were scarce. She says: "We must not talk to the patient about her
own complaint, that would make her morbid; or about the doctor,
for that would be gossip; or the hospital, for hospitals are full
of horrors; or the other nurses, for that might lead to talking
scandal; or about other patients, for that would be betrayal of
confidence. Now what _are_ you to talk about when a patient
is well enough to talk, and your talking to her will not hurt her
(but on this point be very sure before you air your eloquence)? It
is indeed quite a question, and the nurse must often use all her
ingenuity to keep the patient to the right subjects, for even
patients, though they hold it so reprehensible in a nurse to talk
gossip, do not disdain to serve up their neighbors occasionally to
the nurse, with some very highly seasoned scandal sauce, and here
the honor of the nurse must come into play; let her forget it if
possible, as woe will betide the poor girl if in her next place
she unwittingly lets out any of the secrets she has heard in these
long talks. Try then to steer clear of the neighbors. If your
patient be a cultivated person, and you yourself know anything
about books, you have a never-failing topic. All the latest books,
the famous books, the most entertaining books, and if you can read
aloud and the patient likes to hear you, read to her, and it will
do both good--only be sure not to tire her by reading too much at
one time. Talk of interesting places you have visited and she will
do the same, of pictures you have seen, and last, but not least,
you can talk about clothes. Generally the first serious piece of
business a convalescent concerns herself about is the purchase and
making of some new clothes. She wants something new and fresh, and
if you can give her any new ideas on the subject or tell her of
any pretty materials you have seen in the shop windows, you will
prove as entertaining as if you talked on any of the forbidden