The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-09-06
For the National Era
ELEANOR S0UTHMAYD'S WARDSHlP,
BY MARTHA RUSSELL.


BY MARTHA RUSSELL.
BosroN, July /, 1856.
l said after the wedding, my Margaret, but
hav&bad no heart to write to you since, for
Miss Summerfeld has been on the verge of the
grave. The week after the bridal party left,
she was seized with the typhoid fever, and un-
til today we have scarcely dared to hope.
Aunt Huldah is still with us, watching by her
bed night and day, noting every shade of her
disease, lifting her in her strong, patient arms,
as one would child, doing everything at just
the right time and in the right way, leaving
nothing for the rest of US to do but watch and
pray. Oh, she is a wonderful woman and so
think others beside myself!
This morning, as / came down stairs, Mr.
Bigelow stood in the hall, with Doctor W.
"She will live--she must live, Doctor" he
said. God is good-he cannot take her, and
leave such worthless things as l upon earth
He will not do it and with both hands grasp
ed nervously over the top of his cane, and his
dear, old, bluff face quivering with emotion, he
~ think she will, my friend" was the reply,
"but until within the last twelve hours, l have
seen little hope of it, but now, with careful
management, / think she will recoveri"
"God bless you, Doctor. These are the best
words you ever spoke in your life;" and the
great, unconscious tears rolled slowly down, and
lost themselves in the deep burrows of the old
mans face. "But you are not going now"
be added, eagerly seeing the Doctor take his
hat. "You must not leave her now-I won't
hear of it. You must stay!"
at is not necessary, assure You, Mr.. Bige-
low; besides you forget my other patients"
"Let them go. Are there not Doctors enough
in the city to look after them one day? i tell
you, this girls life is of more consequence than
all of them put together. There is not anoth-
er like her in the world !"
90 know that she is one of thousand, nv
old friend, but assure you there is no necessi
ty for my presence here. She is in the best Of
hands; for [ tell you, frankly, but for the I'M
wearied care skill, and devotion, of that woman
up there, my knowledge would have awaited
little. Under God, she is indebted to Miss
Huldah for life, SIR"
"And / set her down for an old humbug,"
said Mr.. Bigelow, remorsefully. 1 quarrelled
with Fred Summerfed because he would not
let me get another nurse. Oh, the Lord for
give mel"
"You may we'll say that, Mr.. Bigelow, laugh
ed the good Doctor, "for there is not better
nurse in the world She has more sense than
half the profession" And the Doctor went on
his way, while Mr. Bigelow went and sat in the
upper hall, where he could command partial
view of Susan's room, and looked at Aunt Hull
dob NTH n o1ad avpraooiop of roypOrsa and
reverence. Poor man. for nearly fortnight
he has done nothing but walk restlessly about
now to the door of Susan's room, to catch
glimpse of her pale face-now hurrying up the
street in search of the Doctor, only to fling away
from him in fit of impotence, when his words
did not correspond with his wishes, and come
home to scold at the Summerfelds and myself,
because we did not eat, forgetful that he had
not touched morsel himself or to beg me over
and over again to see that "that woman" did
not neglect the Doctors orders for some pre-
scription of her own.
"Your country nurses are always so con-
ceited," he would say.
Unfortunately, this antagonism has not all
been on his side. Something the old man had
said, coupled with the fact that he frequents an
Unitarian church, has led her to set him down
as one of that heretical sect, and of course, in
her view, (for she is strong Trinitarian,) "well
nigh given over to destruction" But the best
haters find it hard to nourish unkind feelings
by tho sick bed of mutual friend, and MIR.
Summerfeld and I cherish strong hopes of
reconciliation.
July 20th.-Our hopes were not in vain,
Margaret; for, as soon as Mr.. Bigelow was ad-
mitted to sit by Susan's bedside, the frosty at
mosphere between him and Aunt Huldah be-
gan to soften. Perhaps DR.. WIS words have
had no little share in bringing this about; for
he is as revereut of Aunt Huldah's word as he
would be if she were the goddess of health.
This touches the woman in the old danes
heart. She actually believes the man means
well enough, though his views of the Trinity
are none of the clearest, owing, no doubt to his
long residence among them South American
heathen." And can see, by the compression
of her lips, that she intends to convert him
and as l have faith in womanhood, l believe
she will do it-convert him, at least, from the
prejudice of sectarianism-and herself, too,
perhaps the more so, as she has laid aside her
"points of doctrine" and trusts entirely to les
sons from the Scripture, which she daily reads
aloud to Miss Summerfeld, whose room, since
her convalescence, has become the general
gathering place of the family-lessons to which
MIR. Bigelow listens with the most serious atten-
ton. Perhaps the decided manner in which
he signifies his approval of her emphatic pro-
nunciation of tie last syllable of participates
ending in ed is is his favor, for the old ladyevi-
IDENTIFY prides herself upon her reading, which |
has lost nothing in force or emphasis since the
days when the village school teacher used to
call her up, and listen with smile of gratifed
pride, while she went through with the geneal-
ogy of the children of Israel, or called the roll
OF King David's mighty men, for the edifea-
ton of the district committee.
Mr.. Summer6eld, wishing us to enjoy the
fresh sea breeze, has engaged rooms for MS at
Nahant for next week, where he and Mr.. Bige-
low will occasionally run down to see us.
Nahdnt, August 2d.-How like this wild, |
restless, mystic, ilimitable, nnsearchable, UNI
tamable ocean, is to the human heart Fed by |
the rivers of all countries as that by the rivers
of al thought-fghting, champing, striving,