CHAPTER XXXIII
IN THE HOSPITAL
It was a long, low, rather narrow room, lined with rows of cots, whichstretched on either side to the door, now left open to admit freecirculation of air. A muffled clock ticked on the mantelpiece. Twosoldiers, who had been permitted to visit their sick comrades, slumberedheavily, one with head drooped on his chest, the other with chair tiltedagainst the window-facing, and dark-bearded face thrown back. The quiveringflame of the candle gleamed fitfully along the line of features--someyouthful, almost childish; others bearing the impress of accumulated years;some crimsoned with fever, others wan and glistening with the dew ofexhaustion; here a forehead bent and lowering, as in fancy the sleeperlived over the clash and shock of battle; and there a tremulous smile,lighting the stern manly mouth, as the dreamer heard again the welcome bayof watchdog on the doorstep at home, and saw once more the loved forms ofwife and children springing joyfully from the cheery fireside to meet hisoutstretched arms. A few tossed restlessly, and frequent incoherentmutterings wandered, waif-like up and down the room, sometimes rousingAndrew, who once or twice lifted his head to listen, and then sank back toslumber.
Before a small pine table, where stood numerous vials, Irene drew herchair, and, leaning forward, opened her pocket-Bible, and rested her headon her hand.
A wounded boy started up, twirling one arm, as if in the act of cheering,and then fell back, groaning with pain which the violent effort cost him.
Irene stooped over him, and softly unbuttoning his shirt-collar, removedthe hot, bloody cloths from his lacerated shoulder, and replaced them withfresh folds of linen, cold and dripping. She poured out a glass of water,and lifted his head, but he frowned, and exclaimed--
"I won't have it in a tumbler. Mother, make Harry bring me a gourdful freshfrom the spring. I say, send Buddie for some."
She humoured the whim, walked out of the room, and paused in the passage.As she did so, a dark form glided unperceived into a dim corner, and whenshe re-entered the room with the gourd of water the figure passed throughthe hall-door out into the night.
"Here is your gourd, Willie, fresh and cold."
He swallowed the draught eagerly, and his handsome face wore a touchingexpression as he smiled and whispered--
"Hush! Jessie is singing under the old magnolia down by the spring. Listen!'Fairy Belle!' We used to sing that in camp; but nobody sings like Jessie.So sweet! so sweet!"
He set his teeth hard and shuddered violently, and taking his fingers inhers she found them clenched.
"Andrew!"
"Here I am, Miss Irene."
"Go upstairs and ask the doctor to come here."
The surgeon came promptly.
"I am afraid he is going into convulsions. What shall I do for him?"
"Yes; just what I have been trying to guard against. I fear nothing will doany good; but you might try that mixture which acted like a charm onLeavans."
"Here is the bottle. How much shall I give?"
"A spoonful every half-hour while the convulsions last, if he can swallowit; it can't possibly do any harm, and may ease his suffering. Poor fellow!may the vengeance of a righteous God seek out his murderer! I would stayhere with you, Miss Huntingdon, if I could render any service. As it is, Iam more needed upstairs."
The paroxysms were short, but so severe that occasionally she requiredAndrew's assistance to hold the sufferer on his cot, and as they grew lessfrequent, she saw that his strength failed rapidly. Finally he fell into atroubled sleep, with one hand clutching her arm.
Nearly an hour passed thus, and the nurse knelt softly beside her charge,and prayed long and fervently that the soul of the young martyr might findits home with God, and that his far-off mourning mother might bestrengthened to bear this heavy burden of woe.
As she knelt with her face upturned, a soft, warm palm was laid upon herforehead, and a low, sweet, manly voice pronounced in benediction--
"May the Lord bless you, Irene, and abundantly answer all your prayers."
She rose quickly, and put out her disengaged hand.
"Oh, Harvey, dear friend! Thank God, I have found you once more."
He lifted the candle and held it near her face, scanning the sculpturedfeatures, then stooped and kissed her white cheek.
"I felt that I could not be mistaken. I heard our soldiers blessing a palewoman in black, with large eyes bluer than summer skies, and hair thatshone like rays of a setting sun; and I knew the silent, gentle, tirelesswatcher, before they told me her name. For many years I have prayed thatyou might become an instrument of good to your fellow-creatures, andto-night I rejoice to find you, at last, an earnest co-worker."
"Where have you been this long time, Harvey? And how is it that you wear aConfederate uniform?"
"I am chaplain in a Texas regiment, and have been with the army from thebeginning of these days of blood. At first it was a painful step for me; myaffections, my associations, the hallowed reminiscences of my boyhood, alllinked my heart with New York. My relatives and friends were there, and Iknew not how many of them I might meet among the war-wolves that hung inhungry herds along the borders of the South. Moreover, I loved and reveredthe Union--had been taught to regard it as the synonym of nationalprosperity. Secession I opposed and regretted at the time as unwise; but tothe dogma of consolidated government I could yield no obedience; and whenevery sacred constitutional barrier had been swept away by Lincoln--whenthe _habeas corpus_ was abolished, and freedom of speech and pressdenied--when the Washington conclave essayed to coerce freemen, to 'crushSecession' through the agency of the sword and cannon--then I sworeallegiance to the 'Seven States' where all of republican liberty remained.Henceforth my home is with the South; my hopes and destiny hers; hersorrows and struggles mine."
His white, scholarly hands were sunburnt now; his bronzed complexion, andlong, untrimmed hair and beard gave a grim, grizzled aspect to the nobleface; and the worn and faded uniform showed an acquaintance with thepositive hardships and exposure of an active campaign.
