mud is appalling. I -thought I knew the worst mud could do in Serbia, -but it was nothing to this. We have made little tiled -paths all about our domain, and keep comparatively -clean there. I wish we could take over the lot of -buildings. The other day I thought I had made a -great score, and bought two thousand poud of wood at -a very small price. It was thirty-five versts out. We -got the Cossacks to lend us transport. But the transport -stuck in the mud, and came back the next day, -having had to haul the empty carts out of mud holes -by harnessing four horses first to one cart and then -to another. It was no wonder I got the wood so -cheap. One of our great difficulties has been fuel.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i>April 18, 1918.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘I am writing this sitting out in my little tent, -with a glorious view over the Danube. We have -pitched some of the tents to relieve the crowding in -the house. They are no longer beautiful and white, -as they were at Medgidia. We have had to stain -them a dirty grey colour, so as to hide them from -aeroplanes. Yesterday, we had an awful gale, and -a downpour of rain, and the tents stood splendidly, -and not a drop of water came through. Miss Pleister -and the Austrian orderly who helped her to pitch -them are triumphant. Do get our spy-incident, -from the office. My dear, they thought we were -spies. We had an awful two days, but it is quite a -joke to look back on. The unit were most thoroughly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -and Britishly angry. Quite rightly. But I very -soon saw the other side, and managed to get them -in hand once more. General Kropensky, our chief, -was a perfect brick. The armoured car section sent -a special despatch rider over to Galatz to fetch him, -and he came off at once. He talks perfect English, -and he has since written me a charming letter saying -our <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sang-froid</i> and our <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">savoir-faire</i> saved the situation. -I am afraid there was not much <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sang-froid</i> among us, -but some of us managed to keep hold of our common -sense. As I told the girls, in common fairness they -must look at the other side—spy fever raging, a foreign -hospital right on the front, and a Revolution in progress. -I told them, even if they did not care about Russia, -I supposed they cared about the war and England, -and I wondered what effect it would have on all these -Russian soldiers if we went away with the thing not -cleared up, and still under suspicion. After all, the -ordinary Russian soldier knows nothing about England, -except in the very concrete form of <em>us</em>. We should -have played right into the devil’s hands if we had -gone away. Of course, they saw it at once, and we -stuck to our guns for England’s sake. The 6th Army, -I think, understands that England, as represented by -this small unit, is keen on the war, and does not spy! -We have had a telegram from the General in command, -apologising, and our patients have been perfectly angelic. -And the men from all regiments round come up to the -out-patients’ department, and are most grateful and -punctiliously polite. So all is well that ends well.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘We had a very interesting Easter. You know the -Russian greeting on Easter morning, “Christ is risen,” -and the answer, “He is risen indeed.” We learnt -them both, and made our greetings in Russian fashion. -On Easter Eve we went to the church in the village. -The service is at midnight. The church was crowded -with soldiers—very few women there. They were -most reverent and absorbed outside in the courtyards. -It was a very curious scene; little groups of -people with lighted candles waiting to get in. Here, -we had a very nice Easter service. My “choir” -had three lovely Easter hymns, and we even sang -the Magnificat. One of the armoured car men, on his -way from Galatz to Belgrade, stayed for the service, -and it was nice to have a man’s voice in the singing. -We gave our patients Easter eggs and cigarettes. -Except that we are very idle, we are very happy here. -Our patients are delightful, the hospital in good order. -The Steppe is a fascinating place to wander over, -the little valleys, and the villages hidden away in -them, and the flowers! We have been riding our -transport horses—rather rough, but quite nice and -gentle. We all ride astride of course.</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> - -<p class="center gap">‘<i>On Active Service.</i></p> -<p class="noindent smaller">‘To Mrs. <span class="smcap">Flinders Petrie</span>,<br /> -<span class="after_to">Hon. Sec., Scottish Women’s Hospitals.</span></p> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Reni</span>, <i>May 8, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘<span class="smcap">Dear Mrs. Petrie</span>,—How perfectly splendid about -the Egyptologists. Miss Henderson brought me your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -message, saying how splendidly they are subscribing. -That is of course all due to you, you wonderful woman. -It was such a tantalising thing to hear that you had -actually thought of coming out as an Administrator, -and that you found you could not. I cannot tell you -how splendid it would have been if you could have -come.... I want “a woman of the world” ... and -I want an adaptable person, who will talk to the -innumerable officers who swarm about this place, -and ride with the girls, and manage the officials!</p> - -<p>‘I do wish you could see our hospital now. It really -is quite nice. Such a nice story:—Matron was in -Reni the other day, seeing the Commandant of the town -about some things for the hospital, and when she came -out she found a crowd of Russian soldiers standing -round her house. They asked her if she had got what -she wanted, and she said the Commandant was going -to see about it. Whereupon the men said, “The Commandant -must be told that the Scottish Hospital -(<i>Schottlandsche bolnitza</i>) is the best hospital on this -front, and must have whatever it wants. That is -the opinion of the Russian Soldier.” Do you recognise -the echo of the big reverberation that has shaken -Russia. We get on awfully well with the Russian -soldier. Two of our patients were overheard talking -the other day, and they said, “The Russian Sisters -are pretty but not good, and the English Sisters are -good and not pretty.” The story was brought up -to the mess-room by quite a nice-looking girl who had -overheard it. But we thought we’d let the judgment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -stand and be like Kingsley’s “maid”—though we -<em>don’t</em> undertake to endorse the Russian part of it!