Milford chronicle., 1903-03-27


the results of many sicknesses?
why Nurses Should BE Christians
But there is another reason why the
nurse should be a Christian woman
No young girl who enters this noble
profession is morally and spiritually
safe unless she enters it with the di
vine arm of protection encircling her
We talk about the temptations which
confront an average actor and actress
Mary Anderson, once the uncrowned
queen Of the American theater, has
warned young girls against the temp
/ tations. Actors like Edwin Booth
would never allow their daughters to
follow in their footsteps. Some of US
would rather see our daughters dead
than hear that they were going upon
the stage. But the temptations OF the
stage have their counterpart in the per-
lis, more subtle and no less menacing,
Of the nurses career. The breaking Of
the home ties, the silence of the sick
room, the evils Of the hospital, the un-
principled lives of many physicians
and the perils which musthecessarily
arise in the discussion of certain cases
all conspire TO overthrow the spirit
ual life of one who may have entered
the nurses profession with the highest
and noblest Of purposes. All, nurse,
you realize only too well that the words
Of warning which l speak have Il far
reaching and overpOwcriEg meaning;
therefore, ii you are going to enter this
profession in your own strength l beg
of you to stop before it is too late Bet
ter scrub il the kitchen, stand behind
the counter, be chanbermaid or any
thing that Is honorable, however hum
bic, rather than attempt to be trained
nurse without Christ by your side. AS
a noble, Christian woman Il trained
nurse has the grandest opportunities
for usefulness; as one who is Tot Ii
yinely projected she is in weekly and
daly-aye, perhaps in hourly-danger
of spiritual overthrow.
The ideal nurse should be a brave
woman. The battlefield, with its storm
of shot and shell, shows no greater per-
centage of loss Of life than that found
among the trained nurses in our cOnta
gious hospitals. The soldier wEe
charges the enemy's breastwor.zs is
looking death in the face with no BRAY
er eye than the uniformed nurse who
times the pulse of the smallpox patient
or the young girl who offers to go with
the physicians into the quarantined
city affected with yellow fever. Then
there are the dangers which may affect
the patients as well as the nurse, which
result from delirium. The other day
read an account of a ease in which the
quick witted bravery of nurse saved
the life of raving patient committed
to her charge. Having stepped out Of
the room for little, when she returned
she found the patient standing by his
bed with a knife in his hand, ready to
cut his throat. Instead of screaming or
running away, she fixed her eye calmly
upon his as she said: Il would not cut
my throat with such dull knife rs
that if | were you. Let me have it; l
know whore to get Il sharper one"
The delirious patient hcsitated Il mo-
ment. Then he handed it to her. Then
she calmly turned and threw it out of
the open window as she said, Now go
back to bed or else will call for help to
put ycu there" All, that was bravery!
That was bravery as great as Lieu
tenant Gushing exhibited when he tried
to blow up the irOncad ram Albemarle
at Plymouth y. c.. or as General Fun
ston exhibited when. with Il handful OF
followers, lie invaded AguinaldO's head |
quarters and captured the chief of the
Filipino armies. That is the kind Of
physical and moral courage which
many nurses have TO possess in order
to fulfill the trying duties Of their no
bic profession.