Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-11-25
An Unknown Woman.
THE MYSTERIOUS Hosr1rAL NURSE.

has never yet seen print
II was when Sherman was playing hide anC
seek with the army of General Joe Johnston
on the way from Chattanooga, that a woman
Of ravishing beauty made her appearance il
Atlanta. Where she came from no on'
knew Of her people she never spoke; but j
was surmised by some Of the ladies who haC
gotten near her, that she bore some secre
sorrow, perhaps the sacrifice of some loveC
one on the bloody field of Virginia.
Day By day train loads Of wounded Con
federates reached Atlanta from the front
The ladies of the city engaged in hospita
work with a zeal worthy the sisters and wive
al brave men. Jealous as all were in thi
work, Miss Emma, which was the only NAM
by which she was generally known, became
noted because of her endurance and hdeliIy
As she would pass from ward to ward tn
diving men would turn their eyes smilingl'
toward her. She was indeed the angel OF TIM
hospital.
Notwithstanding all this the eye of suspic
ion fell upon hrr. Was she spy! The
question would have been laughed at by mos
people, and yetthere were those who detected il
her manner something which they did mo-
like. But this Suspicion was hushed by the
uniformly philanthropic work in which Miss
Emma was engaged.
At last Sherman's lines were drawn around
the city and the people began to experience
all the horrors of a siege. The sick and the
dying were multiplied, and the efforts OF
noble women to relieve them became ex-
hausted. Miss Emma grew pale with her
excessive work Rest she declined to take
while 4 wound was to be bandaged or dying
man longed for kind words.
The sound Of revelry was often heard amid
the din of battle. Even when the people
were driven into their bomb proofs they sang
and danced, for they recognized the philoso-
ply of driving grief away by pleasure. Balls,
somewhat impromptu it is true were gwen,
and the ladies looked more charming in their
Confed, rate toilets than they could have
looked in silks. The officers were always
the beaux OF such occasions. for beauty is
attracted by bravery.
To these gatherings Miss Emma never
went, but there came time when she was
pressed to go. The colonel of = gallant in
fantry regiment had invited her to bomb
proof ball. Misc Emma was urged to go as
q relief from the pressing hospital work which
was slowly killing her She at last consent
ed, and was soon in the whirl of the merry
dancers.
The kind lady with whom Miss Emma
lodged did not awake till the sun was an hour
high next day. She had not heard Miss
Emma enter but no dream of harm entered
her mind. She determined not to disturb the
poor lady. but 20 let her sleep on, for did not
her faithful service entitle her to rest?
There were excited crowds upon the streets.
Orderlies on horseback dashed to and fro
The roar of Shermsn's artillery was becom
ing more and more terrific. There was some
thing in the air which announced that crisis
was imminent.
But still the lady slept.
The hour was growisR late and the excite
ment of the people outside was increasing.
A knock at Miss Emma's door brought no
answer. When the door was burst open a
singular sight was presented.
Reclining upon the sofa Miss Emma laid as
if in peaceful sleep. She was dressed in
white, with a yellow belt around her waist,
and blue cape thrown carelessly across her
shoulder. Upon the finger of one hand was
an elegant diamond ring. The other arm,
snowy in its whiteness, was thrown above her
head She presented a beautiful picture.
She did not move upon the entrance of her
friend.
TO the touch she was cold.
If she breathed at all it was so quietly that
death could not still it more.
The cape was lifted, when horrible wound
in the breast was disclosed. 1t appeared as
if a whole load of bird shot had been lodged
in her bosom.
Poor Emma was dead murdered!
But by whom?
The window overlooking the garden was
raised. The footprints of several men we're
visible, and the box upon which they stood in
order to reach the window was still in place.
1t was evident that after the poor girl had met
her death her body was quietly carried back,
passed through the window, and the remains
arranged upon the sofa with an eye to every
ietail which might have an effect Not an
article of jewelry was missing. Everything
Sas in place.
But Sherman's men were entering the city
rhe gallant Confederates were retreating
Confusion reigned supreme. In the general
tampede which followed, lesser sensations
we're forgotten. When at last the smoke of
'attle had cleared away and the people
to rebuild their fortunes, the fate of
he murdered woman was recalled, and three
heories were maintained.
One was that during the ball shrapnell
hell had penetrated the retreat and explod-
ng killed Miss Emma. The second WAS that
IN her way home she had been outraged and
murdered BY her escort. The third was that
he was Federal spy; that she was talked
y it'll her identity, and that she had all along
been furnishing Sherman with important in
Enraged by her treachery the
men sentenced her to death and executed the
sentence. Her BODY then hurriedlv re-
urned to the room from which she had
emerged the evening before joyous and beau
itul
But it was too late to investigate. After a
While the whole matter was forgotten, and
sven now her grave in Oakland is unknown.
LONDON, Nov. 22-Much interest is ex
cited in medical circles by the successful
ssue of remarkable operation last week
performed by Sir William MacCormac. of the
Royal College of Surgeons. 1t is the second
operation so performed by him within the
last few months and it is believed that there
are no previous instances of success in such
an operation in Europe or possibly in
A America. On Tuesday of last week slater
fell from the scaffold of a house a distance
of eighteen feet TO the ground. He was
carried to st. Thomss's Hospital, suffering
extreme agony. No bones were found to be
broken but on Wednesday Sir William Mae
Comsc. diagnosing the case, came to the con-
clusion that the bladder had been ruptured
The man was put under an9sthetics, an in
cision made into the abdomen and the
diagnosis verified. The contents of the
and perin9um were Withdrawn, the
bladder drawn out. the suture made and
tested, the organs replaced, the stomach
clesnsed with antisentics and the
incsion closed. The patient emerged from
his insensible condition relieved of pain, on