The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1908-02-01


from l to 3, that you had your beef
tea at $50, and all those other epochal
events that most folks forget or wrau-
gle with you about. My sister says,
Never ask sick person what he will
have to eat, but if he expresses any
wish, remember it, AS a rule no sick
person desires things that disagree
with him. He will turn from many
dish that he favors in his normal
condition. No doctor needs bar sweets
or rich dishes or heavy gravies. In
that matter We are our own best doe
tors. Any one who has not spoiled his
natural instincts can safely rely upon
them. Another thing she insists upon
is that patients and visitors shall use
their ordinary conversational tones.
No pity on one side, no whisper on the
other
Oh, the wisdom of that. Mrs. Gush-
er's sister and. incidently, Mrs. Gush-
err, are fast acquiring merit in my eyes.
There should never be any low toned
discussion of the patient in her room,
or Just outside either. That whispered
inquiry in the hall, your sick ears al
ways craned to hear it, What do you
think of her today?" or How is her
appetizer or Did she pass a good
night?" They never mentioned your
name: that was unnecessary; you were
SHE, the only she. the most important
being in the universe. There was GER
tain consoling grandeur about that.
Yet the joys of convalescence are not
what they are cracked up to be. Re-
member when your friends are allowed
to see you, and you manage to smile
at them, and they stay forever talking
of unimportant mundane affairs that
your mind refuses to follow? BY and
bye they say, I'm afraid | am firing
YOU" And you murmur patiently, "Oh,
no." when you have hardly strength to
say it at all. Remember that first day
of sitting up when everybody declared
that you are looking wonderfully well,
and you feel sure they are lying; and
how nicely you are getting on. and you
have them for it? Then by and bye:
Don't you think you have sat up long
enough?" And you won't own that yOu
have. You are obstinate about hold
ing on Then again Come, you really
ought to go back to bed now Still you
refuse. goodness knows why. You feel
utterly gone-stomach caved in-no
spine back of it-no:hin3 left of you
but head and feet-a void between.
You must have noticed how often
friends bring you the wrong thing. II
acids have been absolutely forbidden
you. they are fated to bring baskets
of oranges or peaches. Now, do let
me see you eat one. I know you'll en-
joy this fresh fruit Or if eggs and
milk are for any reason banned. it will
be custards and blanc nanges and
creams made by their own hands.
Clarissa belongs to the Flower Ms
sion Distributing blossoms Is such a
lovely charity, isn't it? Last time she
went the rounds of the children's ward
one little tyke Of convalescent child
followed her cut with the wis full en-
treaty, Say. Missis, you amt better
piecer peach pie for me. have you?'
Her father, it seems. was a baker:
her joyous infancy had doubtless been
one prolonged feast Of pastry, and pie
was the one thing her young soul
longed for.
James Whitcomb Riley says some
where. Take a man ats sick an send
him some flowers. You can have fun
| out of him.
''Oh, isn't that exactly SO. doesn't
that open up Il whole vista before
you!" exclaimed Mrs. Gusher. Il have
Remembering what to take to poor
John Crowley in the hospital. l can
not stay long with him. He doesn't
| care to read; he on a strict diet; he
| is overwhelmed with flowers and fruit.
| Anyway l cannot afford flowers and
| fruit worth considering. Every dollar
| of mine has to be stretched as far as
it will GO; but l would gladly spend
one on him."
II know what I'd do with my dol
| the ten cert magazines. moEthlies or
| weeklies with pictures and rcss bly,
| jokes in them. / once did that and
my friend told me he enjoyed my
bundle of magazines more than any
thing brought to him. He takes the
Atlantic and couple OF heavy re-
views, but light reading was the thing
for his then condition. He liked look
ing at the pictures and by and bye he
read few jokes and short sketches.
| don't believe he bothered with the sto-
ries. and l am sure he never Looked
| at the serial.
"A serial is enough to make you
| sick anyway" observed Jason, taking
up Clarissa's miniature headstone and
Il =.