Of Parchment and Saltwater

Chapter 21

Philadelphia was the most quiet chaos I'd ever seen. People milled about the streets with rags and handkerchiefs over their mouth and nose full of thieves' vinegar, barely acknowledging one another. Two men passed by my horse carrying the gaunt corpse of a young girl. I felt as though I was going to pass out.
Instead of walking on the footpath, most people were walking in the middle of the streets to avoid being infected by the houses where people had died. This was not what I had imagined.
The meeting place Dr. Rush had listed on the bottom of his letter was only a block from Arch Street on the wharf, and the conditions only worsened as I approached the water.
People had followed me from the outskirts of the city and some were gathered in doorways nearby. They could tell by my dress and shocked expression that I wasn't from Philadelphia and looked ready to attack me for the medicine I held.
     "Mrs. Tallmadge!" Dr. Rush called from behind me as I tied up my horse, "You've come!"
     I smiled and embraced him, smelling vinegar and putrid blood on his skin. He was forty-seven now, and looked quite different from when we had worked in the same infirmary during the war. 
     "It's wonderful to see you again," I said softly as he led me into his house and away from the curious crowds, "despite the circumstances. This looks much worse than I expected."
     "I hope I won't scare you off, Louisa, for all the French doctors at Bush Hill have been eagerly awaiting your arrival."
     "Bush Hill? Isn't that the estate just outside of town? I remember reading that Vice-President John Adams was staying there."
     He nodded. "It has been converted to a fever hospital and has undergone significant improvements within the last few weeks. Bedsteads have been brought from the prisons so the patients no longer have to sleep on the floor, a barn has been adapted as a place for convalescing patients, and 9 female nurses and 10 male attendants have now been hired to work there. It is my hope that you would accept a position as the matron over it all."
I sat down gingerly in the parlor and smiled. "It would be an honor, Doctor. And you said, if I recall, French doctors?"
"Yes," he replied, motioning for me to follow him into his kitchen, "allow me to introduce Dr. Jean Deveze, a French doctor with experience treating yellow fever in Saint-Domingue. You'll be working together at Bush Hill."
A man about my age in his mid-thirties stood up from where he was bent over a bottle of medicine on the table. His auburn-red hair was a painful reminder of the Marquis de Lafayette and his smile was genuine as he bowed to greet the two of us.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Madame-"
"Tallmadge. You can call me Louisa, if you'd like, and the pleasure is all mine, sir. I understand that I'll be accompanying you to the Bush Hill hospital."
He grinned and I watched him silently translate the words in his head. "If you would like," I added, "We could speak in French."
"Oh, no, friend, I'm quite content to practice my English. I've heard much of your work during the Revolution and I greatly admire it. Have you ever seen a person with this fever?"
I shook my head with a sheepish expression  but he smiled graciously. "Then let us make a visit to one here in the city before we make our way to this new hospital, oui?"
Dr. Rush escorted us out of his house and handed me a handkerchief dripping with vinegar, much like the one Dr. Deveze was holding. "Do not talk to anyone, Louisa," he told me, "I know you'll want to, that is, if you haven't changed that much from the war. If they find out that you're a doctor, you'll be attacked by people wanting you to treat their loved ones. Just follow him."
The two men nodded to each other, too afraid of the disease to shake hands, and the Frenchman motioned for me to follow him down the street with the hand not holding the vinegar to his face.
"Have you heard of Stephen Girard?"
"No, I admit that I haven't. Who is he?" I replied, anxiously stepping over a starving dog lying in the road.
"He is a merchant and shipowner born in France, who volunteered to personally manage the hospital last week. You'll meet him today, and he is the reason both of us are assigned to Bush Hill. He found that the intermittent visits by multiple young physicians from the city added to the confusion about patient treatment. We will care only for patients at the hospital and will be assisted by French apothecaries and the nurses they've hired. He is a good man."
Just then, there was a growing murmur down the street, and a long line of carriages could be seen coming towards us. Dr. Deveze pulled me to the side of the road and we stopped to watch in curiosity.
An old woman beside us grumbled, "Now the government has abandoned us here to die as well."
To my surprise, the woman was right, and the first carriage held quite a familiar face. Thomas Jefferson and a few of his children sat hunched in their seats, avoiding eye contact with the curious onlookers.
A few more passed with faces I didn't recognize, and the emotion in the streets suddenly grew. Shouts of outrage and adoration mixed like opposing winds in the air.
In the last carriage, George Washington was seated perfectly straightforward, looking sympathetically towards the people on both sides of his carriage.
He met my eyes and a look of confusion suddenly came over his face. I tried to smile and the attempt was returned, although both of us knew there was nothing to smile about. The President looked ready to jump out of the carriage to speak to me, ask what I was doing here, but I simply waved and kept his gaze until he was out of sight.
"Wasn't that the...what is the word? Chef de l'État?"
"Yes," I replied, stunned, "the President. I'm not quite sure what this means for us now. Forgive me, Doctor, but this is not what I expected. I've never seen so much devastation to innocent people."
"I fear you'll see a lot worse in the hospital, Louisa. Now, here we are, 79 South 3rd Street. It is some homme de politique who lives here."
He led me into the sprawling, brick house and whispered, "The man and his wife are both sick, and the woman is in worse condition than her husband, so I will visit her first. You may comfort the man until I come in, if you'd like."
I nodded, although I wanted to stay with him, and followed his direction upstairs while he went into another room where the lady of the house was being treated.
