Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-04-17
PIZUN AND KI-NINE.
A Good Old soul Who Knows When
and How to be Careful

Detroit Free Press.
+ She wasn't after hair-dye, cosmetics,
scented soap, or any of those gimcracks,
but when the druggist had finished put
ting up a prescription to cure long
faced boy of hacking cough, she turned
from the stove and asked:
'Do you keep drugs and medicines and
pizens and so on ?''
sob, yes, we keep all such things.''
'And ki-nine?"
'FYes, we have quinine.''
tFWell, 1 called in to see about gettin'
some pizun and some ki-nine, but dun
no. So many folks have been slaugh-
tered by druggists mistakes that Pm
eanemost afraid to ask for camfur gum,
tho 1 suppose I can smell camfur gum
farther off than any other woman in
Michigan. Have you ever killed anybody
putting up morphine for bakin' powder? ?''
esNever."
s'Been in the business Iong?'
-ffOnly twenty-one years.
"Well, you orter know gum 'Rabic
from sweet oil by this time, but some
men are awful keerless. I've had BROTH
er pisuned by wrong medicine, and Pm a
little shaky. Where is your ki-nine?''
''This is it, he replied, as he took
down the jar.
She wet her finger, put it into the jar
and then rubbed it on her tongue.
''Tastes like it, but dunno. Sure that
amt morphine?' ?''
eyes, very sure"
''Sure your clerk washed the jar out
clean afore he put the ki-nine in?''
sFOh, 1 washed it myself
eff this shouldn't be ki-nine you'd have
the law put to you the worst kind. We've
got money in the bank, and we'd never
settle for no $1O,0OO!''.
81 know it to be quinine."
E'WeI, then, gimme Is cents worth,
and want down weight, too. If Pm
well treated I'm great hand to trade at
one place, but the minnit I see any stin-
giness or cheatin' yoke of oxen couldn't
pull me into that store again."
He weighed out the drug, labelled it
with great care, and then she said:
''Now 1 want 10 cents worth of pizun
to kill rats.''
''What kind? ?''
s'Why, the pizun kind, of course. Pi-
zun is pizun the world over. DON'T seem
as you were used to handling 'em.''
ssDo you want arsenie''
'fCertain1y, but you want to be power
full keerful! Pm woman of fifty and
Eye nuss'd the sick ever since 1 was a
girl, and never handle pizun without
chill creepin' up my back. Wher is it?''
He handed down the jar and she smelt
of the stopper, shook her head, turned
the jar around and whispered:
''That looks a powerful sight like
cream-a-tar4ar! =" ~szz-7f e.
'foh, no-that's arsenic and no mis-
take.'
fsWel1, I've got to run the chances L s. pose.
| I'll take 10 cents worth-down weight.
Any one who will be stingy sellin'
pizun will be stingy in other things, and
1 do hate stingy person. My first hus-
| band was powerful stingy, and he was
struck by lightning"
| When the poison had been weighed
and labelled she carefully took up the
| package and said:
stNow, then, write on this that it is to
| be kept in the old china teapot, on the
third shelf in the pantry, and that it's for
rats Then write on this ki-nine that it
is to be kept in the old coffee-pot in the
cupboard, and that it's for chills.'
The druggist followed orders, and the
old lady put the "pizun'' in her pocket
and the ''ki-nine'' in her reticule, and
went out saying:
''It may be all right, but I duno. If
my old man is took off instead of the rats,
I'n begin lawsuit the next day after the
funeral!''