Sample Translations
Hyangan Lee The History Book for the Second Best E ng l i s h
Book Information
The History Book for the Second Best (이등을 기록하는 역사책) Hyeonamsa Publishing corp. / 7 p. / ISBN 9788932373232 73990 For further information, please visit: http://library.klti.or.kr/node/772
This sample translation was produced with support from LTI Korea. Please contact the LTI Korea Library for further information. library@klti.or.kr
The History Book for the Second Best Written by Lee Hyangan, Illustrated by Shin Min-je
Mary Jane Seacole 1805– May 14, 1881 An angel in a white uniform
She was a nurse from Jamaica. As a child, she learned from her mother traditional healing methods. She ran a health clinic before she went to London during the Crimean War. But because she was of mixed race heritage from a colony, she was rejected as a nurse. She then went to the front and treated the wounded soldiers there.
People call nurses, an “angel in a white uniform.” It describes them in a white uniform, looking after the patients but it also symbolizes Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was an English nurse who established the foundation for professional nursing. The reason why she became well-known in the world, being called an “angel in a white robe” is because she risked her life, treating the soldiers in a field hospital during the Crimean War. People are moved by the story of Nightingale who looked after the patients in a battlefield where she could’ve easily been killed. But does anyone know that there was another “angel in a white uniform” who has been overshadowed by Nightingale’s fame? Mary Jane Seacole was a nurse who saved wounded soldiers at the frontline where there was no medical instruments or emergency medication. All she had at her disposal was
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her passion and dedication. Who was Mary Jane Seacole, also known as the Black Nightingale?
Mother of the Soldiers
“Mother, what can you treat with this herb, here?” “That’s good for a cut or bruise. You can mince it, and the extract will help heal the wound quickly.” “Ah, ha! Then I am going to put it on my teddy bear’s face. He has a wound.” Mary, a girl who lived in a country town in Jamaica followed her mother around everyday. Her mother knew many things about medicinal herbs and showed Mary interesting healing methods. Playing nurse, using her mother’s home remedies was great fun for Mary. She would lay down her dolls that had a broken leg or scratched face, and pretended to treat them with the herbs. “I’m going to become a nurse who treats patients!” When Mary grew up, she indeed became a nurse. One day, she heard the frightening news. “A war has broken out, and incredible number of soldiers have gotten wounded. And they’re dying because there aren’t enough nurses to treat them.” Jamaica was a colony of England at the time, and the news of the war that broke out in England reached Mary’s hospital where she worked. “Soldiers are dying? Well, then I’m going to go to England and care for them.” Mary immediately set off for England where she volunteered to work for the government in the position as a nurse. But the reply she got was crushing. “Mary, you cannot be part of our nursing team.”
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There was only one reason and that was because she was of mixed race from a colony! There was not a single place that would accept her. “I can’t believe it! I can’t be a nurse even though there are soldiers who are dying because there aren’t enough nurses. You can’t be a nurse if your skin is dark?” Mary was in despair. But she couldn’t just sit around. She felt as though she could hear the moaning of the dying soldiers. In the end, she set up a field hospital with her own money on the frontline where no one chose to go. The place was unbelievably inadequate. It was a mere tent with hardly any medical equipment or a sufficient amount of emergency medication. But Mary was not disheartened. “Here, I’ll put this medicinal herb ointment on you, and you’ll be fine in no time.” The medicinal plant that she was able to obtain near her surroundings was a big help in urgent situations. When the epidemic of cholera broke out among the soldiers, Mary’s home remedy was very effective. Mary boiled cinnamon and water in a big pot. “Cinnamon is very effective for cholera. Let the soldiers drink this water.” Sure enough, cholera that was epidemic among the soldiers vanished, thanks to Mary’s cinnamon tea. But Mary did not have the means to treat seriously wounded soldiers. “Mary, it hurts so much. I am going die soon, aren’t I? What’ll happen to me when I die? I am so scared.” “Don’t worry. I’ll be beside you. I’ll pray for you.” Mary kept vigilance, alongside the soldiers who were on their last breath. The soldiers died in peace, next to the warmth of Mary. This illustrates why the soldiers called Mary, “mother.”
