The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1872-06-22

| JOKE ON A DOCToR-HIs BILL MIS-
TAKEN FOR PRESCRIPTION.-A few
| days since ME. ClarksOn, our genial City
| Clerk, and a well-knOwn physician of
this place happened to meet on South G
| street. The physician mentioned to the
clerk that he had small claim against
| the corporation for attendance upon
city patient. He was told to make out
| his bill, send it in and it would be pre-
sented at the next meeting of the Board
of Aldermen. The Clerk happening to
complain during the interview of being
a little under the weather, the physician
| took note of his symptoms, and said that
upon reaching his Office he would write
him his prescription that would set him
| to rights, and which he would send by
the boy that would bring him the bill.
The afternoon of the same day a boy
called at the Clerks Office at the City
Hall and left two papers mentioning who
had sent them. g All right said the
Clerk, glancing at the RgPers that were
| thrown upon his desk. Now the chirO-
graphy of the majority of physicians is
much after the style of that mighty quill
driver, DR.. Horace Greeley, but that Of
| this particular NJ. d. was a cross between
the usual medical style and the char
acters used by Chinese astronomers
and laundrymen. When the Clerk came
| to examine the two papers he was much
| puzzled to make out which was the
prescription and which the bill. Some
zg-zag characters that appeared upon
one of the papers led him to think it the
prescription. He took Ii to drug store
| and handed it to the clerk who turned it
in several directions, and then said:
'ttThis is from DIR. -, is it not ~
Being answered in the affirmative, he at
once became cheerful, and soon handed
the clerk big powder to be taken at
night, and a bottle of some dark LIQUID
to be taken i'll the morning. For two
days following our clerk looked rather,
pale about the gills, but felt that on the
whole the medicine had done him con-
siderable good. At the next meeting of
the Board the doctors bill was presented,
but about all that could made out of it
was that it seemed to call for 81. 1t was
referred, as is usual, to the proper COM
mittee to be examined and reported
upon at the next regular meeting.
At the next meeting favorable report
was given and 81 was allowed. The
next day the doctor came to the clerk in
high 'dudgeOn, and said: "HOw it is that
you cut down my bill2 I see by the re-
port in the newspaper that the Board
only allowed me ST." Mr.. Clerk swore
that the bill was allowed Just as made
out, and to prove that he was right
hunted it up and handed it to the irate
physician. The doctor gazed upon the
document for some moments, and then
exclaimed: MAY I be hanged if you
and the Board of Aldermen haven't been
at work for two weeks on my prescrip-
tisn, and have at last allowed me seven
dollars on it?7 "Yes," cried the now
aroused Clerk, "and may / be hanged if
/ didn't take your internal bill to the
drug store and they allowed it there and
gave me dose on it that id near ply
{ sicked me to death!" The best Of the
joke was that the druggists clerk, when
! questioned about making up the pres
eription, said; When get such a
looking paper from Dr.. l always
| put up big powder of calomel and
rhubard, to be followed by black
draught, and this is the first time there
l has been any fuss about it."-[Terri>
tOrial Enterprise,