Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1870-07-13

| L
/ agreeably surprised to find fine stone resi-.
dence, ancient in style, but massive in ex
tent, and the interior was elegantly furnish
ed and decorated
II had acquired a smattering of Spanish,
years previously /; and having had occasion
here to confer with the natives, l readily
understood him when Senior Rabino inform
ed me that his only child, the daughter, he
spoke of, had been latterly quite III, and
had declined in health for year while
more receetly she had fainting fits, which
alarmed both the young lady and her opu-
lent father, who had sought in vain for
medical aid, and rho was ready to pay round
ly for any services, could relieve or restore
her. And the old Spaniard implored me
patiently to examine the case, and save his
darling Carlotta' if possible. -
And had you seen. the young woman ?''
Not yet, no. L made general inquiries
a. to the health of the rest of the family,
and found there was in the case no appar
ens hereditary difficulty And finally was
shown into the young lady's private apart
ment. By Jove, my friend, she was beau
tiful. You shall see her, by the way, anon.
| will introduce you"
Thank you" l said ''Then she still
lives?''
''You shall see. Don't anticipate me, ="
said the doctor hriskly.
Il say, Immediately on entering her
beautiful boudoir, | saw that she was a
splendid creature, though she occupied an
invalid chair, and was pale and reduced
in flesh. There was, however, an ivory
clearness in her complexion, a ravishing
fire in her rich, dark eye. and classic
beauty in her handsome features, which at
sight greatly interested me; and l said to
myself, | will earnestly try to save this poor
creature from premature death.
And as | sat down beside her. really
my heart beat audibly | confess it. took
her small, deicately- rounded wrist in my
hand, and consulted her pulse with more
than ordinary interest, and some trepida-
ton, as she looked languidly but pleasantly
in my face, and said, Doctor, do you think
you can aid me?'
We were alone. She propounded this
question as if she would intimate in the ex
preston that my predecessors had tried and
failed. And while she thus smiled obser-
we'd that she exhibited two brilliant rows of
pearly teeth, that were by no means the
least attractive feature in her beautiful and
intelligent face | found the young lady's
pulse was ftfal and feverish, and | ques
toned her as to symptoms. She IN o med
me that her trouble, whatever it was, seem
Ell to be nervous affection. She frequent
~ experienced spasnTodic and acute pains
in the face and head. and would faint and
fall like an epileptic. Then extreme dull
ness would succeed, physically aid men
tally; she was really discouraged, she
said.
with my practice as physician [ had
long before united that of dentist; and
knew well how sensitive and delicate were
the nervous combinations Of the face, and
especially those of the teeth. | asked the
patient many questions, and finally intero-
gated her closely as to the apparent neu
ralgic affections she had so frequently ex-
perienced in her head and jaw. She had
no reason to complain of her teeth; she said
they were perfectly sound.
81 examined them, however, with pro-
fessional care Finally, taking from my
coat pocket small operating dental in.tru
ment, | scanned each tooth, and raped it
slightly a, passed along. As | did this,
the youthful sonora did not finch until
struck the molar beyond one of the eye
teeth, when, to my CONSERVATION and sur
prise, she suddenly sprang up, and, with
sharp sigh, fell forward sen:eless at my
feet
''As you may well conceive, was alarm
ed for an instant, but quickly raising her
form upon the divan at the side of the room
/ repeated the rap upon this tooth, which,
like the rest, was to all appearance perfect;
and found, though respiration had tenn
porarily ceased the effect of the simple jar
upon the tooth produced result upon the
patient ike that of a aalvanic shock almost
the girl starting violently and struggling
in my hands with fearful .pa.ms at each
repeated stroke against the jaw.
Assuming the responsibility of my pro-
fession snd position. therefore, and believ-
ing that the mystery of her illness was in
some way connected with the facial nerves
| quickly resolved to try an experiment to
relieve her, at least temporarily. And ta-
king the forceps from my dental pocket-case,
| applied them to what | deemed the often
ding tooth, and instantly removed it from
the jaw while she lay apparently insensible
upon the couch. y
stAnd what was the result p | asked.
'In moment she came to consciousness,
and placing her hand on her forehead, she
''Where am ? All. doctor, what
have you done ?" And then missing one
Of her teeth, she said, What have you
done ?'' And | briefly replied that | tho't
I had solved the mystery of her illness.
Upon the side of thi. tooth, which was
perfect, there adhered bit of straw, or
what seemed to be diminutive sharp splln-
ter of hard grained wood, perhaps three
eights of and inch in length, and not larger