Very favorable, thought I, and went in. I could see at a glance that the large caldron of potatoes was boiled half an hour too long. Their bread looked well, and I suppose it was good. As we passed out, taking memoranda and pencil, I said:
"You have a very large hospital. How many will it accommodate?"
"Fifteen hundred, madam. Very few, very few at present, only four hundred and eighty-four."
"How many nurses have you?"
"Twenty-three."
"No female nurses?"
"No, madam. As I told you, a woman has no business to step inside of a hospital."
"As I told you, we evidently differ in that respect. Where I have found judicious female nurses it seems more home-like, and our soldiers feel more contented."
"Very few, very few judicious female nurses."
"They exist, notwithstanding. How many surgeons have you?"