Heroines That Every Child Should Know: Tales for Young People of the World's Heroines of All Ages
History
Heroines That Every Child Should Know: Tales for Young People of the World's Heroines of All Ages
Women heroes
"The people as soon as they knew Sister Dora was in charge, had no
misgiving about sending their relatives to be nursed, and the result
was as she had predicted; the cases were brought in as soon as it was
discovered that patients had the disease, and the epidemic was
speedily stamped out."
She had, however, a hard time of it there, as she lacked assistants.
Two women were sent from the work-house, but they proved of little
use. The porter, an old soldier, was attentive and kind in his way,
but he always went out "on a spree" on Saturday nights, and did not
return till late on Sunday evening. When the work-house women failed
her she was sometimes alone with her patients, and these occasionally
in the delirium of small-pox.
It was not till the middle of August, 1875, that the last small-pox
patient departed from the hospital, and she was able to return to her
original work.
One of the bas-reliefs on her monument represents Sister Dora
consoling the afflicted and the scene depicted refers to a dreadful
colliery accident that occurred on March 14, 1872, at Pelsall, a
village rather over three miles from Walsall, by which twenty-two men
were entombed, and all perished. For several days hopes were
entertained that some of the men would be got out alive; and blankets
in which to wrap them, and restoratives, were provided, and Sister
Dora was sent for to attend the men when brought to "bank." The
following extract, from an article by a special correspondent in a
newspaper, dated Dec 10, 1872, will give some idea of Sister Dora's
connection with the event:
Out of doors the scene is weird and awful, and impresses the
mind with a peculiar gloom; for the intensity of the darkness is
heightened by the shades created by the artificial lights. Every
object, the most minute, stands out in bold relief against the
inky darkness which surrounds the landscape. On the crest of the
mound or pit-bank, the policemen, like sentinels, are walking
their rounds. The wind is howling and whistling through the
trees which form a background to the pit-bank, and the rain is
coming hissing down in sheets. In a hovel close to the pit shaft
sit the bereaved and disconsolate mourners, hoping against hope,
and watching for those who will never return. There, too, are
the swarthy sons of toil who have just returned from their
fruitless search in the mine for the dear missing ones, and are
resting while their saturated clothes are drying.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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