Morning journal and courier., 1891-08-08
AN OLD NEW ENGLAND DOCTOR And the Mysterfous Explosion of His
 '- E- Wig.


 [Alice Morse Earle in Atlantic Monthly.l a, This country doctor had not studied deeply in college and in hospital; nor had he taken any long courses of instruction in foreign schools and universities. When he had decided to become doctor he had simply ridden with an old established phy- sician-ridden iterally-in a half menil, half medical capacity. He had cared for the doctors horse, swept the doctors office, run the doctors errands, pounded drugs, gathered herbs, and mixed plasters, until be was fitted to 'triden for himself. Then he had applied to the court and received licence 10 practice-thAt was all. I doubt not that this book of mine and a few Latin treatises thathe could hardly deciph- CT formed his entire pharmacopaiA. As he had chanced to inherit a small fortune from a relative, he became quite a physi- cisn; for in colonial days wealth and posi- ton were essential as were learning and experience to enable one 10 become good doctor.
 like to think of the rich and pompous old doctor a-riding out to see his patients, clad in his suit of sober brown or claret color with great shining buttons made of silver coins. The full skirted coat had great pockets and flaps, as did the long waistcoat that reached well over the hips. Rather short were the sleeves of the coat, to show the white ruffies and frills st the wrist; but the forearm was well protected in cold weather by the long gauntlets of his riding gloves and by his muffetees. Full knee brooches dressed his shApely legs, while fine silk stockings and blckled shoes displayed his well-turned calves and ank- les. But in muddy weather high leather boots took the place of fine hose and shoes, and his handsome brooches were covered with a long tow overals, or 'stongs,n as they were called. On his head the doctor wore cooked hat and wig. He owned and wore in turn wigs of different sizes and dignity-ties, bags, periwigs and bobs. His portrait was painted in a full-bottomed wig that rivaled the lord chancellor's in size; but his every day riding wig was rather commonplace horsehair affair with | a stiff eelskin one One wig he lost by a mysterious accident one day while he was | attending patient who was lying i'll of fever, of which the crisis seemed at hand. The doctor decided to remain all night, and sat down by the tablein the sick mans room. The hours passed slowly away. Physician and nurse and goodwife talked and droned on; the sick man moaned and tossed in his bed and begged fruitlessly | for water. At last the room grew silent; | the tired watchers doZed in their chairs; the doctor nodded and nodded, bringing | his eelskin cue dangerously near the flame of the candle that stood on the table. Sud denly there was heard violent explosion, a hiss, a siZzle; and when the smoke cleared, and the terrified occupants of the room | collected their senses, the nurse and wife were discovered under the valance of the | bed: the doctor stood, scorched and bare headed, looking for his wig; while the sick man, who had jumped out of bed in the | confusion and captured a pitcher of water, drunk half the contents and thrown the | remainder over the doctors head, was ly- l ing behind the bed curtains laughing hys- tericslly al the ridiculous appearance of the man of medicine. Instant death was pre- dicted for the invalid, who, strange to say, either from the laughter or the water, be- | gan to recover from that moment The l terrified physician was uncertain whether he ought to attribute the explosion and confAgrstion of his wig to a violent demon stration of the devil in his effort 10 obtain possession of the sick mans soul, or to the planets, or to the new-fAngled power of electricity which Doctor Franklin had just I discovered, and was making so much talk
 Ahout, and was so recklessly iinkering with
 in Philadelphia at that very time. The doctor had strongly disspprOved of Frank lin's reprehensible and meddlssOme bold ness, but he felt that it was best, neverthe- less, to write and to obtain the philos- pher's advice as to the feasibility, advisa- bility and best convenience of having one of the new, lightning rods rigged upon his
 medical back, and running thence up through his wig, thus uarding off further alarming accident. Ere this was done the mystery of the explosion was solved. | When the doctors new wig arrived from | Rnsfnu ba oraered bis Indian sera-ans sn powder it well ere it was worn. He was mortified to see Noantum give the wig a liberal sprinkling of gunpowder from the powder-horn, instead of starch from the dredging box So the explosion of the old | wig was now longer assigned to disboli- cal, thaumaturgical or meteorological in- | fiuences.