Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1903-01-22
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BY LESLIE JAMES
Copyright. 1901, by 4. S. Richardson 4
BY LESLIE JAMES


made her forget the ache in her back.
| When they gave her candy enough to
start a make believe shop on the mar
! row window ledge, she sold it for pins
to the children in the dingy court, just
| because she loved to watch these
straight limbed, bright eyed children
caper about as she knew she never
| could.
When the big doctor brought her to
the hospital, he said to Nurse Powell:
''I'll leave jimmy under your special
care. Miss Powell. l am greatly inter
| csted in her case. The expense is be-
ing met by one perfectly able to do it,
| and she is to want for nothing"
| And thus were the gates of an earth
! ly paradise opened to Jimmy of Borden's
court First there was the cunning lit
| tie room, all her own, with pictures on
| the wall, and the whitest of iron beds
with shiny knobs on each corner, and
q bright red wrapper, woolly and soft,
with knit slippers to match. Then
came the pretty young ladies of the
| Flower mission with their nodding
| blossoms and occasional glasses of
| quivering jelly. Sometimes the big doc
| tors nieces brought their dolls and
| spent an hour at Jinny's bedside, and
! happy JiaAy was permitted to hold as
| long as she liked the marvellous Flor
cite. who could walk and talk like a
| real baby and whose dresses really and
| truly came from Paris.
But in Jinny's mind all these things
| faded into insignifcance when COM
pared with the big doctor and Nurse
| Powell. These two formed joint di-
| vinity before which jimmy burned the
sweet incense of childish devotion.
| Nurse Powell had obeyed the physi-
clans generous instructions to the let
ter-at first from a sense of duty and
| later because she learned to love the
| patient little sufferer.
And the big doctor? Even Nurse Pow
| ell, who knew his deep interest in his
| work, wondered at the attention he Law
ished on this denizen of the slums. Of
| ten when his rounds in the hospital
were over and he had time to spare he
would come back TO Jinny's room for
| chat and jimmy, her great black eyes
| set in face of ivory whiteness, would
| smile happily from one to the other, the
| big doctor who ordered medicine that
eased the pain I'm her back and the
nurse whose gentle hand could smooth
away wrinkles in her forehead when
| the pain was at it's worst.
Sometimes when they sat thus jimmy
was vaguely conscious that the big doc
tor was talking to her, but looking at
| Nurse Powell. But jimmy did not know
| how, years before, when the big doctor,
| fresh from the medical school, had been
| house physician in the city hospital, he
had met a sweet faced probe" doing
| her first night duty in his ward. The
head nurse had looked scornfully at the
| slender figure. and the trembling hands,
but the young house physician had
said: "Give her time. She'll get her
| bearings after bit"
Nurse Powell had been grateful for
| his cheerful encouragement and the
many kindnesses which lightened her
burden during that first awful year in
the big wards but when he asked for
something more than gratitude she
could not give 1t. Now head of the
nurses staff at n sanitarium, she some
times grew a-weary and wished she
had learned to love the big doctor whose
brown eyes seemed still to follow her at
her duties Then her heart would say:
"No, no! His work would always come
first, and / would be second. Besides,
I wonder If he has heart! When l
see him undertaking those horrible op-
erations without the quiver of an eye
lash, think he has no feeling"
And so this nurse who could unhinch-
ingly assist at the same operations
waited inconsistency for love to come
into her life, love that would be all
tenderness and thoughtfulness, thing
apart from the scenes OF suffering in
which she moved.
1t was one afternoon when jimmy had
been almost a year at the hospital. In
the morning the big doctor had said:
Tve changed the medicine again, Miss
Powell. | don't like that rise In temper
ature. If you note a tendency toward
coma during the afternoon, send for me
at once"
But Nurse Powell did not have to
send for him. He came of his own ac-
cord, just as the afternoon drew to
close. jimmy had been sleeping rest
lessly, and when she opened her eyes
with an expression OF WEAKNESS that
bad not been there since she came to
the hospital the big doctor and Nurse
Powell were sitting on either side OF
her little bed. At the foot lay n gayly
illustrated copy of Mother Goose's
rhymes which Nurse Powell had been
reading aloud before kindly sleep came
TO the small sufferer. Now jimmy
pointed TO It with n wan smile.
"Tve had the funniest dreaml
went TO Mother Goosc's land, way, way
Off an she was such n funny ole wom
an, an she was right glad TO see mel
An she says, Little girl, would you
like to stay with me awhller An /
says, I'm obliged to you, ma'am, but l
can't stay long, An then she brings
out the purtiest dress, purifier than my
red wrapper. an she says, Little girl, |
would you like to wear thatT An
when see the little stick all tied with
ribbons | knew 1t were little Bopeep's |
dress. an | put Il on an chased them |
sheep nl roun' the field. an 1t never |
burt my back n bit An | tried on lots |
nv clothes. Little Miss Mufrett's ruffied |
bonnet. an Mary, Mary Quite Con- |
trary's big hat an the Queen OF |
Hearts long train, an Mother Goose, |
she says, Amt you havin' good time, |
little girlY
AN I says: Yes, ma'am, thankee, |
MANN, but | guess ia better DO |
a-gon'. You see. my big doctor ii be |
roun' pretty soon, an he'll miss me II |
| amt I'm my cot. An Nurse Powell |
will bring my bread an milk, an there |
won't bc any little girl there TO eat It, |
An then Mother Goose she says, All |
right. little girl; jus jump on my
broomsticlS. an wen be down there in !
jiny.' An here | am, an I'm glad, |
fur the bed feels so cumfy, an. sure |
enough, my big doctor is here"
The great black eyes glowed won |
drous bright as they met the big doc |
tors gaze, and he spoke very gently |
while he stroked her hand, now thin |
aud transparent
Docs your back ache after your long
ride on the broomstick, JlnnyP
"Oh. no! The aches all gone. There
mint been any ache all day
The big doctor looked across the bed
at Nurse Powell. but she was gazing |
steadily through the open window. And
something bright and clcnr, like dia-
mouda shoue ON her long lnghcs.