Far away from loved ones—far from home—wounded to the death, the soldier found in the love and presence of Jesus his Saviour and friend, rest and peace. And his comrade in the hospital remembered his dying song and passed it on that it might become a message to many another when they too came to die—
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
One more hospital story will suffice. It is of a different order from the last, but it reveals Thomas Atkins as he really is.
The wife of the local colonel was making the round of a hospital and paused at the bedside of a wounded soldier, who evidently hailed from the North of England. He was toying with a helmet, apparently a trophy of war.
"Well," said the lady, "I suppose you killed your man?"
"Well, naw," quietly responded the soldier. "You see it was like this. He lay on the field pretty near me with an awfu' bad wound an' bleedin' away somethin' terrible. I was losin' a lot of blood too fra' my leg, but I managed to crawl up to him, an' bound him up as well as I could, an' he did the same for me. Nawthin' o' coorse was said between us. I knew no German an' the ither man not a word o' English, so when he'd dun, not seein' hoo else tae thank him, I just smiled, an' by way o' token handed him my Glengarry, an' he smiled back an' giv' me his helmet."
Thus Thomas Atkins has shown how to fight his enemy and to love him too.
This, then, in brief outline, is the story of Christian work at the Home Base during the early stages of the war.
Chaplains or acting chaplains everywhere, Scripture readers, Y.M.C.A. workers, voluntary workers, all sorts and conditions of workers. Bright, cheery services every evening. Loving appeals for decision for Christ—appeals which have been responded to by thousands of our lads. Centres for thought and rest and recreation everywhere. The need has been great, and the need has been supplied by people moved to self-sacrifice as never before.