wed to
read, but reading in bed even with a well-regulated light is fatiguing,
and should not be continued for long uninterrupted periods. A pocket
flash light is safer than matches and a candle for patients who wish to
consult their watches in the night; indeed, matches in the hands of
patients always involve risk. Some patients find twilight a time of
great depression. In such a case it had best be shortened by drawing
the shades early, turning on the lights, and remembering not to leave
him alone.

CLEANING.--The sick-room should be kept thoroughly clean at all times,
and the less dust stirred up in doing so the better. Dry sweeping or
dusting should not be allowed. Ordinary brooms should be dampened or
covered with damp cloths, and dust cloths should be dampened also; but
dustless mops and dusters are still better. Vacuum cleaning is very
desirable; the noise, which is its only disadvantage, is not a serious
objection in most cases. The cleaning of rooms after a communicable
disease will be considered later.

A sick room must be kept tidy as well as clean. The effect of order is
quieting, but it should be maintained whether the effect upon the
patient is apparent or not. Food and medicine should not be kept in the
sick-room, and all used dishes, tumblers, soiled linen, etc., should be
removed at once. Unnecessary articles should not be found in the room at
any time; every necessary article should be kept in its place, and its
place should be a good one.

Maintaining order in the room does not mean that patients should be made
uncomfortable. All patients, especially old people, want certain
possessions within reach, and their wishes should be considered in spite
of the fact that the aesthetic effect is generally far from good. For
instance, a perfectly smooth bed is undesirable if in order to make it
smooth the patient must be tucked in so tightly that he is
uncomfortable. And it would be a mistake to remove an old man's
newspapers before he has read them, even if he persists in strewing them
all over the floor.

THE ATTENDANT.--One person and one person only should carry the entire
responsibility for the patient. She should plan for him as well as care
for him, should see the doctor and take the doctor's orders. Confusion
and innumerable mistakes result when several members of the family
attempt to do the talking and directing.

The attendant should wear washable dresses with sleeves that can be
rolled up, wa