The Washington herald., 1921-05-15

20 went to q doctor.
How long has II been since
~ you took any q lcohol into your
systemr he asked.
Turning my head sidewise, I an
swered. ''Oh. quite awhile.
He was a young doctor. some
where between twenty and forty.
He wore heliotrope socks. but he
looked like Napoleon. i liked him
immensely.
Now" said he, Il am going TO
show you the effect of alcohol upon
your circulation" I think IL was
-circulation" he said; though II may
have been Advertising"
He barred my left arm to the ell
bow. brought out a bottle of whis-
key. and gave me a drink. He began
to look more like Napoleon. / be-
gan to like him better.
Then he put Q tight compress on
my upper arm. stopped my pulse
with hts fingers, and squeezed . rub
ber bulb connected with an appara-
tus on Q stand that looked like a
thermometer. The mercury jumped
up and down without seeming to
stop anywhsre: but the doctor said
Il registered .s7 or 1ss or some such
number.
- Now said he, you see what
alcohol does to the blood pressure"
IT'S marvelous,- said I. but do
you think Il a sufncient test? Have
one on me. and let's try the other
arm-- But no!
Then he grasped my hand
thought I was doomed and he was
saying goodby. But all he wanted
to do was to jab a needle into the
end of q finger and compare the red
drop with q lot of 5o-cent poker
chips that he had fastened to a
card
It's the haemoglobin test he ex-
plained. The color Of your blood Is
wrong"
well said I. 4 knew II should
be blue; but this Is q country Of
nnfn-ups. Some of my ancestors
were cavaliers: bat they got thick
with some people on Nantucket Is
land. So
4 mean said the doctor. that
thu shade Of red is too light
-Oh.- said i. its . case of match
ing instead Of matches"
The doctor then pounded me Sc
verely in the region Of the chest
when he did that don't know
whether he reminded me most OF
Naeoleon or Battling or Lord Mel
son. Then he looked grave and
mentioned . string of grievances
that the flesh Is heir to-mostly
ending In tbs" Immediately paid
him SIS on account
II. or are II or some or any OF
them necessarily fatalr- I asked
/ thought my connection with the
matter justtfed my manifesting a
certain amount of interest
All Of them.- he answered cheer
fully. But their progress may be
arrested with care and proper
continuous treatment you may live
to be IS or So"
I began to think of the doctors
bill -Eighty-nve would be sum
cient. am sure" was my COM
ment paid him SO more on ac-
count
The first thing to do he said
with renewed animation. IS to find
a sanitartum where you will get q
complete rest for q while, and al
low your nerves to get into . bet
ter condition myself Will &c
with you and select . suitable one.
So he took me to a madhouse in
the Catskills. 1t was on bare
mountain frequented only by infre-
quent frequenters You could see
nothing but stones and boulders,
some patches Of snow. and scattered
pine trees The young physician in
charge was most agreeable. He
gave me q stimulant without apply
ing a compress to the arm 1t was
luncheon time, and we were invited
to partske. There were about
twenty inmates at little tables in
the dining room. The young ply
sician in charge came to our table
and said: 1T is a custom with our
guests not to regard themselves as
patients. but merely as tired ladies
and gentlemen taking rest.
Whatever slight maladies they may
have are never alluded to in con-
Nersation."
NV doctor called loudly to a
waitress to bring some phospho-
gfycerate of lime hash. dog-bread.
bromo-seltzer. pancakes and nu1
vemica for my repast.
Then a sound arose like . sudden n
wind storm among the pine trees.
II was produced by every guest
in the room whispering loudly
''Nsurasthenia"'- - except one man
with a nose. whom distinctly heard
say. Chronic alcoholism" I hope
to meet him again The physician
in charge turned and walked away.
= An hour or SO after luncheon he
conducted US to the workshop-say
hfty yards from the house. Thither
IN. guests had been conducted by
the physician in charges under
study and sponge-holder-a man
with feet and a blue sweater. He
was so tall that I was not sure he
had q face; but the Armour Pack
ing Company would have been de-
lighted with his hands.
Here" said the physician In
charge, "our guests fnd relaxation
from past mental worries by devot-
ing themselves to physical labor
recreation. In reality"
There were turning-lathes, car
penters' outfits, clay-moulding tools,
spinning wheels. weaving frames,
treadmills. bass drums, enlarged
crayon-portrait apparatuses, black
smith forges, and everything. SEEM
insfy, that could interest the paying
lunatie quests Of . nrst-rate sani-
tartum-
The fady making mud pie IN the
corner" whispered the physician in
charge, is no other than-Lulua
LuIlington, the authoress of the
novel entitled why Love Loves.
What she Is doing now Is simply to
rest her mind after performing that
nls@a - ~arkS