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Nelly's Hospital
By
Louisa May Alcott
=
Nelly
sat beside her mother picking lint; but while her fingers flew, her eyes of=
ten
looked wistfully out into the meadow, golden with buttercups, and bright wi=
th
sunshine. Presently she said, rather bashfully, but very earnestly,
"Mamma, I want to tell you a little plan I've made, if you'll please n=
ot
laugh."
I think I can safely promise that, my dear,&qu=
ot; said
her mother, putting down her work that she might listen quite respectfully.=
Nelly looked pleased, and went on confidingly,=
"Since brother Will came home with his la=
me foot,
and I've helped you tend him, I've heard a great deal about hospitals, and
liked it very much. To-day I said I wanted to go and be a nurse, like Aunt
Mercy; but Will laughed, and told me I'd better begin by nursing sick birds=
and
butterflies and pussies before I tried to take care of men. I did not like =
to
be made fun of, but I've been thinking that it would be very pleasant to ha=
ve a
little hospital all my own, and be a nurse in it, because, if I took pains,=
so
many pretty creatures might be made well, perhaps. Could I, mamma?"
Her mother wanted to smile at the idea, but did
not, for Nelly looked up with her heart and eyes so full of tender compassi=
on,
both for the unknown men for whom her little hands had done their best, and=
for
the smaller sufferers nearer home, that she stroked the shining head, and
answered readily: "Yes, Nelly, it will be a proper charity for such a
young Samaritan, and you may learn much if you are in earnest. You must stu=
dy how
to feed and nurse your little patients, else your pity will do no good, and
your hospital become a prison. I will help you, and Tony shall be your surg=
eon."
"O mamma, how good you always are to me! =
Indeed,
I am in truly earnest; I will learn, I will be kind, and may I go now and
begin?"
"You may, but tell me first where will yo=
u have
your hospital?"
"In my room, mamma; it is so snug and sun=
ny, and
I never should forget it there," said Nelly.
"You must not forget it anywhere. I think=
that
plan will not do. How would you like to find caterpillars walking in your b=
ed,
to hear sick pussies mewing in the night, to have beetles clinging to your
clothes, or see mice, bugs, and birds tumbling downstairs whenever the door=
was
open?" said her mother.
Nelly laughed at that thought a minute, then c=
lapped
her hands, and cried: "Let us have the old summer-house! My doves only=
use
the upper part, and it would be so like Frank in the storybook. Please say =
yes
again, mamma."
Her mother did say yes, and, snatching up her =
hat,
Nelly ran to find Tony, the gardener's son, a pleasant lad of twelve, who w=
as
Nelly's favorite playmate. Tony pronounced the plan a "jolly" one,
and, leaving his work, followed his young mistress to the summer-house, for=
she
could not wait one minute.
"What must we do first?" she asked, =
as
they stood looking in at the dusty room, full of garden tools, bags of seed=
s,
old flower-pots, and watering-cans.
"Clear out the rubbish, miss," answe=
red
Tony.
"Here it goes, then," and Nelly began
bundling everything out in such haste that she broke two flower-pots, scatt=
ered
all the squash-seeds, and brought a pile of rakes and hoes clattering down
about her ears.
"Just wait a bit, and let me take the lea=
d, miss.
You hand me things, I'll pile 'em in the barrow and wheel 'em off to the ba=
rn;
then it will save time, and be finished up tidy."
Nelly did as he advised, and very soon nothing=
but
dust remained.
"What next?" she asked, not knowing =
in
the least.
"I'll sweep up while you see if Polly can=
come
and scrub the room out. It ought to be done before you stay here, let alone=
the
patients."
