The remarks of Captain Whiting met with a hearty response from Dr. Scott, in behalf of the Lady Superior, in acceptance of the picture.
The Memphis Appeal, in its issue of February 17, 1866, thus bears testimony to the zeal and value of the Sisters of Charity in this city:
“Vincent de Paul, who has since received, so justly deserved, the title of ‘Benefactor of Mankind,’ was the originator of that divine and charitable society, ‘The Sisters of Charity,’ in a small town of France, in the early part of the seventeenth century. The signal service rendered by them during the past civil war to our sick, wounded and dying soldiers in camp, in hospital and on the battlefield, and their unwearied and constant ministrations to the suffering and poor of all classes throughout the land, is the theme of praise and commendation on the lips of all, no matter of what religious creed or faith.
“Their God-like and noble works have won respect, the most profound from every one. In our own city the result of their exertions are to be seen on every hand. In the cause of education their stand is pre-eminent. With them modesty, knowledge and refinement are most carefully blended. The young girl, after a tutelage of years under their careful supervision, walks forth into the world, with a mind as pure and free, and demeanor as gentle and kind, as when first these precious charges were tendered to their keeping. And how carefully are the poor little ones, without parents and bereft of homes, provided for by these angels of earth!
“The asylum under their charge and guidance, situated near the Catholic Cemetery, on the outskirts of the city, is the most complete institution of its kind in the State. A large number of orphans are educated, clothed and fed here the year in and out, finding compensation only in the good they have done and the anticipation of a bright reward hereafter, from Him ‘Who tempereth the wind to the shorn lamb,’ and under whose ‘All-seeing Eye’ every act of charity and faith is always recorded. Their labors in behalf of the sick are ever attended with the most cheering results. Take a look at our city hospitals, and you will find everything well arranged, clean and neat, and bearing the impress most unmistakably of the goodness of their hearts and the greatness of their works.
“The patients, one and all, express the most sincere satisfaction at their treatment, and pray, as all good people do, that the society which has rendered so much good to us and all mankind may be like the foundation stone of all blessings—Truth—and with it ever bear the stamp of immortality.”
CHAPTER XXVIII.
A LESSON IN CHARITY.
An incident of the war in which a gentle Sister of Charity and a stern military commander played the leading parts. “What do you do with your beggings?” The Red River campaign and its fatal results. The general in the hospital. “Did you get the ice and beef?” A grateful patient and his appreciation of the real worth of the Sisters.
“During the late war, and when General S. was in command of the department at New Orleans, the Sisters of Charity made frequent applications to him for assistance.[26] Especially were they desirous to obtain supplies at what was termed ‘commissary prices;’ that is, at a reduction or commutation of one-third the amount which the same provisions would cost at market rates. The principal demand was for ice, flour, beef and coffee, but mainly ice, a luxury which only the Union forces could enjoy at anything like a reasonable price. The hospitals were full of the sick and wounded of both the Federal and Confederate armies, and the benevolent institutions of the city were taxed to the utmost in their endeavors to aid the poor and the suffering, for those were trying times, and war has many victims. Foremost among these Christian workers stood the various Christian Sisterhoods. These noble women were busy day and night, never seeming to know fatigue, and overcoming every obstacle that, in so many discouraging forms, obstructed the way of doing good—obstacles which would have completely disheartened less resolute women, or those not trained in the school of patience, faith, hope and charity, and where the first grand lesson learned is self-denial. Of money there was little, and food, fuel and medicine were scarce and dear; yet they never faltered, going on in the face of all difficulties, through poverty, war and unfriendly aspersions, never turning aside, never complaining, never despairing. No one will ever know the sublime courage of these good Sisters during the dark days of the Rebellion. Only in that hour when the Judge of all mankind shall summon before Him the living and the dead will they receive their true reward, the crown everlasting, and the benediction: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’