I
interfered with it, and for this reason I have preserved the actual
diary form in which it was written.

To many readers of Miss Macnaughtan's books her diaries of the war may
come as a slight surprise. There is a note of depression and sadness,
and perhaps even of criticism, running through them, which is lacking in
all her earlier writings. I would remind people that this book is the
work of a dying woman; during the whole of the period covered by it, the
author was seriously ill, and the horror and misery of the war, and the
burden of a great deal of personal sorrow, have left their mark on her
account of her experiences.

I should like to thank those relations and friends of Miss Macnaughtan
who have allowed me to read and publish the letters incorporated in this
book, and I gratefully acknowledge the help and advice I have received
in my task from my mother, from my husband, and from Miss Hilda Powell,
Mr. Stenning, and Mr. R. Sommerville. I desire also to express my
gratitude to Mr. John Murray for many valuable hints and suggestions
about the book, and for the trouble he has so kindly taken to help me to
prepare it for the press.

BETTY SALMON.

ZILLEBEKE, WALTHAM ST. LAWRENCE,
TWYFORD, BERKSHIRE,
_October, 1918._

MY WAR EXPERIENCES IN TWO CONTINENTS

PART I

BELGIUM

CHAPTER I

ANTWERP

On September 20th, 1914, I left London for Antwerp. At the station I
found I had forgotten my passport and Mary had to tear back for it.
Great perturbation, but kept this dark from the rest of the staff, for
they are all rather serious and I am head of the orderlies. We got under
way at 4 a.m. next morning. All instantly began to be sick. I think I
was the worst and alarmed everybody within hearing distance. One more
voyage I hope--home--then dry land for me.

We arrived at Antwerp on the 22nd, twenty-four hours late. The British
Consul sent carriages, etc., to meet us. Drove to the large Philharmonic
Hall, which has been given us as a hospital. Immediately after breakfast
we began to unpack beds, etc., and our enormous store of medical things;
all feeling remarkably empty and queer, but put on heroic smiles and
worked like mad. Some of the staff is housed in a convent and the rest
in rooms over the Philharmonic Hall.

_23 September._--Began to get things into order and to allot each person
her task. Our unit consists of Mrs. St. Clair Stobart, its head; Doctors
Rose Turner, F. Stoney, Watts