Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1890-05-14
THE MAGIC BOTTLE.

How Daniel SIattery aud tho village of
Lackabeg Were Upsctby snif' oft.
@The ignorance of the average peasant
in Ireland, in regard to simple remedies
to alleviate pain, is dense as a New
foundland fog, said a resident OF New
York city, who had recently returned
from o trip through the Southern and
Western portions of the Emerald Isle.
The common ills of humanity, he con-
tinued, "such slight fevers, colds, rlieu.
matte twinges and headaches, are borne
with the stoicism of the North American
Indian. In some cases physician has
never entered the thatched cottage, even
in times Of direst stress. This is partly
due to ignorance, but In greater meas
ure to poverty. An incident illustrating
the lack OF knowledge Of the peasants in
the county of Kerry Of a simple drug in
ordinary use in America came under my
notice in the town of Tralee. ] had been
suffering from catarrhal headache.
To relieve it / bought a small heart
shaped bottle Of green glass, with .
plated silver top, containing concen~
trated ammonia / used it very care
fully, for the preparation was strong.
While seated in my hotel before a turf
fire taking a sniff now and then Of the
ammonia and experiencing the usual re-
lief, brawny peasant named Daniel
Slattery, from the hamlet of Lackabeg,
came in. AT sight of the bottle his cur
iosity was aroused Said he
That's quare little bottle ye hav',
sil
oh, it is common in America re-
piled.
"'And do ye tell me so,' exclaimed
Daniel with an accent Of surprise.
'Fwhat good is itr
cit will alleviate headache
aU~ha, is that thrue Shure and II ye
were alin' me, sir, hav' the headache
meself T
~'What kind Of q headache is 10,
NervousT
kind headache Is it, sir but as shure
as nails is nails, hav' it right under me
hair.
"The truth was that in all probable
ity Daniel had never had the headache
in his life. His object was to get hold
of the bottle. All the time the conver.
sation was going on he had been look
ing longingly at 1t, and his fingers were
itching to ger possession Of it. To pro-
long his suspense, and also to give him
an exaggerated idea of the curative
powers Of the contents Of the bottle,
took dainty sniff at il, and then showed
signs of lively satisfaction. Daniel sat
on nettles He squirmed with ardent
desire to handle the bottle, and yet his
sense of poIiteness restrained him from
making direct request r it 1t was
as good as play to watch him. At last
he became reused to such pitch of de-
sire that his scruples melted Like butter
in the tropics He blushed like a school
girl, stammered, and then with an
apologetic smile blurted out:
Akin yeer pardon, sir but w'u'd ye
give me trifle Of q shmeIl O the weeny
bottle, till see w'u'd It make me feel
any betther T
II handed him the bottle and lac -
ceived it with dainty touch. as II It had
been fragile flower. lie held It up 70
the light and looked through the green
glass at the contents.
asFaix, he exclaimed, the sthuf in
the bottle is Crane {
HE unscrewed the silver top and
fwirled It around on the end Of one Of
his calIoused fingers. When he had
amused himself for few minutes. ike .
child with anew toy, he received the bot
tie between his thumb and forefnger,
raised il to his nostrils, and drew in
deep breath. There was almost .
vacuum In the room after that inhaIa-
tion. He was seated when he made Il.
The effect was electrical He gasped
like dying Goldfish, and rose to stand
ing posture. The tears ran from his eyes.