HOSPITAL. 



of a marriage covenant which the wife lias violated, 

 referring to the covenant which God had concluded 

 with the Israelites. The remaining chapters treat 

 of the same subject, under different figures, with 

 reproaches, exhortations, and threats; he predicts 

 the approaching exile of his countrymen, and the 

 consoling promise of the final return of an improved 

 people forms the conclusion of this prophetical book. 

 He is remarkable for his laconic style, hastening 

 from image to image, and from reflection to reflec- 

 tion. The stream of a powerfully excited fancy 

 forces him irresistibly onward. Hence he does not 

 exhibit the roundness, grace, and harmony, which 

 characterize the other prophets. The frequent and 

 sudden interruptions, and the abrupt peculiarity of 

 his images, render his book, in many places, obscure, 

 and the coarseness of his expressions frequently 

 oversteps the bounds of delicacy. Still, on account 

 of his marked originality, the depth and truth of his 

 sentiments, and the strength of his language, he will 

 always maintain a distinguished rank among the 

 Hebrew poets. 



HOSPITAL ; a building appropriated for the 

 reception of sick, infirm, and helpless paupers, who 

 are supported and nursed by charity ; also, a house 

 for the reception of sick or insane persons, whether 

 paupers or not; or an establishment for seamen, 

 soldiers, foundlings, &c., who are supported by 

 charity. Hospitals for the sick and wounded, and 

 also those for the poor or infirm, were wholly 

 unknown among the ancients. In Athens, those 

 who had suffered in the public service were fed in 

 the pryfaneum, but there was no asylum for them in 

 case of sickness. In Sparta, where all the citizens 

 ate together, there was no institution for the sick. 

 In Rome, neither Numa nor Servius, neither the 

 consuls nor the emperors, thought of making any 

 provision for the poor or the infirm. The first estab- 

 lishment of hospitals must be ascribed to Christians ; 

 some attempts had already been made by them in 

 Rome, about the end of the fourth century. 

 Fabiola, a pious Roman lady, established an institu- 

 tion for receiving poor and sick persons ; and, after 

 the establishment of Christianity, the emperors at 

 Constantinople built many hospitals for poor infants, 

 for aged people, for orphans, for strangers, &c. 

 The emperor Julian attributed the rapid progress of 

 the Christian religion, in great part, to these chari- 

 table institutions, and proposed to imitate the exam- 

 ple of the Christians, in his attempts to restore 

 paganism. Piety impelled many individuals to 

 appropriate a part of their funds to religious and 

 charitable purposes. Institutions thus formed were 

 of great benefit to the sick poor, but soon became 

 liable to abuses. The funds devoted to charitable 

 purposes were unalienable, and the monastic institu- 

 tions with which they were connected were contami- 

 nated with looseness and extravagance. In Catholic 

 countries, the hospitals are generally attended by 

 nuns, sisters of mercy, &c., of whom even Voltaire 

 says, that there is nothing nobler than the sight of 

 delicate females, sacrificing beauty, youth, often 

 wealth and rank, to devote themselves to the relief 

 of human miseries, under the most revolting forms. 

 In less civilized countries, we find them to be fright- 

 ful abodes of misery. The plague-hospital at Alex- 

 andria, described by Madden, or the insane hospital 

 at Cairo, presents a scene of horrors not inferior 

 to Dante's description of the feverish people, one 

 above the other, in his Inferno. If possible, it is best, 

 in infirmaries, to separate certain patients. Thus, in 

 all populous cities, there should be an hospital for 

 incurables. It is never advisable to have the insane 

 hospital nor the lying-in hospital connected with 

 others ; still less, as is the case in many places in 



Europe, to connect the work-houses and the hos- 

 pitals. 



In Paris, there are thirty-two hospitals ; in London, 

 about the same number. Those in Paris are sup- 

 ported by government. The name of hopilal is 

 generally applied to the establishments for the sick, 

 and that of hospice to those in which the aged, chil- 

 dren, and infirm people are received. More than 

 15,000 beds are made up at these different establish- 

 ments, and the annual expenditure is over a million 

 of dollars. From 40 to 50,000 persons are annually 

 accommodated in h6pitaux, or about 4000 at a time. 

 The hospices generally contain nearly 10,000 persons 

 at the same time. The hospitals of Paris are generally 

 clean and in good order, for which they are indebted 

 to the soeurs de la charite, who wait upon the sick, 

 and nurse them with the greatest care. They are 

 not always favourably situated, being often too much 

 confined. The Hotel des Invalides is destined for 

 military veterans, and contains 7000 men. It has 

 a library of 20,000 volumes. The Hotel Dieu is the 

 most ancient hospital in Paris, and is situated in the 

 most populous part of the city. Before the revolu- 

 tion of 1789, 5000 sick were here huddled together 

 in 1400 beds ; but several monasteries were then 

 converted into hospitals, and lying-in women, scro- 

 fulous patients, lunatics, children, &c., who had all 

 been crowded together, were separated, and placed 

 in different establishments. The Hospice de la Sal- 

 petriere generally contains several thousand poor 

 women, who are kept at work. In one part is a 

 prison for prostitutes. The Hopital de la Charite 

 receives only men attacked by acute diseases ; the 

 Hopital St Louis is used as a pest-house ; the 

 Hospice des Enfans Trouves is for foundlings, about 

 6000 of whom are annually born or received in it ; 

 the Hospice de V Accouchement receives about 3000 

 women annually; the Hopital des Quinze Vingts, 

 or for 300 blind persons, admits only the indigent ; 

 the actual number is over 400. 



Among the hospitals in London and vicinity, are 

 the Foundling Hospital; the Magdalen Hospital, for 

 reclaiming prostitutes; the Greenwich Hospital and 

 Naval Asylum (See Greenwich); Guy's Hospital, 

 for sick persons and incurable lunatics ; Middlesex 

 Hospital; Bethlehem Hospital (commonly called 

 Bedlam], for lunatics, &c. The Chelsea Hospital is 

 appropriated for the reception of sick and superannu- 

 ated soldiers ; the number of pensioners is about 

 400, besides the out or extraordinary pensioners. 



The hospitals in the United States of America are 

 on a smaller scale than those of Europe, and fewer 

 in number, but very well managed. 



Most of the large towns ana counties throughout 

 the British islands have hospitals, of which the best 

 regulated are conducted as follows: There are 

 several large wards, each containing from twelve to 

 sixteen or eighteen beds. The bedsteads are gene- 

 rally of iron, and hung round with cotton curtains ; 

 and each bed is separated by a distance of four feet, 

 or upwards, from the one adjoining ; at the head of 

 each is a small cupboard or shelf, for containing the 

 bottles, cups, and medicines, belonging to the 

 patients. There are also a few smaller bedcham- 

 bers for the reception of particular cases, which it 

 may be judged advisable to keep separate from the 

 others. Each hospital has a matron, house surgeon, 

 and apothecary, resident within its walls ; and some- 

 times there is also a resident chaplain and secretary. 

 The duties of the matron consist in regulating the 

 night and day nurses, and the washing and laundry 

 department ; as well as the purchase of the neces- 

 sary supplies of provisions, and keeping a general 

 superintendence over the kitchen and messes of the 

 sick. The surgeon and apothecary performs all the 