</p> - -<p>‘We have got some of the <i>personnel</i> tents pitched -now, and it is delightful. It was rather close quarters -in the little house. I am writing in my tent now, -looking out over the Danube. Such a lovely place, -Reni is—and the Steppe is fascinating with its wide -plains and little unexpected valleys full of flowers. -We have some glorious rides over it. The other night -our camp was the centre of a fight. Only a sham -one! They are drilling recruits here, and suddenly -the other night we found ourselves being defended -by one party while another attacked from the Steppe. -The battle raged all night, and the camp was finally -carried at four o’clock in the morning amid shouts and -cheers and barking of dogs. It was even too much -for me, and I have slept through bombardments.</p> - -<p>‘It has been so nice hearing about you all from Miss -Henderson. How splendidly the money is coming in. -Only <em>one</em> thing, dear Mrs. Petrie, <em>do</em> make them send -the reliefs more quickly. I know all about boats, -but, as you knew the orderlies had to leave on the -15th of January, the reliefs ought to have been off -by the 1st.</p> - -<p>‘I wish you could hear the men singing their evening -hymn in hospital. They have just sung it. I am so -glad we thought of putting up the icons for them.</p> - -<p>‘Good-bye for the present, dear Mrs. Petrie. My -kindest regards to Professor Flinders Petrie.—Ever -yours affectionately,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -<span class="smcap">Elsie Maud Inglis</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i>May 11, 1917.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘It was delightful seeing Miss Henderson, and -getting news of all you dear people. She took two -months over the journey. But she did arrive with -all her equipment. The equipment I wired for in -October, and which was sent out by itself, arrived in -Petrograd, got through to Jassy, and has there stuck. -We have not got a single thing, and the Consuls have -done their best.</p> - -<p>‘Mr. French, one of the chaplains in Petrograd, came -here. He said he would have some services here. -We pitched a tent, and we had the Communion. It -was a joy. I have sent down a notice to the armoured -car yacht, and I hope some of the men will come up. -We and they are the only English people here.</p> - -<p>‘The Serbs have sent me a message saying we may -have to rejoin our Division soon. I don’t put too -much weight on this, because I know my dearly beloved -Serbs, and their habit of saying the thing they -think you would like, but still we are preparing. I -shall be very sorry to leave our dear little hospital -here, and the Russians. They are a fascinating people, -especially the common soldier. I hope that as we have -done this work for the Russians and therefore have -some little claim on them, it will help us to get things -more easily for the Serbs. We have one little laddie -in, about ten years old, the most amusing brat. He -was wounded by an aeroplane bomb in a village seven -versts out, and was sent into Reni to a hospital. But,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -when he got there he found the hospital was for sick only -(a very inferior place!), so he proceeded on to us. He -wanders about with a Russian soldier’s cap on his head -and wrapped round with a blanket, and we hear his -pretty little voice singing to himself all over the place.</p> - -<p>‘Nicolai, the man who came in when the hospital -was first opened, and has been so very ill, is really -getting better. He had his dressing left for two days -for the first time the other day, and his excitement and -joy were quite pathetic. “<i>Ochin heroshe doktorutza, -ochin herosho</i>” (Very good, dear doctor, very good), he -kept saying, and then he added, “Now, I know I am -not going to die!” Poor boy, he has nearly died -several times, and would have died if he had not had -English Sisters to nurse him. He has been awfully -naughty—the wretch. He bit one of the Sisters one -day when she tried to give him his medicine. Now, -he kisses my hand to make up. The other day I -ordered massage for his leg, and he made the most -awful row, howled and whined, and declared it would -hurt (really, he has had enough pain to destroy anybody’s -nerve), and then suddenly pointed to a Sister -who had come in, and said what she had done for him -was the right thing. I asked what she had done for -him; “Massaged his leg,” she said. I got that promptly -translated into Russian, and the whole room roared -with laughter. Poor Nicolai—after a minute, he joined -in. His home is in Serbia, “a very nice home with a -beautiful garden.” His mother is evidently the important -person there. His father is a smith, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -had meant to be a smith too, but now he has got the -<abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> George’s Cross, which carries with it a pension of six -roubles a month, and he does not think he will do any -work at all. He is the eldest of the family, twenty-four -years old, and has three sisters, and a little brother -of five. Can’t you imagine how he was spoilt! and how -proud they are of him now, only twenty-four, and a -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">sous-officier</i>, and been awarded the <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> George’s Cross -which is better than the medal; and been wounded, -four months in hospital, and had three operations! -He has been so ill I am afraid the spoiling continued -in the Scottish Women’s Hospital. Dr. Laird says she -would not be his future wife for anything.</p> - -<p>‘We admitted such a nice-looking boy to-day, with -thick, curly, yellow hair, which I had ruthlessly cropped, -against his strong opposition. I doubt if I should have -had the heart, if I had known how ill he was. He will -need a very serious operation. I found him this evening -with tears running silently over his cheeks, a Cossack, -a great big man. His nerve is quite gone. He may -have to go on to Odessa, as a severe operation and -bombs and a nervous breakdown don’t go together. -We will see how he settles down.