Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-01-08
NOT MEANT POR FOop.


-
. Yes; what is itg''
Tim the subject said the boz.
You'd never think I'd swallowed a
mouthful OF tacks. woult: your / did.
though. It was eight. years ago, and
Edward Xavier Kern, OF MADISON street.
proceeded to tell how, when he was six
years old, he had been helping his
brother mend the shed and that he had
put some tacks into his e4outh to hold.
His brother sent him up stairs for some
thing and the little fellow tumbled as he
ran. The jolt was sufficient to make
some of the nails 20 down his throat. but
as no immediate Ill effects were noticed.
after he had INDUCED III considerable
crying. his mother thought no more
about it.
At the end OF about six weeks. how
ever, he was taken seriously i'll and Doc
tor Philip Leidy was called in. The case
looked like one of consumption, but the
doctor could not make up; his mind TO
It. He therefore placed some of the
sputum from the boys lungs in the
hands of a specialist for examination.
The case was pronounced one OF tuber-
culosis, the specialist stating that the
sputum was full of bacilli, At the end
of THREE months the boz coughed up
something very strange. 1t was piece
of rusty tack, with STALL piece OF
leather attached to il. Gradually the
disease in the left lung INCREASED and
series of assesses formed. which for
tunately opened by sinusessin the chest.
The boys cough was relieeed and he ac-
tually began to take on fat
To-day he looks we'll ana healthy, OK
cept for the enlarged fingar-tips, which
tell of retarded circulationa the pecu-
liar pink and white complexion 90 COM
mon TO people with diseases of the lungs
He is also somewhat stunted in growth.
On looking at his bare chest, his heart
may be seen beating, showing that the
pericardium or covering membrane of
the heart has become attached to the
costal plenra or lining mcnbrane of the
ribs. His left lung Is nav little else
but an empty sac. Otherwise he is per-
fectly healthy aud will ia every proba-
bility live to n good age.
There are few families which do not
possess some member who has ~ one
time or another done sonae remarkable
feat of swallowing" said n we'll known
physician, yesterday, WHO has not
heard of the boy who fell down on his
way to the grocery store sud swallowed
q silver dime2 l had the case os little
girl who slipped her mothers thimble
into her mouth in fit of snischief and
when she began to tell the little fib
down the naughty little throat and cre-
ated good deal more mischief than was
intended. Oh. yes, got it out, but the
little one had to suffer good deal of
pain first. A little while ago [ was
called out one afternoon TO see man
who, was told. had fallen into fit
while dining. found that he had
made bet with his brother that lie
would eat beefsteak weighing ten
ounces, with potatoes, bread and beer,
in five minutes. As good start off he
had cut piece of the pacat about as
large as three of your fingers. Putting
it into his mouth he had attempted the
feat of swallowing it at one gulp. The
great lump of meat had got down just
over the epiglottis and stuck tight there
He cduldn't get it up nor down. Of
course he couldn't breathe, so he choled
when arrived he was black in the
face and the excitement in the house
was great. Well. hadn't come pre-
pared for this, but of course in my
pocket case l always carry a small pair
of forceps, so hadn't very great deal
of difficulty in taking away the obstruc-
ton. The man recovered, but if had
come q quarter of an hour later he would
have been dead.
81 remember a rather sad case that
happened at Bustleton few years ago.
A farmer had come home from work to
dinner. His wife, among otheulainties,
had prepared some boiled onions for him.
In his haste to return to the field he put
a small onion in his mouth, which, being
too hot for comfort, he swallowed to get
rid of. 1t stuck about half way down
the gullet. Inflammation set In and the
poor man was in intense agony. A doc
tor was sent for who succeeded in push
ing the onion down into the stomach.
The gullet, however, had swollen and
the windpipe became INSTRUCTED. AS q
desperate though necessary resource,
tracheotomy was performed, but the poor
fellow died during the night,
Some fifty years ago there was mon
strosity travelling around The country
who used to exhibit his strange appetite
for stones. He would swallow a hand
full of rough stones. bits of iron. broken
up china, and would wind up his enter
tainment By chewing common glass
tumbler to bits and swallowing it. Then,
to prove that ne had really taken all this
into his inside, he would juFnp about, al
lowing the stones and iron to rattle I