were urgently demanded and he declared that in the
ranks was the only place for any man of fighting age, who desired
longer to call himself a man. He represented the situation to his
brothers, and Uncle Bendigo--who had just retired, but who,
belonging to the Naval Reserve, now joined up and soon took charge
of some mine sweepers--wrote very strongly as to what he thought was
Michael's duty. From Italy Uncle Albert also declared his mind to
the same purpose, and though I resented their attitude, the
decision, of course, rested with Michael, not with me. He was only
five-and-twenty then and he had no desire but to do his duty. There
was nobody to advise him and, perceiving the danger of opposing my
uncles' wishes, he yielded and volunteered.

"But he was refused. A doctor declared that a heart murmur made the
necessary training quite impossible and I thanked God when I heard
it. The tribulations began then and Uncle Bob saw red about it,
accusing Michael of evading his duty and of having bribed the doctor
to get him off. We had some very distressing scenes and I was
thankful when my uncle went to France.

"At my own wish Michael married me and I informed my uncles that he
had done so. Relations were strained all round after that; but I did
not care; and my husband only lived to please me. Then, halfway
through the war, came the universal call for workers; and seeing
that men above combatant age, or incapacitated from fighting, were
wanted up here at Princetown, Michael offered himself and we arrived
together.

"The Prince of Wales had been instrumental in starting a big moss
depot for the preparation of surgical dressings; and both my husband
and I joined this station, where the sphagnum moss was collected
from the bogs of Dartmoor, dried, cleaned, treated chemically, and
dispatched to all the war hospitals of the kingdom. A busy little
company carried on this good work and, while I joined the women who
picked and cleaned the moss, my husband, though not strong enough to
tramp the moors and do the heavy work of collecting it and bringing
it up to Princetown, was instrumental in drying it and spreading it
on the asphalt lawn-tennis courts of the prison warders' cricket
ground, where this preliminary process was carried out. Michael also
kept records and accounts and indeed organized the whole depot to
perfection.

"For nearly two years we stuck to this task, lodging here with Mrs.
Gerry. During that time I fell in l