We saw a great many infectious diseases in the front surgery, and had to keep them in an isolation room till the fever ambulance came to fetch them. I remember one day when we had samples of nearly all the infectious fevers to despatch--first came a case of smallpox, then one of scarlet fever, then one of diphtheria, and there were also cases of measles and chickenpox, but these had to be sent back to their homes. There was quite an outbreak of smallpox just then (I think we had twenty cases in the front surgery in one week), so everybody in the hospital who had not been recently vaccinated had to be done, and we were all very sorry for ourselves for a time.
Another little episode in the front surgery was when a baby took us all by surprise by being born there! We should have sent it on to the Infirmary, but the mother was rather bad, so we had to take them in.
One Sunday evening I was in chapel when I heard some one come to the door, and then the porter came to fetch me, and at the door I found one of the dressers who told me there was a bad compound fracture in the surgery, and the house surgeon would be glad if I would come, as he wanted to give an anæsthetic. When I got there I found a crowd of men all standing round a poor little dog with a badly crushed leg! so we got some suitable splints, and they gave it an anæsthetic and put up the fracture; then they sent word to the male accident ward to get a fracture bed ready for a patient, and the porters were secured to carry it along on a big stretcher. It was in the hospital for some weeks, and got quite well again.
Just before Christmas the Matron was obliged to go home for a time, so once more I was asked to go on duty as assistant matron. Christmas is always a busy time all over the hospital, and in the office (with the Matron away) we had more than enough to do--so many presents to receive and acknowledge and distribute, and many visitors to show round, &c. Then, after Christmas, a good many nurses got ill (some with influenza), and every one seemed to be wanting special nurses at the same time, and all were quite hurt that I could not make new nurses to order.
So I was not sorry when the sister of the nicest ward in the hospital told me that she had been appointed Matron of another hospital (she had been here for years), and as she knew nothing of office work she wanted to ask Matron if she would have her in the office for a few weeks' experience. I thought it would mean that I should go back to the front surgery, and I was quite pleased, but instead of that, Matron wrote to ask me to take over that sister's ward for a couple of months, as she had not got a suitable sister ready to take it permanently (it is always given to one of the seniors here); so I was still more pleased, especially when I found that the pay was at the rate of £10 a year more than for the other wards.