The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-01
BIRMINGHAM LADY
 WRITES ABOUT HER
 JERUSALEM WORK
Miss Mamie Hamilton is. Serving With the British
 Army in Palestine
HAS UNIQUE CASES
 AMONG ARABIANS
Now Procured a Turk for Interpreter ands the Work is Going on Famously

Miss Mamie Hamilton of Birmingham. Who is now in the Red Cross laboratory
 in Jerusalem, has written an interest ling letter to Mrs. w. D. Nesbitt, regard 1 ing her work. Miss Hamilton went to
 Jerusalem under the auspices of the I British government. She was conduct
 ing testing laboratory in Birmingham | al the time she entered war service. She was formerly head nurse at Hillman hos pital and is one of the best known and
 most popular nurses and laboratory work i CTS in Birmingham.
 ] Have you been keeping up with Gen eral Allenbys yictories?" she writes un-
 der date of October G. ITO think of talk
 ing 10000 prisoners within two weeks
 and moving line almost as many miles. And the modesty of the English we do well to initiate. I have not yet heard one of them express boastful remark, 1 had tea with Lady Allenby when in Cairo and the General took tea with us just before the drive and the two things he would not talk about were himself and the war. Most refreshing modesty. "Jerusalem has about three demonstra- ticns day over the liberation of Pales- tine and if the streets are not filled with these rejoicing ones it is filled with thou sands of prisoners being marched down
 to Egypt for safe keeping"
 ABOUT LABORATORY WORK Regarding the laboratory work and | equipment for conducting it in Jerusalem 1 Miss Hamilton writes
 The laboratory of the A. R. C., or a
 miniature apology for the same,s was opened July g. in one of the small rooms of the hospital building Only the micro scopes few stains and reagents for the simplest tests had been unpacked. The clinic for our employees and their families had been established about the same time and it was. from this that we drew, the motley crew, which pre-
 sented themselves at our door bearing l a piece of paper iE their hands from the doctors signifying the kind of exam nation they wished us to make to aid them in their diagnosis.
 "The patients represented every coun- try, every color, every creed, alike only in their poverty, and ignorance and pitiful condition. The different languages they spoke were most confusing and
 many amusing incidents occurred Once when a patient reappeared for a second test one of us said in what she thought was excellent Arabic "I hope you are bet ter today but in reality was %I hope you are horse today" His expression
 never changed. The east is always po- lite' After such experiences as these 1 it became evident to us that the first increase in our corps of workers must be an interpreter, as our Arabic, not withstanding tour good intentions and extreme sympathy, was about to queer this branch of the service. So Attalah, formerly a young Turkish officer, who [ lao into af ra, vision several years ago, and had then joined the English forces, was engaged as a go-between. He explained to every one, in his or her own tongue. that the taking of a drop of blood from the ear would hurt but little ana tried to per- suade them to~ stay and have it done.
 Many would refuse point blank, declar-. ing that nothing was the matter with their ears. Why should they be oper- ated upon? They had told the doctors that their pains were in their stomachs. And with many wild gesticulations, so
 characteristic of the neurotic east, they
 would hastily take their departures and the report would have to 80 in
 "Nassa Hohammed. malaria, relapsing fever; patient got away!
 INCREASE IN WORK
 The amount of work increased the second month from $50 cases to almost
 1900, and Mele Ayoub, young woman, most capable and an expert in malaria, was added to our force, and Atallah was taught how to take the blood smears
 himself. His education was also begun
 on broader lines. We three American
 women soon pointed out to his orient
 masculine mind the striking difference
 between the little girls behavior and
 that of the, little boys. The former sell dom if ever whimpered, when their ears were pricked. while the boys all but raised the roof with their cries and pro- testations This to man of the east
 with his exalted opinions of the male va riety confident of their superiority in his equinmity, and as yet he has offered
 no explanation tp-the apparent upsetting
 of his long loved tradition.
 "On September IT we formally opened
 the laboratory building and announced
 ourselves ready to do work, not only for
 our own hospitals and dispensaries. but
 for the city as well.
 The building is situated within what
 was the Russian Compound, near the hospital, and built like it. of grey stone.
 It has eight rooms all on one floor and
 very conveniently arranged. The ceiling
 and side walls within four feet of the
 tiled floors are painted cream, below Is
 pale yellow, black line separating the
 two. The tables are dark brown mission
 with ebony finished acdzproof tops, all
 of them made from the lumber in which the cargo was shipped.
 "On the day of the teaFthe rooms and entrance were decorated with growing plants and yellow flowers and even the bichloridc solution was colored to match the walls Those present were the medi- cal members of the unit, besides the fol lowing distinguished guests: Mai. Alex
 Ferguson, M R. C.: Maj. R. o. Sibley, D. A. D. M. S.; Capt. E. F. Minett R. AIM C. Monsieur Devralsi, bacteriolo- gist of French hospital here; Dr A.. Mec- Ter. bacteriologist In charge of Pasteur institute: Dr. Saterstein, head of the Hardossa unit. just arrived from New 1 York pr. Sugernan. also with the Har- dossa unit, and Mr. Cohen, another bac- teriologist who came with them also.