Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-06-06


the message brought to the nurses of
America by Lady Anne Azgapetlan,
who has returned to America after
two years service with a hospital urit
attached to the army of the eau
casus under Grand Duke Nikolai Mix
olaivitch.
Born in Russian Poland, Lady Anne
lived in Indiana for eight years. But
at the outbreak of the war, with her
husband, General, Azgapettan, who
was once aide-de- camp to MoZafer-
ed-Din Shah, grandfather of he pres
ent boy Emperor of Persia she en-
listed in the Imperial Red Cross So
ciety from whence she was assign
ed to duty among the wounded for
the Russian army in Central Persia
1t was here among the lowly men
of Russia, the Cossacks, the Mou-
jiks and the soldiers of the Urat
Mountains that Lady Azgapetian came
to know how vital and peculiar Il part
in the worlds salvation the Red Cross
nurse is playing.
"They are performing . task that
cannot be performed by men," she
says in speaking of it. mo matter
how expert nor how deft the hand
of man nurse may be, it lacks that
/ Tenderness, that odd gift of the mother
instinct which every man Graves and
needs when he is wounded On the
battlefield"
ESPECIALLY is this So" continues
Lady Anne, "in the wilder and more
| isolated countries where help is at
| far distant points. Even where there
| is sufficient and efficient medical care.
| the work of caring for the wounded
/ cannot be complete unless there is the
women's hand\to round out the cor
| ners and to take the sting of ioneli-
ness from the sufferers life. Even
the Cossacks and I speak of them only
because they are supposed to be the
most untamed of all troops except
the Turks-become as children under
the softening influence of the Red
| Cross nurse. And this is just a
physiological truism based on mans
finer instincts"
AS an interesting example of this
Lady Anne cites a strapping young
Cossack named Vassille. When his
regiment was first stationed with the
Russians in that district he was con-
| sidered the Beau Brummel of the en-
tire village. He knew 1t too. And he
| staggered down the streets, armed
to the teeth. He was so pleased with
| himself and his height that he scorn-
ed boots with heels. AS for the girls
in the village. He spurned even the
prettiest of them. This disdain
| reached even to the Red Cross .7urses.
But, oh. what change, when he
was wounded.' Lady Anne explain
ed at this point in her narrative. II
| was one of his nurses and he used
to follow me with his eyes all over
the ward. And when. in answer to
the pleading in his glance, 1 would
go to his bed just to give him pat
on the hand or a smile, the Joy in
those dark eyes of his, in which I
knew the light would soon go out,
more than paid for any sacrifice or
hardship might have gone through"
And when Vassille the Cossack was
near his end he called to Lady Anne
and she answered and just as he
slipped from life he took her wrists
pulled her toward him. whispering
Mother mine.")
See" added this little Russian
lnoblewoman, "even the last words of
a burly Cossack whom everyone fear
ed in life told of the human banker
ing after the mother heart. There
was another Cossack from the Urals,
brought in suffering from gangrened
leg. His first words on coming from
under the anaesthetic after the am
iputation was "SisteritZa" (Little Sis
lter).
Another touching story and one
which is a tribute to the American
nurse is that of a young Armenian
who was fighting with the Russian
forces. OF him Lady Anne tells, LAS
a result of exposure and fever he was
sent to the hospital in delirium.
THE interpreters of eight languages
tried in vain to discover his national
lity. 1 was standing by his bed talk
ing when a weak and pleading voice
asked in very good English. Sister,
please give me drink.
He proved to be an Armenian by
the name of Marootjan. For five
years he had lived in ST. Louis where
he had worked in a box factory. Out
of his $22 weekly wages he had saved
enough to return to Armenia where
he bought a farm and cattle and built
q good home for his wife and chill
dren. He prospered until the war
broke out and the Turks came, burn
ing his home, stealing his cattle and
killing his wife and two children.
1T was from there he came to the
Ivillage of Khoarova, where we were
stationed, bringing his old father, all
that was left of his family. 1t was
winter, they had no place to stay, no
food and no means of keeping warm.
He did the only thing possible in such
circumstances. stole the wood to keep
his father from freezing to death.
The unfortunate part about it all was
that the wood belonged to the COM
HlaHuilS oHieei, ailu -ie'A ootJieiii " eh'
arrested.
That is how he came to the hos
pital-a desperate and discouraged
man. He stayed with us month. 1
interceied with the commanding Off
Ger and obtained his pardon. The
last day he was with us, he called me
over and in a whisper said, Here
sister, for you He opened a little
bag about his neck and took out an
American silver dollar, his only pos
lsession. OF course l didn't take it,
but from the time of his release,
whenever I passed through the vii
Ilage, he would gather all the boys he
could find and follow me saying,
There's the sister who saved my life.
The heroism of the Red Cross
nurse is graphically told in Lady
lAnne's naive story of her own adven-
lures. She narrates:
Our unit was located in the heart
of Western Persia. The railroad only
went as far as the foot of Mt ARA
rat. Beyond that we had to make
our way as best we could. We found
a Moslem driver, carriage and two
horses and started early in the morn
ing.
Toward the middle of the morn
ing we reached the great tableland.
1t was intensely cold at that altitude
and the road led over sand and hill
locks The sand drifted into our
ears and our eyes, whitening our
eyelashes and eyebrows. With every
breath it entered our lungs. Every
where we saw the imprint of wild
animals, bears and wolves. This add
ed to our anxiety to get to our des-
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