The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-02-19
ARp,s BUDGET.
..Dllly In the Low Grounds" This Week.

ARP'S BUDGET.
ssBilly In the Low Grounds" This Week
Write, my child-write something tc
the Constitution. / don't care what.
am too nervous. I can't think my owr
thoughts. tits perfectly borriole-awful
but 1 reckon it is all right. I reckon so
1 wish there was not tooth in my head.
When they come, they come with pain
and peril, and keep the poor child mis-.
erable, and when they 60 they 60 with a
torture that no philosophy can endure
oh, my poor jaw-just look how it is
swollen. am sight. A pitiful pros
pect. look like bloated bond holder
on one side of my face and no bonds tn
comfort me. / wonder what would
comfort a man in my fix. / have suffered
more mortal agony from my teeth than
from everything else put together. Sam
son couldn't pul! them hardly, for they
are all riveted to the jawbone. I have
been living in dread for month, for
knew that eyetooth was fixing up trouble !;
and so yesterday morning it sprung q
leak at the breakfast table, and jumped
out of my chair. The shell caved in,
the nerve was touched, and in my agony
/ gave one groan and retired like it was
funeral. Five miles from town and no
doctor. Don't put down what | suffered
all that day, and the night following, for
you can't. Mush poultices and campbor
and paragoric and bromide and chloro-
form and still the procession moved on,
and the jumping, throbbing agony sent
no flag of truce-no sessation of hostili
ties. What do care for anything.
Don't tell me about Hendricks being in
Atlanta. don't care where he is. Yes
1 do. He il good man, but I've got no
time to think about him now. Please
give me some of that camphor. I've
burned all the skin off my mouth now
but it is counter.irritant and sorter
scatters the pain around. If had some
morphine would take it for I want rest.
am tired. Oh, for one short hour of
rest.
Write something, my daughter-write
to the Constitution and explain. Tell
them 1 am "Billy in the low ground" ]
am suffering and want sympathy. Write
note to the doctor, and tell him to
come, come quick. l can't 60 through
another night. Oh, my country. Let
me try that hot iron again. Ill cotk
this old fat jaw outside and inside. /
wish l had no tongue, for can't keep it
from touching the plagued tooth. Just
look at my gums. they have swelled up
so you can hardly see the old tooth.
Give meta knife and hand glass. I'll
see if l can't let some blood out of those
strutting gums. / am so nervous can't
hardly hold the knife but here she goes.
Oh, my country, now give me the cam
phor and I'll let it burn in new place.
Just write line to the Constitution, l
don't care what-say am sick. | won.
der if the doctor will come. He will
kill me know. 1t is awful to think of
cold steel clamping this tooth and being
jammed away up on these gums. III
take chloroform I reckon for can't stand
it. / am afraid be will come. | want
him and I don't want him. The last
tooth | had pulled / went to the dentists
office like hero and l was glad he
wasn't in-glad his door was locked
and for two more days / endured my
agony and then had to have it pulled at
last. And he pulled me all to pieces
and the chloroform left me before he got
done and I had an awful time. The
memory of it is excruciating. and yet /
have got to 60 through the same thing
again. "Oh, the pity of it, Iago, the
pity of it," What has man got teeth
for would like to know. 1t is the brute
that is in him, the dog or the old Adam
that evoIuted from the monkeys. There
is nothing God like about teeth. They
bite, that is all. They are called "ca.
hines" saw man bite another mans
nose off once-the teeth did it. The
eye is God like, angelic, beautiful, harm
less. The eur is good thing too, for it
takes in the hArmOnies of nature and
makes music sweet-music that is the
only thing common to angels and to men.
The nose is gentle and ornamental, but
is not of much consequence except to
blow off bad cold and tell the differ.
ence between cologne and Goldfish, but
the teeth. Well, I think that false ones
are better than the genuine for they
never ache. I cont care for any now.
1 am tired. These women can have eight
or ten pulled at one time-just to get
new set. How in the world do they
stand it? Pride, I reckon, womanly
pride, womanly nature. Her love of the
beautiful. But we mea can wear mus.
tache and hide whole set of rotten
snags. IF women had beard the dentists
would perish.
There she goes again, and then boom.
Let me try some more paregoric and
camphor. May be | can 60 to sleep after
while if I will keep dosing. / wish |
had just small grain of dynamite be-
hind that tooth, Just at the end of the
roots. . would explode j if iskilled ! me-
The doctor coming you say Merciful
heavens! Well, let him come. In the
language of Patrick Henry, 81 repeatit,
sir, let him come" Lay on, McDuff-
cold steel forceps, wrenching, twisting
crushing, gouging. l don't believe |
have got friend in the world. almost
wish / was dead. Teeth are humbug
"a grand mistake-a blunder-an eye
tooth especially that sends its root away
up under the eye and makes an abcess
there. They say child is smart when
it cuts the eye-teeth. l believe | had
rather do without and be fool. l have
had rheumatism and all sorts of pains,
but / will compromise on anything but
the toothache. I've great respect for