Hospital Sketches

stsc

hes, I will answer them en masse, and in printed form, as a sort of postscript to what has gone b

and bare of anything like reverence, sorrow, or pious consolation, that I heartily agreed with the bluntly expressed opinion of a Maine man lying next his comrade, who died with no visible hel

e this way, with nothing but a Paddy's prayers to help us

once to the Chaplain, nothing ever came of it. Unlike another Shepherd, whose earnest piety weekly purified the Senate Chamber, this ma

ities, I can testify that he seceded from his ministerial duties, I may say, skedaddled; for, being one of his own words, it is as appropriate as inelegant.

s there; and if ever hearts were prompted to devoutest self-abnegation, it was in the work which brought us to anything but a Chapel of Ease. But some spiritual paralysis seemed to have befallen our pastor; for, though many faces turned toward him, full of the dumb hunger that often comes to men when suffering or danger brings then nearer to the heart of things, they were offered the chaff of divinity, a

boriously erected, with minute descriptions of the process, and any quantity of bells and pomegranates on the raiment of the priests. Listless they were at the beginning, and listless at the end; but the instant some stirring old hymn was given out, sleepy eyes brightened, lounging figures sat erect, and many a poor lad rose up in h

! let the

felt the need of a speed

m chair standing in the midst, I placed, for my own satisfaction, the imaginary likeness of a certain faithful pastor, who took all outcasts by the hand, smote the devil in whatever guise he came, and comforted the indigent in spirit with the best wisdom of a great and tender heart, which still speaks to

e a little, as they said good night, and turned their faces to the wall to think of mother, wife, or home, these human ties seeming to be the most vital religion which they yet knew. I observed that some of them did not wear their caps on this day, though at other times they clung to them like Quakers; wearing them in bed, putting them on to read the paper, eat an apple, or write a letter, as if, like a new sort of Samson, their strength lay, not in their hair, but in their hats. Many

ough the culprit was an acid, frost-bitten female, though the young man would have done quite as well without her anxious fussiness, and the whole room-full been much more comfortable, there was something so irresistible in this persistent devotion, that no one had the heart

n that manner,) most obstreperously, when others invaded her premises; and led me a weary life, with "George's tea-rusks," "George's foot-bath," "George's measles," and "George's moth

or dying, is always a trial to the bystanders. They are not near enough to know how best to comfort, yet too near to turn their backs upon the sorrow that finds

I was often in and out, and for a day or two, the pair were much together, saying little, but looking much. The old man tried to busy himself with book or pen, that his presence might not be a burden; and once, when he sat writing, to the anxious mother at home, doubtless, I saw the son's eyes fix upon his face, with a look of mingled resignation and regret, as if endeavoring to teach himself to say cheerfully the long good bye. And again, when the son slept, the father watched him, as he had himself been watche

d for if he'd been at home; and God wi

d, when his wife came in. Her eye went straight to the well-known bed; it was empty; and

here's

n McGee, the tender-hearted Irishman before mentioned, brushed by me with a cheerful-"It's shifted to a better bed he is, Mrs. Connel. Come out, d

er's arriving in the morning. This must be she, I thought. I pitied her with all my heart. What could I say or do? Words always seem impertinent at such times; I did not know the man; the woman was neither interesting in herself nor graceful in her grief; yet, having known a sister's sorrow myself, I could have not

efreshed by the shower, though I'd forgotten to rest, and had washed my face instead of my hands. I mention this successful experience as a receipt proved and approved, for the use of any nurse who may find herself called upon to minister to these wounds of the heart. They will find

above him, far away there in Virginia!-I placed the Sergeant on my list of worthy boys; and many jovial chat have I enjoyed with the merry-hearted lad, who had a fancy for fun, when his poor arm was dressed. While Dr. P. poked and st

e a man." He did; for "Mrs. Cluppins," "Chadband," and "Sam Weller," always helped him through; thereby causing me to lay anoth

r afflictions instead of their names; and I was rather taken aback by hearing them ba

may I give Typus a drink of this?" "Look here, No Toes, lend us a stamp, there's a good feller," etc. He

of seeing his blue eyes twinkle, his merry mouth break into a smile, and his one hand execute a jaunty little salute that was entirely captivating. I am afraid that Nurse P. damaged her dignity, frolicking with this persuasive young gentleman, though done for his well-bei

earest Jane" filling my place, tending the wounds I tended, brushing the curly jungle I brushed, loving the excellent little youth I loved, and eventually walking altarward, with the Sergeant stumping gallantl

s the boys begin to black their boots, brighten spurs, if they have them, overhaul knapsacks, make presents; are fitted out with needfuls, and-well, why not?-kissed sometimes, as they say, good bye; for in all human probability we shall never meet again, and a woman's heart yearns over anything that has clung to her for help and comfort. I never liked these breakings-up of my little household; though my short stay

ttle was such a jolly place. Hope I'll git another ball somewheres

the house, looking rather wan and feeble, some of them, but trying to step out smartly and march in good order, though half the knapsacks were carried by the guard, and several leaned on sticks instead of shouldering guns. All looked up and smiled, or waved their hands and touch