"So it had," said Nelly, looking very
wise all of a sudden. "Will says the wards--that means the rooms,
Tony--are scrubbed every day or two, and kept very clean, and well venti-so=
me- thing--I
can't say it; but it means having a plenty of air come in. I can clean wind=
ows
while Polly mops, and then we shall soon be done." Away she ran, feeli=
ng
very busy and important. Polly came, and very soon the room looked like ano=
ther
place. The four latticed windows were set wide open, so the sunshine came
dancing through the vines that grew outside, and curious roses peeped in to=
see
what frolic was afoot. The walls shone white again, for not a spider dared =
to
stay; the wide seat which encircled the room was dustless now,--the floor as
nice as willing hands could make it; and the south wind blew away all musty
odors with its fragrant breath. " How fine it looks! " cried Nell=
y,
dancing on the doorstep, lest a foot-print should mar the still damp floor.=
"I'd almost like to fall sick for the sak=
e of
staying here," said Tony, admiringly. "Now, what sort of beds are=
you
going to have, miss?
"I suppose it won't do to put butterflies=
and
toads and worms into beds like the real soldiers where Will was?" answ=
ered
Nelly, looking anxious.
Tony could hardly help shouting at the idea; b=
ut,
rather than trouble his little mistress, he said very soberly: "I'm af=
raid
they wouldn't lay easy, not being used to it. Tucking up a butterfly would
about kill him; the worms would be apt to get lost among the bed-clothes; a=
nd
the toads would tumble out the first thing."
"I shall have to ask mamma about it. What
will you do while I'm gone?" said Nelly, unwilling that a moment shoul=
d be
lost.
"I'll make frames for nettings to the
windows, else the doves will come in and eat up the sick people.
"I think they will know that it is a
hospital, and be too kind to hurt or frighten their neighbors," began
Nelly; but as she spoke, a plump white dove walked in, looked about with its
red-ringed eyes, and quietly pecked up a tiny bug that had just ventured out
from the crack where it had taken refuge when the deluge came.
"Yes, we must have the nettings. I'll ask=
mamma
for some lace," said Nelly, when she saw that; and, taking her pet dov=
e on
her shoulder, told it about her hospital as she went toward the house; for,
loving all little creatures as she did, it grieved her to have any harm bef=
all
even the least or plainest of them. She had a sweet child-fancy that her
playmates understood her language as she did theirs, and that birds, flower=
s,
animals, and insects felt for her the same affection which she felt for the=
m.
Love always makes friends, and nothing seemed to fear the gentle child; but=
welcomed
her like a little sun who shone alike on all, and never suffered an eclipse=
.
She was gone some time, and when she came back=
her
mind was full of new plans, one hand full of rushes, the other of books, wh=
ile
over her head floated the lace, and a bright green ribbon hung across her a=
rm.
"Mamma says that the best beds will be li=
ttle
baskets, boxes, cages, and any sort of thing that suits the patients; for e=
ach
will need different care and food and medicine. I have not baskets enough, =
so,
as I cannot have pretty white beds, I am going to braid pretty green nests =
for
my patients, and, while I do it, mamma thought you'd read to me the pages s=
he
has marked, so that we may begin right."
"Yes, miss; I like that. But what is the
ribbon for?" asked Tony.
"O, that's for you. Will says that, if you
are to be an army surgeon, you must have a green band on your arm; so I got
this to tie on when we play hospital."
Tony let her decorate the sleeve of his gray j=
acket,
and when the nettings were done, the welcome books were opened and enjoyed.=
It was
a happy time, sitting in the sunshine, with leaves pleasantly astir all abo=
ut
them, doves cooing overhead, and flowers sweetly gossiping together through=
the
summer afternoon. Nelly wove her smooth, green rushes. Tony pored over his
pages, and both found something better than fairy legends in the family
histories of insects, birds, and beasts. All manner of wonders appeared, an=
d were
explained to them, till Nelly felt as if a new world had been given her, so
full of beauty, interest, and pleasure that she never could be tired of
studying it. Many of these things were not strange to Tony, because, born a=
mong
plants, he had grown up with them as if they were brothers and sisters, and=
the
sturdy, brown-faced boy had learned many lessons which no poet or philosoph=
er
could have taught him, unless he had become as child-like a s himself, and
studied from the same great book.
