Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1884-12-18
JULIET.
Story OF a Hospital Patient--The
New Nurse.


Do not for moment associate any
thing fair or girlish with our Juliet
Big, brown and boarded, he lay in Co
No. 10, Ward X, of the Army Hospita
mt Quincy, Ill, ssying little, and DOM
planning not at all. We girls, on oul
daily rounds through the wards will
flowers and delicacies, came to speal
of him as Juliet simply by reason o.
the great devotion of a convalescen,
comrade by the name of Romeo
Romeo Wilkins. OF course, at any
time, from the hospital register, we
could easily have found his proper
name and rank but nothing so prosaic
was ever thought of. We chose always
rather to have our own distinctive
titles-as Achilles" for him of the
wounded heel, cSchiller'' because of a
taste in apples similar to that attributed
to the great German poet, and "Dick-
ems because of fancied personal re-
semblance to that popular author. If
there was only an appearance Gf levitv
IN this, it was only an appearance, for
our sympathy was Of a very sincere
and tender kind. In those early years
OF the wei, nHh !fu VS. 6u1lq Qkedp Ypep SO
relieve IL, we must sometimes 'laugh
TO hide the tears we she'd" and our pet
names were endearing rather than dis
respectful
There was nothing at all romantic
about Romeo. He was simply an hon
est, ignorant, but exceedingly kind
hearted fellow, not quito well enough
30 be returned to duty, but well enough
TO do many little Kind offices for his
more helpless comrades. In particular
did he engage himself with services as
delicately conceived as they were often
awkwSrdly rendered for his neighbor of
Cot No. 10. 1t was this that in the be-
ginning, as have said, led us to adopt
for the object of his devotion the name
of Juliet. Afterward, when by chance
one of us read u. Hatch" on the cor
ner of his pocket>handkerchief, we re-
5ected all suggestions of James or
Joseph or John, and chose to count the
initial rs proof positive of Juliet.
otH 81 our e T tae FOR fere %ss esH
day a package marked, "For the
Young Ladies. With the compliments
of the fair Juliet" 1t proved to be a
collection of mcmentoes, mostly pressed
flowers or pebbles from various battle
fields, daintily put up, and addressed in
scholarly hand. Little amenities of
this kind, the nicely of the few per-
sonal effects that q soldier may carry
with him, the choice diction and enun-
citation that belong only to the Gull
tured, revealed Juliet to be of distinctly
higher social grade than most of his
comrades, and we pleased our
selves with many fine fancy
about him. Sometimes these were
based upon the ring, a lady's ring, set
with small diamond, that he wore on
his little finger; sometimes upon a
small volume constantly under his pill
low, and frequently read. At first we
had pretty theory that this was the
New Testament that he was under filial
Obliged TO abandon on discovering the
book to be a copy of Sponsors ''Faerie
Queen" OF course, there was q cruel
fair one somewhere-we made no doubt
of that.
II can not understand" said Doctor
W., reporting the case to the chief sur
geon, "why this man does not i'm
prove. His wound is a comparatively
trifing affair, there have been no com
plications, and no inflammation, yet
there is still no sign of healing"
We girls held to our original diagno.
sis, especially when the nice morsels
we ourselves prepared, in the hope OF
&. 20
with courteous thanks, only to be sent
away, after our departure, scarcely
tasted.
Poor, simple, faithful Romeo! 1t wa:
all sad puzzle to him. ""T stands t.
reason he said confidentially, on
morning ''thet man tibet don't sleeI
o. nights amt agoin' to get well. Wher
he has a nice feather pillow brought t.
him, say it's meant to sleep on, ant
not to keep verses under tibet you'v'
writwhen you think everybody's ASLEEP
/, and nobody don't know it."
IL Here was another revelation. III w,
had had any doubts before we had non,
now. A man is not generally given t,
writing verses to his mother or his sis
ter, and if he had wife she would com
to him, we reasoned. We knew nov
that he loved her-we had named he
Duessa by this time--that she was I'm
kind, and we hated her..
One morning there was a genera
confusion in the hospital. A Telegram
had been received that hospital boa
would be in at noon with one hundre
additional sick and wounded for us
1t was a short notice, and taxed not on
" The entire hospital force, but all on
volunteer service as well It was dc
cided to take possession of an adioir
ING building and remove to it all of on
inmates who were able to bear th
change. Things got very much nike
in the hasty transfer, and / undertoo
the task of finding the proper owner
of the various articles as they wei
gathered up here and there by the a
tendants. Sometimes there was no be
ter clue for doing this than a lettt
with only the indefinite address: IN
dear Tom" and an equally indefinit
signature Sometimes there was neitht
address nor signature, as was the cas-
with these verses:
tMy head Is tired,
Nv heart fired