Evening star., 1918-06-16

hospital. which had been fred upon
by the enemy. There she found
wounded, broken men crawling about
under their beds. which afforded
some little protection. Many Of them
were lying on piles Of shattered glass.
In fifteen minutes forty-two bombs
had fallen. The sight was one which
once seen could never be forgotten.
This was the second time Mrs. Maz-
zuchi had been wounded. and for her
remarkable bravery she was made a
lieutenant in the Italian army.
She was also wounded at Rheims.
At that time she was down on her
knees picking fragments of shrapnel
from the leg of man who had seven
teen wounds. From this soldier. q
mere boy. 122 pieces of shrapnel were
finally taken. Each tiny piece had to
be removed. for to leave the smallest
bit meant probable blood poison and
death.
1t was while Mrs. Mazzuehi was so
engaged that a bullet struck her in
the thigh. So absorbed was she in
her task that it was not until she
tried to get to her feet that she re-
allied that she had been hit There
were no doctors in the hospital for
ten days and all about her lay
wounded men. some 200 in ALL The
her on a stretcher and for ten days
and nights gave her every possible
care they could. while she in her turn
dressed wounds and did everything
that was possible under the circum-
stances
There were no crutches available.
so when this Red Cross nurse was
able she contrived to hobble about on
crude crutches fashioned from broom
handles. But she found them more
OF nuisance than convenience. so
In six days they were discarded.
When the doctors came and her
wound was examined they found that
1t had closed. 1t was believed that
the bullet lodged where 1t would do
no immediate harm and Mrs. Maz-
zuchi mas never found the time to
nave 1t extracted. At another time
the countess was gassed. and. again,
one finger was injured seriously.
FOR these and other valiant deeds
she has been decorated twice by Gen.
Sardona. Five generals have cited
q decoration which she now wears.
Frances greatest tribute in recogni-
tion OF merit. But these honors this
ramarkaoie woman takes very lightly.
Her heart Is with the soldiers, and
praise merely brings from her the
briefest of repliesE''One must do
ones duty"
In the largest Of the twenty-seven
hospita1s-Ospeda1e Nilitaire di RE-
serve. Latisana-there were at one
time Sz2 wounded men: 200 had to
submit to amputations and 1S2 were
left blind. During a severe attack in
this district four or nve hundred sol
diers arrived every few hours. To-
day Mrs. Mazzuchi is in the United
states. because this hospital. along
into the hands of the devastating
Austrians. When the last and largest
hospital was taken every wounded
man found there was shot dead with
Austrian revolvers. No quarter was
given, no mercy shown. and there had
been no opportunity for evacuation.
X
When at the front in Italy Mrs.
Mazzuchi drove her own ambulance.
She has the distinction of being the
only woman who is permitted to
drive a car on the Italian front. Her
own particular machine, which she
has driven more simes than she can
count, is built to accommodate sew
enteen wounded soldiers. Two can
ride on stretchers; the other fifteen
must not be too badly wounded to be
able to sit up.
Since the outbreak of the war Mrs.
Mazzuchi has had the opportunity of
word with the fourth son of the
kaiser. This royal parsonage had re-
marked on her care of German wound
ed. Mrs. Mazzuchi retorted that for
her a wounded man had no national
ity: he was just a suffering human
being, crushed in spirit as well as
body. But she sincerely hoped that
when these German men recovered
from their wounds and returned to
the firing line they would all be
killed. The interview was concluded
rryff tor oJJyfA rel h.
and then from him.
Mrs. Mazzuchi has added to her
store Of knowledge by watching Ger
mans remove bullets from the bodies
of soldiers. They do not extract