LIFE IN A SANATORIUM.
[To MR EDITOR OF TER "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—In the issue of August 9th one of your contributors tells of life in an English sanatorium. May I in a few words
tell of life in an English sanatorium situated in a foreign town, and compare the life he tells us of with life as we find it to-day in Davos Platz, Switzerland? Here in a pretty little
town, situated in a lovely mountain valley, one finds the Queen Alexandra Sanatorium, an institution built by public subscription in order to offer to people of quite small means the same advantages that are enjoyed by the rich. Here one may carry out the fresh-air treatment in summer or in the depth of winter amid surroundings that make the cure a joy and not a hardship. Here are no wind-swept rooms or cor- ridors. The valley of Davos is free from wind. In winter, so brilliant is the sunshine and so warm its rays that one may lie out on the balconies in perfect comfort. Of course, when the sun goes in the cold may be intense, but it is always a dry cold, and the freedom from wind prevents us from feeling any discomfort, provided we are well wrapped up. Our doctors do not expect us to live in draughts and icy rooms ; each room has its radiator and double windows. We drese and undress in warm, cosy rooms, and once in bed with a hot-water bottle we can enjoy the cold fresh air with our windows open wide. There is no iron rule for all. Long ago have the doctors realized that each patient is an individual with requirements of his own. The patient with bronchitis may rest upon his balcony when the sun shines down; but at night he must sleep in a warm room. It is true he must have fresh air, but the latter can be supplied in sufficient quantity through well- ordered ventilators, and the radiator keeps the air he breathes at a comfortable temperature. The doctors know that s. patient who is uncomfortably cold suffers from lowered vitality and cannot fight his disease. Then, again, by no means all, probably only a small minority, of the patients receive injeca tions of tuberculin. Careful regulation of our daily rest and exercise seems to be the staple treatment, combined with generous and not unappetizing meals. In England DaVO8 seems but little known, and those who know it think of it only as a dwelling-pines for the rich. How very few know that, owing to the help and energy of a fine old English nobleman, we sufferers of small means can enjoy at quite small cost (some 22 2s. a week) all the advantages of a glorious climate in an institution which Mr. Lloyd George might quite aptly
describe as a first-clase hotell,--I am, Sir, &c., IL H. C.
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