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18 THE
The Family
FAITH AND DUTY.
Faith and Duty, earth's evangels,
Smile upon our mortal way.
Faith looks up to catch each sunbeam,
Duty plucks the thorns away;
Faith creates the balm of healing?
Grants the gift of heavenly grace.
Duty smooths the careworn furrows
Time and sorrow always trace.
Faith looks up for more of beauty
In the sunshine overhead,
Duty toils to clear the pathway
That our weary feet must tread;
Faith would soar above earth's sorrows?
Look beyond the toil and tears.
Duty lifts the cross nor falters
'Neath its burden through the years.
Faith would gather consolation,
And the boon of peace bestow,
Duty shares the care and troubles
And the trials all must know;
Faith looks up for heavenly comfort?
Duty wipes the tears away
Side by side these guardian angels
Bless life's journey day by day.
?Margaret Scott Hall.
Kirkwood, Ga.
HENRI DUNANT.
There were many battles fought in
Italy during the struggle for independence
in which Garibaldi played so great
a part. But there was one battle that
has a peculiar interest for all soldiers
and all people who care for soldiers, because
something happened then that
brought about a great benefit to fighting
armies. Yet it seemed a little thing at
the time. It was this: that one man was
siruca wim a great iaea ana ne aia noi
let it die out of his mind.
It is Midsummer Day in the year 1859,
and a blazing Italian sun is pouring
down its beams on a grim battlefield of
blood and death. The battle of Solferino
is being fought between the Italians
with their allies the French, Napoleon
III. at their head, and the Austrians under
their emperor, Francis Joseph. Three
hundred thousand men are facing each
other, and the line of battle extends for
fifteen miles. All day long the "fighting
trnpa nn Rnph nnaitinn nf arlvanta trp ia
stubbornly contested. The dead are piled
in heaps and the wounded lie unheeded,
to be trampled on by the cavalry or
driven over by the heavy artillery. One
who was present that day descrtbes it
a a orto r\ f tho hlna/liaot Unf#Iaa a# fVi a
an uiiv> ui i.uu uiuuuivav uui-iito ui mc
nineteenth century.
As the dreadful scene rises before us
the question comes to our minds: Was
there any care taken for the wounded?
Yes, during the battle flying ambulances
were stationed at various points, which
attended first to the officers and then
to the men?if the medical staff had any
time left for them. But?and this is the
important thing to notice?the ambulance
flag was respected only by its own side.
The Italian ambulances were exposed to
the Austrian shot and shell and the Aus
I PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOU'
trian ambulances to the Italian just as
much as any other part of the field.
That seems very cowardly and unfair to
you and me now. And one man brought
about a change.
The Italians with their good allies, the
French, won the day, and the Austrians
were forced to retreat. It was evening
when the retreat commenced. They tried
to carry away as many of the wounded
as possible, but thousands were left behind
to die for want of a helping hand.
They lay there parched and dying, with
no one even to give them a drop of
water. True, there were men nrowliner
about in the dark, but they were cruel
wretches who had come to steal valuables
and even clothing from the bodies
of the dead and wounded soldiers.
But there was just one man that night
who saw all this suffering and cruelty,
whose heart was wrung with pity for the
poor, neglected, wounded soldiers. His
name was Henri Dunant, and he was not
a soldier but a civilian gentleman. And
then and there he thought of a plan for
ueiping ue wounaed soldiers, and resolved
not to rest until he had got people
to adopt it.
His first care, however, was to see
what could be done for the poor sufferers
at that time. Many of them were
removed the next day into the neighboring
town of Castiglione, where they were
given shelter in the churches and publte
buildings. There was abundance of food
and water, yet they were dying for want
of nurses to minister to them. So Henri
Dunant organized a volunteer band .of
nurses. They were peasant women, but
they did their best and were kind to the
Awn ? x X- i x
1>UUI ouiuicin, uuudui HI ms own COST.
procured a load of sponges, linen, tobacco,
camomiles, oranges, citron and
sugar. He was always in and out among
the soldiers, and they got to love him
dearly for all the help and relief he had
brought them. They used to call him "le
monsieur en blanc," "the gentleman in
white," for he always wore white
clothes. Another name they had for him
was "the Good Samaritan of Solferino."
It was a good name tor him. It was no
more his business than that of any one
else to concern himself with the wounded
of the Austrian and allied armies. But
as with the good Samaritan of the parable,
his brother's need made him neighbor.
He showed no lUBtlnpllnn ho.
tween wounded friend and wounded
enemy: "Tutti fratelli," "they are all
brothers," was the motto of Dunant and
his brave band of helpers.
What was the grand idea which came
into Dunant's mind after the battle of
Solferino? It was simply this?that
every army should have its permanent
ambulance corps properly instructed and
'equipped, that they should possess the
privilege of safety from attack on the a
field of battle (that is to say, they were
not to be fired on by either side), and
that, in order to secure their safety, a
new, special flag or emblem should be
displayed by the ambulance corps of all
nationalities. This was Dunant's idea.
The Red Cross on the white ground was
to be the common flag.
TH. October 6, 1909.
What the Red Cross means is so familiar
to all of us now that it is hard to
realize that before Dunant thought of it
the wounded and those attending to them
were fired on as much as any one else
on the field of battle.?Selected.
DR. JACK'S SECRET.
"It's just as we thought, Dr. Jack?King
Bruce has gone lame, and you can't use
him," said the doctor's man, as he entered
his master's office.
"Well, Matthew, it's a good thing that
shank's mare is in prime condition to
carry me to my patients," laughed the
doctor; "I will be off at once, seeing I
must go afoot."
A little later the doctor set off on his
rouna or cans. The first patient he wish-ed
to see was his niece, Rosemary, who
had sprained her ankle the day before.
The doctor made his way through the
snow, thoroughly enjoying the spotless
whiteness surrounding him and the keen
fresh air. Rosemary greeted him with
smiling surprise.
"You dear Uncle Jack!" she cried;
"Bertha and I were both sure you would
not be able to come today, when we heard
King Bruce was lame."
a niie uoctor i would ne, to let a lame
horse keep me from calling on my
patients!" the doctor answered, as he unwound
his muffler, unbuttoned his coat,
and sat down beside his niece.
"But how do you do it, anyway, Uncle
Jack?find time for everything?" Rosemary
asked.
"By doing only the things I believe
worth while, and by making every stroke
count. That is the secret, lassie," the
doctor answered.
"That is easier said than done, Uncle
Jack," chimed in Bertha, who, having fol
iuncu lue uucior into toe room, bad heard
bis last words.
"It is not difficult if we make it a practice
to
'Do the things we must
Before the things we may,' "
Dr. Jack answered.
"I'm glad you feel that way, and didn't
let King Bruce and the snow and other
things keep you away, Uncle Jack," Rosemary
said.
Bertha did not speak, but stood looking
thoughtfully on while the ailing ankle was
being dressed, giving such assistance as
her uncle needed.
After the doctor had gone, Bertha set
the red geranium plant in the sunshine
where Rosemary could see it, and said.
as she turned to leave the room:
"I'm going to take the shell-pattern to
grandma now, de^r. You won't mind being
alone until mamma comes back from
the meeting, which will be soon, I think."
"No, I don't mind being alone, Bertha,"
Rosemary answered. "But I thought you
had decided to finish that book instead of .
taking the long tramp* to grandma's
through the snow."
"So I had, before Uncle Jack called.
.VI * - "
i?iug wonn wnne' seems not to
disappoint grandma. It is Just the day
she will like for starting the shell-pattern."
"And do you know, dear," Rosemary
?