, 1864-03-12

the morning would soon come, when the
power to rise from my bed would have left
me.
l remained in my boarding house, and
found no comfort in anything but my cigar,
and my dread disease grew worse and worse.
AS yet IRhad consulted no physician, partly,
/ think, from the apprehension of having
my fears confirmed but as [ sat by my win
dow, one day, smoking as vigorously as ever,
gazing absttactedly across the street, my at
tention was arrested by modest little sign
upon an opI Sblind-fC @. L. Todd, M. d.
While thinking whether or not it would be
best to make trial of physicians skill, a
sudden twinge and hutter decided me yes,
[ would send for DR.. Todd, and know the
worst at once.
Summoning the only male servant belong
ing to the establishment, | told him to step
over and ask DR.. Todd to come and see me
as soon as possible.
The boy grinned.
'What are you laughing at? [ asked
lis not Dr. Todd good physician p
20, yes, sir he answered, 'I believe she
is very good physician, but she hain't nev-
er tended nobody here
She ? says l to myself, the boy surely
has Welch blood in his veins, they always
she everything
The boy soon returned, saying, The Doc
tor wasn't at home, sir, but left your name
on the slate
In the course ofthe afternoon, as l lay
upon the sofa, with my hand pressed upon
NV heart, to still its irregular pulsations,
there was a soft tap at my door. Come in,
I called out, and to my surprise in came the
neatest, brightest and most cheerful looking
little woman, it had ever been my lot to
meet.
you sent for me, believe sir? she
said. in a quick, brisk, pleasant way.
Il? No, madam you are laboring under
a mistake
NAhl [ beg pardon, said the little wo-
man, [ found on my slate the name OF Mr..
Hubbs, number fourteen, Mrs. Gray's board
ing house with request that | would call
and see him
your slate, madam p [ exclaimed, my
astonishment increasing every moment you
surely are not A.
Physician yes sir she interrupted quick
ly, | am physician, DR.. Todd
Extraordinary was all | could say, for
though had heard at distance the exist
ence of such beings, this was the first intro
duction to a female practitioner OF the Ate-
cuIapian art 1t was rather awkward, but
since she had come, determined to make
the best of it, and acquaint the lady doctor
with my case.
She felt my pulse, and asked numerous
questions as to my symptoms, and then in
her quick, bright way, exclaimed
Nervous nervous that's all, depend
upon it Excuse me, sir, but by the air OF
your room, presume you are much given
to fmoking?
plead guilty.
And how many cigars do you usually
smoke day?
[ could not tell I never counted as soon
as [ threw one away, 1 took another usual
ly.
Hum cigars in your mouth pretty much
all the time, eh Chew too?
Again a reluctant confession was wrung
from me.
I presume you sit up late, smoking all the
time p
Yes ma'am, smoking and reading
That's it No disesae of the heart at all,
nothing but tobacco depend upon it; moth
ing but tobacco it'll make you fancy any
thing it'll drive you crazy if you don't take
care Now will you promise to follow my
advice closely or not? If not, L will take
my leave Immediately
| promised, submissive as lamb.
In the first place, then, throw away all
your cigars and tobacco, and promise to buy
no more
With a sigh given to my sole consultations,
[ said would do as she directed.
Many more directions she gave as to diet,
exercise, early hours, &c. Perhaps she saw,
too, that cheerful companionship was one
thing needed, and she remained while 4;
talking with great glee and spirit about mat
ters and things in general; and promising to
call and see me the next morning, she left.
The next morning found myself watching
impatiently for the arrival of my little doc
tor She came, bright and cheerful as the
day before What perfect little sunbeam
she was I could not help growing better
under her care, and the influence Of her
cheering presence, and yet managed to con-
trive some ache or pain every day, as an ex-
cuse for the continuance of her visits.
At length 1 found that my heart, which
had long been quiet and apparently free
from disease, began to futter and palpitate
again, but ] observed it was onl y when l
heard the little woman's tap at the door, or
felt her soft fingers on my wrist. In short,
as she had driven the disease out Of my
heart, that little woman herself had walked
into it. l could no longer blind myself to
the fact and when she one day told me that
| was now off the sick list, and out Of her
hands, determined that she should not get
out of mine so easily.
Sol told her that as she had given ease
to my heart in one respect, she must not
leave till she had done SO in another, or l
should be worse off than before. The little
woman looked perplexed.
Then stated my case, snd explained my
symptoms a second time, showing her the
distressed state of my heart, and that she
alone could cure it. The former disease she
had removed by an occasional visit, the latter
could only be cured by her promising to
aho1aF NTH