Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-07-24
THE WAR ITALY,

Shocking Scenes at NIiIan-The VEOuuded
| HObbIing About the Streets-Tvventy-
five Hospitals Open-Ten Thousand
Patien.s i'm the ea !-SiSters of Charity,
&c., DC.
A Milan correspondent of the London Times
writes:
On the parade outside OF the cathedral to-day
there we're small parties Of numerous regiments
Of Piedmontese there we're but q company or two Of
infantry recruits, but The French displayed uni
forms of all arms, from grenaders to Cuirassiers of
the Guard dcwnwards. Or some regiments there
we're only three or four men. There were the re-
mains of the first regiment of the Foreign Legion,
which has already suffered terribly in this war
CREST portion Of the French soldiers one sees about
the streets men just of hospitals but not yet
fit fer 6uty-some lame, others with arms in sings
and others whose palied couutenances tell of hurts
not less severe although less apparent No man
living hates hospital more than the French SOL
dier. His active, lively temperament makes its
dullness and confinement particularly odous to him.
and there is no danger of his remaining in it
enc hour more than he is compelled to de-. In
deed have heard Of one or two cases here of SOL
diers having made their escape without doctors
permission, and having might be expected, to
return to their bed all the worse for their impru-
denee.
There are no less than 25 military hospitals,
large and small, in Milan. All the barracks have
that when the army passed through it had 10 camp
around the town, system still adopted for the de-
tachment or regiments that come up. Those % hos
Titas said to contain about 10 900 patients
& very large proportion Of them wounded, l have
been over to three Of them; that Of San Ambrpzio,
where there are about ,250 that of San Luea $50:
end that Of San Francesca (the vast barracks built
by Napoleon, where l was informed there were
about 800. San Ambrozio, formerly convent is
admirably adapted for its present oecupation it hes
lofty, airy rooms and Corridors and spseous inter-
nal courts, grass grown, shaded by fine trees, and
surrounded by cool porticoes. The men looked com
Portable and well cared for, and there did appear
to be many bad cases in that establishment It was
quite full but on the fine afternoon on which visit
ed it at least five beds out Of six empty. Their
usual occupants were to be hobbling about the
corridors, sitting in the em5rasures of the windows
and (not few dressed in their uniforms and smok-
ing under the trees in the courts. 10 this hospital
nearly all were French. Ispoke to many Of them,
and they seemed cheerful and eontented. The kiteh.
ems and pharmacy were extremely clean. The Gu
riosites in their wsy-such huge caldrons Of food
and wholesale preparations Of mediosments, pbysie
by the pailful, and dozens of buckets of lemonade
number of women, and SONS MIsnese ladies,
were busy in the lihenaroom, with great stores of
lint and bandsges and sheets; and, truly, great
stores are needed; and If there was deficiency in
any respect it seemed to be in this article At least
it stru,k me that Of the beds we're not quite SO
tsry HOSPITALS. There was, however, little TO be
said IN the way of fsult-fnding.
The air Of the place was sweet and pure, and one
scarcely encountered an evil odor from one end Of
it to the other. A few ladies were 10 be met with
here and there in the wards but it was not the hour
when The lsrgestnum5er attended, nor indeed that
at which their attendance is most required French
and Italian Sisters Of Charity were, as usual, busy
in their holy task, and here and there priest sat by
the side of some poor wretch with whom the human
physicians skill hardly hoped to avail. The hos
pital of San Lucs much larger scale, seemed in
an equally satisfactory slate. That of San Fran
ceseo made less favorable impression. Until very
recently barTaek its conversion Into q receptacle
fer the sick can hardly be said TO be as yet fully
completed. It is somewhat in the rough, and indeed
the director showed reluctance 10 allow Of it being
visited on account of the inevitable confusion and
deficiencies that still existed but to which be was
lahoring to put an end. There certainly great
difference between this hospital and San Ambrozio,
and visitors with delicate ofaetories would do we'll
to limit themselves to the examination of the latter
In San Francesca there we're both French and Aus
trians but the latter were in jority, and was
informed that the intention ultimately TO trans
fer thithtr all the Ausirisns. There seemed to be
many more bad cases here than in either Of the two
other hospitals. notwithstanding this and the evil
dent inferiority Of the place in many respects it
was stated that only enc Of hospital gangrene
had occurred. There was one long corridor, every
room opening out Of which was full Of amputated
men On door after door one read the inscription:
IS Amputad." No empty beds or cheerful counter
snees here
Nothing could be sadder than the sight of these
long rows of poor MANNED fellows, or than the
tpund Of the low meaning which many Of them,
wiSh set teeth, evidently did their utmost TO re-
strain. Not few Of them were Croats, but there
were also some excellent specimens of the Austrian
soldier, TyTolese and others. Most Of them lay
mOtonless as If exhausted and Weak-soms With