The herald., 1897-10-17

wishing to lay on the dark colors
of the picture too thickly. 1 must
people to do common work. They
add that leaving hospital service
for private patients. is often ex-
changing the frying pan for the
fire. 1 have spoken of the theory
that patients are all alike. Well! you
find that it's theory indeed. You
meet lovely people who become your
lifelong friends-a few of them. You
meet 80 per cent. more cranks of the
most appalling kind. They think it is
outrageous of you to sleep, even when
they do; they tease you for your un-
prejudiced opinion of the doctor; they
complain because you're not jolly
enough and call you heartless when you
do smile; if you deny them anything
| that is bad for them they refer to you
always after as that woman VINO
abused me so, you know
"They are forever reminding you OF
your anomalous social standing, sort
of Mahomets' coffin business, halfway
between a lady and a lady's maid.
They expect you to have faultless man
ners and to be au fait on all current
topics and new literature; they also
expect you to manicure their Toes
don't laugh! it's a true case. FIRST
class hotels won't let you eat the the
guests table, though by birth ana
breeding you show your connection
with the 400"
Her eyes twinkled. I'm coveting the
chance" she said, soberly, "of seeing
my naughty little Southern lady strike
upon that rock. She's the cousin OF a
Governor!"
Talking of servants" the head
nurse continued, strengthening her cap,
which she had shaken sidewise IN her
vehemence, there is another thorn
prepared for your devoted side, unless
you are wise as a serpent ana harm-
less as a dove. That is Bridget. She
resents your 'poking around in her do
main to prepare dainty dishes for your
invalid. She considers you name
spirited craythur,' for refusing to car
ry up the nice strengthening cup OF
warm tay' or black coffee. and alto
gether, unless you placate her she can
make things as warm for you as the
tea and as black as the coffee.
"The doctor, too, is not all your fancy
painted him in the days when you
thought nursing must be too Ideally
lovely for anything To him even the
patient is interesting only as case,
not as an individual, and you are neith-
er an individual nor a case, but a ma
chine whose name he has forgotten if
he ever knew it. Your opinions? Just
| fI,ara--h11f
won't dare, for one of your first les
sons at the hospital was that the good
nurse has no tongue, except to answer
questions. No matter how much you
know, you must draw veil over you
attainments, and instead of saying
The patient had fever last night,
merely and meekly observe, His tenn
perature went up to 100 and leave the
drawing of conclusions to the physi-
clan.
80 nursing is all prose? Yes, ev-
ery bit of it-sensational prose, how
ever. in which you get glimpses of trag-
edy and your faith in human nature is
severely jolted up Take the grim ex-
perience of a nurse of my acquaint-
ance, who after her patients husband
had slipped into the room with the
express purpose of tormenting her into
mysteries, found her trying to commit
suicide with a knife, snatched from
her dinner-tray. Rather trying to the
nerves. wasn't it? In fact nurses
have more than once told me that moth
ing on earth would induce them to
marry. after the scenes of domestic un-
happiness they are forced to see-for
| H. lrnr
when sickness enters a household. 1t
is quite a common thing for the nurse
to be subpoenaed as witness in a di-
vorce suit-another privilege on which
she did not count when she first put
this uniform on.''
"Is that all of the seamy side?" she
was asked.
81 think so,' musngly. "All except
the fact that the profession, like every
other open to women, is getting over
crowded and underpaid. And l forgot
to speak of the awful homesickness that
grows and grows as years pass on ant
YOU enter house after house that is no
your own, changing your surrounding:
more rapidly than the most enterpris
ing of servant girls
"And the sunny side?"
ooh, but that is another story
Enough has been said about that; thu
usefulness, the independence and thu
profit of a nurses life. I've tried t.
describe hard realities only. The use
fulness is there-all of it, and the pleas
ure that comes of alleviating the mis-
ery of this big miserable world, bu
the less said of the independence ant
the profit the better-at least by me.
And in a minute her light footstep
were echoing distantly across the pol
ished floor of the great hall. Proba
TONERS in blue uniforms gathered anx
iously around her as she issued som
: order and it was impossible to tell from
| face or manner which of them was tn
cousin of Southern governor.
L..