Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-01-24
THE STRANDED NAN.

He was the terror OF the head nurses,
With his dare-6eyA black eyes, SCARED face.
long, black mustaches and Independent
manner He wore Ais disrSusable hat on
the back Of MS head ard never removed
a. An Old COO pipe was always between
his teeth.
Many OF the beds m the charity wards
Of the hospital we're supplied wita straw
ticks. After a death or waen a patient was
able to sit uq after q long Illness The straw
bed was taken out and a new one seat up.
1t was Hugh's duty TO make the round OF
the hospital each morning and ascertain
the number Of beds required. He would
stalk INTO the narseroonl or into the ward
if he saw the head nurse there and putting
the smoke from his ~ pipe into her face
would growl out. How many beds do
yez think yez wants this mornin On
being told he invariably replied: "Shure
an yez won't git en-. And usually tAere
came up one less shan was ordered.
He also attended to the emptyine Of the
garbage can which stood on the hre-escape
of each ward, and woe 10 the peace Of mind
Of a head nurse in whose can he discovered
so1sb anr~ls or clothing, thrown there by
Eoh4r careless nurse or patient. She might
be making the rounds with a visiting physi-
NNtAA VA AD& subj AAA(AAAN@Nt ~ @N
to Hugh. He would stalk up to her with
the articles found, held between a dirty
thumb and forefinger, and, thrusting them
at her, would hiss between his teeth, shut
tight on the stem OF the cob pipe: Shure
an if liver | foind the loikes az this agin
III have the warden after yer, don't yez fer
git it. Such a waste Of good county linen,
bedadi"
The most arrogant Of head nurses would
quail under the baleful glare Of Hugh's
wicked black eyes as he delivered ths altt-
matum. Some tried c~ajoling, others scolded,
the timid ones wept, but he continued on
his ~insolent way with superb indifference.
Nurses might come and nurses might go,
but Hugh continued to furnish straw beds
to the charity wards. He actually succeeded
in driving one head nurse to resigning. She
had come to the hospital a raw country girl,
but in some way Mad succeeded in ingrati-
ating herself with the superintendent and
when she finished her course she was given
a position as s&laried head nurse. Like
many others with her antecedents, she did
not know how to use a little brief authori-
ty. The first morning of her reign she
addressed Hugh as my good man. Hugh's
eyes blazed with fury and be Kissed, in the
presence Of a visiting physician: "Begorry,
wan wud think yez the quane of England.
Shure / mind when yez kim here first yez
had hayseed in yer hair.
Then he Bet himself the task Of making
her life miserable, succeeding admirably.
The next morning he appeared before Ter
with some towels marked with the SLIM
Der Of her ward which he declared he LAD
found in the garbage can. He gave her the
customary warning. The next day he APP
peared again. 1t was visiting day and
there were many visitors. He stalked into
the ward, and, shaking the soiled articles in
her face, declared in a loud voice that he
was On his way to see the warden and re-
port her. She tried to quiet him, but be
actually marched into the warderFs Office
with the soiled articles. The superintendent
and the other nurses gave her scant con-
ISOLATION. She had been warned that if she
valued her peace Of mind she would not
offend this autocrat. So she packed her
trunk and betook herself to private duty
forthwith. After that whenever Hugh had
been drinking he would boast how he "driv
out the head nurse from ward 6. BegorTy,
she cudn't stand the pressure
One day a little nurse was given charge
Of a ward. She had often been a witness
to tits between Hugh and the head nurses,
AA " ~ tht l1tNti WIZ NOASNGO. Lit IIHJ
morning he appeared she was writing a
diet list. He stalked N and, as she raised
her eyes, he sent a cloud of tobacco smoke
into her face. Her resentment overcame
her fear and, drawing herself to her full
height of five feet two and advancing to-
ward him, she said, ~sternly: How dare you
walk into my MUSHROOM in this way? Go
out into the hall this minute and never
stem across this threshold again
He looked down at her with a scornful
laugh and said; Eye little rid-headed ban.
tam pullet, yez, | cud wiring yer neck wild
out half t%hryin'." But he walked out and
never intruded again, eontenting himself
with sending her word by a patient: Mr..
OLeary awaits yer pleasure"
Being the smallest nurse in the school
she naturally wore the longest and broad
est apron ties. One day as she was walking
along the corridor a hoarse voice behind
her growied; "Shure, we've enough cloth
IN yer apur-r-n shtrings TO make me a
SHIRT" 1t was Hugh. She prided herself
on having the neatest ward in the hospital.
Hugh was aware of this and frequently sent
up word to her: Yer fire-escape looks like
a holy terror an the county commission
ers is here, bedad."
One morning one of the fumigators came
for orders for straw beds. lie said 'the
old man was sick. Two days later Hugh
was brought to the little nurses ward with
pneumonia. Although suffering greatly, he
had not lost his facetiousness and whenever
she gave him his medicine he would tip up
the glass and say: Here's to yez."
Dissipation had made inroads upon his
constitution and it soon became apparent
that he would not survive the crisis of the
disease. Hs realized this himself and asked
for a priest. After the latter had gone
Hugh called Miss Cowles and babe her take
a package from beneath his pillow. She
opened it at his direction and found two
photographs and a scapula with a broken
sixpence tied to the cord. One Of the
pictures she knew at a glance to be that OF
his mother from the resemblance. The
other was a young girl.
Fifteen years ago she died" he said
looking at this picture. "She was the size