The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1871-05-07
LETTER FROM EGYPT.

DAnAsts1s LtAohs On TUG Niics Eeo. A"s i"'.
DEAR JouRxAL We left Venice in
the bright golden days Of October, but
Winters blasts were cold and keen in the
beautiful capital Of Austria, the Uadines
were all hibernating beneath the dark wa
tsu OF the Donau, the life and movement
Of tho Pratsr had ccss I'd, but the galleries
still offered the wonderful collections, and
the magnificent Opera House, the handsom-
sst ia Rarope, snhaacsd the attractions
Of its incompatible ballot by uniting with
the dance the charming story of Esmcralds.
More interesting TO US than dancing
girls was the Alljemeine Spital, not be-
cause II Is one Of the largest hospitals in
the world, not because o greater variety
Of diseases are there treated than elsew here,
but because there wo expected to hnd one
Of our countrywomen of whom no one. in
the North is altogether ignorant.
We drove some distance from the city,
turned through wide gateway. guarded
by a grandly dressed parsonage, into q
court in which we're trees and plants,
walks, and vide carriage-way. A
glanced around this court and At the bull
dings inclosing Il, began to form an idea
of the size Of the. establishment, for our di.
rection read, "Dr. Mary Stafford, seventh
court, twenty-seventh staircase" /
learned afterwards there were nineteen Of
these courts, and that the various build
ings had more than three thousand pa
tients. ~ aas- s-a.--Hi
We had no difficulty in finding the OBJ
ject Of our quest, from whom we received
most cordial welcome, and, enscopced in
her pleasant quarters, We were soon aAoat
upon stream of talk to US most interest
Ing (; and, without resorting to downright
Yankee questioning, we learned much Of
the workings OF this. mammoth school end
inarmsry, for such is, and of she life in
it Of the brave little woman there prepar-
ing herself for usefulness to her sisters
across the sea. You all know Of Mary
Saford's work In the army, Of her loss II
health thereby, Of her extended journey
ings in Europe and Esst but you may
not all know that in spite Of the we'll
meant opposition Of friends and the temp
tations TO . life Of ease, which were over
come BY no spur Of necessity, she studied
medicine At home and came 70 Vienna not
N an ordinary student but with her diplo-
ma IN her pocket. She told
me thai, anticipating opposition here,
\ she had provided hsrselc. uith letters, testi-
monials, ETC.. and with these and her dip
Iona in hand presented herself to the
professors, but they did not even look q,
her budget Of documents, saying, "if sh,
came to learn that was sufficient" go
When she entered the hospital she had
the companionship OF several ladies, Eng
lish, Russians, and one American, but al
had left, and she was the only woman
among the more than eight hundred stu
dents, and not once, she told US, had she
received other than the kindest treatment,
not one rude word had she heard, not one
discourteous gesture seen, during all her
sojourn there.
One statement will give IN idea of the
number of cases treated. During nine
months there were seven thousand births
in the lying-in-ward. Many, women, she
said, were brought there with the mortar
not dried upon their hands, for in Aus
tris women carry the hod and lay bricl
and stone, the discovery never having beef
made there that women lack physica
strength for any kind Of hard work. Al
ter few weeks, or more frequently days
these women 60 back to their toll, tn,
greater number of the children being
brought up by the State-the boys, II the +,
live, for its service as soldiers.
Every form of suffering, Miss Stafford
told us, came under her eye. She assists
at Operations Of all kinds, not alone in
the French Specification of the word, but
wields the knife herself; and, not content
with work for twelve hours, with briei
rests for dinner and her simple breakfas,
of milk and bread, she is called from her
bed II anything Of special interest present,
itself. You will remember, too, that al
the lectures she hears, all the instruction.
she receives, are in foreign tongue. Shs
proposes, after completing the course
she has prescribed to herself In Vienna
which, by the way, includes many su bject
Of which the ordinary medical student 4
as profoundly ignorant as many of them ar
Of good ,nsnners--ts 20 70 Bssslau, where
II the professors survive the war (all ar,
now in service), she will have excollen