Next morning we called at the Hotel de Ville in Poperinghe, and there we learnt that the Queen, with her usual thoughtfulness, was interesting herself on our behalf to find us a building in which we could make a fresh start.  She had sent the Viscomtesse de S. to tell us that she hoped to shortly place at our disposal either a school or a convent.  On the following day, however, we heard that the situation had somewhat settled, and an order came from General Mellis, the Chief of the Medical Staff, instructing us to return to Furnes.  A few hours later found us hard at work again, putting in order our old home.

There was one rather pathetic incident of our expedition to Poperinghe.  Five nuns who had fled from Eastern Belgium—­ they had come, I think, from a convent near Louvain—­had taken refuge in the school in Furnes in which we were established.  When we were ordered to go to Poperinghe, they begged to be allowed to accompany us, and we took them with us in the ambulances.  On our return they were so grateful that they asked to be allowed to show their gratitude by working for us in the kitchen, and for all the time we were at Furnes they were our devoted helpers.  They only made one request, that if we left Furnes we would take them with us, and we promised that we would never desert them.

XVII.  Furnes Again

The position of the hospital at Furnes was very different from that which it had held at Antwerp.  There we were in a modern city, with a water-supply and modern sanitary arrangements.  Here we were in an old Continental country town, or, in other words, in medieval times, as far as water and sanitation were concerned.  For it is only where the English tourist has penetrated that one can possibly expect such luxuries.  One does not usually regard him as an apostle of civilization, but he ought certainly to be canonized as the patron saint of continental sanitary engineering.  As a matter of fact, in a country as flat as Belgium the science must be fraught with extraordinary difficulties, and they certainly seem to thrive very well without it.  We were established in the Episcopal College of St. Joseph, a large boys’ school, and not badly adapted to the needs of a hospital but for the exceptions I have mentioned.  Our water-supply came, on a truly hygienic plan, from wells beneath the building, whilst we were entirely free from any worry about drains.  There were none.  However, it did not seem to affect either ourselves or our patients, and we all had the best of health, though we took the precaution of sterilizing our water.