The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-01-31
A Doctors Waiting Room.

10 GnC DcSG VI NY TtGoileC9ioh oikSto
is an old saying, not in the least COM
forting to an outsider-the man on the
fence-which assumes that misery
loves company" If there is any place
where this automatic proverb finds a
complete and peculiar halo of glory
attendant upon it, it is in the waiting
room of medical specialist say, for
an instance merely, that the waiting
room of an oculist be taken as an ex-
ample, or; better, as an illustration.
1t was only few days ago that
while coming from Macon I succeeded
in getting cinder firmly transplanted
in my eye. All of my efforts to get it
out were unavailing. The rubbing
and amateurish efforts to relieve the
pain only made it the worse, and when
I stepped into the Office Of an oculist
my injured eye was considerably lrrl-
tated and swollen, while the other
was bloodshot and panied from what l
afterwards learned was "sympathy. "
Sitting in the room were two patients
who had preceded me-a little girl and
very old man. I was surprised at
this, since it was only 8 o'clock in the
morning and I had thought to be the
first patient. The old man had large
rcd cloth tied firmly across his mouth
and wore pair of large, dark blue
glasses. When he became tired OF
sitting down he hobbled about the
room with the aid of crutches, as one
leg was gone. The little girl had
rather short, curly, red.tinged hair,
mischievous brown eyes, snub nose,
saucy little mouth. A silk hand
kerchief tied carefully about her
throat was the only indication of the
necessity of her presence in this room
of afaiction and malady. She was
hardly more than ten years old. l
walked in, stood by the stove a min
ute, took turn about the room and
finally sat down in chair near the
little girl she was the preferable
company, I thought.
She wasn't long making my acquain-
tance. -.
"say," said she, "you're new one,
ain It you 2 Well, I thought you was,
cause you looked like you felt kinder
scary. I was scary wen I first come,
too, but I've got over it"
I told her that this was my first
trip.
"It won't be your last, cause 1
know how Doc does," she continued
wisely. "You've got somethin' the
matter with your eye, amt you = l
nodded and told her I had. 'Well,
Doc'll take you in an look at you, an
shake his head like somethin' awful
was the matter; but don't you get
scary, cause they ain't. That's the
way he does. Then he'll take milky
scope and look in your eye and shake
his head agin. Then he'll set down
and commence to write out prescrip-
ton for you, an he'll get up an look
in your eye agin. Then he'll finish
writing the prescription and tell you
to be mighty careful Of yourself, to
come back again tomorrow an two
times'll cost you s6, and 40 cents for
the prescription.
"I been comm here most three
months now, and amt we'll yet. l
had the dipferia and the doc says l
haven't got over it yet so you see it
costs somethin' to be sick. Now,
there that oil fellow over there now.
He's been comm longer than me.
He use ter come blindfolded, but he's
wearin' glasses now, an somethin's
the matter with his bronchis tubes,
and he amt got but one leg. That's
worse. l don't know what I'd do if 1
didn't have but one leg. I guess he's
use ter it. He always goes in ahead
of me, no matter how soon [ come.
Doc amt come yet or he'd be inside.
At this interesting portion of the
naughty girls conversation lady in
furs entered the room. She was
richly dressed and wore pair of gold
glasses.
"You see her? whispered the
little girl. "She's rich folks. Doc
told me it was a case Of eye-open r
with her.
"Myopia, suggested, timidly, and
the naughty girl frowncd and said,
maybe" i"
"Well, anyway" she continued, "I
don't like her. I kinder think she's
stuck on the doc, cause he's awful
clever to her, an he says she always
pays spang-up all the time. l
wouldn't be him." she suddenly