There were mews somewhere in the vicinity, and I could smell the horses and even hear them champing in their stalls!  I loved that, and would lie with my eyes shut, drinking it in, imagining I was back in the stables in far away Cumberland, sitting on the old corn bin listening to Jimmy Jardine’s wonderful tales of how the horses “came back” to him in the long ago days of his youth.  When they cleaned out the stables I had my window pulled right up!  “Fair sick it makes me,” called my neighbour from the next room, but I was quite happy.  Obviously everyone can’t be satisfied in this world!

The doctor was of the “bluff and hearty” species and, on entering the first morning, had exclaimed, in a hail-fellow-well-met tone, “So you’re the young lady who’s had her leg chopped off, are you? ha, ha!” Hardly what one might call tactful, what?  I withdrew my hand and put it behind my back.  In time though we became fairly good friends, but how I longed to be back in France again!

Being a civilian hospital they were short-staffed.  “Everyone seems mad on war work,” said one sister to me peevishly, “they seem to forget there are civilians to nurse,” and she flounced out of the room.

A splendid diversion was caused one day when the Huns came over in full force (thirty to forty Gothas) in a daylight raid.  I was delighted!  This was something I really did understand.  It was topping to hear the guns blazing away once more.  Everyone in the place seemed to be ringing their electric bells, and, afraid I might miss something, I put my finger on mine and held it there.  Presently the matron appeared:  “You can’t be taken to the cellar,” she said, “it’s no good being nervous, you’re as safe here as anywhere!” “It wasn’t that,” I said, “I wondered if I might have a wheel chair and go along the corridor to see them.”  “Rubbish,” said she, “I never heard of such a thing,” and she hurried on to quiet the patient in the next room.  But by dint of screwing myself half on to a chair near the window I did just get a glimpse of the sky and saw about five of the Huns manoeuvring.  Good business!

One of the things I suffered from most, was visitors whom I had never seen in my life before.  There would be a tap at the door; enter lady, beautifully dressed and a large smile.  The opening sentence was invariably the same.  “You won’t know who I am, but I’m Lady L——­, Miss so-and-so’s third cousin.  She told me all about you, and I thought I really must come and have a peep.”  Enters and subsides into chair near bed smiling sweetly, and in nine cases out of ten jiggles toes against it, which jars one excessively.  “You must have suffered terribly!  I hear your leg was absolutely crushed!  And now tell me all about it!  Makes you rather sick to talk of it?  Fancy that!  Conscious all the time, dear me!  What you must have gone through! (Leg gives one of its jumps.) Whatever was that?  Only keeping your knee from getting