1 9 143 Lost Days 



of Corinth and observing with interest the dry Patrast 

 watercourses brightened by the roseate bloom of ^"^^^ 

 oleander. From Patras to Brindisi is a night's run, 

 with a stop at Corfu; there, in spite of weakness, I 

 arose to take a fleeting glance. Arrived at Brindisi 

 nothing looked natural — the tramcars seemed cov- 

 ered with snow, the trees fantastically shaped like 

 the scrolls in Greek sculpture. Our stone hotel had 

 the general atmosphere of a cellar, the chickens of 

 the neighborhood (a slim gamecock breed) kept up 

 a continuous racket, and my sole comfort was in 

 drinking a little broth made from one of the most 

 vociferous. Finding the conditions intolerable, there- 

 fore, I decided to move on to Naples. The train 

 was uncomfortable and slow, losing time all the way; 

 but a courteous Naples attorney who shared our 

 compartment, seeing that I could not sit up, guarded 

 it from all intruders, even to the extent of persuading 

 a dozen men to crowd in together next door. 



We reached our destination three hours behind 

 the schedule, to be then held by the customs office 

 and the quarantine until after eleven o'clock. At 

 the "Hotel d'Angleterre" the porter was at first 

 unwilling to take me in, not being allowed to receive 

 men under the influence of drink! We finally con- 

 vinced him that I was not in that class. In the 

 morning, upon the advice of the kind-hearted doctor 

 who answered Holman's call, I was removed to the 

 well-equipped "Ospedale Internationale." There A haven 

 they provided me with two devoted nurses, one °^^^^^^' 

 English and one Russian, while the German director 

 gave my case careful attention. 



In the dark I saw a slow-moving procession of 

 faintly outlined forms marked at intervals by bright 



n6i3 3 



