CHAPTER VI.

The Hospital.-The Grammar School.

THE vicinity of the hospital to San Margarita gave me frequent opportunities of visiting this institution; and as the times at which I made my visits were irregular, and often unexpected, I had the satisfaction of believing, that the good order, which I found to prevail there, was nothing more than a specimen of the uniform attention paid to the wants and comforts of the inmates.

The first steps towards establishing an hospital for the express reception of Vaudois patients, was taken in the year 1824, when a petition was addressed to the king of Sardinia by the officers of the Table, soliciting his majesty's permission to purchase a house and land in the commune of La Torre, which might serve as an asylum for the aged, infirm, and sick of the Vaudois population. This boon having been granted, and with it the royal sanction to nominate a commission for the administration of the institution, the Table next applied themselves to the equally important con

sideration of the ways and means of setting it on foot. The result of their deliberation was, to make a public appeal to the Protestant Churches of Europe. It was nobly answered by some of them; and as I have before stated (see note, p. 159.) 105,000 francs were raised in France, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and the German states, which were remitted to the valleys at once; and with part of this sum they purchased the house, which has since been converted into a hospital; and a farm, which is also in the commune of La Torre, and which yields an annual rent of about 2000 francs. The subscriptions in England, Prussia, and Holland, being carried to a much greater amount, it was prudently resolved, by the committees who had the management of them, to invest the capital in the public funds of the countries where such subscriptions were raised, and to remit the interest by yearly or half yearly payments, to the hospital commission at La Torre. This has been done, and the establishment in chief at La Torre, and the dispensary at Pomaretto in Val San. Martino, enjoy the benefit of an income from abroad, to the amount of 400l. a-year: viz. 150%. from England, 150l. from Prussia, and 1007. from Holland, besides the rent of the farm, and about 137. a-year upon a mortgage in all nearly 5007. per annum. Among other benefactions to this hospital, the late emperor Alexander of Russia presented it with 4000 francs.

The building is admirably situated for the purpose to which it is assigned. It is in the hamlet of Copia, on the high road between La Torre and Villar, and wery near the Protestant church of the former. It is, therefore, in a direct line of communication with the most populous of the Vaudois villages, and in the centre of the population of the valley of Luserna, amounting to 9,800 souls, or half the whole Protestant community. The house itself, consisting of twelve rooms, the smallest about sixteen feet square, is of a handsome exterior, and stands within an inclosure of about two acres. A better site could not have been chosen; it is somewhat elevated, perfectly detached from other buildings, and has the advantage of a fine supply of running water, besides two large pools or reservoirs, which minister very considerably to the convenience and cleanliness of the establishment. The ground, which forms what we should call the garden, is very productive, and is divided into allotments, which yield corn, fruit, vegetables, and wine.

So airy and charming is the situation, that the first view dissipates all our notions of an hospital, but upon entering the house, and walking through the rooms which are allotted to the patients, nothing is missed, which is supposed to be essential to an institution for the relief of malady and disaster. The rooms were kept clean and well ventilated. The bedsteads were of iron, and no

greater number of beds were placed in each chamber, than the space would conveniently admit. Proper regard was paid to the separation of male and female patients. In short, there was every symptom of the strictest observance of all that was necessary to render the establishment creditable to the directors, and beneficial to the unfortunate objects who claimed its protection, in regard to aliment, economy, and treatment.

The Commission of the hospital, composed of a president, treasurer, secretary, and five members, are in charge of the concern, and issue such orders from time to time as they may consider proper, but the internal management is in the hands of the physician, M. Coucourde, who for the poor salary of 500 francs a-year, and rooms in the house, with such other advantages as the garden and rations may afford, gives his principal, I may say, his whole time to the establishment, and conducts it with a degree of tenderness and regularity, which speak well for his heart and judgment. Under the physician are a ward-keeper, who receives 150 francs, and the matron, who is paid 120 francs a-year, for their services, with board and lodging. The surgeon has an annual stipend of 300 francs, and for this he visits the hospital at stated periods, and as often as his presence is required.

The hospital has convenient accommodation for fourteen patients, and the dispensary at Pomaretto

for eight; and the average expenditure, independently of the salaries, is at the rate of one franc, or ten-pence a day for each patient, including charges for food, medicine, fuel, and wine. In the course of the year, about two hundred persons are admitted at the two houses. The complaints most common to the sufferers arise from old age, inflammation, accidents, rheumatism, and low fevers, brought on by cold, and poor, and low living. To those who have subscribed to this institution, it will be gratifying to learn, that their alms could not have been better bestowed; that the quantity of good effected, at little cost, is beyond what the most sanguine could have expected, and it is so appreciated in the valleys, that many a blessing is invoked upon the strangers, who have contributed to its foundation and endowment. "Oh! sir," said a patient to me, who was but just recovering from a long and painful disorder, " had it not been for our brethren of other lands, I should at this moment have been a hopeless sufferer, and writhing under agonies, for which I could have obtained no cure in my hut upon the mountain; for how could the surgeon have attended me as often as my malady required him, at such a distance from his home, and without any expectation of being remunerated for his trouble?"

In addition to the annual remittance of 150%. the London Vaudois Committee, at the request of that watchful friend of the Vaudois, Mr. Bridge, have