I presume all will comprehend my meaning when I assure them that
the occasion referred to was the only one during four years of service
when even an unpleasantness occurred. In the same ward with Captain
Ellis were three officers,--one, Colonel ----, of Alabama (very ill),
another just able to sit up, and one, Lieutenant Cox, of Mississippi,
only suffering from a bad cold which had threatened pneumonia. My
constant habit was to carry into the wards a little basket containing
pieces of fresh linen, sponges, and a bottle of Confederate bay-water
(vinegar). Invariably I bathed the faces and hands of the
fever-patients with vinegar and water, but as soon as they were well
enough to dispense with it gave it up. One day, upon entering the ward
above mentioned, I found Captain Ellis up and standing before the
fire, his back towards it. It struck me at once that he looked
worried, and at the same time appeared to be struggling between
vexation and a desire to laugh. Lieutenant Cox was covered up in bed,
rolling and holding his head, seemingly in dreadful agony.
Approaching, I asked a question or two regarding his sudden seizure,
but he only cried, "Oh, my head! my head!" at the same time shaking as
if with a violent chill.
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