When the baskets were done, the marked pages a=
ll
read, and the sun began to draw his rosy curtains round him before smiling
"Good night," Nelly ranged the green beds round the room, Tony pu=
t in
the screens, and the hospital was ready. The little nurse was so excited th=
at
she could hardly eat her supper, and directly afterwards ran up to tell Will
how well she had succeeded with the first part of her enterprise. Now broth=
er Will
was a brave young officer, who had fought stoutly and done his duty like a =
man.
But when lying weak and wounded at home, the cheerful courage which had led=
him
safely through many dangers seemed to have deserted him, and he was often
gloomy, sad, or fretful, because he longed to be at his post again, and time
passed very slowly. This troubled his mother, and made Nelly wonder why he
found lying in a pleasant room so much harder than fighting battles or maki=
ng
weary marches. Anything that interested and amused him was very welcome, and
when Nelly, climbing on the arm of his sofa, told her plans, mishaps, and
successes, he laughed out more heartily than he had done for many a day, and
his thin face began to twinkle with fun as it used to do so long ago. That
pleased Nelly, and she chatted like any affectionate little magpie, till Wi=
ll
was really interested; for when one is ill, small things amuse.
"Do you expect your patients to come to y=
ou, Nelly?"
he asked.
"No, I shall go and look for them. I ofte=
n see
poor things suffering in the garden, and the wood, and always feel as if th=
ey
ought to be taken care of, as people are."
"You won't like to carry insane bugs, lam=
e toads,
and convulsive kittens in your hands, and they would not stay on a stretche=
r if
you had one. You should have an ambulance and be a branch of the Sanitary
Commission," said Will.
Nelly had often heard the words, but did not q=
uite
understand what they meant. So Will told her of that great never-failing
charity, to which thousands owe their lives; and the child listened with li=
ps
apart, eyes often full, and so much love and admiration in her heart that s=
he
could find no words in which to tell it. When her brother paused, she said
earnestly: "Yes, I will be a Sanitary. This little cart of mine shall =
be
my amb'lance, and I'll never let my water-barrels go empty, never drive too=
fast,
or be rough with my poor passengers, like some of the men you tell about. D=
oes
this look like an ambulance, Will?"
"Not a bit, but it shall, if you and mamm=
a like
to help me. I want four long bits of cane, a square of white cloth, some pi=
eces
of thin wood, and the gum-pot," said Will, sitting up to examine the
little cart, feeling like a boy again as he took out his knife and began to
whittle. Upstairs and downstairs ran Nelly till all necessary materials were
collected, and almost breathlessly she watched her brother arch the canes o=
ver
the cart, cover them with the cloth, and fit an upper shelf of small
compartments, each lined with cotton-wool to serve as beds for wounded inse=
cts,
lest they should hurt one another or jostle out. The lower part was left fr=
ee
for any larger creatures which Nelly might find. Among her toys she bad a t=
iny
cask which only needed a peg to be water-tight; this was filled and fitted =
in
before, because, as the small sufferers needed no seats, there was no place=
for
it behind, and, as Nelly was both horse and driver, it was more convenient =
in
front. On each side of it stood a box of stores. In one were minute rollers=
, as
bandages are called, a few bottles not yet filled, and a wee doll's jar of
cold-cream, because Nelly could not feel that her outfit was complete witho=
ut a
medicine-chest. The other box was full of crumbs, bits of sugar, bird-seed,=
and
grains of wheat and corn, lest any famished stranger should die for want of
food before she got it home. Then mamma painted "U.S. San. Com." =
in
bright letters on the cover, and Nelly received her charitable plaything wi=
th a
long sigh of satisfaction.
"Nine o'clock already. Bless me, what a s=
hort
evening this has been," exclaimed Will, as Nelly came to give him her
good-night kiss.
"And such a happy one," she answered=
.
"Thank you very, very much, dear Will. I =
only
wish my little amb'lance was big enough for you to go in,--I'd so like to g=
ive
you the first ride."
"Nothing I should like better, if it were
possible, though I've a prejudice against ambulances in general. But as I
cannot ride, I'll try and hop out to your hospital to-morrow, and see how y=
ou
get on,"--which was a great deal for Captain Will to say, because he h=
ad
been too listless to leave his sofa for several days.
