The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-10-30
Turning Over An
Old Leaf
By Phillip A. Gladheim

There were faces to remember in the
Valley of the Shadow;
There were faces unregarded, there
were faces to forget;
There were faces of grief and fear
that are a few forgotten ashes;
There were sparks of recognition
that are not forgotten yet"
This past weekend year ago Mr.
and Mrs. E. L. Davidson of Parkers-
burg, w. Va, paid us a visit 1t was
the last weekend they spent together
in their summer residence at Mt.
Lake Park where they had been COM
ing since 1897 The last week of
February this year Mr.. Davidson
passed away in Parkersburg. The
third week of June, Mrs. Davidson
passed away. They had no children,
but host of friends. This was be-
cause of their generous hospitality,
and their Christian grace to respond
wherever and whenever possible in
! behalf of the church and community
betterment. Parkersburg will feel the
loss of these valued personalities for
sometime to come.
Well to get back to this autumnal
weekend a year ago The forests had
reached their zenith of brilliance. The
long afternoon was clear, cool-and
glowed diffusively with golden sun
light, gliding all the vari-colored for
ests with ambers and celestial lapis-
lazuli. There was something warmly
reminiscent Of faded past, yet full
of vivid recollections; also a Fremont
ton or foreboding of a decreased flu
ture. The four of us decided to visit
an old summer home and within its
phere breathed noble past, we even
delved more deeply into a kind of
folklore and legend that we ourselves
had helped to form. Our chief topic
of conversation on that day was the
life and career of DR.. S. Weir
Mitchell. He was famous surgeon of
Philadelphia who spent his summers
on his own place near Deer Park. He
named it "The Four Winds. II is
now the property of Mrs. Miriam Nc
Cloud, Steubenville, Ohio. "Coronet"
for this October, just year from the
day we had our conversation at -Four
Winds" carried an article by Dewitt
Miller (whose father by the way
! lectured at Mt. Lake Chautauqua
many years ago. entitled Reports
From the Dead" The first part of the
article deals with S. Weir Mitchell.
1t goes on to say: "Hard-driven snow
hurtled across the streets of Phila-
delphia as night obliterated the
washed-out daylight DR.. S. Weir
Mitchell, then Americas foremost
neurologist had retired early. A busy
day had made bed seem irresistible.
Sleep was just swapping the last
thread of consciousness when his
door-bell rang violently. Struggling
back to full consciousness, DR..
Mitchell answered the ring. Standing
in the whirling snow was a little girl,
dressed in a cheap, thin frock. About
her shoulders was a ragged shawl.
"My mother is very sick, she said
earnestly. won't you come, please?"
DR.. Mitchell explained that he had al
ready retired for the night. He asked
if the girls family had no regular
physician. The girls only answer was
won't you please Gomez"
Deep in DR.. Mitchells mind
memory of the Hippocratic oath
stirred restively. He asked the girl to
step inside. The girl said nothing
more, but when the doctor had put on
his overcoat, she indicated that he
was to follow her. They walked few
blocks through the whrling snow and
entered a middlc-class home. There
the doctor found a woman desperate
ly i'll of rnour'onia. Strangely
enough, the girl did not follow him
into the sick room. For a few min
utes the doctor was busy caring for
the woman. When he had finished, he
complimented her on the intelligence
and persistence of her daughter. But
my daughter died a month ago" the
woman cried feebly. Her clothes are
in that cupboard"
Opening the cupboard, DR.. Mitchell
found the identical dress and ragged
| shawl which the rirl had hnnn wnar-