Paul McNeely speaks after death about Jane, the nurse who cared for him during his final illness. He remembers her entering his sickroom in her nurse’s cap and cuffs, smiling and reassuring him, and her eyes settling into him like dew sinking into a flower. Her tenderness means more to him than all the McNeely fortune; no money could repay her day-and-night care or the warmth of her small hands on his forehead. As he was dying, he longed to recover so he could hold her and love her fully. The mood is tender and sorrowful—a mixture of gratitude, romantic longing, and regret. The closing question, asking whether his father provided for Jane after his death, reveals his love and his worry for her future, since she was probably only seen as a hired nurse.
Paul McNeely — Summary
Dear Jane! dear winsome Jane! How you stole in the room (where I lay so ill) In your nurse’s cap and linen cuffs, And took my hand and said with a smile: “You are not so ill—you’ll soon be well.” And how the liquid thought of your eyes Sank in my eyes like dew that slips Into the heart of a flower. Dear Jane! the whole McNeely fortune Could not have bought your care of me, By day and night, and night and day; Nor paid for your smile, nor the warmth of your soul, In your little hands laid on my brow. Jane, till the flame of life went out In the dark above the disk of night I longed and hoped to be well again To pillow my head on your little breasts, And hold you fast in a clasp of love— Did my father provide for you when he died, Jane, dear Jane?