Wardship

“ As deaths were early in those days, and wardship frequent, a father sought by the early marriage of his son or daughter to dispose of their hands in his lifetime, instead of leaving them to be dealt out to hungry courtiers, who only sought to make a large profit, as they could, from the marriage of wards they had bought for the purpose. ”

“ Persons holding lands by knight's service in chief, and also other lands by knight's service, or otherwise may in like manner devise two third part thereof, saving to the king wardship of the third, and fines for alienation of the whole. Persons holding land of others than the king by knight's service, and also holding socage lands, may devise two third parts of the former and the whole of the latter, saving to the lord his wardship of the third part. ”

“ A guardian could get one tenth of the income of the property during the wardship and a substantial marriage amount when the ward married.
Most earldoms and many baronages came into the royal house by escheat or marriage. The royal house employed many people. The barons developed a class consciousness of aristocracy and became leaders of society. Many men, no matter of whom they held land, sought knighthood. ”

“ By these provisions the Charter reverts once more to the subject of wardship, laying down three rules which will be 428better understood when their sequence is somewhat altered, the second being taken first.
(1) Ordinary wardship. The reason for claiming wardship from lands held in chivalry, namely, that a boy tenant could not perform military service, did not apply to fee-farm, to socage, or to burgage. There was much looseness of usage, however; and of this John took full advantage. The Charter stated the law explicitly ”

“ Men who dwell without the forest need not henceforth come before our justiciars of the forest upon a general summons, except those who are impleaded, or who have become sureties for any person or persons attached for forest offenses.
45. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know the law of the realm and mean to observe it well.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they hold charters from the kings of England, or of which they have long-continued possession, shall have the wardship of them, when vacant, as they ought to have. ”

“ Work in the wards has its compensations: here there is the human element. But only a portion of a unit such as ours can be detailed for ward work: the rest are either hewers of wood and drawers of water or else have their noses to a grindstone of clerical monotonousness beside which the ledger-keeping of a bank employee is a heaven of blissful excitements. You will find few hospital orderlies who are not "fed up"; you will find none who do not long for the war's end. And I fancy you will find very, very few who would not go on active service if they could. ”

“ Within the limits prescribed by the local government board the treatment in English casual wards varies in a striking degree. Before admission to a casual ward a vagrant requires an order, obtained either from a relieving officer or his assistant. ”

“ These trifles reveal at a glance the professional touch in a ward, and are, I understand, not by any means the insignia of a military as distinct from a civilian hospital. They may or may not contribute to the comfort of the patient, but they betoken the captaincy of one whose methodicalness will in other and less visible respects most emphatically benefit him.
Our hut life was something more than a mere folding-up of bedding on bedsteads and great-coats on shelves. ”

“ Each ward runs the depth of the building, viz., eighteen feet, and in consequence is simply a funnel for hot or cold air to blow through. When the ward is filled, the men's heads lie under the windows. The largest ward contains a hundred men, the smallest fifteen. They sleep in hammocks, slung close to each other as on board ship, in two lines, with a passage down the centre. There is a wardsman to each ward. He is selected by the prisoners, and is generally a man of the worst character. ”

“ Is the duty of the nation greater than the duty of the home? Is the nation greater than the individual? Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?
Ward after ward. Rows of quiet men. The occasional thump of a convalescent's crutch. The swish of a nurse's starched dress. The strangled grunt of a man as the dressing is removed from his wound. The hiss of coal in the fireplace at the end of the ward. Perhaps a priest beside a bed, or a nun. Over all, the heavy odour of drugs and disinfectants. Brisk nurses go about, cheery surgeons, but there is no real cheer. ”

“ The ward obtains or regains full capacity for civil conduct;
⁠ (2) The guardian loses the competence to be a guardian;
⁠ (3) The ward or the guardian is dead; and
⁠ (4) Any other circumstance where the people's court rules to terminate the guardianship.
⁠Where a ward is still in need of a guardian after the termination of the guardianship, a new guardian shall be appointed according to law. ”

