THE CARELESS NURSE.
HE rights of man do not give me much concern; neither do I trouble myself much about the rights of woman. My mission is to look after the rights of children. I never forget this wherever I may be.
Some people may think that the rights of children are safe enough in the care of the fathers and mothers.
Are they indeed! How many children are sent out, day after day, in charge of nurses? Who protects the children against careless and cruel nurses? Anxious mother, answer me that.
Many cases of gross neglect have come under my eye. I will mention one case that took place last summer at the seaside.
I was out in my yacht at the time. Scanning the shore with my spy-glass, this is what I saw:—
A good-looking young woman was pushing a baby-carriage before her. In the carriage was a little child. The young woman seemed to be singing, and all went well until a young man came up and walked by her side.
From his dress I should say that he was a sailor. Perhaps he had just landed from a man-of-war. His trousers had the man-of-war cut.
The young man and the young woman talked and laughed together as they went along. They seemed to be very good friends. But what became of the infant in the carriage?
Poor child! She fell off the seat. Her head hung over the side of the carriage, just in front of the wheel, and there she lay shrieking for help.
I could not hear her shrieks, for I was a mile away; but the sight was enough for me. I seized my trumpet. "Shipmate, ahoy!" I shouted to the sailor-chap.
No answer. It was plain that the sailor-chap did not care in the slightest degree for that poor suffering child. Nobody offered to help her.
"Steer for the shore!" I said to my helmsman. "Bear down to the rescue!" We landed as soon as we could, but not without some delay, and when we reached the place it was too late. Nurse, carriage, sailor-chap, and all were gone.
What was the fate of that poor infant is a mystery to me to this day. But I tell the story as a warning to all mothers against trusting their children to a careless nurse.
JACK TAR.