That promise sent Nelly happily away to bed, o=
nly
stopping to pop her head out of the window to see if it was likely to be a =
fair
day to-morrow, and to tell Tony about the new plan as he passed below.
"Where shall you go to look for your first
load of sick folks, miss?" he asked.
"All round the garden first, then through=
the
grove, and home across the brook. Do you think I can find any patients so?
" said Nelly.
"I know you will. Good night, miss,"=
and
Tony walked away with a merry look on his face, that Nelly would not have
understood if she had seen it.
Up rose the sun bright and early, and up rose =
Nurse
Nelly almost as early and as bright. Breakfast was taken in a great hurry, =
and
before the dew was off the grass this branch of the S. C. was all astir. Pa=
pa,
mamma, big brother and baby sister, men and maids, all looked out to see the
funny little ambulance depart, and nowhere in all the summer fields was the=
re a
happier child than Nelly, as she went smiling down the garden path, where t=
all
flowers kissed her as she passed and every blithe bird seemed singing a
"Good speed!"
"How I wonder what I shall find first,&qu=
ot;
she thought, looking sharply on all sides as she went. Crickets chirped,
grasshoppers leaped, ants worked busily at their subterranean houses, spide=
rs
spun shining webs from twig to twig, bees were coming for their bags of gol=
d,
and butterflies had just begun their holiday. A large white one alighted on=
the
top of the ambulance, walked over the inscription as if spelling it letter =
by
letter, then floated away from flower to flower, like one carrying the good
news far and wide.
"Now every one will know about the hospit=
al and
be glad to see me coming," thought Nelly. And indeed it seemed so, for
just then a black- bird, sitting on a garden wall, burst out with a song fu=
ll
of musical joy, Nelly's kitten came running after to stare at the wagon and=
rub
her soft side against it, a bright-eyed toad looked out from his cool bower
among the lily-leaves, and at that minute Nelly found her first patient. In=
one
of the dewy cobwebs hanging from a shrub near by sat a fat black and yellow
spider, watching a fly whose delicate wings were just caught in the net. The
poor fly buzzed pitifully, and struggled so hard that the whole web shook: =
but
the more he struggled, the more he entangled himself, and the fierce spider=
was
preparing to descend that it might weave a shroud about its prey, when a li=
ttle
finger broke the threads and lifted the fly safely into the palm of a hand,
where he lay faintly humming his thanks.
Nelly had heard much about contrabands, knew w=
ho they
were, and was very much interested in them; so, when she freed the poor bla=
ck fly
she played he was her contraband, and felt glad that her first patient was =
one
that needed help so much. Carefully brushing away as much of the web as she
could, she left small Pompey, as she named him, to free his own legs, lest =
her clumsy
fingers should hurt him; then she laid him in one of the soft beds with a g=
rain
or two of sugar if he needed refreshment, and bade him rest and recover from
his fright, remembering that he was at liberty to fly away whenever he like=
d, because
she had no wish to male a slave of him.
Feeling very happy over this new friend, Nelly=
went
on singing softly as she walked, and presently she found a pretty caterpill=
ar
dressed in brown fur, although the day was warm. He lay so still she thought
him dead, till he rolled himself into a ball as she touched him.
"I think you are either faint from the he=
at
of this thick coat of yours, or that you are going to make a cocoon of
yourself, Mr. Fuzz," said Nelly.
"Now I want to see you turn into a butter=
fly,
so I shall take you, and if get lively again I will let you go. I shall play
that you have given out on a march, as the soldiers sometimes do, and been =
left
behind for the Sanitary people to see to."
In went sulky Mr. Fuzz, and on trundled the am=
bulance
till a golden green rose-beetle was discovered, lying on his back kicking a=
s if
in a fit.
"Dear me, what shall I do for him?"
thought Nelly. "He acts as baby did when she was so illl, and mamma put
her in a warm bath. I haven't got my little tub here, or any hot water, and=
I'm
afraid the beetle would not like it if I had. Perhaps he has pain in his
stomach; I'll turn him over, and pat his back, as nurse does baby's when sh=
e cries
for pain like that."
