The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-11-24
NURSE SAYS SICK
HAVE ATTENTION
Neighbors Send In Many
Culinary Delicacies to
Delight Patients

In one corner of the room adjoining
the sick chamber was a table piled to
the edge with covered dishes, fancy
baskets, and bulging paper bags. The
country relation stopped on her way out
and looked at the collection curiosly,
says the Philadelphia Public Ledger
What is all this STUFF" she asked.
Then she lifted che lid of one of the small
dishes and shifted at the contents.
That" said the nurse who had followed
her out, "is new-fangled kind of meat
jelly. 1t has been sent In to tempt the
appetite of my patient. All the rest of
these things have been sent for the same
purpose.
Here are fruit, soups, puddings and
jellies, and even substantial fare, such
as game and roast beef with gravy With
all those culinary contributions to fall
back on, our friend will never die from
lack of nourishment, at any rate"
The country relation groaned. Where
did 1t all come from?" she asked.
THE neighhors sent it in"
"Neighbors2' cried the country rela-
tion. 81 didn't know there were any such
things in this town. l didn't suppose the
people here took enough interest in each
other to imperil a sick persons life with
gastronomic attentions"
"Oh, yes, they do the nurse protested
'tThey are very friendly. l have never
attended person who did not become the
chief object of neighborly sympathy as
soon as the news of his Illness began to
travel about. l have nursed people who
We're comparative strangers in the block
where they happened to be living al the
time, but the report of sickness called
forth choice samples of cookery from all
the women in the building. and even from
adjoining houses. No matter how poor or
how rich the patient may be, his we'll
ffGh ff1 fhut fJaxr Haef
express their sympathy by sending him
something to eat. so the contributions
come pouring in"
The country relation looked puzzled.
Il don't see,'' she said, why people
should send food to a rich man. He is
able to buy whatever he needs"
so he is, assented the nurse. Never
theless, rich man, who happens to be
popular into the bargain, is the recipient
of enough nourishing food to keep a small
family going for days on an extra allow
ance. And the funny part of it is that
many of these contributors are in poor
circumstances and could utilize their
soups and puddings much more advan-
tageously on their own table,"
The country relation had yet another
point to make.
"The spirit of altruism is beautiful"
she said, but | must say that if l were
sick. 1 don't think / should like my room
to be turned into a market by strangers.
| should be afraid to eat the stuff. I
should be afraid somebody might try to
poison me. Did 20 never strike a case
of that kind?"
NO said the nurse, II have never
experimental enough with the food to
find out whether it was seasoned with
rough on rats or not. The plan of doing
away with your enemies could probably
be worked il nurses fed their patients in
discriminatory. Fortunately, they do not.
If we allowed sick folk even to nibble at
the dainties sent in to brace them up
they would be dead from something worse
than poison before the doctor could find
out what allied them"