Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-06-07
CHARITY HOSPITAL
SAD SCENES sAMoNe AN uNFoR-
TUNATE CLASS OF PEOPLE.

TUNATE CLASS OF PEOPLE.
Mission Work on Blackwelps island.
Nine Hundred Sufferers Under One
Roof-A Dying Girl-Noble Deeds OF
Charity-outside Work.
The ladies' Of the mission gathered up
their packages and papers and divided,in
two parties-one to visit the penitentiary
and do there the beautiful work which
Elizabeth Fry initiated, the other to the
Charity hospital; and with the latter I
went. a small room Is set apart there
for the use of the mission. The tables in
1t were already covered with baskets OF
fruit, glasses ofsjelly. bottles of beef tea,
cans of oysters, and various other deli
cacies. By each basket lay q number of
papers and religious tracts. After brief
religious services the ladies' separated,
each taking her own basket and reading
matter to the ward she Yves assigned to.
Here, under this one root, are zoo human
beings, in every conceivable stage of
suffering. The pangs of poverty are In
creased a hundred fold when disease
bclLc6 I'LL ib5 SuSl SluUS1lCS AN ailluPpJ
victim. Few people. are fortunate enough
to escape the knowledge of bodily pain.
Most, indeed, can recollecS at least one
season of physical wr~etchedness. To be
sure, There was a soft bed and shaded
windows, sklled care and loving atten-
tions. doctors who said pleasantthings and
disguised their doses, delicious trifiesth
appeared by magic, and o Thousand In
genious% surprises to create an appetite or
win q smile. With all that. something
like q shudder comes over one ut the!
thought of a repetition of the experience.
N Togo through a ward in the Charity hos
pital %eonyinces you that the primer of
misery has yet I'd be mastered by-the rest
ofus. Imagine yourself o. . narrow and
lumpy bed. the light from q rowof big
windows beating In your eyeba1ls, the feet
of the convalescents shutting and scuf-
fling over the bare floor, the whitewashed
walls, devoid of even avail paper pattern
to be deciphered, b ecallous. young doctor
to whom you are but a bit of experience,
and the food such that If we'll your
stomach and senses would revolt at it.
As to flowers, books, music and bright
colors, they come only in dreams.
After all no amountof moralizing brings
the truth home like q single individual
case, and there was one patient in par
ticular that made a profound impression
upon me--n girl In the last stages OF con.
sumption. Illness had robbed her face of
the coarseness it may have had in health.
Through the veil that death is drawing
over 1t shine splendid black eyes and a
skin painfully brilliant In coloring. A
heavy mass Of short black hair falls yer
her forehead, nearly meeting the large
dark brows that seem to have been
painted rather than grown on the marble
skin. There is something curious and
shocking in this dread armakeup' OF dis
ease that reminds n Of the stage, but
there is no counterfeit presentment Of
health in the long, emacfated hands that
lie SO nervelessiy on the b~edquilt. By
the side of the bed lisa little stand; upon
1t a Bible and q mug OF water-that is all
Mary was breathing In low gasps. Her
lips were pafched, her eyes despairing.
Suddenly they fell upon the visitor In o
4 moment she was transformed. Whensthat
visitor laid on the little table a slice OF
ordinary white. bread and butter and o
big orange the girl half raised herself on
i her elbow. to look. her gratitude. The
luxury expressed In that slice Of bread
and butter nc one can imagine until they
look at the dark. sticky stuff creased over
that ID called by that name in the hos
pitat. Then the gentle missionary read
and talked to the girl who listened
eagerly. No u else ome to- see me
but You" she said, simply, land the days
and nights are SO long, lEs8 s@'
"Is there anything you would nkef'
asked the lady. t2s aes4ss gii
eyes. ma.am,f II you please. I should
SO like. d little mixed. candy" said the dy-
ing CIR. sssYou sec, the medicine tastes
SO bad. and we don't have nothingto take
afterit." The candy was promised, and
withh her heart in her voice the lady ut
tered a little prayer and left the sufferer
composed. and comforted-J IL Is q darA
day ina PATIENTS life when the doctor
says she may have anything she likes
that is, that visitors choose to give her
and many and singular are the petitions
showing the sufferers idea Of luxury,
One sinking from tho effects Of m opera
tion begs for q taste OF mixed pickles
another wants just one bologny. ms'aIn:'
9 third asks for Q glass Of ginger ale, ant
an old woman begs forgsta cup Of rea
Z tea" ..s...S gaa0iaailasea
Going from onegward to smother It Il
the same story told over and over agar
of suffering, for the most part dumb, o
moral blindness and mental misery It 4
curious. though to note tho difference .
reception given to the mission visitors b,
tho new and old ones. gs5 i tegelE II
81 In the surgical wards were many des
perately M women. One of2them rea
81 the door was nearly ever ths threshold Q
lifo. .Herglazed eyes were fixedsupon
chld-her only one. brought,to her for
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