</p> - -<p>‘We have made friends with lots of the officers; there -is one, also a Cossack, who spends a great part of his -time here. His regiment is at the front, and he has been -left for some special work, and he seems rather lonely. -He is a nice boy, and brings nice horses for us to ride. -We have been having quite a lot of riding, on our own -transport horses too. It is heavenly riding here across<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -the great plain. We all ride astride, and at first we -found the Cossacks’ saddles most awfully uncomfortable, -but now we are quite used to them. Our days fly past -here, and in a sense are monotonous, but I don’t think -we are any of us the worse for a little monotony as an -interlude! Alas! quite fairly often there is a party -at one of the regiments here! The girls enjoy them, -and matron and I chaperone them alternately and -reluctantly. It was quite a rest during Lent when there -were no parties.</p> - -<p>‘The spy incident has quite ended, and we have -won. Matron was in Reni the other day asking the -Commandant about something, and when she came -out she found a little crowd of Russian soldiers round -her house. They asked her if she had got what she -wanted, and she said the Commandant had said he -would see about it. They answered, “The Commandant -must be told that the S.W.H. is the best hospital -on this front, and that it must have everything it -wants.” That is the opinion of the Russian soldier! -If you were here you would recognise the new tone of -the Russian soldier in these days,—but I am glad he -approves of our hospital.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Odessa</span>, <i>June 24, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘I wish you could realise how the little nations, -Serbs and Rumanians and Poles, count on us. What -a comfort it is to them to think we are “the most -tenacious” nation in Europe. In their eyes it all -hangs on us. It is all terrible and awful. I don’t -believe we can disentangle it all in our minds just now.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -The only thing is just to go on doing one’s bit. Because, -one thing is quite clear, Europe won’t be a habitable -place if Germany wins—for anybody.</p> - -<p>‘I think there are going to be a lot of changes here.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i>July 15, 1917.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘I have had German measles! The Consul asked -me what I meant by that at my time of life! The -majority of people say how unpatriotic and Hunnish -of you! Well, a few days off did not do me any harm. -I had a very luxurious time lying in my tent. The -last lot of orderlies brought it out.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Odessa</span>, <i><abbr title="August">Aug.</abbr> 15, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘The work at Reni is coming to an end, and we are -to go to the front with the Serbian Division. I cannot -write about it owing to censors and people. But I am -going to risk this: the Serbs ought to be most awfully -proud. The Russian General on the front is going to -insist on having them “to stiffen up his Russian troops.” -I think you people at home ought to know what -magnificent fighting men these Serbs are, and so -splendidly disciplined, simply worth their weight in -gold. There are only two divisions of them after all. -We have about thirty-five of them in hospital just now -as sanitaries, and they are such a comfort; their quickness -and their devotion is wonderful. The hospital -was full and overflowing when I left—still Russians. -Most of the cases were slight; a great many left hands, -if you know what that <em>means</em>. I don’t think the -British Army does know!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘We had a Red Cross inspecting officer down from -Petrograd. He was very pleased with everything, and -kissed my hand on departing, and said we were doing -great things for the Alliance. I wanted to say many -things, but thought I had better leave it alone.</p> - -<p>‘We are operating at 5 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> now, because the afternoons -are so hot. The other day we began at 5, and -had to go till 4 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> after all.</p> - -<p>‘Matron and I had a delightful ride the other evening. -Just as we had turned for home, an aeroplane appeared, -and the first shot from the anti-aircraft guns close -beside us was too much for our horses, who promptly -bolted. However, there was nothing but the clear -Steppe before us, so we just sat tight and went. After -a little they recovered themselves, and really behaved -very well.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i><abbr title="August">Aug.</abbr> 28.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘You dear, dear people, how sweet of you to send -me a telegram for my birthday. You don’t know how -nice it was to get it and to feel you were thinking of me. -It made me happy for days. Miss G. brought it me -with a very puzzled face, and said, “I cannot quite -make out this telegram.” It was written in Russian -characters. She evidently was not used to people -doing such mad things as telegraphing the “Many -happy returns of the day” half across the world. I -understood it at once, and it nearly made me cry. It -was good to get it, though I think the Food Controller -or somebody ought to come down on you for wasting -money in the middle of a war.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘I am finishing this letter in Reni. We closed the -hospital yesterday, and joined our Division somewhere -on Friday. The rush that had begun before I got to -Odessa got much worse. They had an awfully busy -time, a faint reminiscence of Galatz, though, as they -were operating twelve hours on end, I don’t know it -was so very faint. We had no more left hands, but all -the bad cases. Everybody worked magnificently, but -they always do in a push. The time a British unit -goes to pieces is when there is nothing to do!</p> - -<p>‘So this bit of work ends, eight months. I am quite -sorry to leave it, but quite quite glad to get back to -our Division.