 I was sitting next to the bassoonist, long a member of the band, who explained that this particular veterans' hospital housed men who had, for whatever reason, lost their mental stability while in the service of their country. The Elks band had not played there in over eight years. The last time they had played there, the director had called for some Sousa after his first two rather placid selections failed to elicit applause from the five or six hundred onlookers.