"I expected nothing less from you, my brother. You were dear to me before;but, ah, Harvey! how much dearer now in these dark days of trial, which youhave voluntarily chosen to share, with a young, brave, struggling Nation!"
His eyes dwelt upon her face as she looked gladly at him, and over herwaving hair his hands passed tenderly, as they had done long years before,when she was an invalid in his father's house.
"You have found your work, and learned contentment in usefulness. Irene,the peaceful look of your childhood has come back to your face. With myface pressed against the window-pane, I have been watching you for morethan an hour--ever since Colonel Aubrey came out--and I know all thesadness of the circumstances that surround you; how painful it is for youto see those men die."
"Colonel Aubrey? He has not been here."
"Yes; I passed him on the steps; we rode up together from camp. He came onspecial business, and returns at daylight; but I shall remain several days,and hope to be with you as much as the nature of your engagements willpermit. Aubrey is from W----; you know him, of course?"
"Yes, I know him."
He saw a shade of regret drift over her countenance, and added--
"I have many things to say to you, and much to learn concerning your past;but this is not the time or place for such interchange of thought andfeeling. To-morrow we will talk; to-night I could not repress my impatienceto see you, though but for a few moments."
She drew a chair near young Walton, the wounded boy, and seating herself,continued--
"When independence is obtained, and white-robed Peace spreads her stainlesshands in blessing over us, let history proclaim, and let our peoplereverently remember, that to the uncomplaining fortitude and sublimedevotion of the private soldiers of the Confederacy, not less than to thegenius of our generals and the heroism of our subordinate officers, we areindebted for Freedom."
She laid her head close to the boy's mouth to listen to his low breathing,and the minister saw her te
ars fall on his pillow and gleam on his auburnlocks. The delirium seemed to have given place to the dreamless sleep ofexhaustion, and folding one of her hands around his fingers, with the othershe softly stroked the silky hair from his fair, smooth forehead.
"Irene, will my presence here aid or comfort you? If so I will remain tillmorning."
"No; you can do no good. It is midnight now, and you must be wearied withyour long ride. You cannot help me here, but to-morrow I shall want you togo with me to the cemetery. I wish his family to have the sad consolationof knowing that a minister knelt at his grave, when we laid the youngpatriot in his last resting-place. Good-bye, my brother, till then. Electrais in the next room; will you go in and speak to her?"
"No; I will see her early in the morning."
He left her to keep alone her solemn vigil; and through the remaining hoursof that starry June night she stirred not from the narrow cot--kept herfingers on the sufferer's fleeting pulse, her eyes on his whitening face.About three o'clock he moaned, struggled slightly, and looked intently ather. She gave him some brandy, and found that he swallowed with greatdifficulty.
Slowly a half-hour rolled away; Irene could barely feel the faint pulsationat Willie Walton's wrist, and as she put her ear to his lips, a long, lastshuddering sigh escaped him--the battle of life was ended. Willie's Reliefhad come. The young sentinel passed to his Eternal Rest.
"The picket's off duty for ever."
Tears dropped on the still face as the nurse cut several locks of curlinghair that clustered round the boyish temples, and took from the motionlessheart the loved picture which had been so often and so tenderly kissed inthe fitful light of camp-fires. Irene covered the noble head, the fair,handsome features, with her handkerchief, and, waking Andrew, pointed tothe body--left her own ward, and entered one beyond the passage.
It was smaller, but similar in arrangement to the room where she hadpassed the night. A candle was sputtering in its socket, and the cold,misty, white dawn stared in at the eastern window upon rows of cots andunquiet, muttering sleepers. There, in the centre of the room, with herhead bowed on the table, sat, or rather leaned, Electra, slumberingsoundly, with her scarlet shawl gathered about her shoulders--her watchgrasped in one hand, and the other holding a volume open at"Hesperid-AEgle."
Irene lifted the black curls that partially veiled the flushed neck, andwhispered--
"Electra, wake up! I am going home."
"Is it light yet, out of doors? Ah, yes--I see! I have been asleep exactlyfifteen minutes--gave the last dose of medicine at four o'clock. How is theboy? I am almost afraid to ask."
"Dead. Willie lived till daylight."
"Oh! how sad! how discouraging! I went to your door twice and looked in,but once you were praying, and the last time you had your face down onWillie's pillow, and as I could do nothing, I came back. Dr. Whitmore toldme he would die, and it only made me suffer to look at what I could notrelieve. I am thankful my cases are all doing well; that new prescriptionhas acted magically on Mr. Hadley yonder, who has pneumonia. Just feel hisskin--soft and pleasant as a child's."
"I have some directions to leave with Martha, about giving quinine beforethe doctor comes down, and then I shall go home. Are you ready?"
"Yes. I have a singular feeling about my temples, and an oppression when Italk--shouldn't wonder if I have caught cold."
"Electra, did you see Harvey last night?"
"No. Where did he come from?"
"He is chaplain in a regiment near Richmond, and said he would see us boththis morning. Was Russell here last night?"
"Russell? No. Why do you ask? Is he in the city? Have you seen him?"
She rose quickly, laid her hand on Irene's, and looked searchingly at her.
"I have not seen him, but your cousin Harvey mentioned that Colonel Aubreycame up with him, on some very important errand, and had but a few hours toremain. I will get my shawl and join you in five minutes. Electra, you muststay at home and rest for a day or two; you are feverish, and worn out withconstant watching."