</p> - -<p>‘Well, Amy dearest, good-bye for the present. I -wonder what will happen next! Love to all you dear -people.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"><span class="in_a_bit5">‘S.W.H.,<br /></span> -‘<span class="smcap">Hadji Abdul</span>, <i><abbr title="October">Oct.</abbr> 17, 1917</i>.</p> - -<p>‘I wonder if this is my last letter from Russia! We -hope to be off in a very few days now. We have had a -very pleasant time in this place with its Turkish name. -It shows how far north Turkey once came. We are -with the Division, and were given this perfectly beautiful -camping-ground, with trees, and a slope towards -the east. The question was whether we were going -to Rumania or elsewhere. It is nice being back with -these nice people. They have been most kind and -friendly, and we have picnics and rides and <em>dances</em>, -and dinners, and till this turmoil of the move began we -had an afternoon reception every day under the walnut<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -trees! Now, we are packed up and ready to go, and -I mean to walk in on you one morning. It does not -stand thinking of!</p> - -<p>‘We shall have about two months to refit, but one -of those is my due as a holiday, <em>which I am going to -take</em>. I’ll see you all soon.—Your loving aunt,</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Elsie</span>.’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<p class="to center gap"><i>To Mrs. Simson</i></p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<span class="smcap">Archangel</span>, <i><abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 18, 1917</i>. -</p> - -<p>‘On our way home. Have not been very well; -nothing to worry about. Shall report in London, then -come straight to you. Longing to see you all.</p> - -<p class="signed"> -‘<span class="smcap">Inglis.</span>’ -</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> - -<h2 title="CHAPTER XI: THE MOORINGS CUT">CHAPTER <abbr title="11">XI</abbr><br /> - -<span class="sub_head">THE MOORINGS CUT</span></h2> - -<div class="chapter_poem"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Not I, but my Unit.’</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘My dear Unit, good-bye.’—<abbr title="November">Nov.</abbr> 26, 1917.</div> - <div class="p_line_i26">E. M. I.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Into the wide deep seas which we call God</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">You plunged.</div> - <div class="p_line_i16">This is not death,</div> - <div class="p_line_i0">You seemed to say, but fuller life.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">The</span> reports of Dr. Inglis as chief medical officer to -the London Committee were as detailed and foreseeing -in the very last one that she wrote as in the -first from on board the transport that took her and -her unit out. She writes:—‘In view of the fact -that we are in the middle of big happenings I should -like Dr. Laird to bring ½ ton cotton wool, six bales -moss dressings, 100 lb. chloroform, 50 lb. ether, -20 gallons rectified spirits. I wonder what news of -the river boat for Mesopotamia?’ After they had -landed and were at work:—‘I have wired asking -for another hospital for the base. I know you have -your hands full, but I also know that if the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -at home realise what their help would mean out -here just now, we would not have to ask twice. -And again:—’Keep the home fires burning and -let us feel their warmth.’ She soon encountered -the usual obstacles:—‘I saw that there was no -good in the world talking about regular field -hospitals to them until they had tried our mettle. -The ordinary male disbelief in our capacity cannot -be argued away. It can only be worked away.’ So -she acted. Russia created disbelief, but the men -at arms of all nations saw and believed. In November -she wrote back incredulously:—‘Rumours -of falling back. Things look serious. Anxious -about the equipment.’ In bombardments, in retreat, -and evacuations the equipment was her one -thought. ‘Stand by the equipment’ became a -joke in her unit. On one occasion one of the -orderlies had a heavy fall from a lorry on which she -was in charge of the precious stuff. Dusty and -shaken, she was gathering herself up, when the voice -of the chief rang out imperatively urgent, ‘Stand by -the equipment.’ On the rail certain trucks, bearing -all the equipment, got on a wrong line, and were -carried away:—‘The blue ribbon belongs to Miss -Borrowman and Miss Brown. They saw our wagons -disappearing with a refugee train, whereupon these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -two ran after it and jumped on, and finally brought -the equipment safely to Galatz. They invented a -General Popovitch who would be very angry if it -did not get through. Without those two girls and -their ingenuity, the equipment would not have got -through.’</p> - -<p>She details all the difficulties of packing up and -evacuating after the despatch rider came with the -order that the hospitals were to fall back to Galatz. -The only method their own, all else chaotic and -helpless, working night and day, the unit accomplished -everything. At the station, packed with a -country and army in flight, Dr. Inglis had a talk -with a Rumanian officer. He told her that he had -been in Glasgow, and had there been invited out -to dinner, and had seen ‘English customs.’ ‘It was -good to feel those English customs were still going -on quietly, whatever was happening here, breakfast -coming regularly and hot water for baths, and -everything as it should be. It was probably absurd, -but it came like a great wave of comfort to feel that -England was there quiet and strong and invincible -behind everything and everybody.’</p> - -<p>As we read these natural vivid diary reports, we -too can feel it was good of England that Dr. Inglis -was to the last on that front—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="p_line_i0 quote_first">‘Ambassador from Britain’s Crown,</div> - <div class="p_line_i2">And type of all her race.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Dr. Inglis never lost sight of the Army she went -out to serve. She refused to return unless they -were brought away from the Russian front with her.