The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-08-05
THE DOCTORS Story.

THE DOCTORS STORY.
It was Sunday morning in summer.
All was peace and quietude. There
was sunshine after a fortnight Of
dreary weather. The fragrance of
flowers was over the land. The wife
of the physician of the almshouse had
given year to teaching the harmless
insane how to sing. This morning
the result was to be given to the
world.
The whitewashed assembly room
of the insane was transformed this
Sunday morning. The money of the
rich who made of philanthropy cult,
and the flowers of those who loved
all humanity, depraved or diseased,
for the dear Christ's sake, had made
Of this place bower.
The imbeciles sat in rows on large
platform waiting for the organ music.
They were dressed in white. Some
were nervous and detected, others
were giggling and nudging each other
as they saw come into the room a
pauper whom they knew. Some of
the paupers in the room looked on
with glee others with contempt. A
few elegant women with their maids
were eyeing the scene with an enthu-
siasm born of we'll doing. The doc
tors, keen-eyed, eager and watchful,
were sprinkled through the audience.
The head nurse was talking to dis
tinguished nerve specialist as eminent
in letters as in medicine. Leaning
against the wall was brain surgeon,
of International repute; over in a
corner lounged man who knew more
about insanity than the insane could
tell him.
The resident physician was in his
Office adjoining talking to nurse.
He kept his eyes shifting to and from
bent woman who sat by the win
dow. His face showed pair ofweary
eyes, beyond weeping, and as she
lifted her veil for a moment mouth
of unusual melancholy.
In few minutes lovely woman
in the last of her twenties, came
through the door from the room where
the paupers were singing.
"Do you want me, doctorl' she
said, and then greeted the doctors
sister, who stood near.
eyes, / sent for you," the physi-
clan said, ito tell you story" He
continued after pause: "They say
that you are proud and cold, Miss
Carter, as well as the most-sought.
after woman in society, but Alice, I
know better than that" including his
sister with a half-turn of the head.
"This is beautiful Sunday morning
you might have heard sermon had
you stayed in there, but instead /
want you to hear a story. God grant
that it may end with a benediction, !"
he added in prayer half under his
breath.
''I want to tell you story of this
lady who sits here, " he went on. 1T
won't take long, and you will be in
terested. She is nearly fifty years
old, and in those glorious old days
before the civil strife Virginia knew
no lovelier girl.
"Her father sent her to a we'll
known seminary near Charlottesville,
for Virginia was the land of her dear,
dead mother. Her father was Phila-
delphian and had great expectations
for his daughter. He would make
her rich; she was always beautiful;
she would be leader in society she
would marry great man. But she
married senior at the University,
and they kept the marriage quiet
until he should be graduated.
"Foolishl Yes, but they loved
each other ardently. The day that
he was graduated they announced
their marriage to few friends, and
a month afterward he was in that
hopeful band of young Virginians
who followed Lee.
Zone day little girl was born,
and a fortnight after a struggling
soldier brought letter from the boy
husband with his last good. bye. He
saw death the same day that the baby
saw life. The young mothers father
had never written to her since she
announced her marriage, and in her
poverty and agony she came to Phila-
delphia to find him, for he had gone
to the support of the victorious flag,
and had met death when honor had
Just crowned him."
Miss Carter was leaning forward
with both arms on the table watch
ing the face of the doctor with grow
ing interest. He loved dramatic
story, and he was telling this one with
all the resource of voice at his com
mand.
I'm this city," the doctor went on,
"she found no one to whom she could
turn. She had placed her hopes on
her father, and he was gone.
when / tell you the. next step,
bear in mind she was young-only
seventeen-she was starving, she was
hopeless, she believed death would
claim her any moment; worse than
all the child was dying of hunger.
She left it on the doorstep of some
rich people whom she had heard her
father speak of as philanthropists,
and watched in the icy twilight while
the butler took the child into the
warmth. She, poor girl, hurried
away to face six-months' illness in
the charity ward of hospital.
Truth is stranger than fiction, for