October 25.—By these most absurd regulations I was
not allowed to show Dr. Lee over the hospital when he
called. However, the directeur escorted him, and M. Blot
offered an introduction to Ricord.
Although the residence in La Maternité was an
extremely trying one from the utter absence of privacy,
the poor air and food, and really hard work when
sleep was lost on the average every fifth night, yet
the medical experience was invaluable at that period
of pioneer effort. It enabled me later to enter upon
practice with a confidence in one important branch
of medicine that no other period of study afforded;
and I have always been glad that I entered the
institution, notwithstanding the very grave accident
which now befell me.
This event was noted at the time as follows:—
Sunday, November 4.—Served all day in the infirmary,
and witnessed M. Dayau's first application of the serrefine.
I felt all the afternoon a little grain of sand, as it
were, in one eye. I was afraid to think what it might be,
for in the dark early morning, whilst syringing the eye of
one of my tiny patients for purulent ophthalmia, some of
the water had spurted into my own eye. It was much
swollen at night, and in the morning the lids were closely
adherent from suppuration.
November 5.—I applied for permission to leave until the eye was well, and was refused. I went to the infirmary of the élèves and informed M. Blot that I was prisoner. He examined the eye carefully, discovered that it was the dreaded disease, consulted his chief, and then told me that as everything depended on the early active treatment, he should give up the first days entirely to me.