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I wonder if a proper account of what happened -then went home to the English papers? The Serbian -Division went into the fight 15,000 strong. They were -in the centre—the Rumanians on their left, and the -Russians on their right. The Rumanians broke, and -they fought for twenty-four hours on two fronts. -They came out of the fight, having lost 11,000 men. -It is almost incredible, and that is when we ought to -have been out, and could have been out if we had not -taken so long to get under way.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>In the last Report, dated October 29, 1917, she -tells her Committee she has been ‘tied by the leg -to bed.’ There are notes on coming events:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘There really seems a prospect of getting away soon. -The Foreign Office knows us only too well. Only 6000 -of the Division go in this lot, the rest (15,000) to follow.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>There is a characteristic last touch.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I have asked Miss Onslow to get English paper-back -novels for the unit on their journey. At a certain shop, -they can be got for a rouble each, and good ones.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>To members of that unit, doctors, sisters, orderlies, -we are indebted for many personal details, and for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -the story of the voyage west, when for her the sun -was setting. Her work was accomplished when on -the transport with her and her unit were the representatives -of that Serbian Army with whom she -served, faithful unto death.</p> - -<p>Miss Arbuthnot, the granddaughter of Sir William -Muir, the friend of John Inglis, was one of those -who helped to nurse Dr. Inglis:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘I sometimes looked after her when the Sister attending -her was off duty. Her consideration and kindness -were quite extraordinary, while her will and -courage were quite indomitable. To die as she did -in harness, having completed her great work in getting -the Serbs away from Russia, is what she would have -chosen.</p> - -<p>‘I first met Dr. Inglis at Hadji Abdul, a small mud -village about ten miles from Galatz. She was looking -very ill, but was always busy. For some time she -had been ill with dysentery, but she never even stayed -in bed for breakfast till it was impossible for her to -move from bed.</p> - -<p>‘During our time at Hadji we had about forty Serbian -patients, a few wounded, but mostly sick. Dr. Inglis -did a few minor operations, but her last major one -was a gastro-enterotomy performed on one of our -own chauffeurs, a Serb, Joe, by name. The operation -took three hours and was entirely satisfactory, although -Dr. Inglis did not consider him strong enough to travel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -back to England. She was particularly fond of this -man, and took no end of trouble with him. Even after -she became so very ill she used constantly to visit -him.</p> - -<p>‘The Serbs entertained us to several picnics, which -we duly returned. Dr. Inglis was always an excellent -hostess, so charming and genial to every one, and so -eager that both entertainers and entertained should -equally enjoy themselves. Provided her permission -was asked first, and duty hours or regular meals not -neglected, she was always keen every one should enjoy -themselves riding, walking, or going for picnics. If -any one was ill, she never insisted on their getting -up in spite of everything, as most doctors, and certainly -all matrons, wish us to do. She was strict -during duty hours, and always required implicit -obedience to her orders—whatever they were. She -was always so well groomed—never a hair out of place. -In appearance she was a splendid head. One felt so -proud of her among the dirty and generally unsuitably -dressed women in other hospitals. She was very -independent, and would never allow any of us to wait -on her. The cooks were not allowed to make her -any special dishes that the whole unit could not share. -As long as she could, she messed with the unit, and -there was no possibility of avoiding her quick eye; -anything which was reserved for her special comfort -was rejected. Once, a portion of chicken was kept -as a surprise for her. She asked whether there had -been enough for all, and when the cooks reluctantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -confessed there was only the one portion she sent it -away.</p> - -<p>‘During one of the evacuations, an order had been -given that there were only two blankets allowed in -each valise. Some one, mindful of her weakness, -stuffed an extra one into Dr. Inglis’ bag, because in -her emaciated condition she suffered much from the -cold. It stirred her to impetuous anger, and with -something of the spirit of David, as he poured out the -water brought him at the peril of the lives of his -followers, she flung the blanket out of the railway -carriage, as a lesson to those of her unit who had disobeyed -an order.</p> - -<p>‘Every Sunday Dr. Inglis read the Church service -with great dignity and simplicity. On the weekday -evenings, before she became so ill, she would join -us in a game of bridge, and played nearly every night. -During the retreats when nothing more could be done, -and she felt anxious, she would sit down and play a -game of patience. During the weeks of uncertainty, -when the future of the Serbs was doubtful, and she -was unable to take any active part, she fretted very -much.</p> - -<p>‘After endless conflicting rumours and days of waiting, -the news arrived that they were to go to England. -Her delight was extraordinary, for she had lain in -her bed day after day planning how she could help -them, and sending endless wires to those in authority -in England, but feeling herself very impotent. Once -the good news arrived, her marvellous courage and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -tenacity helped her to recover sufficiently, and prepare -all the details for the journey with the Serbs. We left -on the 29th October, with the H.G. Staff and two -thousand Serbian soldiers, in a special train going to -Archangel.