The Arizona sentinel., 1886-12-04
IMAGINARY ILLS.
Queer Notions Entertained by Many Timid
 Men and Women.

Men and Women.
 A young man hastened into drug store on West Madison street the other day, and with quick step was soon at the side of the proprietor.
 Doctor" said he, addressing the tEe drugg's', and speaking in rapid, nervous voice which betrayed his ex- citement, ''this little scratch on my hand was made by rusty na'l-it's bothering me good deal; you know lock-iaw comes in thls way. Try and fix me up all right"
 The physician looked at his patient closely for a moment and saw slender young man about twenty-sjX years old, with thin, delicate features, smooth skin, and long, slender hands "A highly nervous temperament" " the phys; elan said to himself, then glanced at the wounded palm which had sent him his patient. It was little bruise about the size of a half-pea, d deep-red color in the center where the skin had been torn and fading into a pink shade toward the sides.
 "Sore?" asked the physician.
 "Well, not very painful, " replied the young man, 'only it bothers me. l scratched the palm of my hand on an old plank and got this. Of course it doesn't amount to any thing now, but l am afraid it might lead to lockjaw if something ain't done. I'd rather get the start of lockiaw than to have it get the start of me. 1 want something to head off that malady if possible" "
 The young man spoke with h's accus- toned rap dity. He was in an acute nervous state.
 You have something, doctor?" he asked. and the physician replied:
 ''Oh, yes; I'll fix you out in no time. "
 The man of drugs went behind his counter, busted himself with a number of big bottles for brief while, then emerged with small vial in his hand and told his patient to swallow tea spoonful of the mixture once every few hours and to come to the drug store the next day and report how he was getting along. The young man walked rapidly away. and as he disappeared down the
 
 "Now, he'll run to h S room and swallow that stuff as I tod him to do, and it won't have any more effect on him than so much drinking water.
 "Why," exclaimed the layman, who was an eye-w tness to the scene, ''isn' that medicine intended to ward off lock jaw? That is what he asked for.
 Hell have no more lockiaw than you," declared the drug man, in a merry voice. Why, there is ab- solutely nothing whatever the matter with him. That wound in his hand, a mere scratch! He would never have noticed it if he hadn't got hold of some blamed book or paper telling how easy lock-jaw is caused. You saw how thin he was, how excited he talked. Well, the young man is constitutionally nervous. He got that scratch on his hand and his nervous fears at once con- jured up the terrors of loclljaw, so he posted off here to me.
 ''I had to do something for him, though; if I didn't some one else would But the whole truth of the matter is that his case simply illustrates the truth of the old saying that a little learning is dangerous thing If he hadn't read that silly stuff about lock jaw and allowed his fears to get the best of him he'd be several dollars ahead just now and in much better frame of mind, too"
 Do you have many such eases where people come to you for the relief from a danger that does not threaten them?"
 ''Lots. The hydrophobia craze-or crank is the better worlds represented here every few days. Men and women, some of them with tiny scratch on a finger which they say was caused by dogs tooth, want medicine to neutral ize the poison they think is in their sys- tens. Half the time these scratches are not made by dog at all, but the peo- pie think they are, because possibly they may have caressed a little dog some time during the day. The other half are deluded by fear, but they are really concerned in having physician attend them. and, of course, that is what am here for."
 "Any other cases?"
 "Yes, the drunkard who thinks he is going to have delirium tremens. The nervous state following debauch is prolific of some exciting fancies, not the least of which is that the victim believes he is going to have the iim-jams. These eases, however, require med cine. "- Chicu1O NemS.