Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-08
KNEW HER BUSINESS

"a thing that's had me guessing hard for
the last week or SO Is this: Why Is It that
all Of the good-looling and otherwise thor
oughly eligible millionaires OF the country
are not rounding up the trained nurses In
sets OF tours. so to speak, and marrying
them out OF handT" remarked. the other
day, pretty well known Washingtonian Of
thirty-hve or so, who had the somewhat
pallid and washed-out look Of a man just
over sickness. IT had my first expert
ence with a trained nurse one night last
week. and want to tell you something.
II should ever happen to overhear a nine
foot-high piano-mover breathing so much
as a syllable in derogation Of a trained
nurse or OF trained nurses in general, then
that piano-mover 'ud have to fight, and
he'd have to know how to fight. for I'd
come pretty close to doing q great deal
more than the best knew how in such a
mix-up.
"AIl my life. Of course. I'd heard lot
about what angels Of mercy trained nurses
were, and what high hearted self-renounc-
ing women. but. somehow or another, had
never really stopped to think much about
them or their manner Of ufe-I Just had
vague understanding that, naturally, they
must ba unselfsh and sweet-souled women
to lead the sort OF lives they did, and
was content to permit my enthusiasm to
travel along that mild track. But, as
simple matter Of fact. 1 suppose that no
man. or no woman. either. for that matter.
ever really appreciates the calm ability
and the gentle strength Of the trained nurse
until he. or she. has actually come under
the control of one Of them. 1t wasn't until
ia been under the authority Of one Of them,
at any rate. that arrived at an adequate
appreciation of trained nurses as a class,
1t isn't particularly essential to the pur-
pose OF what I've got 1t in mind to say to
state what allied me. but, If you want a
- k1,-4 =
tioning that I'd had just a leetle too much
seashore in mine. I'd been down to the
peach for about three weeks, and the care
took to dodge going to bed any more than
possible during those. three weeks was, I
am bound to admit. a whole lot exhausting
incidentally. 1 contrived to stir up more
personally conducted high-ball business
Than had any right to go after, and so
on. And when I got back to Washington
the change from the hilarity Of the board
walk had such a depressing effect upon me
that felt constrained to build up a little
boardwalk hilariousness right here in
Washington. Anyhow. two days after got
back to Washington. I was what you'd call
rocking. If not. indeed, all in. A young
medical man of my acquaintance had cor
rallied me. somehow or another. and got
me between the sheets by the force of arms,
so to speak. and when that happened and
had time to take stock Of myself 1t be-
gan to dawn upon me that was a-plenty
sick and that my friend the young medical
man hadn't ridden herd on me much too
soon.
at was Sunday afternoon when this hap
pened. and he spent quite lot of time
listening to the action Of my heart.
Say he asked me. amy chance to get
your wife here tonight"
"'Great chance replied, considering
that she's up in the White mountains, and
that I wouldn't bother her. any way, with
such trifle as ails me-
"'Trifle. eh?' said the doctor. Well, I'll
ta1 of fr{fa ai1e Tn
not in the habit Of sitting up all night with
patients. but if I'm unable to find nurse
for you tonight, that's what I'll be having
to do-sit up with you all night, lest you
pipe out on my hands during the night
Whats the trouble with me. anyhow?
asked him. beginning to get little SIAM
Deded
school or in practice saw heart In worse
condition than yours Is in.
IT tried to beg off on the nurse, saying
that a nurse 'ud only be a nuisance to me,
but he was running the whole thing him
was a Sunday, night, and not many nurses
were available, but in less than an hour he
came driving back with one-the head nurse
of Washington hospital.
1.-THE doctor gave her a lot OF instructions
in an undertone. and went away. She only
permitted the gas to remain at high tilt
while she arranged the bottles and powders
and glasses and other gear. but that was
time enough for me to take a look at her.
Even when I'm in a half trance state,
as 1 was that night my powers Of observa-
ton are not eclipsed. I saw that she was
petite most gracefully formed, black haired
and astonishingly pretty faced woman of
twenty-five, in a plain but very neat white
duck dreSs-she had removed her straw
sailor hat and put it away In home-like
manner.
I" What right. BILL thought to myself
has ruffian like you. down and out from
an overplus Of seashore hilarity. to take up
the time and the careful and amiable at
tention of so splendid little woman as
that one moving around this room-what
mere money could ever repay her for look
ing after the well being. during this long
night that is to come. of ruffan Of
your caliber? Where do you butt in, under
any circumstances. for even the hired de-
votion Of such a woman Of character?
II was under the influence of some So
called quieting stuff. but. all the same, I
emerged from my dull. heavy. stupid trance
at least forty times during that intermina-
BILE night. And every time I woke up, there
was the little woman sitting alongside the
bed in the dim light. with her hand on my
pulse didn't know then that she was
under instructions from the doctor to tele-
phone him instantly my pulse beats reach
ed certain figure. and that that was the
object of her holding, onto my wrist that
way all night. Often, when 1 woke up,
felt so grateful to the little woman that
I'd fnvoluntarily press her hand-but she
didn't seek to release her hand from my
grasp-she knew that it was all right-that
it was only the honor and reverence bore
her. down and out as I was. to press her
hand in that way when my senses momen-
tarily came back to me-she knew instinct
lively. as all women nurses must know that
no man with soul in him higher than that
of a hyena is ever going to make even the
first phony imitation of a break toward
woman treading such path of nobility.
"Once or twice when she awoke me to
give me medicine I asked her:
" What sort of dope Is this the doctors
giving me?'
"She ducked those questions upon the pre-
tense that she hadn't heard Them but at
length I became so insistent upon the point
that she had to reply. I saw her smiling in
the very dim light as she did so.
We are not permitted to tell patients
the medicines that are given them she said
gently. which. of course. was the first I
ever knew about that. or I sure wouldn't
have asked her in the first place.
well. 1t seemed a thousand nights in
stead of one, but at length the dawn be-
gan to creep in through the shutters, and
she proceeded to get busy tidying up the
room. 1t didn't seem to me that shed
been at work more than three minutes be-
fore the whole outfit looked entirely diff
as straight as a string,
everything neat and wholesome. Next
came the stunt that got me to going for
fair She washed my face and hands.