CHAPTEE XIII.

HOSPITAL LIFE IN NEW YORK — A TOUR THROUGH TIIE
WARDS OF OLD BELLEVUE — AFFECTING SCENES — THE
MORGUE AND ITS SILENT OCCUPANTS.

Wealth and Misery Side by Side—Training Schools for Nurses—A "Hurry"
Call — The Ambulance Service — Prejudice against Hospitals — A Place
where the Doctors Cut up Folks Alive — Taken to the Dead-House —
" Soon tliey will be Cuttin'him up" — Etherizing a Patient — A Painless
and Bloodless Operation — A Patient Little Sufferer — Ministering Angels
— Cutting off a Leg in Fifteen Seconds — A Swift Amputation — Miracu¬
lous Skill — Thanking the Doctor for Hastening the End—"Those Last
Precious, Painless Hours "— A Child's Idea of Heaven —" Who Will Mind
the Baby" — Flowers in Heaven — The Morgue — ItsSilentOccupants —
The Prisoners' Cage—Weeping Friends — Searching for her Son — An
Affecting Meeting — She Knew her Own—"Charlie, Mother is Here"—
'' Too Late, Too Late " — A Pathetic Scene.

TIIE wayfarer on Fifth Avenue passing through miles of
stately homes, fashionable churches, great club houses,
and all that exhibits the most lavish expenditure of wealth for
personal enjo3'ment, comes suddenly upon a spot which in an
instant recalls the fact that, under aU this pomp of external
life, suffering and want stfll hold their place. Not a stone's
throw from the avenue and its brilliant life, one passes through
the always open gates of St. Luke's Hospital, under the shadow
of great trees whose friendly protecting branches are welcome
and greeting for all alike. Flowers bloom here as brightly as
if pain had no place. Impertinent sparrows swarm and chat¬
ter under the eaves, and, perching on window sills or frames,
look in with curious eyes on the long lines of cots.

Within are broad corridors, high ceilings, and great win¬
dows. A flood of sunshine is there and the freshest of air
blows straight from the sea. A cleanliness that is spotless;
quiet, purity, efficient ministration, form the atmosphere of this

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