The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-09-21

"'See we're, doctor; hold on a Dill.
Some years ago when / lived down IN
Arkansaw had the shakes orful, n
ouack down there gin me calermel,
witch salervated me tibet bad lost
erbout half my teeth. Soon's got SO
could git eroun' l went a gunnin' Ter
tibet quack, but somebody gin him
PINT tibet l was arter him n he cPared
out. then tuck mortyal oath. m I'll
keep it, too, tibet eff any other Teller
gives me err dose er calermel I'll kill
him eff hangs fer it the mex minnit.
1.-THE man looked as If he would keep
his oath as he repeated:
"I say, now, that do look orful like
calermel. Be it calesmel?"
"'Why certainly not fastened to
assure him. DO you suppose I'd give
you such poison as that?"
"'What be it, then?' he persisted.
"'This powder? Well, you see, we
doctors are not in the habit of giving
our secrets out to every body, but l
know it will be safe with you, so I'll
tell you. This is hydrarg. chlor. mite.
LAS you know, l merely read from
the label on the jar, the abbrevistion
of the technical name for calomel.
He took the calomel with the quiniue
gave him and went away entirely
satisfied"
"Do you always give medicine when
you find patient who insists upon
having some?"
''By no means. A short time ago [
was called all in hurry to a prosper
Gus merchant. His face was pallid,
and cold sweat covered his brow.
His weeping wife met me in the hall
and declared ne was dying. The
man himself in feeble tones and with
choking voice confirmed this statement.
l took d seat by his bedside, felt his
pulse and examined his eyes. He i'm
portuned me to haste with the ap-
plication of remedies, and his wife.
who had followed me into the bed
chamber, regarded me with reproach-
full eyes because of my deliberateness.
Instead of yielding to his request l
told him bit of gossip. He is an
ardent politician, and repeated a
story told me by a friend that day
about certain local politician well
known to both of us. 1t was very
funny, but failed to provoke my patient
to laughter. Instead, he interrupted
me several times during its recital with
urgent entreaties that relieve his suf-
fering, declaring that the death dew
was on his brow and that his limbs had
lost all feeling.
Changing my tactics. started up a
topic in which l knew he took interest
and adroitly presented it in such a
manner as compelled him to take the
opposing side. During the next quar-
ter of an hour he would begin an APP
peal for relief, but my persistent, pur-
posed misstatement of fact so worked
upon him that he would not complete
his demand, but broke off to confute
what had but then said Within a
half hour he was sitting up talking
animatedly and vigorously, with height
ened color of excitement in his cheeks
Soon he arose from his bed and became
so animated that he strobe up and
down the floor, his wife having in the
meantime brought his study-gown,
which he put on.
when he was completely restored
in mind to normal condition, l arose,
took my hat, and said, as | was about
to leave:
1.-The next time you wish to take
ginger sweat don't drink more than a
gill of the essence or extract, but if you
should don't mistake your condition
for that of dying man. He had been
troubled with some sort of pain; had
mixed ginger extract with sugar, found
it palataDle, and swallowed within an
hour or SO half a hundred ordinary
Doses"
You do find it needful to give bread
pills, sweetened water and other harm
less doses?"
Cant help it. If our patients would
but place entire confidence in us and
take our word for it when we assure
them that they need no medicine, we
wouldn't find such recourse necessary.
An estimable lady of highly wrought
temperament when but sixteen years
old, was married to coarse, vulgar
fellow. from whom she separated a
year or two later. Her troubles during
this period and the modification of the
notoriety attaching to the divorce pro-
ceedings left her in anervous state and
she became filled with all sorts of
imaginings. l advised a change of
climate, but she refused to leave. As
time passed she improved physically
despite her nerves. But Increase was
somewhat anomalous. With excellent
appetite, and though sleeping we'll, all
sorts of vagaries seized her. One day
she would send for me and insist that
she was dying from enlargement of the
liver; at another time she was just as
positive that her heart was diseased be-
yond help. Thus one malady after an
other came in quick succession. She did
not require medicine, and l could not
consistently prescribe it. Hence gave
her compound of simple sirup and