The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1884-01-03
TOUCHING HOSPITAL SkETCu


- Il ne hospitqI or on the bs tile field, for the
ste of God a. id humanity, will you communi
- Re with my mother, Mrs. Charles Dodge
sswn--state.
This, written upon the fly leaf Of little
lack pocket Testament. .s
I am fast getting to be an old woman but
never shall forget those old hospital days.
nd this little book has brought back the
Id memories, just as the sight of old andi-
ons and spinning wheel will carry one
ack to gandmother's time. You see, l
vent always had gray hair and crows feet.
acre was time long ago when thought
at life meant happiness. But when our
ighbor's boy 10, whom I had played with
my childhood came to me and asked
- to make a choice for life, had to put 1t
away; for father and mother died that
ar and left four little brothers in an eld-
sisters care did the best could for
EN-, but we were poor. and sometimes
Q weight was well-nigh too heavy for
Dung shoulders.
WE'LL my boys grew up md went out int
.e world: all but Jamie. poor little cripple
py. / loved him the more because so
1pendent on me. But he took sick, and
le spring day l laid him away in the
.eetlng- house grave yard and went back to
lonely home. NOBODY knows how my
cart ached for something to love and work
ar. Aud then the war broke out and as
ladn't a husband or sons to give to my
ountry thought I'd go myself. Mo- to
= CHIT. Q no: but as q nurse In the hospital.
md so that's os happened to go. [ had
seen there several months when the battle
: If Chilled and wounded so many of
Our boys, you remember. Q lite a number
IF them were brought TO our hospital. l
saw them car1ied in ana then went through
The wards to do what | could. As was
'hurrying from one to another l came to
this one in the corner. i couldn't help but
Notice right away how young and bosish
the face was. Somehow thought of Jamie,
and my heart gave great throb. He raised
up on his elbow rs | came near. gave II
cheerful nod and said. Good moring,
Auntie."
l waute to put my arms around his neck
and give him good motherly hug, but, you
see. We had to learn to overcome our feel
iass there So Il o " said "G,oi IL orn-
ing" as quietly as l could, and then Went to
work to smooth out the army blanket, and
replaced the haversack, doing duty as n
pillow by wooIsn shawl of my own. You
see, / was thinking 50 hard of j ME, 1t
never occurred to NE that he was wounded
until he put his hand over his breast and
gave little short breath. What Rave
they been doing to you | asked, taking
awav his hand.
Used me for target, Auntie. Splen
did shot, true as you live and he smiled
just Us though he was talking about some
sport.
Did the surgeon take the bail out?"
, saidI.
THAT old fellow with the saw and screw
{ driver? Wnew. He bored till most thought
he was the gimlet and | was the hole.
Guess he didn't find it.
h saw that it wanted dressing, SO | set
about it. 1t didn't look very bad. ven
tured to say so. and you ought to have seen
his face brighten, while he asked so earn
estly: DO you think so? Just what l
!. thought. III be ali right i'll few days.
/, Don't you think l will.''
I sh, ok 1py head. I didn't want to diSa-
gree with him. but knew it was bet OF than
TO give false hope. No; not IN a few day s..
/ Perhaps in few weeks" l had dressed
the wound by this time. so he said in his
CHEEKY way that he'd take little trip into
the land of nod. and then began to snore
like a nllschievous school boy. | went
about my other duties, but by and by came
around juss to see how he was; AMI sure
enough, he was sleeping just as quietly Rs a
baby.
Next morning stopped the surgeon after
he had gone through the wards, for though
he was in hurry. wanted to know when
my boy was going TO get we'll. / thought
likely as not he'd ask me again and it W old
be SO much better to say the doctor says
So" The way the surgeon frowned when /
asked him-and he answered SO sharp,
"WhenS Shot through the lung. madam
Just IS surely dead as though his head was
cut If.
It was we'll that had SO many months Of
discipline among the suffering and dying,
or / could not have heard it and been SO
calm; for. YOU see. this boy was taking
Jamie's ! lace: so when went in with the
bowls OF polridge l contdn't smle back at
him, although | saw him raise up on his
eltow the minute l stepped inside the door.
OF course l expected he would be wogso.
but he ate the porridge with boys gellsh,
and declared he felt good enough to stand
on his head. While was working for the
others I heard a little tune, now softly
whissled, now sung, coming from that cor
ner. It was something about rhe ''patter
OF the rain-d drops on the roof" When l
came around again he STOPPED his tune
long enough to ask me if ever sung it
told him | didn't sing, but perhaps some
bojv could.
No matter any way, he said; only
mother used to sing it to us when we were
little chaps at home. I thought it woulc
sound sort Of good here, but d MT suppose
anybody could sing it quite like her"
told him didn t believe any body could
The next ohy, to my great surprise. he
: T-omed great deal better. 1 had resolved
TO hare BIN send letter home that dav:
but when he began to talk about getting
Well, In his cherry way, it grew harder and
holder.
Don't you suppose I'll have furlough
auntie, after the old hole gets filled up?"
You deserve one," I couldn't help but
say. But hadn't you better write to your
mother, SO not to frighten herr"
~Oh, no, 'twould scare the little woman
ont of her wits. Besides, / want to sur
prise her. Won't she be glad enough to
burst when she sees me walking in that
side door by the lilac bushes"
And he began to get SO excited issst talk
ing about 1t that mad to scold him and tell
him to &c to sleep, or he wouldn't 60 home
very soon.
Really, couldn't help keeping up the
deluslon. He was SO much better, and SO
hopeful too; l really began to think the
surgeons were mistaken about the wound.
The next day ne felt so well he wanted to
sit up; end said no, and tried to amuse
the others. He said rubbed his head al
most like his mother and wouldn't she be
glad 70 see him though! When he spoke
OF his mother, l asked him
u he hadn't better write home,
and il he didn't want his mother
to come and escort him home, for he
wouldn't be real strong for long time.
But he seemed SO much to anticipate sur
prising her; and then he argued that it was
too far tor the little mother to come alone, and
he was getting well so fast. The nextday and
the next found my boy full of hope. and
impatient to get well and start for home.
We had such pleasant talks. He told me
about his home and his little sisters and
wido we'd mother. / told him about Jamie
and my lonely life. 1 found myself laugh
ing over his funny speeches good many
times, a very UNUSUAL thing for q SOBER old
maid like me. He so firmly believed and
insisted that he was getting well that he
made me, nelIeveit Since then have won
dered how could have been SO deceived
The sixth morning WI en- I opened the
door, missed the raised head; and when ]
reached his corner I saw it lay on the pill
low. The smile was little fainter thar