The Man Who Was A Hospital: Lesson # 6, English Second Year

The Man Who Was A Hospital

The Man Who was a Hospital" is an example of Jerome’s fine humour. He exaggerates but the story is based upon sound observation of human behaviour. Many persons with a little knowledge of diseases and their symptoms think that they are suffering from such diseases. 

 Jerome Klapka Jerome was born on May 2,1859. His father name was Jerome clap.He had two sisters and one brother .His father was died when he was only 13 years old and his mother died when he was only 15.

He worked in Railway for four years.Then he joined theater with his sister. But after three years whenhe saw no success in theatre he left it.He started towrite stories ,essay and satires.During this time he worked as a teacher in schools,a packer and clerk. 

 He was an English writer and humorist, His best book is " three men in a boat " which was written in 1889. His second best book was Idol thoughts of an idle fellow.Hisanother book is My life and Times which was published in 1926.

In 1885 he got some success in "Idle thoughts of an idle" and in 1886 in essays "Fellow" which was collection of humorist essays. Then came his best book "Three men in boat" The book,was published in 1889, became an instant success . 

The book sold world wide. It has been adapted inmovies ,radio programs.Its writing style influenced every one. He married with Georgina Elizabeth Henrietta Stanley .She had a daughter from her previous, five-year marriage .

 Jerome volunteered to serve his country at the outbreak of the war, but, being 56 years old, was rejected by the British Army. In june 1927 on a motoring tour from Devon to London he suffered a paralytic attack.

He died on 14 june 1927. He is buried at St.marry's church.In 1984 a small museum was opened to dedicate his life and work.

How auther cosidered himself a hospital

One day, the author happened to read a leaflet advertising a patent medicine for liver disorders. He suddenly realized that ha had the same symptoms as in the leaflet. He concluded that his liver was out  of order.
This made him read more patent medicine advertisements. And whenever he read an advertisement, he thought that he was suffering from that particular disease. Once he went to the British Museum to read up the treatment of some minor disease he felt he was suffering from. 
He took a dictionary of diseases and read what he had come to read. Then he turned the pages and began to study other diseases. It did not take him long to realize that he was suffering from typhoid fever and St. Virus disease. 
Now he decided to diagnose his maladies systematically. So he started reading the dictionary from the letter . In a short time he had found that he had Bright’s disease, Cholera, Diphtheria and almost all other diseases detailed in the book. The only exception was the Housemaid’s Knee.
 At first he felt rather unhappy about it. Why had he not got this little malady when he had every other disease known to the medical science? Then he reconciled himself to the situation and decided to do without it. the last entry in the dictionary was zymosis and it gave him great satisfaction to find that he had been suffering from It from boyhood without knowing it.
 Now he sat down in a comfortable chair and pondered, He was a hospital in himself, - What a great help he would be to medical students. They could examine him and acquire full knowledge of all, the diseases. No need to go to hospitals and walk from ward to ward and patient to patient. 
Soon he began to think of himself: how long he could live with these diseases. He felt his pulse. It was silent; then suddenly it began to beat at the rate of one hundred and forty, seven per minute. He put his hand or! his chest to feel his heart. Well, it was not there; if at all it was there, It had stopped beating.
 He felt all over his body but could not find his heart. He rushed to his doctor who happened to be an old friend. The doctor, heard his story, exammined his chest, took his pulse and then butted him with the side of his head.
 Finally he wrote a prescription, folded it and handed It to him. He took it to the chemist. The man unfolded it, read it, and handed It back. He expressed his inability to provide the prescription he was only a chemist. 
The author took the paper and read It. It ran I lb beefsteak every six hours; ten-mile walk every night; bed at sharp every night; and don’t stuff your mind with things don’t understand". The author followed the Instructions and is still alive.

Questions & Answers

Question 1: How did Jerome K. Jerome come to suspect that his liver was out of order?
Answer: He came to suspect so after reading a patent liver-pill circular and concluded that his liver was out of order.

Question 2: What was the disease he discovered he didn’t have?
Answer: He discovered that he did not have ‘housemaid’s Knee’. He was much disappointed for not having it.

Question 3: Was he pleased to find he didn’t have it?
Answer: No, he rather felt hurt for not having it. He was mush disappointed at his finding.

Question 4: What was his first reaction?
Answer: He was frozen with horror that he was the patient of all the diseases. He thought that he would be an interesting case from medical point of view.

Question 5: Why should he be an acquisition to the medical class?
Answer: He should be an acquisition to the medical class because students would have no need to walk around the hospital to know about different diseases as he was a hospital himself.

Question 6: Describe his visit to the medical man?
Answer: When he went to the doctor he told him all about his diseases. The doctor at once understand the real matter. He checked him completely. He hit over his chest and head and then gave him a prescription.

Question 7: He thought he was doing the doctor good turn by going to him .why?
Answer: He thought so because the doctor was going to get more practice out of him than seventeen hundred common patients. Therefore, he thought he was doing the doctor good turn by going to him.

Question 8: What was the prescription given to him by the doctor?
Answer: The  prescription ran:

• “11 lb beef steak, every 6 hours.
• 10 miles walk every morning, 
• Bed at 11 sharp every night. 
• And don’t stuff your head with things. You don’t understand”.

Question 9: Describe his visit to the chemist?
Answer: He went to chemist gave him the prescription. The chemist replied if he had a cooperative store and a family hotel combined he would have been able to oblige him.

Question 10: What is the significance of the doctor’s advice: don’t stuff your head with things you don’t understand?
Answer: This is a very important advice. Generally, people start to think about those things for which they have no concern. As a result, they draw false conclusion and get worried. The writer followed the advice and become healthy.

Question 11: How had the writer walked into the reading room of the British Museum and how did he returned?
Answer: The writer walked into the reading room as a happy and healthy man. But he returned as a despaired patient.

Question 12: Had the heart of Jerome really stopped beating?
Answer: No, in fact he was confused. When he did not feel his heart beating in his chest, he patted himself all over his front. He felt his pulse which was very fast.

Question 13: Why did the writer go to the British Museum?
Answer: He went to the British Museum to read the treatment of hay fever.