339; great tribulation; six deaths in one week.
440; girlie; sweet face; wonder if she will die or live; very, very
bad; Cloete.
288; Mrs. Venter; young wife; sick; five children sick; gave beef tea
and Benger's Food.
352; the lost little lamb found; one of my first, whose number I had
omitted to take; Weinanda; five years; pining away; large grey eyes;
far-away look; poor little mite; Ken jij ver mij, me kind?" (Do you
still remember me, child?") "Ja, Oom; Oom is de Predikant" ("Yes,
Uncle; Uncle is the Minister"). "Is Weinanda blij dat Oom weer gekom
het?" ("Is Weinanda glad that Uncle has come again?") "Ja, Oom; Oom
is goed om te kom" ("Yes, Uncle; it was good of Uncle to come")
Wonder if I really am rather soft; but when this little mite clasped
her tiny hands together when Oom began to pray, I was bowled clean
over.
35, 156, 15 rather better.
At 34 found old friends of Oom Jacob; Wernich; the old woman weak;
very nice to meet so many great friends of Oom Jacob and of Papa from
Colesberg; old Mr. Du Plessis can't get over it.
Wasted much time at weekly meeting of the Elders; impatient; each
Elder has block of sixteen tents to care for; heard reports; nearly
all report general sickness. The amount of sickness just now is
terrible; a vast hospital; the bitter cold nights play havoc; most
lie on the hard bare ground.
Fighting grimly with uncleanliness; the idea that it is dangerous to
wash with measles; rot!
Another great point; must insist that friends and relatives abstain
from all long-faced despondency, with total absence of any cheer and
hopefulness; this bad effect on patients; if anyone seriously ill,
they "hands up" and cluster around to await the end, lest perchance
they miss seeing "zoo 'n prachtige sterfbed" (such a beautiful
deathbed).
Mrs. Botha (outer Camp) sent for me; penitent; wonder if it is only
the fear that drives her, or whether it is a genuine case of true
repentance; she has measles badly.
91; mother sick; five children (and one in hospital).
Sad about 398; buried two children this afternoon; this is the third;
mother also dead; husband sick; glad I found time to see him; poor
fellow.
458; great distress; old grandmother; sick mother; sick children; no
nourishment; no candles; very helpless; Benger's Food, beef tea, and
candles.
Made only about twenty-two visits to-day.
Relieved Mr. Becker funeral service; seven this afternoon; had no
time to prepare; reckless; got through somehow; "Het wordt gezaaid in
verderfelijkheid, het wordt opgewekt in onverderfelijkheid" (It is
sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption).
"Ja, leeraar, hier in ons Kamp wordt daar nie droppels tranen gestort
nie maar emmers vol" ("Yes, Pastor, here in our Camp it is not drops
but bucketsful of tears that are shed").
There are about a dozen corpses in morgue tents just now.
* * * * *
Tuesday, August 27.--The blessedness of eventide.
Letters from Issie and Louise; seem to have forgotten for a brief
space the sorrows around.
Record day so far; visited thirty-five tents; very hard task. It is
so delightful to offer up a thanksgiving prayer for a change; the
usual "noodgebed" (emergency prayer) is most wearying. Thank God,
that in some I found "beterschap" (convalescence).
Am striking out in new direction now; there is too much despondency
and heaviness of spirit rampant; anyhow, extremely difficult task,
for the conditions all around are most lamentably depressing.
Am going to sew blankets into bag this evening, a la Hanglip[15];
last night bitterly cold; frost this morning; to-day very hot again;
these two extremes so disastrous to the sick.