</p> - -<p>‘Dr. Inglis spent fifteen days on the train, in a -second-class compartment, with no proper bed. Her -strength varied, but she was compelled to lie down -a great deal, although she insisted on dressing every -morning. On two occasions she walked for five -minutes on the station platform; each time it absolutely -exhausted her. Though she suffered much pain -and discomfort, she never complained. She could -only have benger, chicken broth and condensed milk, -and she often found it impossible to take even these. -If one happened to bring her tea, or her food, she -thanked one so charmingly.</p> - -<p>‘At Archangel there was no means of carrying her -on to the boat, so with help (one orderly in front, and -one lifting her behind), she climbed a ladder twenty feet -high, from the platform to the deck of the transport. -She was a good sailor, and had a comfortable cabin -on the ship. She improved on board slightly, and -used to sit in the small cabin allotted to us on the -upper deck. She played patience, and was interested -in our sea-sick symptoms. There was a young naval -officer very seriously ill on the boat. Our people -were nursing him, and she constantly went to prescribe; -she feared he would not live, and he died before we -reached our port.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘After some improvement, Dr. Inglis had a relapse; -violent pain set in, and she had to return to bed. Even -then, a few days before we reached England, she -insisted on going through all the accounts, and prepared -fresh plans to take the unit on to join the Serbs -at Salonika. In six weeks she expected to be ready -to start. She sent for each of us in turn, and asked -if we would go with her. Needless to say, only those -who could not again leave home, refused, and then -with the deepest regret. The night before we reached -Newcastle, Dr. Inglis had a violent attack of pain, -and had no sleep all night. Next morning she insisted -on getting up to say good-bye to the Serbian staff.</p> - -<p>‘It was a wonderful example of her courage and -fortitude, to see her standing unsupported—a splendid -figure of quiet dignity. Her face ashen and drawn -like a mask, dressed in her worn uniform coat, with -the faded ribbons that had seen such good service. -As the officers kissed her hand, and thanked her for -all she had done for them, she said to each of -them a few words accompanied with her wonderful -smile.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>As they looked on her, they also must have understood, -‘sorrowing most of all, that they should see -her face no more.’</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘After that parting was over, Dr. Inglis collapsed -from great weakness. She left the boat Sunday afternoon, -25th November, and arrived quite exhausted -at the hotel. I was allowed to see her for a minute<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> -before the unit left for London that night. She could -only whisper, but was as sweet and patient as she ever -was. She said we should meet soon in London.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>After her death, many who had watched her -through these strenuous years, regretted that she -did not take more care of herself. Symptoms of -the disease appeared so soon, she must have known -what overwork and war rations meant in her state. -This may be said of every follower of the One who -saved others, but could not save Himself. The -life story of Saint and Pioneer is always the same. -To continue to ill-treat ‘brother body’ meant death -to <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Francis; to remain in the fever swamps of -Africa meant death to Livingstone. The poor, and -the freedom of the slave, were the common cause -for which both these laid down their lives. Of the -same spirit was this daughter of our race. Had she -remained at home on her return from Serbia she -might have been with us to-day, but we should not -have the woman we now know, and for whom we -give thanks on every remembrance of her.</p> - -<p>The long voyage ended at last. Miss Arbuthnot -makes no allusion to its dangers. Everything -written by the ‘unit’ is instinct with the high -courage of their leader. We know now how great -were the perils surrounding the transports on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -North seas. Old, and unseaworthy, the menace -below, the storm above, through the night of the -Arctic Circle, she was safely brought to the haven -where all would be. More than once death in open -boats was a possibility to be faced; there were seven -feet of water in the engine-room, and only the stout -hearts of her captain and crew knew all the dangers -of their long watch and ward. As the transport -entered the Tyne a blizzard swept over the country. -We who waited for news on shore wondered where -on the cold grey seas laboured the ship bringing -home ‘Dr. Elsie and her unit.’</p> - -<p>In her last hours she told her own people of the -closing days on board:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘When we left Orkney we had a dreadful passage, -and even after we got into the river it was very rough. -We were moored lower down, and, owing to the high -wind and storm, a big liner suddenly bore down upon us, -and came within a foot of cutting us in two, when our -moorings broke, we swung round, and were saved. I -said to the one who told me—“Who cut our moorings?” -She answered, “No one cut them, they broke.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>There was a pause, and then to her own she -broke the knowledge that she had heard the call -and was about to obey the summons.</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘The same hand who cut our moorings then is -cutting mine now, and I am going forth.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> - -<p>Her niece Evelyn Simson notes how they heard -of the arrival:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>‘A wire came on Friday from Aunt Elsie, saying -they had arrived in Newcastle. We tried all -Saturday to get news by wire and ’phone, but got -none. We think now this was because the first -news came by wireless, and they did not land till -Sunday.</p> - -<p>‘Aunt Elsie answered our prepaid wire, simply -saying, “I am in bed, do not telephone for a few days.” -I was free to start off by the night train, and arrived -about 2 <span class="smcap">A.M.