“ One of the lively episodes of hospital life, is the frequent marching away of such as are well enough to rejoin their regiments, or betake themselves to some convalescent camp. The ward master comes to the door of each room that is to be thinned, reads off a list of names, bids their owners look sharp and be ready when called for; and, as he vanishes, the rooms fall into an indescribable state of topsy-turvyness, as the boys begin to black their boots, brighten spurs, if they have them, overhaul knapsacks, make presents ”

“ In every ward on the female side, a wardswoman is appointed to preserve order, and a similar regulation is adopted among the males. The wardsmen and wardswomen are all prisoners, selected for good conduct. They alone are allowed the privilege of sleeping on bedsteads; a small stump bedstead being placed in every ward for that purpose. On both sides of the gaol, is a small receiving-room, to which prisoners are conducted on their first reception, and whence they cannot be removed until they have been examined by the surgeon of the prison. ”

“ When appointing a guardian, the residents’ committee, the villagers’ committee, the civil affairs department, or the people’s court shall respect the true will of the ward and appoint a guardian in the best interest of the ward from among the legally qualified persons. ”

“ No doubt it was expected that every time you were sent on an errand outside the ward you would solemnly take off your ward-shoes and put on your marching-boots—then, on the return, take off your marching-boots and put on your ward-shoes—but life as a nursing orderly is too short for such elaborations of etiquette. It was nothing unusual, when one was working in a ward which lay at a distance of quarter of a mile from the hospital's main building, to be sent to the said main building a dozen times in a single morning. ”

“ But if you are a guardian, and have a ward, you are not satisfied if your ward, presumedly an ignorant person in a state of pupilage, merely has enough to eat and to wear. You endeavor to form his manners and morals. ”

“ She had failed to obtain employment, and took the children away to apply for admission to a casual ward.”
“What is a casual ward, Mr Missionary?” asked Di.
“Seaward, my love,—his name is not Missionary,” said Sir Richard.
“A casual ward,” answered the visitor, “is an exceedingly plain room with rows of very poor beds; mere wooden frames with canvas stretched on them, in which any miserable beggars who choose to submit to the rules may sleep for a night after eating a bit of bread and a basin of gruel—for all which they pay nothing. ”

“ Adjoining each ward is a sister’s sleeping-room, so that the sister in attendance on the ward may have a little rest without leaving her patients. On each side of the square is a small kitchen, and a laboratory containing bandages, lint, medicines, and all the needful appliances, all carefully and methodically arranged, so that no time may be wasted in looking for what is required. Every day the sisters in charge of the different wards receive what they may require from the general store. ”

“ The female insane ward was a rather large room, and was situated over the Board-room. As we always had the place full the space was desirable or necessary. It was immediately beneath the lying-in ward. When we had a troublesome or noisy lunatic in the ward, it must have been anything but a comfort to the lying-in women above, but then neither their interests, nor the feelings of any of the other inmates, were at that time officially considered by the Guardians, by the Poor Law Inspectors, nor by any one else. ”

“ The wards are filled with a strange group of beings. The very scum, not of the poor, but the vicious, are to be found in these wards. The man who attends these dens does his duty in the midst of revilings and cursings, and at the risk of his life. ”

“ Frequently there are tents, more comfortable here than one might think, whatever they may be down in the army.
Each ward has a ward-master, and generally a nurse for every ten or twelve men. A ward surgeon has, generally, two wards—although this varies. Some of the wards have a woman nurse; the Armory-square wards have some very good ones. The one in Ward E is one of the best.
A few weeks ago the vast area of the second story of that noblest of Washington buildings, the Patent office, was crowded close with rows of sick, badly wounded, and dying soldiers. ”

