"I s'pose, sir, none of you gentlemen doctors is ever sick yourselves?"
"Sometimes we are," said the doctor, laughing.
"I never heerd tell of a sick doctor in the Bible," pursued Peggy meditatively; "sick captings, and kings, and women, and lots o' common folk, but no doctors that I remembers, but I daresay, sir, your souls is like other folk. And you can't doctor 'em yourselves, can you, sir?"
"We think we can," the doctor said, with a laugh.
"Ah," said Peggy, shaking her head; "but you can't, sir. 'Tisn't to be done by no one but Jesus Christ; the Bible says so. He be lookin' after souls, ain't He? And He don't want no one else to meddle with His work. I thinks sometimes that it be very gran' to be a doctor, for you and the Lord gets curin' together, and He gives you the bodies to see what you can do with 'em, and He takes the souls. But, please sir, I really thinks you're mistook to think you can cure your own soul."
"Ah, well," said the doctor, moving off, "perhaps I am mistaken. I must think about it."
It was a happy day to Peggy when her right hand and arm was free of its bandages. She straightway implored her nurse for ink and paper.
"I have so many friends, Nurse, that I must let 'em know about me. And them in the country looks for letters, I can tell you. Why, when I first went away from London, I arsked the postman every time I see'd him if he'd got a letter for me, and I went on arskin' him till I got it, and then, oh my! Wasn't I proud and pleased!"
Her first letter was to Ellen, and ran as follows:—
"MY DEAR FRIEND ELLEN,—I do hope you are quite well, for I can't say I'm quite yet. I dessay you may have heerd tell of me. I had a accident which was a running in of a burning room to get a box of papers, which so caught me on fire, that I fell on the floor, and had to be carried to hosspital. Fire is a crool thing to hurt, Ellen, and if it hadn't been for the heathen I means to go to, I thinks I should have died right off where I drops. But I'm getting on remarkable, and likes my bed, and the doctors and nusses is nice, but my hare is cut off, which makes me feel bad becorse of my caps, I thinks and thinks, Ellen how I shall do, and I means to stick them on with gum in the bottles they sells. And now Ellen I arsks you to rite to me quick, for I wants to know how Mister Job is, and give him my love, and do you love me faithful like a friend Ellen, and I never will have a friend but you.
"Mrs. Banner in next bed to me is going home to-morrer, and I hopes for next week. I hopes to come back with my ladies soon. Has you been in a hosspital, Ellen? It is a big white room with beds and nusses, and you has cards above your bed a-tellin' everybody how ill you is, and a map of your temper, which seems to go up and down they says, for they does it with pencil, but I don't feel in a temper—nothing different to what I always did. And the doctors walks in every day, and there is hunderds of them. In London you has crowds of doctors if you're ill, and they all tries to see you at once, but I likes them and I smiles and I says nothing. Now I must say goodbye Ellen, I am your loving faithful beloved friend—
"PEGGY.
"PS.—I hopes you has not forgotten the heathen."