The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1901-09-28
MIRROR ACTS AS A TONIC.
Found to he Better Than Medicine
for Sick Women In Hospital
Wards,

A woman's vanity not infrequently
acts as health tonic and saves her
from serious illness IF not from
premature death. A physician with
long experience in some of the
principal hospitals of the country
declares that a mirror-one of those
that flatter the user--is sometimes Of
more value than an entire medicine
chest, reports an eastern exchange.
~ began my career" he said recent
ly, "by serving several months as an
inferno in a Pittsburg hospital 1t
was the rule there that no ward pa
tient should be allowed to have
mirror of any description, and you
might rake every ward in the hospital
with a fine-tooth comb without find
ing piece of looking-glass as big
as postage stamp.
"The management had formulated
and enforced that law with the best
interests of the patients at heart,
for they figured that to study ones
own pallor and sunken cheeks and
eyes is conducive to depression Of
spirits and consequent physical de-
teriomtion. ! considered their rea-
soning false, but / was only one
against many and did not forcibly
express my opinion, but discreetly
watched the women patients Tuning
and fussing away in secret, over their
appearance, of which each tried to
ret an idea from the description given
her by her neighbors.
"One day was passing through a
certain ward and stopped beside the
bed of colored girl, whose face at
that moment wore the must lugubri-
GUS expression | had ever seen on q
human being. I took alarm Instant
ly and began to study her condition.
"'Why, Elsie said, what in the
world ails your
"She cried then in earnest oh
DOCTOR she said, If l could only see
myself I'd get better, know would.
I haven't looked in glass for
month The girls try to tell me how
look, but ! know they are fooling
me. I'm sure / must look great
deal worse than they make out. IL
| don't, why won't the matron and
superintendent let me have glass"
81 went right down to the Office
then and spouted out the piece OF
advice | had had stored up for so
many weeks. After thinking the
matter over they decided to allow
Elsie to cultivate the acquaintance OF
her own features once more, and
when she found that she did not re.
ally look so deathly i'll as she had
imagined she began to mend and con.
tinued to improve steadily.
$50 I give sick people, especially
the women, a mirror when they ask
for It. There may be times when
person who is very near deaths door
loses interest in her personal appear
ance and does not care for q mir
ror, but the average woman who Is
able to lift hand wants to judge
for herself how she Is looking, and
~ she may not have the privilege OF
finding out her suspense will be more
harmful than positive knowledge.
"There are very few hospitals now
that forbid the use Of looking glasses
and 1t is to be hoped that those few
will soon resclnd their absurd rules
and provide mirrors of their own.
urge this latter point for the rea'
son that there is q great difference
In glasses. Some lend ghastly hue
TO the freshest countenance, whereas
others throw pink tints on color
less skin. A look into one OF these
Aattering mirrors now and then
would be worth more to a sick per-
son than a dose OF medicine, and they
onnht 10 he sunnlied ahundantlY."