Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1903-07-29
POINTS ON
HOSPITALS
IOriginal.1

/ live in the vicinity of q great city
Every morning l come in to business
on a train and every morning pas
a box in the station on which Is {
notice, Drop your papers for patient
In the hospitals" l passed this DO,
often without paying any attention t
1t, but one day I was obliged to go t
hospital myself to undergo an opera
ton, and after being discharged the
first time l passed the box I put IL
my paper. had written on the mar
gin: ;.5,.iT. - '':''.s -s-,~
Good morning. patient. trust you are
feeling much improved this morning and
that the time will soon come when you
will be discharged. as I was a few days
ago. God keep you.
/ gave my own name and address,
but did not think it likely would ever
hear from the message since it was adj
dressed to no one in particular. Still
there is sufficient romance in every
mans nature to fancy that some fair
girl, etc.
I did receive reply, and my first act
was to glance at the signature. con-
fess l was disappointed when saw
a mans name. The note read: IA.
You have no Idea what a pleasure your
CHEEKY note gave. On opening the paper
my eye fell at once on your note on the
first page. I am sure that q man with as
much kindness as you have displayed
In this matter must be a good fellow to
know. and would like to know you.
FREDERICK HUDSON.
I studied this letter carefully to find
some trace Of aswoman in it. but there
vas none. NOV woman would haze
used the expression, "a good fellow to
know" besides therejwere no feminine
peculiarties about IT. No, my suspicion
that a woman had written 1t and put
a mans name to 1t was not borne out
by any sign / grYts q simple reply
that when Mr.. Hudson left the hospi-
tai would like to see him at my office,
as had resolved to take an interest
In hospitals and would be pleased to
talk over with him the best method
of procedure; .ssgE -
r6 Ills received a reply that the
writer had very little hope of being dis
charged, having been In hospital FIVE
years. He said. however, that this
long continued residence would enable
him to give me many points connected
with these homes for the sick, and
some time when he felt IKE receiving
visitor he would let me know and
could use my own pleasure in calling.
I replied that ! would be happy to
call and thought no more about the
matter for some months. when I re-
ceived another note from Mr.. Hudson,
as follows: .,,~~
am recovering from a case of diph-
liberia caught from patient at this hos
pital AS soon as am perfectly restored
! will keep my promise TO send for you
and give you the points with reference
to the management of hospitals.
replied to this note that there must
certainly be room for improvement in
the institution where he was since q
patient had been exposed to a con-
tagiOus disease. l felt good deal Of
sympathy for him In this additional
misfortune, which i expressed as well
as I knew how, though I fancied the
effort was rather lame. However, in
this easel must have succeeded pretty
well, for my note brought the follow
ing reply:
You must be a brick. Not one man in
q hundred would take the trouble to ex-
press sympathy for a stranger as you
have done. / am feeling all right now.
though a little shaky on my pins. Come
round here tomorrow evening at o'clock
and I'll put you in a way to do good
work in the hospital line.
II had any lingering doubt that my
correspondent was man this note
dispelled 1t. l was in no hurry for
his points on hospitals, but concluded
to keep my appointment, dropping In
to see him on my way to an engage
ment half an hour later. l was ush-
cred into private parlor at the far
end of which sat a trained nurse about
twenty-five years of age. She looked
like convalescent, but her cheeks took
on a very rosy hue the moment en-
tered. Indeed she was blushing like
q schoolgirl. Holding paper before
her eyes. she began to read.
My experience In hospitals both az stu
dent and graduate has called to my no
tics-
zone moment" I interrupted. "Ars
you Frederick HudsonT'
Eyes: but l usually spell my frs,
name with an "a 1t IL Fredericka
The "a must have been left off,"
"How the mischief did you contrive
to write those manlike letters"
II didn't l got man to write
them"