In making the best of things, the nurse must never over-encourage the patient. A half-starved, overworked person, suddenly put on a régime of fresh air, rest, and abundant food, will often make surprising advances—up to a certain point. This improvement may be so marked that it will raise false hopes of its continuance and the nurse must never jeopardize her reputation and the confidence imposed in her, by extravagant statements as to what may be accomplished. The overconfident patient mistakes temporary improvement for permanent cure. Tuberculosis is like a concealed enemy, crouched and ready to spring the moment one turns one’s back, and it requires constant vigilance to guard against it. If this fact could be securely drilled into the patients, there would probably be fewer relapses. =Truth for the Family.= If now and then an exception may be made in informing the patient of his condition, there are no conceivable circumstances under which this knowledge should be withheld from his family. The significance and danger of tuberculosis must be fully explained to all who are exposed to it. It is the “family” who constitute public opinion as far as the patient is concerned, and we must depend upon it to keep the patient up to the standard of living which means his improvement and their protection. The nurse should fully explain the situation to some older, responsible member of the household. This can best be done out of the patient’s presence. She must speak very plainly, using words within the comprehension of her hearers, so that they cannot fail to grasp her meaning. The patient needs this knowledge in order to get better—the family need it in order to protect themselves. It is a sad fact, but a frank appeal to the selfish instinct is usually productive of better results than one made upon higher grounds. Both points should always be made, but the instinct of self-preservation may be aroused with less prodding than is needed to awaken rudimentary altruism.