St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-01-22

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leaving the Hospital. :
'HE nurse came in at seven O'Clock
and fpund that Mrs. johnson had
already risen and dressed herself. Her
only incompleteness of toilet was the
lAngle of her hair. If you are a wom-
an with a great mass of brown hair it
Is = sweet pleasure to wait for some
other woman to come and comb it out
for you of morning. Mrs. johnson
had always tended" her own hair be-
fore coming into the hospital, and the
treat of feeling that the deft fingers
OF white-capped nurse had grasped
that responsibility was very comfort
Ing. 1t even stole away some of the
soreness of the stitching to lie there
quietly in the high-legged bed while the
young woman talked in a soothing voice
sand brushed out the long strands and
told her how pretty 1t all was, and men
Toned the woman who had had ty-
phoid fever and whose every lock and
curl had fallen sacrifice to the shears
of the hospital barber. Yes, yes; there
Is a luxury in having somebody else
'.tend" your hair if you are one unused
to that kind of thing.
So Mrs. johnson, realizing that now
che must go back to the seven chill
dren and to the busy life at home.
waited for the nurse to come and for
the last time administer this delight.
Tomorrow she would have TO snatch
time between the dressing of Hide and
the sending to school of Ernest to per-
form this function with her own hands.
rs she had done in the years before she
was admitted to the hospital. 1t was a
long time back, that day of admission.
It seemed to her sometimes that she
had always been an occupant OF that
little three-bedded room. whereas she
had been a dweller therein but space
of eight weeks. But that is eight CEN
turies in hospital. She looked across
the room and calculated that Miss Fin
shaw, who was in for the straighten-
ing of an instep SO that she might walk
on her sole like other mortals instead
OF on tiptoe, was the fourth person
who had rested for a time in the bed
with the brass knobs; while the other
bed, now without tenant, had felt
the pressure of a woman with goitre,
d girl who had died on the second day
after her arrival. and an old lady with
q gloomy sort of ailment which defied
the doctors and which caused her to
weep freely and ring her bell for the
nurse necessarily. The doctors at las,
told the old lady's son that his mother
was lonesome, which was the most OF
her complaint. Her husband had been
killed by cable car two years before
and she had grieved for him with whom
she had been yoked for so years, and
this-this alone-was the malady from
which she was suffering.
Mrs. johnson, dressing that morning
in anticipation of the coming of hel
husband, thought pensively of her for
mer associates. On that day when th'
girl had been pushed out Of the room
on the ghostly white vehicle which tn,
hardened patients called the ''banan;
cart" Mrs. johnson had tried to fol
low mentally the course of events. Blu
ehe could not. Her thoughts were
tractable enough until they reached tht
door of the cement-fioored room wher,
the white-clad doctors with their steril
txed clothes and bandages and towel.
waited. but once across the threshold
the whole thing became a matter o.
conjecture, for up to that time Mrs
johnson had not of herself passed thu
portal. She could only wait and CUES.
and wonder. After long time th'
cart was again pushed into the room
and the white and gasping girl wal
rlaced. on the bed from
which she- KS NO. to 60 again in this
life.
But try as she could Mrs. johnson
could not now remember her name.
The other patients all knew that Mrs
johnson was going to be discharge
this morning, and they congratulate
her feebly or cheerfully, rs strength
and spirit dictated. She went upstair'
into the wards where most of the in
teresting cases were and paid her re
epects for the last time to those who's
acquaintance she had made in these tw'
weeks Of her convalescing. They wer'
al glad to hear of what they called he
luck. and asked her about her children
land wanted her to bring her husband
l[upstairs so that they might see VIVA
ffeanner of man this was who was 60
fanr to take her away.
@Let me guess said little MS
7oueh, who thrice in her life had beel
mon the table, until now she was
irritable patchwork of suffering pa
sence. ssHe is tall man with 2 re-
card and light mustache.
s.And he can sing. Can't he, NOV. .
nuired Mrs. Marshall. with ntss
Ssh. Then, before Mrs. Johnson couS
1rriiy deny the accusation Of VOC
kfIitses, poor Mrs. Marshall drew ne
- mn into an expression OF s1neen
a. for the feeble little rolHcksols
- had rippled down her nec1 u
stitches in her throet ana
Sched them the milliontA peEt g s:
which was just enouGA = 70 -. ~.
S. hurt like rsd-hot isoe1
EsiS1fE eyes fiuel with .teers. -. -
whimpered for asnoDen - -
sop tnelt beside lee - : ~
a. 5etted her