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A genuine angel in a white uniform
Most ofthe Crimean War took place on the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea. This war brought Florence Nightingale to the forefront. The entry of Nightingale has an important historical significance. Because of her activities, women could participate in a war and nursing made a step forward. It was actually the English government that made it possible for the appearance of Nightingale. England at the time needed the story of a heroic nurse. The image of a nurse in England was not that good, thus there was a need for a nurse who could transform that image. A white woman named Nightingale, who was a dedicated nurse, fit the bill. But there was another woman who was overshadowed by Nightingale in the process and consequently buried in history. Mary Jane Seacole was a nurse from Jamaica, a colony of England. Mary was born the offspring of a white man and a black woman. During that time people called someone like her, who was multi-racial, a “mulatto” and looked down on her. Mary was a girl who resembled her mother in many ways. Mary’s mother took care of many patients, using traditional methods and Mary also became very interested in her mother’s work. Naturally, the young Mary learned from her mother a natural healing method and looked after the patients in a hospital. Like her mother, Mary married a white man. She was wed to Seacole, who was a merchant, in 1836. She was forty-eight years old when she went to England after hearing news about the Crimean War. She had long been widowed and was devoting her time to taking care of sick people. With all the money she had, she headed for the front after the English government rejected her service, saying they’d rather have their soldiers die than have them treated by a mulatto from their colony.
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On her way to the front, she had a fateful encounter with someone. She met Florence Nightingale who was in the Scutari region at the time. In her autobiography, The Wonderful Experiences of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, she writes in detail about the meeting. On her way to the front, Mary needed to a place to spend a night. Hence, she went to Nightingale. “How can I help you? I’ll do anything for you.” Nightingale, who met Mary for the first time, received her very warmly and put her up for the night. Even though it was a humble room where the laundresses slept, Mary was able to get a good night’s sleep. Reminiscing, Mary wrote in her autobiography:
“Nightingale was a small woman dressed in a nurse’s uniform who was a gentle but strong woman.”
This is how the fateful meeting occurred between two women who dedicated their lives to helping the suffering soldiers in the Crimean War. But the fate of the two women diverged dramatically when the war ended. Nightingale is recorded as a heroine, worldwide and in history. Meanwhile, what awaited Mary, who spent all her money taking care of the soldiers at the front, was cruel poverty. The English government would not view Mary, a Black woman from a colony as a heroine. Even though one English magazine campaigned to help her by setting up the “Seacole Fund,” Mary could not get out of destitution. Finally, she died of a stroke in 1881, and was erased from people’s memory. What resurrected her was a single picture. In 2005, a strange portrait was discovered in a frame store in England. Her picture was used underneath another portrait to protect it and at first no one knew it was a portrait of
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Mary Seacole. But the three medals on her chest quickly revealed her identity. With the help of the soldiers who fought during the war, she had received medals from England, France, and Turkey. Through great endeavors and the portrait, Mary Jane Seacole had reentered history in the latter part of the twentieth century and a re-evaluation of her life took place. Descriptions, such as those that follow, began to reveal the details of her life.
“An angel in a white uniform whose life was not given enough credit for her work, and was overshadowed by Nightingale. “A genuine angel in a white uniform.” “Black Nightingale.”
There are many great people whose names we are familiar with. But what does it mean to be a truly great person? Because there were many people who have given their love and devoted service to others without being recognized and who have disappeared into history, Mary Jane Seacole makes us pose such a question.
The Crimean War
It is a war that took place from 1853 to 1856 mainly on the Crimean peninsula and the surrounding Black Sea; it was between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, England, France, and Sardinia, It is from this war that Florence Nightingale became well-known as “An angel in a white robe.”
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Florence Nightingale (May 12, 1820–August 13, 1910)
She was an English nurse who worked at a field hospital during the Crimean War. She was called an “angel in a white robe” and was a pioneer in the reform of the medical system. In 1860, she founded her own nursing school that became a model for other countries. She is known to have established a model for nursing laws and professional nursing. The Red Cross gives out an annual “The Nightingale Award” to outstanding nurses in all parts of the world and the “Nightingale Pledge” is a famous vow for nurses.
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