Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-24

close. hot room told me that at one tim,
the sights and smells (these last Were
1earfuD SO Overcame her that she could
only Stagger to the staircase, where she
saying to herself, "Oh, / hope if | faint
some one will kick me into corner and
let me lie there!" She did not faint, but
went back to her work in few moments.
and through the whole of what followed
was one of the most indefatigab BILE and
useful She was one of the many: even
children did their part.
1t became a grave question how to feed
SO many unexpected guests. The news
spread rapidly, and the people from the
country neighborhoods came pouring in
to help. expecting to stay with friends
who had already given up every spare
bed and every inch of room where beds
could .be put up. Virginia houses are very
elastic, but ours were strained to their
utmost. Fortunately some of the farmers
wives had been thoughtful enough to
bring supplies of linen, and some bread
and fruit, and when our wants became
better known other contributions flowed
in. but when all was done it was not
enough.
We worked far into the night that
Monday. went to bed late and rose early
next morning. Tuesday brought fresh
wagon loads of wounded, and would have
brought despair, except that they were
accompanied by an apology for COM
missariat Soon more reliable sources of
friends.
Some doctors also arrived. who--with a
few honorable eXceptions-might as we'll
have stayed away. The remembrance of
that worthless body of officials strs me
10 wrath Two or three worked con-
scientiously and hard. and they did all
the medical work. except what was done
by our own town physicians. In strong
contrast was the conduct of the common
men detailed nurses. They We're as
gentle they knew how to be, and very
obliging and untiring. OF course, they
We're uncouth and often rough, but with
the wounded dying about us every day.
and with the necessity that we We're
under for the first few days of removing
those who died at once that others not
yet quite dead might take their places.
there was no time to be fastidious it re-
quired all our efforts to be simply decent,
and we sometimes failed in that.
We fed men as well as we could
from every available source, and often
had some difficulty i'm feeding ourselves
The toWnspeople We're very hospitable
and we We're invited here and there but
could not always go, or hesitated know
ing every house was full. l remember
once, that having breakfasted upon Il
single roll and having worked hard
among sickening details, about O'Clock
l turned wolfishly ravenous and ran to q
friends house down the street When I
got there i was almost too faint to speak
but my friend looked at me and disap-
peared in silence, coming back in a mo-
ment with a plate of hot soup. What
luxury. i sat down then and there on
the front doorstep and devoured the soup
as if / had been without food for a week
1t was known Tuesday. the 10th, that
Harpers Ferry had been taken, but it
was growing evident that South Mountain
had not been victory. We had heard
from some of our friends, but not from
all, and what we did hear was often most
unsatisfactory and tantalizing. For in
stance, we would be told that some one
whom We loved had been seen standing
with his battery. had left his gun an
instant to shake hands and send a mes
sage, and had then stepped back to posi-
ton, while civilian informant had
come away for safety, and the smoke of
conflict had hidden battery and all from
view AS night drew nearer whispers of
A great battle to be fought the next day
grew louder, and We shuddered at the
prospect, for battles had come to mean
to us. as they never had before, blood,
wounds and death.
On the 18th of September cloudy skies