</span> at Newcastle. I found the S.W.H. were -at the Station Hotel, and I saw Aunt Elsie’s name in the -book. I did not like to disturb her at that hour, and -went to my room till 7.30. I found her alone; the night -nurse was next door. She was surprised to see me, -as she thought it would be noon before any one could -arrive. She looked terribly wasted, but she gave me -such a strong embrace that I never thought the illness -was more than what might easily be cured on land, with -suitable diet.</p> - -<p>‘I felt her pulse, and she said. “It is not very good, -Eve dear, I know, for I have a pulse that beats in my -head, and I know it has been dropping beats all night.” -She wanted to know all about every one, and we had a -long talk before any one came in. She told me how -good Dr. Ward had been to her, always, and we arranged -that Dr. Ethel Williams should come. Aunt Elsie -then packed me off to get some breakfast, and Dr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -Ward told me she was much worse than she had been -the night before.</p> - -<p>‘I telephoned to Edinburgh saying she was “very -ill.” When Dr. Williams came, I learnt that there -was practically no hope of her living. They started -injections and oxygen, and Aunt Elsie said, “Now -don’t think we didn’t think of all these things before, -but on board ship nothing was possible.”</p> - -<p>‘It was not till Dr. Williams’ second visit that she -asked me if the doctor thought “this was the end.” -When she saw that it was so, she at once said, without -pause or hesitation, “Eve, it will be grand starting a new -job over there,”—then, with a smile, “although there -are two or three jobs here I would like to have finished.” -After this her whole mind seemed taken up with the -sending of last messages to her committees, units, -friends, and relations. It simply amazed me how she -remembered every one down to her grand-nieces and -nephews. When I knew mother and Aunt Eva were -on their way, I told her, and she was overjoyed. Early -in the morning she told me wonderful things about -bringing back the Serbs. I found it very hard to -follow, as it was an unknown story to me. I clearly -remember she went one day to the Consul in Odessa, -and said she must wire certain things. She was told -she could only wire straight to the War Office—“and -so I got into touch straight with the War Office.”</p> - -<p>‘Mrs. M‘Laren at one moment commented—“You -have done magnificent work.” Back swiftly came her -answer, “Not I, but my unit.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<p>‘Mrs. M‘Laren says: ‘Mrs. Simson and I arrived at -Newcastle on Monday evening. It was a glorious -experience to be with her those last two hours. She -was emaciated almost beyond recognition, but all sense -of her bodily weakness was lost in the grip one felt of -the strong alert spirit, which dominated every one in -the room. She was clear in her mind, and most loving -to the end. The words she greeted us with were—“So, -I am going over to the other side.” When she saw we -could not believe it, she said, with a smile, “For a -long time I <em>meant</em> to live, but now I <em>know</em> I am going.” -She spoke naturally and expectantly of going over. -Certainly she met the unknown with a cheer! As the -minutes passed she seemed to be entering into some -great experience, for she kept repeating, “This is -wonderful—but this is wonderful.” Then, she would -notice that some one of us was standing, and she would -order us to sit down—another chair must be brought -if there were not enough. To the end, she would revert -to small details for our comfort. As flesh and heart -failed, she seemed to be breasting some difficulty, and -in her own strong way, without distress or fear, she -asked for help, “You must all of you help me through -this.” We repeated to her many words of comfort. -Again and again she answered back, “I know.” One, -standing at the foot of the bed, said to her, “You will -give my love to father”; instantly the humorous smile -lit her face, and she answered, “Of course I will.”</p> - -<p>‘At her own request her sister read to her words of -the life beyond—“Let not your heart be troubled—In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not -so I would have told you,” and, even as they watched -her, she fell on sleep.</p> - -<p>‘After she had left us, there remained with those -that loved her only a great sense of triumph and -perfect peace. The room seemed full of a glorious -presence. One of us said, “This is not death; it -makes one wish to follow after.”’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>As ‘We’ waited those anxious weeks for the -news of the arrival of Dr. Inglis and her Army, there -were questionings, how we should welcome and show -her all love and service. The news quickly spread -she was not well—might be delayed in reaching -London; the manner of greeting her must be to -ensure rest.</p> - -<p>The storm had spent itself, and the moon was -riding high in a cloudless heaven, when others -waiting in Edinburgh on the 26th learnt the news -that she too had passed through the storm and -shadows, and had crossed the bar.</p> - -<p>That her work here was to end with her life had -not entered the minds of those who watched for her -return, overjoyed to think of seeing her face once -more. She had concealed her mortal weakness so -completely, that even to her own the first note of -warning had come with the words that she had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -landed, but was in bed:—‘then we thought it was -time one of us should go to her.’</p> - -<p>Her people brought her back to the city of her -fathers, and to the hearts who had sent her forth, -and carried her on the wings of their strong confidence. -There was to be no more going forth of -her active feet in the service of man, and all that -was mortal was carried for the last time into the -church she had loved so well. Then we knew and -understood that she had been called where His -servants shall serve Him.</p> - -<p>The Madonna lilies, the lilies of France and of the -fields, were placed around her. Over her hung the -torn banners of Scotland’s history. The Scottish -women had wrapped their country’s flag around -them in one of their hard-pressed flights. On her -coffin, as she lay looking to the East in high <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> -Giles’, were placed the flags of Great Britain and -Serbia.</p> - -<p>She had worn ‘the faded ribbons’ of the orders -bestowed on her by France, Russia, and Serbia. It -has often been asked at home and abroad why she -had received no decorations at the hands of her -Sovereign. It is not an easy question to answer.