EVENSONG AT ST. HELENS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 270, 7 August 1908, Page 5

EVENSONG AT ST. HELENS.

' The song- is that of half a dozen' babies, little, - tinyj -irresponsible things whose stay in this' World has as yet been of such ve;y . short duration, that 'tho eldest of the band, a gentleman -nearly four weeks of age, who ■is here by special favour, seems a vetoran. Bald-headed, and toothless.he is, and of very Eronounced. opinions- ass ail veterans should o, .and of an, experience far beyond that of the newest recruit who, can only boast a few hours' knowledge of 'this. world. It is for this little band: that' St. Helens Hospital has , been' set apart. It'is quite a journey from the city ,to tho hospital. One goes so far by the Island Bay tram, and then by :deviousi ways around and.back to tho big house that stands on a hill-side, just a little apart from the othor houses of tho / neighbourhood. The' first' thing that im- . presses the visitor !is .tho-fact that this :was not. built for., a hospital.'.- It is used as one,: and'r the best has been made of; it, but tho now. St. Helens that it is hoped will some, day'bo built will have many a : convenience, and addition that' this place'. knows nothing . of. '' •

■ There, are no downstairs rooms for patients. . All have-to bo taken upstairs, and ;htese stairs have a sharp turn'in the middle that adds to tho difficulty of tho task when the patient has to be carried up. The kitchen," of course,! is downstairs, and | all the meals have, to.' be taken up. from there', and ' ono / way arid 'another there is an amount of run- ' ning : upstairs that riiust: be _ very :tiririg for the nurses, who,'however, it must be confessed, "manage ;to • look very alert and bright ind smiling m-spite of their many journeyin'gs. «" : .

The plumbing arrangements, ; bathroom,_ and vater supply ■ leave much to . be desired, though here again probably the best has been dono- with 'materials, at' liand. 1 'Still a good service of this kind is essential in any hospital, and perhaps especially required iin St; Helens. Another thing urgently- required is a larger .and well-lighted "surgery.' ..They have-a poor make-shift in the present . Home... ;i' ■. ' 1 " - .

The inconveniences of the hospital affect tlio - nurses rather than the patients, who probably • know nothing about them as they, lie .in • the. home-like : rooms, that..:for. purposes. of •,convenience are called- wards. Hero they,; remain- for the first fortnight .of. the baby's,[life, sufficiently far from the main road., io, be . beyond the - noise of. traffic,cas quiet-as it/is,.possible to bo in a babyllCUSO.' 7 - ": ' - To return to the evensong. It comes, from a room at the right of the stairs where the babies are disposed round-a, brightly-burning fire. -The smallest one of all, the baby that only opened its. eyes lin Une//morning, is wrapped up vory,, warmly in a tiny cradle, and there ho lies, disregarding the firelight, tho lamplightj: and the song, only conscious of tho .warmth and snugness. To-morrow, if lie'is.not good, he too will, swell the chorus. Round the walls are fastened 1 cradles of the bird-nest type, swinging baskets that bracket into'position, and may be removed to any other part of the room. In one of those cradles there ate twins, a meekly behaved boy,'and a girl who has the very look and mien of an ardent' suffragette as she doubles; her. tiny fist and flings out one arm with .a. commanding; gesture. Tho arm is tucked under the'quilt by a: careful nurse, but in a minuto out it comes again' with a gesture still more impressive.. "'Take them," says the nurse, and before an astonished "Dominicaknows whero she. is she has both tho infalnt's in,her arms, and the young woman is gesticulating, to the threatened danger of tho mere man, her weaker brother. It is with' a feeling of dismay that "Dominica" watches the nurse vanishing through the door to look', after one of'her. patients, and realises, that this precious pair are hers •for the next ten minutes, the next hour, perhaps, who can say, to have, afld to hold: • Cautiously' she makes a ~tour of. the room, observing here a' nice plump little boy sleeping peacefully, there a tiny dark-haired girl just awakening from a'long sleep; and there in 1 that further basket—but before, she; has time.;to investigate, the /awakening girl bursts into a roar, the sleeping boy rouses ' himself to join in tho. strain, the! suffragette, and the'meek brother set up a feeble wail, and- even the -infant by tho fire, "so young, and so untender, bellows with amazing force. It is evensong at St. Helens. ; ,