The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1898-09-24
NEED BE No SICKNESS.
HOPE IS THE CURE FOR EVERY
ILL.
Health and Happiness Secured by tho
Efforts Make Other People Happy
True Story OF How q ''strong Mind
ed'' Girl Was Cured. v

A young woman was staying in a
distant city, where she had ::,ade few
. acQuaintances. She had money, but
homesickness and insufficient occupa-
ton were unfr1endly conditions to
health of mind and body. At length
she felt obliged to call upon & physician
and ask his advice
1t happened that the doctor whom she
consulted was a religious man as well
as skilled one. He understood Ter
symptoms, and when she complained
that she was a victim to 1.-The blues"
he astontshed her with this original
prescription: David Sones lives at
104 Dash street. He is i'll. and con-
fined to his bed, and very poor. Call
there. show sympathy with him and his
family. and read the bread and but
ter psalm to him: and when you go
away leave a small sum of money in
his hand.'
OF course he had to explain to the
amazed lady that the Scripture he had
30 oddly named was the 1O3 Psalm. and
that the heartening and rejuvenatins
eject OF fifth verse and all-made
it to him just what he called it. or
its virtue in this case the seemed to
have no doubt.
But the very idea of doing as he
recommended was as distasteful to the
young woman as it was surprising.
why, how rude and intrusive the
man would think me to break in upon
him SO. a perfect stranger!" she said.
II could not do such thing"
She went from the doctors office dis
appointed and disp1eased, but thinking.
The very bluntness OF the advice had
stirred her stagnant spirits. and she
was already beginning to forget her
own ailment. The storm of protest
in her mind gave her a bad hour or
two, but finally something-she could
hardly tell what-compelled her to sur
render to the doctors orders.
She found the sick man, and after
talking kindly to him about himself,
and encouraging him to hope for re-
covery and better days, she opened her
Bible to the psalm. Her lips were
dry, and the first three or four verses
were pronounced like a mechanical
exercise, but farther on her voice and
mood mellowed. The force and beauty
Of the words aroused her, and she read
the last verses of the psalm with feel
ing.
A woman who had entered the room
and listened, sat in the corner weep
ing. She was recent ledger who
had tried in vain to find work at her
trade as a dressmaker, and had be-
come discouraged. The young lady
had already earned the gratitude OF
three strangers. With feelings entirely
new to her she remained in the poor
tenement, conversing with the sick
man and his wife and their needy
friend, until she had quite gained their
confidence and then left them with
encouraging words and small gift of
money.
Thoroughly interested now, she in a
few days secured orders for the dis
couraged dressmaker and work not
long after came in so abundantly that
the family were placed above want.
The sick man, relieved Of his anxietfes.
soon recovered. A shat:owed home
had been frightened by an involuntary
kindness.
It was a lesson that the complain
ing young woman never forgot. Her
experiences-thanks to the good doc
tors consul-had exploded the vain
notion that lit is useless to try to do
good unless you feel like it, A
brave effort to cure "the blues'' had
resulted in opening her heart to an I'M
selfish act, and to broader view OF
her relations to less fortunate souls
about her.