The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-08-15
DOLL HOSPITAL THIS AFTERNOON.
COME IN.

ionable boulevard smiled in an
amused fashion as they saw the queer
sign in the basement window of the
elegant brown-stone house. Many
eager, childish eyes read the inscrip-
ton, too, and hurried home to their
mothers to ask what it meant.
In the meantime the basement of
Grandmamma Pages house present
ed an animated scene. A long row
of beds had been made of paste
board boxes for the dolls too sick to
sit up. For the convalescent dolls,
chairs were provided, with rollers
made of spools. A dissecting table
was arranged for refractory saw-dust
dolls. Another table was provided
with rows of little bottles filled with
mucilage and sugar pills, warranted
to mend broken bones and cure all
maladies to which doll-fesh is heir.
Then the little iron stove was used in
brewing the most wonderful curative
teas made from licorice.
81 think" interposed Grandmam-
ma, "that the sick dolls mammas
will be SO faint with the care of the
little invalids, that we would better
have some frosted cookies for refresh
ments."
Of course, that was another happy
idea. Bridget became quite as inter
ested in the doll hospital as the two
young nurses, and willingly agreed
to make all the cookies they wanted.
"This is not all play work, is it,
Grandmamma?" asked Dorothy, her
eyes fairly dancing in anticipation.
"We will make other little girls happy
this gloomy Saturday, know"
Young medical graduates never
waited more eagerly for real patient
than did Miss Dorothy Page and Miss
Barbara Stevens, in dainty white caps
and aprons, anticipate the arrival of
their first doll patient. At last she
came from the house across the street.
This unfortunate china doll had
broken arm, the solicitous young
mother explained. Miss Arabell-
that was her name-was Immediately
glued together and tenderly put to
bed after having been given gener-
GUS dose of Page-Stevens' unexcelled
soothing syrup.
Then came doll that had the an
noying malady of leaking saw-dust
at the knee. She was at once con-
signed to the dissecting table and
received an application of thread and
needle. The case of the third appli-
cant completely baffied the young
nurses, so she was placed in the cush-
Toned invalid's chair for a sun bath.
The next arrival had a bruised head,
which was carefully bandaged with
the best recommended salve of Grand
mamma Page.
Indeed, there was no end of work
for the little nurses that afternoon.
No one would have dreamed that
there were so many sick dolls in that
neighborhood. But they arrived
singly, in twos and threes, and one
little girl brought whole family of
much-afflicted paper dolls. At the
close of the afternoon there were big
dolls and little dolls, Japanese dolls
and Indian dolls, black babies and
white, china dolls and bisque dolls,
in the hospital.
In the meantime Grandmam ma
Page was in the other corner sympa-
thizing with the mothers of the sick
dolls. Then she told them such
happy stories about the time when
she was little girl that they quite
forgot their troubles.
At last every patient had received
proper attention, and a long table
was pushed in the middle of the
room. All the dolls who were able to
be moved were invited to refresh
ments, and the invalids whom the
nurses decided were to ill to be moved
were generously supplied with cookie
crumbs.
When the time came for the little
visitors to depart, each one said it
was the pleasantest afternoon she
had spent for long time, and the
hospital sign was taken from the
window.