THE TWO BROTHERS
I had been visiting the two brothers for over a week--indeed one of
them for over two weeks, before I knew they were brothers. One was
in No. 1 hospital; the other in No. 7: one had been wounded in the
chest or shoulder; the other in the knee. I carried messages one to
the other, and they looked forward eagerly to my coming, for it was
three years since they had seen each other. They used to anticipate
with great pleasure the day when they would be convalescent and could
see each other. Then one evening the lad who was wounded in the knee
told me that the following morning there was to be an evacuation for
England and that he was among the number. Although he was glad to hear
this good news, still he regretted very much not being able to see his
brother before leaving. “It is so long since I’ve seen him, Father, and
he is so near,” he said wistfully.
I looked at the young fellow for a few moments, wondering silently what
I could do to bring about a meeting of the brothers. First, I thought
I might obtain permission for the ambulance to stop at No. 1 on its
way to the siding, and that the young fellow might be carried in on
a stretcher. But on second thought I felt it would be very difficult
to obtain such a permission. Finally, I decided to ask the adjutant
for permission to have him taken up to No. 1 on a wheel stretcher.
The adjutant was very kind, granting my request. That evening the two
brothers met for the first time in three years and passed two hours
together.
This little act of kindness did not pass unnoticed, for I learned
afterwards that it had met with the warm approval of many in both
hospitals--I suppose because it was just one of those little human
touches that everybody loves. But I could not help thinking of the
numerous other meetings in the early morning, or often at any hour of
the day or night, when through my ministrations two others were brought
together, sometimes after a much longer separation than that of the
brothers. One would be some poor broken lad who sometimes was a little
bashful or shy about the meeting; the other was Jesus of Nazareth,
the Saviour of the world. Not many concerned themselves about these
meetings, but--there was “joy among the angels.”