Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-08-19
LETTER FROM JOHN PHOENIX.
From the correspondence Of the Boston Post J

Tooth Doetors-Gra,d Dental Chorus
Fearful Dental Erereises, 9c.
While deeply interested in the discussion of
the luxurious repsst provided for the happy
guests of this mansion yesterday afternoon, my
Attention was diverted by the sound of music
of q wild and Saracenic description, resound-
Ing from the exterior of the building. The
melody appeared 10 be that portion of the
Battle Of Prague" which represents the
"cries Of the wounded accompanied by an
unlimited amount Of exertion on the part of
the operator ON the bass drum. Hastily rush
ing to the window, bearing elevated on my fork
the large potato from which had partially re-
moved the cuticle, Stevens gives US enormous
potatoes, il takes twenty minutes to skin one
prOperly,) / beheld a procession, numbering
some three or four hundred, all in their Sunday
clothes, every man with cigar in his mouth,
slowly and sOlemnly moving past the hotel.
They bore a banner at their head on which
was depicted an enormous cOrkscrew. or some
instrument Of that description, with the motto
"a long pull, strong pull, and pull alto
gether" Judge Of my astonishment and de-
light in recognizing in the beam of this banner
my old friend, the philanthrOpic Tushmaker, Of
widespread dental renown. As the process on
reached the front of the hotel each man threw
away his cigar, and having replaced it by a
large quid of tobacco, defled on the esplanade
beneath the piazza in a tolerably straight line,
and, then gazing intently at the windows,
opened his mouth, from one auricular Orifce to
the other, and showed his teeth. Never have
seen 50 glittering display.
Filled with curiosity, was about to ask an
explanation, when my friend DOlittle from An
droscoggin, who had rushed to the window at
the same time with myself, saved me the trouble,
by demanding with an incoherent and exceed
ingly nasal pronunciation, Why what on airth
Is this ere?' This" replied the courteous
Hiram, whose suavity Of manner is only equaled
by the beauty of his person, this, sir, is the
American Dental Association, composed of MEM
bers from all parts of both continents, and the
British West India Islands, "Jerepsaicm,"
said Dolittle, three hnMdrcd tetcth czrpeM-
ters -
1t was indeed thrilling spectacle. To think
of the amount of agony that body of men had
produced and were capable Of yet producing,
to think of the blood they had shed, and of their
daring and imPetuOus charges after the CORY
action was over. The immortal charge Of the
six hundred at Balaklava was not a circum-
stance to the charges made daily by this three
hundred As Hiram had truly said, these were
dentists from all parts Of the civilized world and
elsewhere. There was the elegant city practi-
TONER, with shiny hat and straw colOred gloves,
side by side with the gentleman from the
country, who hauls a man all over the floor for
two hours, for q quarter of q dollar, and gives
him the worth of his money / observed that
forty seven of them wore white hats, and two
hundred and sixty eight used tobacco in some
form. There can be no question that this sub
stance Is a preservative to the teeth. i OBJ
served, in the rear rank, the ingenious gentle
man who invented the sudden though painful
method of extracting a tooth by climbing a tree
and connecting by catgut string the offending
member with stout limb, and then jumping
down; a highly successful mode of operation,
but not calculated to become popular, in the
community. He wore buckskin mOccasins and
did not appear to be enjoying successful prac-
tice.
But while gaIed with deep interest upon
the assembly, the band struck up /" Tom Tug
and away they went. Three times they encir-
cled the hotel, then, with their wings aslant,
like the fierce cormorant > swooped down upon
the bar, registered their names, and took q
grand united federal drink, leach man paying
for himself) Here tOasts and sentiments were
the order Of the day. - The American Dental
Association, like watermen, we pull one way
and look another" '' u three dollar cavity,
very filling at the price - - the woOdcock, en-
blem Of dentistry-he picks up his living from
the holes, and passes in a precious long bill -
the memory Of DIR. Beale, drank standing.
These, with other sentiments of a similar meri-
tOrious character, were given, and received
with great applause.
Having all drank from the flowing bowl, the
Association again formed in line in front of the
piazzas, which were now crowded with a curl
Gus and admiring thrOng, and sang with sur
prising harmony the following beautiful, plain
tive, and appropriate chaunt:
g Oh. Jonathan Gibbs he broke his tewth
eatin pnddin', a eatin' puddin'-
Jonathan Gibbs he broke his tewth
A eatin' Puddin', eatin' puddin'.
''Great humps Of suet, they stuck intew 1t,
Intew it, intew it, intew IL, intew it
Great Jumps OF suet, they stuck intew IT,
As BIZ as my two thumbs"
This chaunt finished, end the applause SUBJ
siding, an air Of gravity came over the Associa-
tiOn, and the President, DIR. Tushmaker step
ping forward, announced that few pleasing
and wonderful performances would now be gone
through with, with the object Of exhibiting the
deXterity acquired by the members Of the Soci-
ETY.. Then, turning to the line, he gave the
command, - DraW!" In an instant every one
OF the association was armed with a brilliant
turnscrew. " FITs - shouted DIR. Tushmaker,
and each member opened his mouth and at
tached the fearful instrument to back tooth.
" Haul" :" screamed the doctor.
Hold, for Gods sake.' shouted l. but il
was too late; three hundred dOu ble-fanged back
teeth, dripping with blood, were held exultant
In the air. The association looked cool and col
lected; there might have been pain, but, like
the Spartan boy, they repressed it; the ladies,
with a wild cry Of horror, fed from the piazza.
'RspiaSe" shouted DIR. Tushmaker, and in
an instant every tooth returned to the mouth
whence ii came. l understood it at once; it was
ball practice with blank eartridge-they were all
false teeth. Several other interesting exercises
were gone through with. A hackman passing
by on his carriage was placed under the infiu-
ence OF ehlOrofOrm, all his teeth extracted with
out pain, and an entire new and elegant set
put IN their place, all in forty-two seconds His
appearance was wonderfully improved; he had
been known, Tor years, as "snaggle-tooth Bill, -
but a new and more complimentary title will
have 10 be devised for him. Wonderful are the
improvements Of science. At O'Clock the pro-
cessiOn was reformed, and the band PLAYING
"PHiE, BrofhrrS, Phi" >" the association moved
Cf returning by the Nelly Baker to Boston.
have never seen three hundred dentists to-
gether before, and L don't believe anybody else
ever did, but consider it a pleasing and an
improving spectacle, and would suggest that
the next time they meet they make an excur-
sion which shall combine business with pleas
are, and all 90 down together and remove the
snags from the mouth Of the Mississippi.
We had hop here last night; Belle: a young
~ L.,a l.