Angels of Mercy in our Midst

…We left Kingston on the 7th of Dec. at 1 p.m.  We had a lovely parlor car all to ourselves, which to me was grand, as we do not have such luxuries on the Whitby and Manilla line.  We arrived in Montreal at 6.30 and had our supper at the station.  I was sorry it was dark as I would have liked a glimpse of Montreal.  Our train left at 8 p.m.  All we could see were the lights from across the lake from the mountain top, which was a pretty sight.  We were not very far on when the night porter came along and prepared our berths for us.  As there was nothing else to do we retired, but not to sleep much.  We were rocked all night, and I was glad to see day break, in Quebec.  We rose early in case we might be missing something worth seeing.  The scenery was very nice and quite interesting all through the lower provinces.  It was quite interesting to note the different places as we went along.  We arrived at Moncton, N.B., at 6 p.m., and much to our pleasure and surprise we found that luncheon was waiting for us.  Some kind officer had wired ahead, stating our arrival.  We had two hours’ wait there, so we went for a walk around the town.  Nearly every one we would meet gazed at us.  I think they must have taken us for a band of lady police.  Evidently they had never seen the Nursing Sister’s uniform before.  At 8 p.m. we again boarded our train, and arrived at St. John at 10:30 p.m., Friday night, twenty-six tired girls.  Major Gen. De Grossie met us at the station and took us up to the Royal Hotel, where we spent the night.  Personally speaking I was glad to crawl into a bed that didn’t rock, and knew no more until day break.  We went on board the Missinobia at 12 p.m.  She was a lovely boat, well equipped in every way, and everything we could desire was provided for our comfort.  We did not leave St. John till 11 p.m.  We all stood on deck and watched our boat slowly wending its way out from the harbor.  For many of us it was a solemn hour, each moment taking us farther away from Canadian soil and our dear home land.  Not knowing just when we may return.

  On Sunday morning I was out on deck early to find myself out of sight of land and all that one could see was sky and sea.  We had church service in the dining hall at 11 a.m.  We were well entertained all the way, music, singing and card playing and concerts on different evenings.  In the day time I enjoyed being on deck if it was not too cold, taking in the sea breezes.  We had a splendid voyage, no storms or fogs worth mentioning.  Some nights the wind was quite high.  We would have to prop ourselves in our berths and hang on to our straps in case of a tumble, but that was all.  Everybody seemed to be perfectly happy.  You would never think we were having war, or that we were in any danger.  On our last Sunday our captain and crew put in an anxious time as they received a wireless message that several submarines were near us.  We were all warned to carry our life belts and the course of our trip was changed.  The Captain told us afterwards that it was the narrowest escape he had ever had, and I can assure you we all felt very thankful to know we were safe.  It would have been a terrible panic– so many mothers and children on board.  On Monday morning, our last day, we came in sight of land along the north coast of Ireland.  Everybody was on deck.  It was grand– a perfect picture.  No one but an artist could describe its beauty, fields of green and brown, each divided by hedges (no fences in England), snow on the mountain tops and little white cottages dotted here and there.  Then we came to the Isle of Man, and its large light house out from its shores, and in the distance you could see the Scottish hills.  We were met by convoys on Monday.  Everywhere you would look you could see boats far and near and it was quite a treat after a whole week of silence on the ocean.  We arrived at Liverpool at 9.30 p.m., very dark, could see nothing.  We were not allowed to leave the boat that night, quite a different feeling, our journey over and still a bed to sleep in instead of being rocked to sleep.  Tuesday morning we were up early, and anxious to see Liverpool.  We found it covered with snow and the sun shining looking quite Canadian like.  Our train left Liverpool at 12.30, noon, reaching London 6 p.m.  I quite enjoyed the train trip and such funny trains.  Little engines, and the coaches are divided into compartments, each part holding 6 passengers.  The country in England is simply grand.  I could not begin to describe it on paper.  The only thing I missed was the fences and barns.  I never saw a barn anywhere along the way.  On arriving in London we were met by Nursing Sisters in charge, and taken to the Kingsley Hotel.  Oh, how strange we did feel going through the streets of that vast city in total darkness, only an odd street light, and it was shaded.  We were royally received in London and told that we were the best Xmas box they could receive, so you will have some idea of the need of nurses.  We only had a day in London, so we did not see much of it as the greater portion of the time was taken up with business matters.  On Thursday p.m. seven of us left for Shorncliffe.  So, here I am after almost two weeks’ steady travelling and looking back to you all at home the world does not seem so large after all…