She set the beetle on his legs, and did her be=
st to
comfort him; but he was evidently in great distress, for he could not walk,=
and
instead of lifting his emerald overcoat, and spreading the wings that lay
underneath, be turned over again, and kicked more violently than before. Not
knowing what to do, Nelly put him into one of her soft nests for Tony to cu=
re
if possible. She found no more patients in the garden except a dead bee, wh=
ich
she wrapped in a leaf, and took home to bury. When she came to the grove, it
was so green and cool she longed to sit and listen to the whisper of the pi=
nes,
and watch the larch-tassels wave in the wind. But, recollecting her charita=
ble errand,
she went rustling along the pleasant path till she came to another patient,
over which she stood considering several minutes before she could decide
whether it was best to take it to her hospital, because it was a little gray
snake, with bruised tail. She knew it would not hurt her, yet she was afrai=
d of
it; she thought it pretty, yet could not like it: she pitied its pain, yet
shrunk from helping it, for it had a fiery eye, and a keep quivering tongue,
that looked as if longing to bite.
"He is a rebel, I wonder if I ought to be
good to him," thought Nelly, watching the reptile writhe with pain.
"Will said there were sick rebels in his hospital, and one was very ki=
nd
to him. It says, too, in my little book, 'Love your enemies.' I think snakes
are mine, but I guess I'll try and love him because God made him. Some boy =
will
kill him if I leave him here, and then perhaps his mother will be very sad
about it. Come, poor worm, I wish to help you, so be patient, and don't
frighten me."
Then Nelly laid her little handkerchief on the=
ground,
and with a stick gently lifted the wounded snake upon it, and, folding it
together, laid it in the ambulance. She was thoughtful after that, and so b=
usy
puzzling her young head about the duty of loving those who hate us, and bei=
ng
kind to those who are disagreeable or unkind, that she went through the res=
t of
the wood quite forgetful of her work. A soft "Queek,queek!" made =
her look
up and listen. The sound came from the long meadow-grass, and, bending it
carefully back, she found a half-fledged bird, with one wing trailing on the
ground, and its eyes dim with pain or hunger.
"You darling thing, did you fall out of y=
our nest
and hurt your wing?" cried Nelly, looking up into the single tree that
stood near by. No nest was to be seen, no parent birds hovered overhead, and
little Robin could only tell its troubles in that mournful "Queek, que=
ek,
queek!"
Nelly ran to get both her chests, and, sitting=
down
beside the bird, tried to feed it. To her joy it ate crumb after crumb, as =
if
it were half starved, and soon fluttered nearer a confiding fearlessness th=
at
made her very proud. Soon baby Robin seemed quite comfortable, his eye
brightened, he "queeked" no more, and but for the drooping wing w=
ould
have been himself again. With one of her bandages Nelly bound both wings
closely to his sides for fear he should hurt himself by trying to fly; and
though he seemed amazed at her proceedings, he behaved very well, only star=
ing
at her, and ruffling up his few feathers in a funny way that made her laugh=
. Then
she had to discover some way of accommodating her two larger patients so th=
at
neither should hurt nor alarm the other. A bright thought came to her after
much pondering. Carefully lifting the handkerchief, she pinned the two ends=
to
the roof of the cart, and there swung little Forked- tongue, while Rob lay
easily below.
By this time, Nelly began to wonder how it hap=
pened
that she found so many more injured things than ever before. But it never
entered her innocent head that Tony had searched the wood and meadow before=
she
was up, and laid most of these creatures ready to her hands, that she might=
not
be disappointed. She had not yet lost her faith in fairies, so she fancied =
they
too belonged to her small sisterhood, and presently it did really seem impo=
ssible
to doubt that the good folk had been at work.
