Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1862-05-07
AN.ANGEL AT CAIRO.
We find in the New Covenant"

We find in the "New Covenant OF
Chicago, letter from Mrs. M. A. Liver
more, from Cairo, giving an interesting
account, among other things, of Miss.
Mary Stafford. n young lady &C lie Flor
ence Nightingale order. who. it must be
said, are not always found among Our
female army nurses:
| cannot close this letter from Cairo
without passing word of one whose
name is mentioned by thousands of our
soldiers with rattude and blessing. Miss
Mary Stafford is n resident of this town,
whose life since the beginning Of the war,
has been devoted to the amelioraton of
the soldiers lot, and his comfort in the
hospitals. She is a young lady. petite
in figure, unpretending, but highly cul-
tivatcd, by no means officious, and SO
unconscious Of Der excelencies and the
great work she is achieving, that fear
this public allusion to her may pain her
modest nature. Her sweet young face,
full of benevo.ence, pleasant voice, and
winning manner install her in every ones
heart directly; and the more enc secs
her, the more one admires her great soul
md her noble nature. Not a day elapse
but she is found in the hospitals, unless
indeed she is absent on nm errand of mer-
cy mp the Tennessee, or to the hospitals
in Kentucky.
Every sick and wounded soldier in
Cairo knows and loves her; and rs she
enters the ward, every pale face brightens
at her approach. AS she passes along,
she inquiries of each one how he passed
the night, if he is well supplied with
reading matter, and il ,here is anything
she can do for han. All tell their story
the man old enough to be her father
and the boy of fifteen, who should be
out of the army and at home with his
mother. One thinks he would like a
baked apple if the doctor would allow it
another rice pudding, such as she
can makc-a third a lumber of butter
milk-a fourth wishes nothing, is dis
couraGed, thinks he shall die, and breaks
down utterly in tears, and him she soethcs
and encourages, till he resolves for her
sake, to keep up good heart, and hold
on to life little longer-a fifth wants
her to write TO his wife-a sixth is afraid
to die, and with him and for him, ner
devout spirit wrestles till light shines
through the dark valey-a seventh desires
her to sit by him and read and so on.
Every request is attended 70, be it ever
SO trivial, and when she goes again if
the doctor has sanctioned the gratifica
ton of tho sick mans wish, the butter
milk, baked apple, rice pudding, etc., are
carried along. Doctors, nurses, medical
doctors, and army officers are all her
friends; and SO iudcious and trustworthy
is she, that the Chicago Sanitary Com
mission have given her carte blanche to
draw on their stores ut Cairo for ANY,
thing shc may need in her errands Of
mercy. She is performinga noble work
and that too in the quietest and most IN
conscious manner.
Said a sick soldier from the back
woods, in the splendid hospital at Mound
City, who was transferred thither from
one of the miserable regimental hospi
tells at Cairo. elm taken care Of here
n heap better than was Mt Cairo; but
rather be there than here, for the sake
of seeing that little gal that used to come
in every day to see us. tell you what
she's an angel, if there is any" TO this
last assertion we say amen most heartily.
Miss Stafford resides in Cairo with her
brother, A, B. Stafford, Esq, who is
widely known 10 the mercantile and com
mercial circles. He is every way worthy
such sister, and is her ccadjutor in
every benevolent work.