Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-08-29
Small Doses Foolish Things,

A1A4AGdIU4A OCAAADOA AoC0 " AC4eaLC AAAC
following incident of his experience in
physic dosing with great gusto:
! l had a gardener when I was still a
Finlay; he had picked up somehow a
great deal of very graphic language,
| which he used freely upon the ordinary
occasions of life. He came to me and
said:
'Pm bad all over, inside and out, want
! you to give me some physic. They tell
me you've got medicine chest, and
book as belongs to it."
"Well," said I, 81 have. What will
you takeT
"Some rhubarb."
"Pll look in the book" said, "and
have it still, with the chest-at least my
wife has, for I carefully made her a
wedding present of both) the book has
at the beginning table of doses: quite
an inexcusab1e snare, think, to simple
people. 1t is costructed on hypotheti-
cal principle,-"f to an adult a dram,
cal part escaped me; an adult, one dram
"a dram, that's sixty grains-ninety
grains in all. 1 got a half sheet of a
newspaper, put it on the dining table,
and mixed up. 1t looked a good deal.
But said to myself, "Must be all right,
here's the book; Finlay's an adult. He
was over seventy. So I rang the bell.
Here's your physic; I hope it will
put you all right"
81 be to take all that?"
eyes, that's just what the book says;
small doses foolish things"
"All right" says he.
Then began to encourage him. ''Now,
Finlay, you're not very we'll; don't try
and do any work to-day go home, keen
yourself warm, and tell your wife to mix
it up in some warm water-nOt too much
water; you'll be much better in the
morning. 1 should, if 1 were you, take
it at once"
"All right, he said
Poor man, his confidence III me had
no limits. I thought no more about it
till next morning; my conscience was
quite easy had done wise and kind
thing; 1 had made a good use of my
dear mothers gift.
While 1 was dressing in the morning,
looked out of the window, and there
was Finlay standing between me and
the garden wall. He looked, so to
speak, shadowy, almost ghostly; the
wall, as it were, was visible through
him; but, as it was daylight, I wasn't
afraid.
Hope you're better this morning;
glad to think you must be, or you would
not have come up"
'Well," he said, 'I be a trihe better"
"Ah," said, 81 thought so; you took
your physic, of course"
"Why, didn't you tell me to take it?
I'll tell you all about it. goes home to
my wife and says, There, you mix that
up; mind, not much water Lord
sake? she said, you be not going to
take all that; why, it would kill horse
and a cow You foolish woman, hold
your tongue; go and do as ! bid you.
Masters got book, and knows a sight
more than you.' So she goes and mixes
up in a slop basin, and brings it back
with a spoon standing in the middle"
At this part of his report began to
have misgivings. He went on:
'I got him down-but it was a tough
job-and goes to bed"
I draw a veil over what followed. I
reeled about with laughter, struggling
to look sympathetic, but my misgivings
increased. His exact account of what
had befallen him during the night took
down Just as it came out of his mouth.
IshalI be happy to communicate ipissi-
a,is UerbiS to anybody who may like to
complete the tale.
"Well." I said, as soon as 1 could
steady my voice, ego into the kitchen
and have some nice warm breakfast, and
we'll see what is to be done next"
Half an hour after was on my way to
Oxford as fast as could go, and went to
my dear friend, DIR Wootton. In the
course of conversation asked him in a
kind of careless way about rhubarb, as
guide for any parochial practice.
"Well," ;" he said, cts fine medicine,
and I give good doses of it." ..-...
''Yes; what is a good dose ?" e..
Eighteen grains is quite enough for
anybody" r =
eighteen grains, said, "Why, 1 gave
man sixty yesterday, and thirty mag
nesia."
He opened his great eyes and said,
us he very oldP'
"Yes, over seventy" ls
'Then perhaps he won't die. Go
home as fast as you can, and pour in
porter and port wine"