6th.—Have received to-day a box of delicacies from the good people of Middletown, Connecticut, for my hospital. It is a great comfort to us to feel that the _____ Regiment is remembered in so many places and by so many good people. The contents are generally in fine order, except that a few of the eatables became saturated by some brandy—the corks in some manner having got out of place. This, however, has not injured them. Indeed, many of the sick boys think thatthe contact of the ” spiritual essence” has rather improved them.
All the talk now is of moving, and if we should not be “put forward” next week, I fear our General will lose prestige with this part of the army.
I have had to forbid one of the female nurses admission to the hospital on account of her improper interference with matters under my supervision. I regret this. She is a capable good nurse, but sometimes some things are just as contagious as others, and she meddled and made trouble. I begin to doubt very much the expediency of having female nurses in field hospitals. They are absolutely necessary in the general hospital, but in the field they are out of place.
We have had time to read and deliberate on the President’s Message. It is not what the soldiers expected, or wished. They had prepared their minds for a real sharp-shooter message, but they think this is a “smooth bore,” and carries neither powder nor ball. They like Secretary Cameron’s talk much better, But new beginners are always impatient to be at it. We may become sobered down before long.
