The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-12-15
THE FLOWER LADY.
BY FLORA MILLlGAN.
opyright, 1909, by American Press Asso-
ciatiOn]

American war were called for l raised
company of infantry and as it's cap
tai" went to the war. Wounded at the
battle Of Las Guasimas, was taken
to hospital There bullet was
taken out Of Inc, and l was left to
wound to heal.
The morning after the operation
was lying on my cot reading news
paper that was being handed around
among the patients when the door Of
the ward opened, woman entered
and began talking cheerily with the
man she first reached A bunch Of
flowers was in her hand, and before
leaving the patient she gave him few
Of them. Thus She came on, giving ell
couraging words, smiles and flowers to
the sick and wounded till she reached
my cot.
Now, was 'sborn with silver spoon
in my mouth" and accustomed to have
anything l wished for. Before the
lady came up had made up my mind
that if she were unmarried she should
be my wife. She approached me with
one Of the sweet smiles she had been
scattering broadcast and said:
1T must be very hard for you to be
lying here in this hot country. Are
you i'll or wounded?'
"WOunded."
"Don't think about your wound. The
doctors say that if one thinks despond-
emily about any part of the body all
the impurities go in that direction.
Let me give You something to fix your
attention upon"
She handed me few of the flowers.
for which l thanked her, and she
passed me- | asked one Of the nurses
who she was and was told that she
had come to Cuba from the United
States for the purpose not of nursing
soldiers, but to 60 about among them
encouraging them as I had seen her
doing l asked what part of the Unit
cd States she had come from, but no
one seemed to know. She visited the
sick every day, and they were always
better for her coming. Indeed the
nurses seemed to think that she cured
more men than the doctors.
Day after day watched for her till
she came again. AS before, she dis
tributed flowers and smiles, the smiles
being more highly appreciated than
the flowers. She came to our ward
about once in four or five days, and
the patients, who failed to learn her
name, spoke of her as the flower lady.
One Of the nurses asked her to give
her name by which to address her.
but she declined on the ground that
and the newspaper correspondents
would surely publish it-that she was
engaged in the work. She preferred to
give whatever of comfort she could
without having any hcroics attached.
If anything were needed to complete
my reverence for the flower lady this
modesty would have been quite sufi.
cient. l dared not by word or even
manner reveal the secret Of my heart
to her. I simply showed my gratitude.
The slightest evidence Of what burned
within me would have caused her to
cease her visits. if not to the ward at
least to me- And in that case, confined
as I was, could not go to her.
Long before the surgeon was willing
to release me got up. dressed myself
and returned to duty. My colonel hest
tated whether or no to send me back
to the hospital, but concluded, being
short of officers, to let me remain
with the regiment. The day after my
return to camp after visiting brigade
headquarters he told me that, the gen
eral having lost one of his aid-dc-
camps by sickness and another by a
bullet, I was to be temporarily de-
tailed for the lighter duties OF the
staff.
The general was but a few years
older than myself and made a COM
panion of me. We became confiden-
tial, and told him of the flower lady,
admitted the influence she had exerted
over me and that when it were pos
sible I would move heaven and earth
to win her for my wife. He asked
me if the lady had encouraged me,
and I exonorated her from giving me
any more attention than the common
est trooper in the ward.
There was so much on hand imme-
diately after this that the subject was
not again referred to between us. One
morning during the fighting about
Santiago, just before mounting our
horses for what promised to be hot
days work, the general handed me a
sealed envelope.
"In case 1 come out of the fight
alive today he said, 'give that back
to me. If am killed open it,
"But why, general" asked, sur
prised, edo you take that precautioD
today especially. We are fighting
every day."
because" he replied, II have a
feeling that 1 shall be killed today"
His foot was in the stirrup, and he
mounted and rode away. During the
same afternoon under hot fire of
Spanish artillery he sent me away