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moments Elion was afraid to look up, but
at last she summoned courage to do so.
She found everything so different from
what she expected that she thought she
would never be afraid again. She did not
know that her father had brought her
into the convalescent ward, and it being
the early part of the war, the men. had
many comforts of which they were after
wards deprived.
After the} 7- had passed by a long row of
beds, they came to one at which her hith
er stopped, saying:
“ Well, Colonel, here is my little daugh
ter, whom I have brought to see you.”
Elbe stepped forward to offer her hand,
but found her father’s friend was so se
verely wounded that he could not move,
lie was very pale, and evidently still suf
fering, but his face brightened np’as he
spoke to El lie.
“ I am very glad to see her, Doctor, but
am afraid it has been a little too much for
her, coming here where there is so much
to sadden and distress one.] looks
badly.”
Dr. Hunter looked at Ellie and smiled,
saying:
“She knew what she had to expect,
Colonel, and now she must prove whether
she has nerve enough to be a ‘Sister of
Charity.’ ”
“ I am not sick, father,” said Ellen, “ it
only makes me feel badly to see so many
people suffering.” Then turning to the
bed she said, “ I have some nice custard
in my basket, Colonel, would you like to
have some ?”
“If your father will give me permis
sion, Miss Ellie. lie is in command here,
and, I tell you, sometimes he keeps us
poor fellows on very short commons.”
“Yes, Ellie,” said Dr. Hunter, “you can
give it to him, but you will have to feed
him yourself. I expect you will have to
do it for many a sick man before the war
is over, so you might as well let me show
you how now.”
He made one of the nurses bring him a
nice clean towel, and folding it up in a
square, he put it under the chin of his
paient; then getting a little behind him,
he raised his head gently and held the
cup of custard to liis lips.
“Now, my little nurse, do you think
you can do it ?” asked Dr. Hunter.
“ Yes, sir,” said Ellie ; “if you will hold
my basket, I will try.”
She succeeded very well, though at first
her hand would tremble a little, for she
was so much afraid Col. Williams would
be choked.
“Not quite so fast, Ellie,” said her fath
er; “ now, that is right. I will leave you
here with the Colonel for a little "while,
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
until I look after some of my other pa
tients, and mind you do not give him too
much custard, or let him talk too much,
either.”
Ellen did not like much being alone
with a stranger, but she soon became so
much interested in taking care of him
that she forgot all about not having
known him before. After he had finished
eating his custard, she put the things
back in his basket, and sat down by the
side of the bed. Col. Williams asked her
a few questions, which she answered, but
finding lie was becoming restless, and
looked as if he was suffering, she said:
“Would you like me to rub your head
for you? I rub father’s most every even
ing, and he says it always makes him feel
quiet.”
“ Indeed I should, Miss Ellie. I have
a little daughter at home, not quite as old
as you are, and she always does it for
me. Poor little darling!” he added, “how
grieved she would be if she could see me
here now,” and his eyes filled with tears
as he spoke.
Ellie found hers were far from being
clear, and she thought she would come
every day, and try and take his little
daughter’s place. As she rubbed his head }
she asked him if he had only one little
daughter.
“ Only one,” he said sadly. “My little
Lizzie is all I have left me in this world
to love.”
Ellie did not like to say anything more,
he seemed to be so much distressed, so
she kept quiet, and in a little while found
ho was going to sleep. She was afraid to
move, for fear of disturbing him, and she
employed herself looking around the
ward.
I do not think I have ever told my lit
tle readers anything about Ellie’s appear
ance, so I will do so now. She had large,
dark blue eyes, and light hair. She wore
her hair in short curls around her head,
which made her look much younger than
she really was. She was small, and deli
cately made, and looked, as old Aunt
Polly said, “ every inch a lady.” As Ellie
looked around, she found many an eye
fixed on her face, but the men all looked
so sick and sorrowful that she did not
think they were noticing her. As per
sons would pass by, they would ask who
she was, and one lady came up and asked
her if the sick man was her father.
She was astonished when Dr. Hunter
came in to find she had been away from
home nearly two hours. Her father, see
ing the Colonel was asleep, motioned her
to come away without disturbing him,
but as soon as she took her hand from his
head, he awoke.
“My dear child,” said he to Ellie, “how
tired you must be. lam afraid you will
not come to see me again.”
“ Oh, yes, I will,” said Ellie ; “ I am
coming every day now, and am going to
try and take care of you just like your
own little daughter would do.”
“ God bless you, my child,” said Col.
Williams, and he then added to Dr. Hun
ter :
“ You must bring her again to-morrow.”
The Doctor said he would, and Ellie
and himself left the ward together. Ho
took her home in his buggy, and thus
ended her first day in a hospital.
Aunt Lina’s Sunshine.
tND what is your name ?” said I,
as the child of the friend whom
I had just come to visit passed
before me.
“ I’se Aunt Lina’s Sunshine,”
was the pleasant answer of Louisa.
“ That is a queer name,” I said; “ why
do they call you so ?”
Shaking back her long ringlets, and
looking up to me with her earnest, speak
ing eyes, she said :
“Aunt Lina is papa’s sister. She is
blind and cannot see anything—not the
pretty flowers, nor the soft, white clouds,
nor the little birds. She hears the birds
sing though, but she cannot seethe pretty
colors. She feels the warm sunshine, too,
but she can’t see how beautiful it makes
the meadows look after the rain. But
sometimes, when she is sad and lonely,
she calls me to her, and I sit on my little
stool by her side and say the pretty verses
to her that I learn in the Sabbath-school,
and I have learned some hymns, too, and
I repeat those to her, and then she calls
me her sunshine. Don’t you think it’s
very nice to be Aunt Lina’s Sunshine?”
“ Yes, indeed I do. You are a real lit
tle missionary,” I said.
“No, lam not a missionary, I know
who the missionaries are. They are peo
ple who go a great way off to the poor
heathens that don’t know anything about
Jesus, and tell them about Him. What
made you say that I was a missionary ?”
“ Because missionaries do good, and you
do good to Aunt Lina, don’t you ? ’
“ I don’t tell her about Jesus, because
she knows all about Him, and tells me
about Himand the child stopped and
thought a moment, and then looked up
and added, “No, I am not a missionary ;
I’se only Aunt Lina’s Sunshine.”
Billy,” asked a Sunday-school
teacher, “what did the Israelites do after
they crossed the Red Sea?” “I dunuo,
but" I guess they dried themselves.”
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