The Mysteries of Montreal: Being Recollections of a Female Physician — John Shaqi
The Mysteries of Montreal: Being Recollections of a Female PhysicianFührer, Ch. (Charlotte)
Science
The Mysteries of Montreal: Being Recollections of a Female Physician
Führer, Ch. (Charlotte)
Montréal (Québec) -- Fiction; Women physicians -- Fiction
I was not long installed in my new home when, as we were sitting cosily
round the fire, the door bell was rung furiously, and on my going down
to receive my visitor, I was astonished to find a gentleman with a
newborn baby wrapped in the tail of his broadcloth coat. He said he
was its father, and that the mother had taken suddenly ill before any
provision could be made for its reception, and he implored me to take
it, as he would otherwise feel impelled to throw it in the river.
I thought my heart would break to see the poor infant so ruthlessly
treated, so I took it from him, promising to see it safely to some
charitable institution. He told me his name was Ferguson, that he was
in business in Montreal, and that if I would deposit the child in some
charitable institution and call and see its mother during her recovery,
he would pay all necessary expenses. It was too late that night to go
out with the child, so I prepared some food for its nourishment and
kept it till the next day, resolved to go after dusk and see the Lady
Superior at one of the nunneries, but to my chagrin I discovered that
the nunnery was closed, and I was obliged to return home with the
babe, which, by-the-by, continued to roar lustily all the way, and so
attracted public attention to me (its presumptive mother) that I wept
as bitterly as the child itself, and was heartily sorry that I had
undertaken any such mission.
Next day I set out again in good time, but now a new difficulty awaited
me. The good Sister who received me informed me that only those who
were baptized and received into the Catholic Faith were eligible for
admission. On hearing this I burst into tears; I told her my story, that
the child was not mine, but that I was commissioned by its father to
deliver it to her, and I besought her so earnestly to take it from me
that she very considerately did so, and on my handing her the necessary
fee, she undertook to have it regularly baptized and admitted.
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