The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1900-06-29
leaving the Hospital.


THE nurse came in at seven o'clock
and found that Mrs. Johnson had
already risen arc. dressed herself. her
only incompleteness of toilet was the
tangle of her hair. If you are a wom-
an with great mass of brown hair Iii
is a sweet PLEASURE to wait for some
other woman to come and comb 1t 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
cf a white-capped nurse had grasped
ih.t responsibility was very comfort
ing. Ii even stole away some OF the
soreness CT the stitching TO lie there
quietly in the high-lcgged bed while the
vouno woman talked in a soothing voice
and brushed out tie long strands and
told her how pretty it all was, and men
toned the woman who had had ty-
phoid fever ard whose every lock and
curl had fallen a 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 kid of thing.
So Mrs. johnson, realizing that now
she 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,
as she had done in the years before she
was admitted 70 the hospital. 1t was a
long time back, that day CT admission.
It seemed to her sometimes that she
had always been an occupant OF that
little three-bedded room. whereas she
had been n dweller therein but space
of eight weeks. Rut that is eight CEN
turtles in hospital. She locked across
the room and calculated that Miss Fin
shaw, who was in for the straighten-
ing of an instep SO that she II ght 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 Soitre,
n girl who had died on the second day
after her arrival, and an old lady with
a 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 last
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 her
husband, thought persively of her for
mer associates. On that day when the
girl had been pushed cut of the room
on the ghostly white vehicle which the
hardened patients called the banana
cart" Mrs. johnson had tried to fol-
low mentally the course of events. But
she could not. Her thoughts were
tractah!e enough until they reached the
door of the cement-floored room where
the white-clad doctors with their steril-
lied clothes and bandages and towels
waited, but once across the threshold
the whole thing became matter of
conjecture, for up to that time Mrs.
johnson had not CT herself passed the
portal. She could only wait and guess
and wonder. After long time the
cart was again pushed into the room,
and the white and gasping girl was
placed, unconscious, on the bed from
which she was not to go 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 discharged,
this morning, and they congratulated
her feebly or cheerfully, as strength
and spirit dictated. She went upstairs
into the wards where most of the in
teresting cases were and paid her re-
spects for the last time to those whose
acquaintance she had made in these two
weeks of her convalescing. They were
all glad to hear of what they called her
luck, and asked her about her children,
and wanted her to bring her husband
upstairs so that they might see what
manner of man this was who was 90
ing to take her away.
Let me guess" saidl little Miss
Hough, who thrice in her life had been
upon the table, until now she was a
veritable patchwork of suffering pa
tiencc HE is tall man with a red
beard and light mustache."
sAnd he can Sing. Can't he, now?''
inquired Mrs. Marshall with a little
laugh. Then, before Mrs. johnson could
merrily deny the accusation of vocal
abilities, poor Mrs. Marshall drew her
face up into an expression of sincere
pain, for the feeble little rollicksome
laugh had rippled down her neck to
the stitches in her throat and had
wrenched them the millionth part of an
inch, which was just enough to cause
them to hurt like red-hot irons. Mrs.
Marshall's eyes filed with tears. and
she whimpered for moment. and Mrs.
johnson knelt beside her betand kissed
her and petted her soothingly, and said
that if she would try to be patient she
would tell her al about everything, es-
pecfally the hoy of four who was going
to the kindergarten.
In Just Al minutes,r observed Mrs.
Ieck, peering at little gold wstch, on
the case of which was engraved an
impossible buffalo With nose like a
species Of ant-eater, gazing fixedly at
q castle WaicA had tie dimensions of
height and width but no thickness
whatever, Gin just Al minutes Mrs.
Johnson will be gone. wish il were