Coming to the bridge that crossed the brook, s=
he
stopped a moment to watch the water ripple over the bright pebbles, the fer=
ns
bend down to drink, and the funny tadpoles frolic in quieter nooks, where t=
he
sun shone, and the dragon-flies swung among the rushes. When Nelly turned t=
o go
on, her blue eyes opened wide. and the handle of the ambulance dropped with=
a
noise that caused a stout frog to skip into the water heels over head. Dire=
ctly
in the middle of the bridge was a pretty green tent, made of two tall burdo=
ck
leaves. The stems were stuck into cracks between the boards, the tips were
pinned together with a thorn, and one great buttercup nodded in the doorway
like a sleepy sentinel. Nelly stared and smiled, listened, and looked about=
on
every side. Nothing was seen but the quiet meadow and the shady grove, noth=
ing
was heard but the babble of the brook and the cheery music of the bobolinks=
.
"Yes," said Nelly softly to herself,
"that is a fairy tent, and in it I may find a baby elf sick with
whooping-cough or scarlet-fever. How splendid it would be! only I could nev=
er
nurse
such a dainty thing."
Stooping eagerly, she peeped over the buttercu=
p's drowsy
head, and saw what seemed a tiny cock of hay. She had no time to feel
disappointed, for the haycock began to stir, and, looking nearer, she beheld
two silvery gray mites, who wagged wee tails, and stretched themselves as i=
f they
had just waked up. Nelly knew that they were young field-mice, and rejoiced
over them, feeling rather relieved that no fairy had appeared, though she s=
till
believed them to have had a hand in the matter.
"I shall call the mice my Babes in the Wo=
od, because
they are lost and covered up with leaves," said Nelly, as she laid the=
m in
her snuggest bed, where they nestled close together, and fell fast asleep
again.
Being very anxious to get home, that she might=
tell
her adventures, and show how great was the need of a sanitary commission in
that region, Nelly marched proudly up the avenue, and, having displayed her
load, hurried to the hospital, where another applicant was waiting for her.=
On the
step of the door lay a large turtle, with one claw gone, and on his back was
pasted a bit of paper, with his name,-- Commodore Waddle, U.S.N." Nelly
knew this was a joke of Will's, but welcomed the ancient mariner, and calle=
d Tony
to help her get him in.
All that morning they were very busy settling =
the
new-comers, for both people and books had to be consulted before they could
decide what diet and treatment was best for each. The winged contraband had
taken Nelly at her word, and flown away on the journey home. Little Rob was=
put
in a large cage, where he could use his legs, yet not injure his lame wing.
Forked-tongue lay under a wire cover, on sprigs of fennel, for the gardener
said that snakes were fond of it. The Babes in the Wood were put to bed in =
one of
the rush baskets, under a cotton-wool coverlet. Greenback, the beetle, found
ease for his unknown aches in the warm heart of a rose, where he sunned him=
self
all day. The Commodore was made happy in a tub of water, grass, and stones,=
and
Mr. Fuzz was put in a well-ventilated glass box to decide whether he would =
be a
cocoon or not.
Tony had not been idle while his mistress was =
away,
and he showed her the hospital garden he had made close by, in which were
cabbage, nettle, and mignonette plants for the butterflies, flowering herbs=
for
the bees, chick-weed and hemp for the birds, catnip for the pussies, and pl=
enty
of room left for whatever other patients might need. In the afternoon, while
Nelly did her task at lint-picking, talking busily to Will as she worked, a=
nd interesting
him in her affairs, Tony cleared a pretty spot in the grove for the
burying-ground, and made ready some small bits of slate on which to write t=
he
names of those who died. He did not have it ready an hour too soon, for at
sunset two little graves were needed, and Nurse Nelly shed tender tears for=
her
first losses as she laid the motherless mice in one smooth hollow, and the =
gray-coated
rebel in the other. She had learned to care for him already, and when she f=
ound
him dead, was very glad she had been kind to him, hoping that he knew it, a=
nd
died happier in her hospital than all alone in the shadowy wood.
The rest of Nelly's patients prospered, and of=
the
many added afterward few died, because of Tony's skilful treatment and her =
own
faithful care. Every morning when the day proved fair the little ambulance =
went
out upon its charitable errand; every afternoon Nelly worked for the human =
sufferers
whom she loved; and every evening brother Will read aloud to her from useful
books, showed her wonders with his microscope, or prescribed remedies for t=
he
patients, whom he soon knew by name and took much interest in. It was Nelly=
's holiday;
but, though she studied no lessons, she learned much, and unconsciously made
her pretty play both an example and a rebuke for others.
