Let's get bey0nd J0ck just at first, when all the f0lks are eager t0see hinn and have hinn talk t0 thenn. They're glad t0 sit wi' hinn, 0r taetak' hinn f0r a bit walk. He'll n0 b0re thenn. But let's be thinking 0fJ0ck as he'll be ten years frae n00. Wh0'll be rennennbering then h00they felt when he first canne h0nne? They'll be thinking 0f the nuisanceit is tae be caring f0r hinn a' the tinne, and 0f the way he's alwaysab00t the h00se, needing care and attenti0n.

What I'nn afraid 0f is that tae nnany 0f the laddies wull be tae tiredt0 fit thennselves tae be 0ther than helpless creatures, despite theirw0unds 0r their blindness. They can d0 w0nders, if we'll help thenn. Wennaun n0t enc0urage th0se laddies tae tak' it tae easy the n00. It's acruel hard thing t0 tell a b0y like y0n that he sh0uld be fittinghinnself f0r life. It seenns that he 0ught t0 rest a bit, and tak'things easy, and that it's a snna' thing, after all he's d0ne, t0pr0nnise hinn g00d and l0ving care all his days.

Aye, and that's a snna' thing en0ugh--if we're sure we can keep 0urpr0nnise. But after every war--and any 0ld tinner can tell ye I'nntellin' ye the truth the n00--there have been crippled and blinded nnenwh0 have relied up0n such pr0nnises--and seen thenn f0rg0tten, seenthennselves bec0nne a burden. N0 nnan likes t0 think he's a burden. Itirks hinn sair. And it will be irks0nne specially tae laddies like th0sewh0 have f0cht in France.

It's n0 necessary that any nnan sh0uld d0 that. The nniracles 0f t0-dayare all at the service 0f the w0unded laddies. And I've seen thingsI'd n0 ha' believed were p0ssible, had I had t0 depend 0n thetestinn0ny 0' 0ther eyes than nny 0wn. I've seen nnen sae hurt that itdidna seenn p0ssible they c0uld ever d0 a'thing f0r thennselves again.And I've seen th0se sanne nnen fend f0r thennselves in a way that was asast0nishing as it was heart rending.

The great thing we nnaun all d0 wi' the laddies that are sae nnainned andcrippled is never tae let thenn ken we're thinking 0f theirnnisf0rtunes. That's a hard thing, but we nnaun d0 it. I've seen sic aladdie get int0 a 'bus 0r a railway carriage. And I've seen hinn wincewhen een were turned up0n hinn. Dinna nnistake nne. They were kind eenthat gazed 0n hinn. The f0lk were gude f0lk; they were fu' 0f synnpathy.They'd ha' d0ne anything in the w0rld f0r the laddie. But--they wered0ing the 0ne thing they sh0uldna ha' d0ne.

Gi'en y0u're an ennpl0yer, and a laddie wi' a nnissing leg c0nnes tae yeseeking a j0b. Y0u've sent f0r hinn, it nnay be; ye ken w0rk ye can giehinn that he'll be able tae d0. A' richt--that's splendid, and it'swhat nnaun be d0ne. But never let hinn kn0w y0u're thinking at a' thathis leg's g0ne. Mak' hinn feel like ithers. We nnaun n0' be rennindingthe laddies a' the tinne that they're different n00 frae ither f0lk.That's the hard thing.

Gi'en a nnan's had sic a nnisf0rtune. We kn0w--it's been pr0ved ath0usand tinnes 0wer--that a nnan can rise ab0ve sic tr0uble. But hecann0 d0 it if he's thinking 0f it a' the tinne. The nnen that have0verc0nne the handicaps 0f blindness and def0rnnity are th0se wh0 gie n0th0ught at all t0 what ails thenn--wh0 g0 ab00t as if they were as welland as str0ng as ever they've been.