The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and PoliticsVarious
General
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
After the procession of heavily laden breakfast-bearers has moved off,
supplies from the commissary need a little arranging; and one must plan
how they may be made the most of, and what additions for the next three
meals are to be furnished from private resources. The result of which
consideration is usually the despatch of Henry, the chief cook, into the
city to purchase chickens, oysters, and milk in as great quantity as can
be bought.
At eight o'clock the ladies meet for their morning meal. Good cold
water, bread and molasses, with the occasional luxury of a salt-fish
cake, suffice to keep soul and body together. The coffee is said to be
good by those in the habit of taking it, and some, too, enjoy the
butter.
The preparation of lemonade in large quantities, and drinks of various
degrees of sweetness and acidity, is next to be superintended. As
rapidly as possible the little pitchers are filled, and I follow them to
the wards.
Wondering what can be the matter, and cooling his parched lips and
bathing his burning brow, I stand over Allen as the doctor enters. Doubt
is soon dispelled, for he pronounces it a violent case of small-pox. It
is becoming very prevalent, but this is my first introduction to it. The
doctor orders the immediate removal of the patient to Horn Point, the
small-pox quarters, about two miles across the bay. It is too bleak for
the open-boat conveyance, and so he must be jolted six miles round in an
ambulance. On his bed, buried in blankets and stupefied with fever, he
starts for his new abode, not without a plentiful supply of oranges,
lemons, and bay-water.
The plaintive, whining tones of William Cutlep, a boy of sixteen, who is
a picture of utter woe, with mind enough only left to know that he is in
"awful pain," detain me too long; and when I must leave him, it is with
the promise of coming up soon again, for he says he always did like to
see "women folks around." His home is in Southern Virginia, whence he
escaped to join the Union army; and he will never hear from his home
again, for thirty-six ounces of brandy daily will not keep him alive
much longer. He has already taken a ring from his finger, to be sent
home with a dying message after the war is over.
The lower ward is not reached too soon, for the manly, gentle Mason is
near his end. He faintly presses my hand, begging me not to leave him
again, for it will soon be all over. An attack of pneumonia has proved
too much for his reduced system to resist, and, meekly submitting to its
ravages, he lies at last upon his death-bed. A saintly fortitude
sustains him, as in broken accents these sentences come from his lips:
"It is a country worth dying for." "Others will enjoy in coming years
what I have fought for." "I can trust my Saviour. He is lighting me
through the valley of death." "All is well." Low words of prayer commend
the departing soul to the God who made it, and the sweet hymn,
"O sing to me of heaven,
When I am called to die,"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account