“ Branches are also sometimes organized in outlying districts of large wards where there are not enough people to justify a complete ward organization, and yet the district is too far removed from the ward to permit the members living there to enjoy the advantages of the adjacent ward organization. ”

“ An Army Lady Superintendent is supposed to take charge of a ward herself—generally the officers' ward; but I have not taken a ward yet, as, until we fill up, there are enough sisters, and it seems more profitable for me to go round supplying the sisters' needs from the stores, looking after the cooking, and the house-boys, and the washerwomen (I fear that my hair will turn grey in my efforts to keep the typhoid linen separate) , to say nothing of the cows, which are not a success ”

“ Some suggest one mode, some another; but none take it in hand, till our ever-obliging Corning, wardmaster of our first ward, appears; prompt to do, and ready to act, he wastes no time in words, but bears off the tree, and soon returns with it firmly planted and ready for service. Thank you, Corning; what a satisfaction there is in being so promptly and pleasantly served. ”

“ The Outer Ward is nearly semicircular, the inner ward being built upon the middle of its chord. Its parts are the great and lesser gatehouses, the curtains, the mural towers, and the offices. The inner ward has no ditch, and the space between the walls of the two wards is on the north side, 90 feet; on the west side, 60 feet; and on the south side, 80 feet.
The great gatehouse is a fine pile of building. It is an oblong mass, 80 feet broad by 50 feet deep, and 62 feet high. The gate158way is 11 feet high, and 8 feet broad, and has a high drop arch. ”

“ The voters of a ward, the lowest political division in the country, elected their field-cornet more with a view of having him administer the laws in times of peace than with the idea of having him lead them into a battle, and in like manner the election of a commandant for a district, which generally consisted of five wards, was more of a victory for his popularity in peace than for his presumed bravery in war. ”

“ The envoys, much moved by the wasted face and earnest appeal of the governor, returned with his message to the king, whom they found in an unrelenting mood. He answered them that he would make no other terms. The garrison must yield themselves to his pleasure. ”

“ Two or more teachers labor regularly in each of the districts into which a ward is divided. It is incumbent upon them to visit from house to house, to see that no iniquity exists among the members, and that they are attentive to their religious duties. The teachers report monthly, or as often as required, to the ward bishopric. The deacons have charge of the ward property, and they assist the teachers, as the teachers assist the priests. ”

“ The time to which he looks forward colours his view of all things; the barracks are behind, and before him is the open road—that long, straight road which, in so many districts of France, goes on and on across bare plains, to human sight a thread laid right across the fabric of the world without bend or divergence. A road of white dust which, as soon as the barracks are left behind, rises from the many footsteps of the marching men and envelops the column. ”

“ The principal buildings in this ward, are the churches of St. Dunstan’s and Alhallows Barking, the Custom house, Navy office, Trinity house and Corn Exchange in Mark lane, which see under their several articles. This ward is governed by an Alderman, twelve common council men, one of whom is the Alderman’s deputy, thirteen wardmotemen, twelve scavengers, thirteen constables, and a beadle. The jurymen returned by the wardmote inquest, serve in the several courts at Guildhall in the month of May. ”

“ Military law has had a wonderful effect in placing the operations of all classes of work under one head, and the work of this general headquarters has won the highest commendation from the good citizens. Every ward has its supervisor, who reports daily all work done in his respective ward, files complaints, makes suggestions, and, in fact, keeps the general headquarters informed on all matters pertaining to the management of his district. ”

“ There may be ward charities, and ward bequests, which will create confusion and perplexity under any new arrangement. The inhabitants, too, of one ward may have strong personal objections to be transferred to another. They may dislike the disrupture of old family ties and connections, and cling fondly to the traditions and associations of their youth. ”

“ The barracks look upon the Barrack Square, which is filled with lounging prisoners. The windows of the hospital-ward also look upon Barrack Square, and the prisoners are in constant communication with the patients. The hospital is a low stone building, capable of containing about twenty men, and faces the beach. ”