“And not alone was her kindness shown
To the hale and hungry lot
Who drank her grog and ate her prog,
And paid their honest shot.
“The sick and sorry can tell the story
Of her nursing and dosing deeds;
Regimental M.D. never worked as she,
In helping sick men’s needs.
“Of such work, God knows, was as much as she chose
That dreary winter-tide,
When Death hung o’er the damp and pestilent camp,
And his scythe swung far and wide.
“She gave her aid to all who prayed,
To hungry and sick and cold;
Open hand and heart, alike ready to part
Kind words and acts, and gold.
“And—be the right man in the right place who can—
The right woman was Dame Seacole.”
Reader, now that we have come to the end of this chapter, I can say what I have been all anxiety to tell you from its beginning. Please look back to [Chapter VIII.], and see how hard the right woman had to struggle to convey herself to the right place.