time of "owling." My colleague, a black-eyed widow, relieved me at
dawn, we two taking care of the ward, between us, like the immortal
Sairy and Betsey, "turn and turn about." I usually found my boys in the
jolliest state of mind their condition allowed; for it was a known fact
that Nurse Periwinkle objected to blue devils, and entertained a belief
that he who laughed most was surest of recovery. At the beginning of my
reign, dumps and dismals prevailed; the nurses looked anxious and
tired, the men gloomy or sad; and a general
"Hark!-from-the-tombs-a-doleful-sound" style of conversation seemed to
be the fashion: a state of things which caused one coming from a merry,
social New England town, to feel as if she had got into an exhausted
receiver; and the instinct of self-preservation, to say nothing of a
philanthropic desire to serve the race, caused a speedy change in Ward
No. 1.

More flattering than the most gracefully turned compliment, more
grateful than the most admiring glance, was the sight of those rows of
faces, all strange to me a little while ago, now lighting up, with
smiles of welcome, as I came among them, enjoying that moment heartily,
with a womanly pride in their regard, a motherly affection for them
all. The evenings were spent in reading aloud, writing letters, waiting
on and amusing the men, going the rounds with Dr. P., as he made his
second daily survey, dressing my dozen wounds afresh, giving last
doses, and making them cozy for the long hours to come, till the nine
o'clock bell rang, the gas was turned down, the day nurses went off
duty, the night watch came on, and my nocturnal adventure began.

My ward was now divided into three rooms; and, under favor of the
matron, I had managed to sort out the patients in such a way that I had
what I called, "my duty room," my "pleasure room," and my "pathetic
room," and worked for each in a different way. One, I visited, armed
with a dressing tray, full of rollers, plasters, and pins; another,
with books, flowers, games, and gossip; a third, with teapots,
lullabies, consolation, and sometimes, a shroud.

Wherever the sickest or most helpless man chanced to be, there I held
my watch, often visiting the other rooms, to see that the general
watchman of the ward did his duty by the fires and the wounds, the
latter needing constant wetting. Not only on this account did I
meander, but also to get fresher air than the close rooms afforded;
for, owing to the stup