At first it seemed a childish pastime, and peo=
ple laughed.
But there was something in the familiar words "sanitary,"
"hospital" and "ambulance" that made them pleasant soun=
ds
to many ears. As reports of Nelly's work went through the neighborhood, oth=
er
children came to see and copy her design. Rough lads looked ashamed when in=
her
wards they found harmless creatures hurt by them, and going out they said a=
mong
themselves, "We won't stone birds, chase butterflies, and drown the gi=
rls'
little cats any more, though we won't tell them so." And most of the l=
ads
kept their word so well that people said there never had been so many birds
before as all that summer haunted wood and field. Tender- hearted playmates
brought their pets to be cured; even busy farmers bad a friendly word for t=
he
small charity, which reminded them so sweetly of the great one which should
never be forgotten; lonely mothers sometimes looked out with wet eyes as the
little ambulance went by, recalling thoughts or absent sons who might be jo=
urneying
painfully to some far-off hospital, where brave women waited to tend them w=
ith
hands as willing, hearts as tender, as those the gentle child gave to her
self-appointed task.
At home the charm worked also. No more idle da=
ys
for Nelly, or fretful ones for Will, because the little sister would not
neglect the helpless creatures so dependent upon her, and the big brother w=
as
ashamed to complain after watching the patience of these lesser sufferers, =
and
merrily said he would try to bear his own wound as quietly and bravely as t=
he
"Commodore" bore his. Nelly never knew how much good she had done
Captain Will till he went away again in the early autumn. Then he thanked h=
er
for it, and though she cried for joy and sorrow she never forgot it, becaus=
e he
left something behind him which always pleasantly reminded her of the double
success her little hospital had won.
When Will was gone and she had prayed softly in
her heart that God would keep him safe and bring him home again, she dried =
her
tears and went away to find comfort in the place where he had spent so many
happy hours with her. She had not been there before that day, and when she =
reached
the door she stood quite still and wanted very much to cry again, far somet=
hing
beautiful had happened. She had often asked Will for a motto for her hospit=
al,
and he had promised to find her one. She thought he had forgotten it; but e=
ven
in the hurry of that busy day he had found time to do more than keep his wo=
rd,
while Nelly sat indoors, lovingly brightening the tarnished buttons on the =
blue
coat that had seen so many battles.
Above the roof, where the doves cooed in the s=
un,
now rustled a white flag with the golden S.C." shining on it as the wi=
nd
tossed it to and fro. Below, on the smooth panel of the door, a skilful pen=
cil
had drawn two arching ferns, in whose soft shadow, poised upon a mushroom, =
stood
a little figure of Nurse Nelly, and undeneath it another of Dr. Tony bottli=
ng
medicine, with spectacles upon his nose. Both hands of the miniature Nelly =
were
outstretched, as if beckoning to a train of insects, birds and beasts, which
was so long that it not only circled round the lower rim of this fine sketc=
h,
but dwindled in the distance to mere dots and lines. Such merry conceits as=
one
found there! A mouse bringing the tail it had lost in some cruel trap, a
dor-bug with a shade over its eyes, an invalid butterfly carried in a tiny
litter by long-legged spiders, a fat frog with gouty feet hopping upon
crutches, Jenny Wren sobbing in a nice handkerchief, as she brought dear de=
ad
Cock Robin to be restored to life. Rabbits, lambs, cats, calves, and turtle=
s,
all came trooping up to be healed by the benevolent little maid who welcomed
them so heartily.
Nelly laughed at these comical mites till the =
tears
ran down her cheeks, and thought she never could be tired of looking at the=
m.
But presently she saw four lines clearly printed underneath her picture, ahd
her childish face grew sweetly serious as she read the words of a great poe=
t,
which Will had made both compliment and motto:-
"He prayeth best who loveth best All thin=
gs,
both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth
all."