Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-12-25
TIE MADRID HOSPITAL.


Description OF Visit to the Cholera Hos
pltal at the Spanish Capital.
The first wards we entered were those
of tho convalescents. They consisted
Of two large, light and airy rooms,
beautifully clean us, indeed, the whole
of the hospital was), in the first of
which were about six or seven men sit
ting about and seemingly doing nothing
but passing the time away by chatting.
They looked to me quite well, though
mostly very thin. 1t was novel sight
to SEQ so many poor Spaniards in so re-
markable a state of cleanliness. eX.
pect it was the only part of their treat.
ment they found unpleasaut-the baths.
There is no door between the mems and
women's wards, and we merely had to
step through doorway innocent Of cur
tain or anything. | saw just about
the same number Of women, some
Of them, poor things, looking very
i'll indeed Their faces were not pale,
but thin and drawn. One pleasant
looking girl | asked how she was. Every
tired. very weak. but getting better"
II il had not been for the assurance Of
the nurse, should have thought she
was dying. lie said that in one or two
days at most all these cases would be
discharged. Just rs | was about to
leave the ward, in came sister with
the afternoons chocolate. 1t was worth
while to see the way in which she was
welcomed. The patients adore the
good sisters. and not without reason.
Before leaving tho convalescent ward |
was shown a poor little fellow whose
father and only brother has been swept
away by the disease, and the little chap
left alone. His mother had long been
dead. The boy seemed quite a pet in
the ward, and was evidently well salts
fed with his present quarters.
Coming out of the ward, we turned
sharp round to the left and e..tered room
No. 2. This was long, narrow room,
along one side of which were ranged
twenty beds, each one tcnanted by a
man. These were bad cases, and all
seemed in quito stupor One thing
must not omit to notice. On entering
this ward | had removed my hat. One
man, who seemed in the last stage OF
exhaustion, aud who was lying staring
at us with fixed, CLASSY eyes, slowly
and with Il painful effort raised his hand
to his head, and took OF q sort of skull
cap he was wearing. Polite arc these
people to the last. Three or four beds
further on l noticed, close together,
two beds, in which were the two
worst cases. The men were a terrible
sight. Their lips were the color Of old
parchment, their eyes closed, seemingly
unconscious. and dreadfully, terribly
thin. Their check bones seemed almost
as If they would start through their
faces. To-day" said the nurse, ''thoy
die" And thought they would be glad
enough to do SO from their appearance.
On reaching the end Of this ward we
turned again to the left into a square
room, iu which were few women, all
very i'll. In one corner Of the room
saw little cot. II was tonanted by
quite a young infant should think NOT
more than nine or twelve months old.
1t had been in the hospital
for over twenty days, and. poor child.
bore traces of having suffered very much.
One Of its arms was lying outside the
coverlet, and looked like. little stick Of
wood. To me this little waif, lying
there alone and In such state, was the
most painful sight in the whole hospital,
and / do not mind confessing-why
should I?-that for moment had to
bite my lira pretty hard, and choke down
something that would have Teen very
malapropos in person viewing the
cases in quite a professional capacity.
In this ward | had chat with one VI
the sisters. a bright, bonny woman.
whose very presence must have been of,
one would think, as much efficacy as the
physic.
After my chat was conducted up q
large staircase to see the six new
cases which had come in and been put
to bed. They were all girls, and all in
mates Of the orphan school here; one or
two Of them seemed to be in pain, con-
vulsively lifting their arms and drawing
up their legs. Here was another sister,
who gave me at some length the treat
ment TO which patients are subjected
and the symptoms by which, cholera Is
told. As these are pretty well known |
shall not repeat them here, except per.
haps to mention that for six days per-
son i'll of cholera is kept without any
food whatever beyond little tea and
warm rum--Cor. Pail Mall Gazette.