The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-05-08
PiZun and K-Nine.

Plum and N-Nine.
She wasn't after hair-dye, cosmetics,
scented soap, or any of those gimcracks,
but when the druggist had finished put
ting up prescription to cure q long
faced boy of hacking cough, she turned
from the stove and asked:
'Do you keep drugs and medicines and
pnuns and so on"
"Oh, yes, we keep all such things"
"And ki-nine"
eyes, we have quinine."
DWELL, | called in to see about gettin
some pizun and some ki-nine, but dun
TO. SO many folks have been slaugh-
tered by druggists mistakes, that I'm
eanemost afraid to ask for camfur gum,
tho l suppose l can smell camfur gum
farther off than any other woman in
Michigan. Have you ever killed any
body by putin up morphine for bakin
powderq'
"Never."
"Been in the business longp
"Only twenty-one years"
"Well, you orter know gum 'Rabic
from sweet oil by this time, but some
men are awful keerless. I've had a
brother pizuned by wrong medicine,
and I'm little shaky. Where's your
ki-nineq"
"This is it," he replied, as he took the
jar down.
She wet her finger, put it into the jar
and then rubbed it on her tongue.
'Tastes like it, but l dunno. Sure it
amt morphine
eyes, very sure"
"Sure your clerk washed the jar out
clean afore he put the ki-nine in ?"
sob, 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 $4,000"
81 know it to be quinine."
"Well, then, gimme fifteen cents
worth, and | want down weight too. IT
Tn treated well I'm q great hand to
trade at one place, but the mint | see
any stnginess or cheatin II 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 | want ten cents worth of
pizun to kill rats.
"What kindp
"Why the pizun kind, of course.
Plum is pizun the world over. Don't
seem us you were used to handling EN-. ]"
"Do you want arsenicF
Certainly but you want to be pow
erful keerful I'm a woman of fifty
and I've nuss'd the sick ever since | was
a girl, but l never handle pizun with
out chill creepin up my back. Where
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 atarter =
"Oh, no-that's arsenic and no mis-
take"
"Well, I've got to take the chances,
1 s'pose III take ten cents worth
down weight Any one who will be
stingy sellin' pizun will be stingy in
other things, and | do hate Il stingy
person. My first husband was power
full stingy, and he was struck by light
ming"
When the poison had been weighed
and labelled she carefully took up the
package and said
"Now, then, write on this that it is
to be kept in the old china teapot, on
the third shelf in the pantry, and that
itA 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:
sit may be all right, but l dunno.
If my old man is took off instead Of the
rats, I'll begin a law suit next day after
the funeral. "-Detroit Free Press.