</p> - -<p>On November the 29th, Dr. Inglis was buried, -amid marks of respect and recognition which make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -that passing stand alone in the history of the last -rites of any of her fellow-citizens. Great was the -company gathered within the church. The chancel -was filled by her family and relatives—her Suffrage -colleagues, representatives from all the societies, -the officials of the hospitals and hostels she had -founded at home, the units whom she had led and -by whose aid she had done great things abroad. -Last and first of all true-hearted mourners the people -of Serbia represented by their Minister and members -of the Legation. The chief of the Scottish Command -was present, and by his orders military honours were -paid to this happy warrior of the Red Cross.</p> - -<p>The service had for its keynote the Hallelujah -Chorus, which was played as the procession left <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> -Giles’. It was a thanksgiving instinct with triumph -and hope. The Resurrection and the Life was in -prayer and praise. The Dean of the Order of the -Thistle revealed the thoughts of many hearts in -his farewell words:—</p> -<blockquote> - -<p>‘We are assembled this day with sad but proud -and grateful hearts to remember before God a very -dear and noble lady, our beloved sister, Elsie Inglis, -who has been called to her rest. We mourn only for -ourselves, not for her. She has died as she lived, in the -clear light of faith and self-forgetfulness, and now her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -name is linked for ever with the great souls who have -led the van of womanly service for God and man. A -wondrous union of strength and tenderness, of courage -and sweetness, she remains for us a bright and noble -memory of high devotion and stainless honour. -Especially to-day, in the presence of representatives of -the land for which she died, we think of her as an -immortal link between Serbia and Scotland, and as a -symbol of that high courage which will sustain us, -please God, till that stricken land is once again restored, -and till the tragedy of war is eradicated and crowned -with God’s great gifts of peace and of righteousness.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>The buglers of the Royal Scots sounded ‘the -Reveille to the waking morn,’ and the coffin with -the Allied flags was placed on the gun carriage. -Women were in the majority of the massed crowd -that awaited the last passing. ‘Why did they no -gie her the V.C.?’ asked the shawl-draped women -holding the bairns of her care: these and many -another of her fellow-citizens lined the route and -followed on foot the long road across the city. As -the procession was being formed, Dr. Inglis’ last -message was put into the hands of the members of -the London Committee for S.W.H. It ran:—</p> - -<blockquote> -<p class="address_date"> -‘<i>November 26, 1917.</i> -</p> - -<p>‘So sorry I cannot come to London. Dr. Williams -and Dr. Ward are agreed, and quite rightly. Will send<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -Gwynn in a day or two with explanations and suggestions. -Colonel Miliantinovitch and Colonel Tcholah -Antitch were to make appointment this week or next -from Winchester; do see them, and also as many of the -committee as possible and show them every hospitality. -They have been very kind to us, and whatever happens, -dear Miss Palliser, do beg the Committee to make sure -that they (the Serbs) have their hospitals and transport, -for they do need them.</p> - -<p>‘Many thanks to the Committee for their kindness -to me and their support of me.</p> - -<p class="signed">‘<span class="smcap">Elsie Inglis.</span></p> - -<p>‘Dictated to Miss Evelyn Simson.’</p> -</blockquote> - -<p>How the people loved her! was the thought, as -she passed through the grief-stricken crowds. -These, who knew her best, smiled as they said one -to another, ‘How all this would surprise her!’</p> - -<p>Edinburgh is a city of spires and of God’s acres, -the graves cut in the living rock, within gardens and -beside running waters. Across the Water of Leith -the long procession wound its way. Within sight -of the grave, it was granted to her grateful brethren, -the representatives of the Serbian nation, to carry -her coffin, and lower it to the place where the mortal -in her was to lie in its last rest. Her life’s story was -grouped around her—the Serbian officers, the military -of her own nation at war, the women comrades<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -of the common cause, the poor and suffering—to -one and all she had been the inspiring succourer.</p> - -<p class="space_below">November mists had drifted all day across the -city, veiling the fortress strength of Scotland, and -the wild wastes of seas over which she had returned -home to our island strength. Even as we turned -and left her, the grey clouds at eventide were transfused -and glorified by the crimson glow of the -sunset on the hills of Time.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="printed_by">Printed in Great Britain by T. and A. <span class="smcap">Constable</span>, Printers to His Majesty -at the Edinburgh University Press</p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="transnote"> - -<h2 title=""><a name="end-tn" id="end-tn">Transcriber’s Note</a></h2> - <p class="covernote">The cover image was created by the transcriber, and is placed in the public domain. - The design for the book cover mentioned in the <a href="#Page_vii" title="Page_vii">Preface</a> was not available to the transcriber.</p> - -<p>Illustrations have been moved to be near the text they illustrate.</p> - -<p>Variant spelling is retained.</p> - -<p>A very few changes have been made to punctuation for consistency.</p> - -<p>On <a href="#Page_210" title="">page 210</a> “C’état” has been changed to “C’était” in “C’était magnifique, -magnifique! Ils sont les héros”. -</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DR. ELSIE INGLIS***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 51410-h.htm or 51410-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/4/1/51410">http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/4/1/51410</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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