provisionally appointed surgeon to the 1st Brigade Artillery.
The night he arrived in Montreal I dined with him at the University Club,
and he was aglow with enthusiasm over this new adventure.
He remained in Montreal for a few days, and on September 9th,
joined the unit to which he was attached as medical officer.
Before leaving Montreal he wrote to his sister Geills:

"Out on the awful old trail again! And with very mixed feelings,
but some determination. I am off to Val-cartier to-night. I was really
afraid to go home, for I feared it would only be harrowing for Mater,
and I think she agrees. We can hope for happier times.
Everyone most kind and helpful: my going does not seem to surprise anyone.
I know you will understand it is hard to go home, and perhaps easier
for us all that I do not. I am in good hope of coming back soon and safely:
that, I am glad to say, is in other and better hands than ours."




V

South Africa



In the Autumn of 1914, after John McCrae had gone over-seas,
I was in a warehouse in Montreal, in which one might find
an old piece of mahogany wood. His boxes were there in storage,
with his name plainly printed upon them. The storeman, observing my interest,
remarked: "This Doctor McCrae cannot be doing much business;