Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-06-09
AUNT ANNIKYS TEETH.


Aunt Anniky was an African dame 6fty
years old, and of an imposing presence. AS
q waffle-maker she possessed a gift beyond
the common, but her unapproaohable talent
lay IN the province of nursing. She seemed
born for the benefit of sick people She
should have been painted with the apple of
healing in her hand For tho rest, she was
fanny, illiterate old darky, vain, affable, and
neat as pink.
On one occasion my mother had danger
GUS Illness Aunt Auniky nursed her through
it, giving herself no rest night or day until
her patient had "come back to de walks an
ways ob life" as she expressed the dear moth
ers recovery. My father, overjoyed and
grateful, felt that we owed this result quite as
much TO Aunt Anniky as to our family doctor,
so be announced his intention of making her
handsome present, and, like King Herod,
left her free TO choose what it should be. |
shall never forget how Aunt Anniky looked as
she stood there smiling and bowing, and bob
bing the funniest little courtesies all the way
down to the ground
And you would never guess what it was the
old woman asked for.
"Well, Mars Charles" said she (she had
been one of our old servants, and always call
ed my father Mars Charles), ito tell you de
livin' trufe, my soul an body is a-yearnin' TO
han some chany set o. teef."
"a set of teeth !" cried father, surprised
enough. "And have you none left of your
own?'
Use gummed it TO a good many years"
sighed Aunt Anniky "but, not wishin' 10 be
ongrateful to my obligations, l own to havin'
five material teef But dey is po sogers dey
shirks battle. One OBJ denis got sumfin in il
as lively as speared worm, an tell yo when
anythin' toohes it, hot or cold it Jest makes
me dance! An anudder is in my top jaw, an
amt got no match TO it in de bottom one
an one is broke off nearly to de root; an de
las two is so yaller Use 'shamed to show 'em
in company, an so lif's my turkey-tail to my
mouf every time laughs or speaks"
Father turned to mother with a musing air.
The curious student of humanity" he re-
marked, traces resemblances where they are
not obviously conspicuous Now, at the first
blush one would not think of any common
ground of meeting between our Aunt Anniky
and the Empress Josephine. Yet that fine
French lady introduced the fashion of hand
kerchiefs by continually raising delicate lace
m0ttehOirs to her lips to hide her bad teeth.
Aunt Anniky lifts her turkey-tail 1t really
seems as if human beings should be classed
by strata, like the metals in the earth. In
stead of dividing by nations, let us class by
qualities. Then We might find Turk, Jew,
Christian, fashionable lady and washerwoman,
master and slave, hanging together, like cats
on a clothes-line, by some connecting cord of
affinity"
"In the meantime" said my mother, mild.
ly, "Aunt Anniky is waiting to know if she is
to have her teeth"
"Oh, surely, surely" cried father, coming
out of the clouds with q start. II am going
to the village tomorrow, .Anniky, in the
spring wagon. / will take you with me, and
vva will hot ba 1avAisf 40 TO-
"Bless yo' heart, Mars Charles I" cried the
delighted Auniky; ''yo's jest as good as yo'
blood and 20 name, an mo- couldn't say"
The morrow came, and with it Aunt Ami
ky, gorgeously arrayed in a flaming red calico,
a bandana handkerchief, and a string of carved
yellow beads that glistened on her bosom like
fresh buttercups on hill-slope.
had petitioned to SO with the party for,
as we lived on plantation, a visit to the viii
lage was something of an event.
A brisk drive soon brought us to the centre
of the Square" A glittering sign hung bra
zenly from high window on the west side,
bearing in raised black letters the name of Dr.
Alonzo Babb.
DIR. Babb was the dentist and the odd fish
of our village He beams III my memory as
big, round man, with hair and smiles all
over his face, who talked incessantly, aud said
things to make your blood run cold
"Do you see this ring?" he said, as he hustled
about, polishing his instruments and making
his preparations for the sacrifice of Aunt An
milky. He held up his right hand, on the fore.
finger of which glistened ring the size OF q
dog-eollar. 'Now what dye s'pose that's
made Off"
''Brass, suggested father, who was funny
when not philosophical.
''Brass !' cried De Babb, with whitening
look cts virgin gold that ring is. And
where dye s'pose l found the gold2"
My father ran his hands into his pockets in
q retrospective sort of way.
SIN the mouths of my patients-every grain
of it /" said the dentist, with perfectly dia-
bolical smack of the lips sold filings
plugs, you know-that 1 saved, and had made
up into this shape. Good deal of sentiment
about such ring as this"
Sentiment of a mixed nature, l should
think, said my father with grimace.
"Mixed ?-rather; a speek here, q speek
there. Sometimes an eye, oftener jaw, oc-
casionally front. More than hundred men,
1 s'pose, have helped in the cause"
Law, doctor, yo' beats de birds, yo' does,
cried Aunt Anniky, whose head was as fiat as
the floor whore her reverence-bump should
have been. "You know how dey snatches de
wool from eb'ry bush to make their nests"
''Lots of company for me that ring is, said
| tuo uOSlOil ABhOAAhB tlS poAtAAOhb W. AAhPoA'
tinent) interruption. "Often, as sit in the
twilight turn it round and round, thinking
of the wagon-loads of food it has mastcated
the blood that has flowed over it, the groani
it has cost Now, old lady, if you will JUS
sit here"
He motioned Aunt Anniky to the chair, intC
which she dropped in limp sort of way, re-
covering herself Immediately, however, anC
sitting bolt upright in rigid attitude of de
fianoe. Some persuasion was necessary be
fore she could be induced to lean back anC
allow DIR. Babb's fingers on her nose while HI
administered the laughing-gas but, once set
tied, the expression faded from her counte
nance almost as quickly as a magic-lanterI
picture vanishes. watched her nervously
my attention divided between her vacant
looking face and dreadful picture on th'
wall. It represented DR.. Babb himself, mi
nus the hair but with double the number o
smiles, standing by a patient from who's
mouth he had apparently just extracted
huge molar that he held triumphantly in hi
forceps A gray-haired old gentleman re
garded the pair with benevolent interest Thl
! Dhotopraph was entitled ellis First Tooth.