June 3 [1918]
Dear Family,
This is certainly a very interesting life -- I would
not miss all the Experiences that we are having
now for anything but I suppose that I will
have to wait until I get home to tell you
all about it. As you can see by the papers we
have all been working hard, but it is a
satisfactory feeling to see your unit come up to
scratch: no complaints, no friction, and none
of the Endless petty troubles which are always
upsetting when people have time to think about
them. I hate having to write in the abstract
but you ought to be able to draw your own
conclusions, & you can picture me as one of
the lucky people who was in a vital spot &
has been able to help when the push came.
I have been kicking my heels & frothing at
the mouth because I am so untrained & can
help so little; of course it means that those who
are Experienced are called upon to do Everything
& work long overtime. I have been once or twice
in the hospital & I intend to force myself in
hereafter & learn something because there are
several sterilization jobs which only take a
certain technical knowledge which I might
learn & thereby relieve some of the others a
little. Mrs. Daly won't allow me
there much
because she likes to have me ready always to
run Errands in the Ford, see about the supplies
etc; of course that & housekeeping is almost
a job in itself but when I have calm
moments it mortifies me to think how
much more the nurses work than I. Agnes
does not go into the hospital either because
she has the three Fiats to look after -- our
yet so Agnes has about all she can
handle, especially now when we are using
her cars quite steadily.
I am very pleased with myself because
yesterday I fixed the steering shaft on the
Ford all by myself. I had never done such
a thing before but it was thoroughly broken
& had to be fixed. Agnes
& Every chauffeur in
the place were off, so I put on my duster
& old hat, crawled under the car & strange
to say managed to change the rod & replace
it correctly -- quite a triumph for me in
my own mind although as a matter of
fact it was a very simple operation.
It might interest you to know that
seeing blood has not the same Effect
upon me as it used to. I can't say
that I am anywhere near a hardened
anything red & I can Even look straight
at a hole in a man's back without flinching --
I don't say this in a boasting way & I have
no right to talk because I have done really
nothing in the nursing line. Nevertheless it
makes your heart ache to see the awful
things the men have to bear & I am
miserable when I think what an
ass I am & how little I can relieve
them. Mrs. Daly is a wonder; she can work
days & nights without stopping; one minute
she will be scrubbing the floor of an
operating room, the next dictating to a
general, and so on -- no one cares what
menial work they do so long as it helps
to keep things going.
We have a little girl, aged 4, in the
hospital now who was wounded by a
bomb -- when she was first brought in she
was such a contrast with her little light
curls to all the dirty wounded soldiers. Luckily
she is not very bad. Mimi Scott cut up a
chemise & made her a sweet little
night gown; she & her nurse, also wounded,
have a room at the End of a ward, &
it is a continual reception all day long
from the orderlies who go in to look at
her. The mother died in the ambulance.
I am just telling you this story although
you have read about thousands of them
because it happened right here & touched
us intimately.
I am in no more danger here than
anywhere Else, so do not worry. Life is too
interesting & too full to borrow trouble; we
take
all necessary precautions, & we go ahead with
you do?
I just received a package of underclothes
from home, it was most gratefully
appreciated as I was on my last of
Everything with no particular prospect of
getting any more.
from