The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-05-18
THE COMEDY OF A CORN.

How a K-Street Lady Performed the Feat
of Embarrassing a Book Agent.
A pretty young married woman who resides on
street has suffered long with corn. The corn
was located on the outside of the little toe of her
little left foot, and it gave her world of misery.
She tried various applications to destroy 1T to
relieve the pain, but in vain. Day by day the
small corn grew more and more troublesome.
The lady's husband advised her often to have it
cut out or otherwise removed by corn doctor.
But she was morbidly afraid of anything resem-
bling surgical operation, and then the idea of a
chiropodist handling her foot was not pleasing to
her. So the corn it grew and grew, and the un-
fortunate lady suffered tortures every time she
put shoe When this sort of thing had gone
on couple Of weeks the husband grew impa-
tient. He insisted that q corn-doctor should be
called in. 1t was the only way, he said, relief
could be had. So the poor little woman, half dis
tracted between the actual pain of the throbbing
and the anticipated pain of the toe surgeons
knife, yielded. AS the husband went down town
that morning he left the necessary order at the
chiropodists for an immediate call at the K-street
residence.
Meanwhile the wife gave orders to the servant
who opened the door that if Il man with a small
hand bag came to show him up to her sitting
room at once. Having made up her mind to en-
dure the ordeal, the lady sat down, womanlike,
and waited for the man with the knife she feared
so much to come on. Her mother, who lived in
the house, was with her to lend moral support
and while they waited they discussed the proba-
BILE pain of having corn cut out Thus, as the
minutes rolled by, the little wife became more
and more nervous, until at last her condition
| bordered on mild hystera.
An hour and half passed, the bell rang, and a
neatly-attired man stood in the vestibule with
! little bag in his hand The servant opened the
Walk right up stairs; she has been waiting for
| you this last hour"
the lady's room AS soon as he entered, and be-
fore he could put in a word the lady began
nervously removing the pretty shoe and blue
Il want to know if it's going. to hurt" she
broke out simultaneously, for If it is I'm not
going to let you touch it,
The man stood gazing at her with bewildered
"Yes," continued the lady rapidly, without
| giving him chance to get in a word, you're
have good mind not to have it done at ali
The man at this opened his mouth to speak, but
before he could do so the fidgety little woman
Now. you needn't say one word, because 1
know beforehand exactly what you are going to
say aboutno pam whatever. Doctors always tell
"But, madame" the man began.
mo, you needn't say it," the lady remon-
srated. Then, with desperate effort, as if hav-
ing screwed her courage up to the highest
notch, she thrust her little, pink foot from be-
meath her skirts, and said, determinedly: "Well,
The lady said afterward she thought the man
would faint but he managed to recover himself,
and, opening his satchel, drew out volume of
poetry or book of travels and commenced to
rattle OFF the usual speech of a book agent to the
effect of "having here the latest, most tasteful
and interesting book Of IF dt. the season etc. etc;
woman in the chair. The small pink foot was
hastily Withdrawn to cover beneath the skirt
there was slight scream, a futtering of dra,
| peries and the next instant the lady had hoped
into an adjoining room, while the mother hotly
demanded of the man who he was. He said he
was book agent.
He was speedily shown to the door by the ser
want and disappeared down the steps with grin
on his countenance broader than the street.
The real corn man shortly afterward put il
an appearance but he had to file a bond as tc
ms IDENTIFY De1ore me was aiIowea TO enter tnt
the little woman has now so far forgot the suffer
ing that she rather enjoys telling on herself thI
ridiculous adventure she had in getting rid O
her corn.