| The Life of Dr. J.R. Miller |
Chapter 2 |
Page 6 |
Several weeks after this letter was written an attack of typhoid fever was brought on by his tireless labours and Mr. Miller lay for some time in the hospital at Washington. The only hint of this illness in the notebook kept by him during the campaign with the Commission is given thus:
“A sweet little Scotch girl came every day into my chamber with a bunch of flowers, or a cup of nice tea, or a whole miniature tray of delicacies for me, or – if nothing else – always with a sweet smile on her face, a look of encouragement and cheer, and a tender, sympathizing word. I always longed for her coming, and believe that she did more to cure me than my physician. Her sweet, winning ways were made doubly so by her native Scotch manners, her broad accent, her captivating frankness, and her choice little delicacies. I shall always remember that gentle tap on my chamber door, after a stealthy, velvet-slippered pit-a-pat through the hall, and then the slow, quiet opening of the door, and the little face with bright, sparkling eyes, and smiling lips peeping in, as if half fearful to enter, and then the tiny little creature with the gifts of flowers or luxuries from the table, gliding up to my bedside. Ah, what is dearer than a sweet child! I love the simple prattle and the innocent mirth and the unaffected frankness of a child.”
Soon after leaving the hospital, on October 25, 1865, Mr. Miller was appointed General Field Agent, and was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland. He wrote in his journal:
“I left Pittsburgh November 10 to take charge of my field, and, stopping for a few days in Cincinnati to make arrangements for my work, I passed on to Crab Orchard, Kentucky. Here transportation was wanting, and the remainder of the way had to be made on foot. It was still one hundred and sixty miles to Knoxville, over a mountain road of terrible muddiness, and one which was in many places next to impassible. I started, however, and reached Barboursville only to learn that Knoxville was besieged, and that my further progress was stopped. Waiting there a few days I passed on to Cumberland Gap, delayed there a week, and reached Knoxville at last on December 10, one month after leaving Pittsburgh.”
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