no care but such as the surgeons can best give. Our work begins afterward, when the poor soul comes to himself, sick, faint, and wandering; full of strange pains and confused visions

the spirit was wholly willing, the flesh was inconveniently weak. One funereal lady came to try her powers as a nurse; but, a brief conversation eliciting the facts that she fainted at the sight of blood, was afraid to watch alone, couldn't possi

ion as a nurse before I began that of a surgeon. But I never met the little man skipping through the hall, with oddly shaped cases in his hand, and an absorbed expression of countenance, wi

ruel, though one of them remorsefully confided to me that he feared his profession b

tions, and seemed rather annoyed that the former should express any opinion upon the latter, or claim any right in it, while under his care. He had a way of twitching off a bandage, and giving a limb a comprehensive sort of clutch, which though no doubt entirely

bone and visible muscles, in a red and black chasm made by some infernal machine of the shot or shell description. Poor Fitz held on like a grim Death, ashamed to show fear before a woman, ti

poked away more busily than ever, with a nod at me and a b

could be done, and the arm prospered finely in his hands. But the human mind is prone to prejudice; and, though a personable man, speaking French like a born "Parley voo," and whipping off legs like an animated guillotine,

amiable fib might be white with pain as they spoke. Over the dressing of some of the wounds, we used to carry on conversations upon subjects foreign to the work in hand, that the patient might forget himself in the charms of our discourse. Christmas eve was spent in this way; the Doctor strapping the little Serg

llows at Hurly-burly House, or go to the front, working there day and night, among the horrors that succeed the glories of a battle. I liked that so much, that the quiet, brown-eyed Doctor wa

a worm, or any other meek and lowly article, whose mission it is to be put down and walked upon; nurses being considered as mere servants, receiving the lowest pay, and, it's my private opinion, doing the hardest work of any part of the army, except the mules. Great, therefore, was my surpr

night, with the certainty that my last spark had pined away and died, and consequently hours of coughing were in store for me, I was amazed to see a ruddy light dancing on the wall, a jolly blaze roaring up the chimney, and, down upon his knees before it, Dr. Z., whittling shavings. I ought to have risen up and thanked him on the spot; but, knowing that he was one of those who like to do good by stealth, I only peeped at him as if he were a friendly ghost; till, having made things as cozy as the most motherly of nurses could have done, he crept away, leaving me to feel, as somebody says, "as if angels were

hould say chimney top. When the nurses felt ill, the doctors departed, and the patients got well, I believe the concern gently faded from existence, or was merged into some other and better establishment, where

As no two persons see the same thing with the same eyes, my view of hospital life must be taken through my glass, and held for what it is worth. Certainly, nothing was set down in malice, and to the serious-minded party who objected to a tone of lev

em to be proving their right to the admiration and kind offices of their white relat

ur

a fir

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tion Pe

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bound in the English green or maroon vellum-cloth; with gilt tops, and illuminated title; and

e $2

were sold as rapidly as they could b

e Subscribers, the Agents, and the Trade attest. It was announced at $2, and intended to be of 500 pages. But it is considerably larger, and more expensively gotten up than wa

bers having been supplied at the price first announced,-no

nts, he is now at liberty to offer the Book to the Trade, an

ing is a t

s of th

sement, containing a L

n Boston, delivered December 8, 1837, which at once est

ith the Resolutions, embodying the whole philosophy of the Wo

ion. Delivered

of Sims. Janu

niversary. A

he Abolition Movemen

Judge Loring. F

on Mob. Octo

rims. Decem

Shaw and President W

s. Octobe

s Ferry. Nove

Delivered at the Grave of t

Election. No

Education. Dec

ion. Januar

ress. Febru

he Flag. Apr

r the Union. D

binet. Augu

e New York Tribune

t L'Ouverture.

olitan Police.

of the Countr

by mail on receipt

dpath, P

gton Stree

riber'

Gutenberg presentatio

scription. A scanned copy of this book is availabl

d below, in the Detailed Notes. The Detailed Notes includes other issues that have come up during the transcription of the t

form. In 1869, the Sketches were combined with nearly three hundr

iled

rles Dickens, was a stereotype of untrained and incompetent nurses of

mbers in the Table of Contents:

o never come in "If I never-com

s is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology,

usetts governor in 1862

e "and bore down upon Milk street." This matches the spell

entioned on page 16 is considered th

to Periwinkle in the clause

ate sympathizers against members of out-of-state militia (primarily Massachusetts and

e hyphen, because the hyphen is found i

ortable in the clause: "was imme

eriod after My in "M

led at first, pondered over the fateful fact a moment then shook his head, w

was the Senator from Mass

r with a cane on March 22, 1856, in retribution for an anti-Kansas

irst group of organized female nurses to s

ter created by Charles Dickens in his novel

character from Uncle Tom's Ca

brated by abolitionists because Lincoln's Eman

erved this as it appeared in the original Sketches

ster with the hyphen. The book

tioned: a) Mrs. Cluppins from The Pickwick Papers, b) Chadband, a pompo

ange "good by"

"waved hier hands" t

with references to Hurly-burly House and Hurly-burly Hotel in previous Chapters. Those four times o