Page:The Art of Helping People Out of Trouble (1924).pdf/67

 up a vase and hurled it at her, and then, pushing her out of the house, slammed the door upon her. Considering only the pleasant character of the visitor and the previous cordial relations which had existed between her and Mrs. Doran, one could only conclude that Mrs. Doran was either vicious or insane. The possession of additional facts gives the incident its true interpretation.

Mrs. Doran's husband had tuberculosis. He had been away at a sanatorium, but having become homesick had returned to his family. The trip and life in the city had been a serious drain upon his health, and Mrs. Doran saw that he was steadily losing the strength he had gained in the mountains. About this time she learned that the older of her two boys had been infected with his father's disease and that it would be necessary for him to take the cure. Application was made for the admission of Mr. Doran and his son to the sanatorium, and Mrs. Doran decided that she would insure their staying away until their disease was arrested by giving up her home. Her younger son, Henry, was sent to live with a family in a neighboring suburb and Mrs. Doran made preparations to store her furniture as soon as the sanatorium could receive the two patients. A month