"Sir?" I asked softly, standing in the hallway with a multitude of rooms to choose from, "I'm here with Dr. Deveze. Where are you?"
There was a small moan from one of the rooms to the right and I went in nervously, suddenly unsure of what to do with myself as though I'd never treated a patient before.
The man was facing away from me and I crouched beside the bed. "Sir, my name is Louisa Tallmadge. I'm here to help-"
"Lou?"
My stomach dropped and my mind reeled as the man turned to look at me. His face was gaunt and jaundiced, his tired, yellow eyes looking at me with an apologetic expression, as if he was sorry I had to look at him.
"Alexander," I breathed in a weak voice.
I sank to my knees and put my hands to my face, unable to calm my shaking hands as the sick man lying in front of me tried to comfort me. I melted into his arms.
"You're sick, Alexander," I wept into his chest, "How are you sick? I thought you would have-"
"I didn't have the chance to leave, Lou," he managed through labored breaths, "Eliza got sick first. Now that you're here though, I'll be alright. I'm going to be alright."
     I put my hand to his forehead and let the tears fall. His fever was raging.
     "You're going to be alright," I repeated, trying to believe it.
     Dr. Deveze came in and pulled up a chair beside me, looking bewildered at the sight of me crying.
     "It's fine, Doctor," Alexander breathed weakly, "We are good friends. She's just...I do believe I've scared her."
     I laughed a little and wiped my eyes. "Where are the children, Alexander?"
     "Upstate New York with my father-in-law. They seem to be having quite a good time."
     "I'm sure you'll be able to join them soon," Dr. Deveze said, propping up his head and giving Alexander some kind of mixture to drink.
     I was unable to look away. Alexander Hamilton was the most youthful, healthy man I knew, and here he was, close to death.
     "How is Eliza?" he managed.
     "She's doing better. I gave her more of the camphorated draught. The heat of her skin has disappeared but other symptoms still prevail. And you, Monsieur, I prescribed to you veal broth last time I was here. Was such a thing," the doctor paused to think of the word, "accomplished?"
     The Treasury Secretary nodded and took a gasping breath. I bit my lip.
     "And the vomiting?"
     "Not improving. Please, Doctor, is Eliza in her right mind again?"
     I furrowed my eyebrows and looked between the two men urgently. "Yes," Dr. Deveze answered softly, "she is much better. Now you must rest. Madame Louisa and I are on our way to the Bush Hill estate where we will be working all the time. May I suggest that you and your wife move there with us? Much better care would be provided there."
     Alexander erupted into a coughing fit and spit blood into a tin bucket beside his bed. "That place is for those nearing death, isn't it? I can't-"
     "Oh, but it's not anymore, Alex," I gushed, hoping desperately that he would join us so I could care for him, "This man and others are responsible for bringing order to the place. I'll personally make sure that you are well attended to. Please, I can't bear to leave you and Eliza here like this!"
     He finally relented and the doctor promised to send for someone to take them there within the hour. I embraced Alexander tearfully and whispered, "You're going to be alright."
     On our way out, I began to head for Eliza's room to visit with her. Dr. Deveze held me back.
     "Madame," he whispered, "you can't go in there. Her senses are not with her right now."
     I cocked my head and looked at him inquisitively. "But you said-"
     "I know. And by the time her husband sees her, she will be in her right mind again. But I didn't want to break that man's spirits. He would have demanded to see her."
     He led me out of the Hamilton estate and walked me back towards Benjamin Rush's house. I was numb.
     "Are they going to die?" I breathed as he mounted one of the horses tied in front of the house.
     "No, Louisa. I am almost sure of it. The man has only the first stages of the fever, you said his name was Alexander, oui? And his wife is slowly improving as well. I've seen cases of death and I'm certain this is not one of them. Especially if they come to Bush Hill tonight."
I offered a small smile to a young girl walking up to me tentatively, and tightened my grip on my medical bag.
"Do you live here, Miss?"
Dr. Deveze and I exchanged glances and he shrugged. "Elle est juste une petite fille." She's just a little girl.
"No, I don't live here," I answered softly as I mounted my horse, "I'm here to help." 
     Her eyes widened. "You're a nurse? My brother is sick!"
     I lowered my voice and bent down from my perch atop the horse so she could hear me. "I'm a doctor. If you get someone to bring your brother to Bush Hill, I can help him. Alright?"
     She nodded, new hope in her eyes, and ran back down the street and into an alley with a cloth roof over it. That was where she lived.
     "Come on, Louisa," Dr. Deveze said, clicking his heels against the white stallion, "It's a short ride to the hospital."
 
     Inside the rancid-smelling brick mansion, the doctor introduced me to Stephen Girard, who showed me where I was to be working.
     "These fourteen rooms are where most of the patients are located," he said as he greeted some of them by name, "separated by male or female. The most important thing to remember is that their spirits are low and any reassurance you can give them will help them heal. Do you think you can take it from here? I will always be around as well, so if you are unsure of something, do ask. All of the nurses and attendants will answer directly to you and you may answer to either me or Dr. Deveze."
     I nodded. He took my hands in his and looked at me earnestly. "Thank you, Mrs. Tallmadge. I know how much of a sacrifice this is, but you have done a greater service to me and this city than you'll ever know. How can I ever thank you?"
     "You don't have to," I answered with a small smile, "I'm here to help wherever I can be of the most assistance. Thank you for this opportunity."
     He kissed my hand and left to go work with other patients, leaving me in the room lined with beds full of dying men.
     I was overwhelmed. I just wanted to curl up with Benjamin and Samuel and escape all of this. But here I was, and all that was left for me to do was avoid sickness and beat this fever so I could go back home.