The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-09-12
American Ingenuity.
Adapted from the German by M. R. M"

Mr.. Brown was dentist and his special
tywas the insertion of artificial teeth. He
lived in small house in Newark and al
though he worked diligently he could
hardly make living for himself and
family, Remarkable as it seems, but never
theless true, it is not every dentist who
makes fortune and Mr.. Brown often
worried about the future. But at last for
tune smiled on him unexpectedly
Next to his house was the villa of an old
man of peculiar habits. The old man was
no more than an acquaintance of Brown
and when he died nobody was more sur
prised than Brown himself when he
learned that the old man had willed him
the grand yilla-but under one condition
This was the clause as entered in the
will: 81 am lover of mankind and like
to do good to poor people, therefore | will
my entire possessions to Mr., Brown, dentist,
under one condition, and that is that he
must for three years insert teeth for every
poor applicant free of charge And to let
this be known he must fasten a sign over
his door with the following inscription,
painted in large and easily discernible
letters. teeth inserted here free of
charge"
Brown for the moment, was glad to &C.
cept the villa under the stated condition,
but soon afterwards he reflected seriously.
The clause in the will was certainly disa-
greeable to him, because the poor people
would spoil his practice and besides if
many poor people should apply to take
advantage of the offer he would have lit
tie, or no time to earn any money, And
what was worse he expected that not
alone poor people but any humble of vaga-
bonds and tramps would be tempted to
try the experiment just because it was
without cost. He was already thinking
about refusing the offer when he thought
of his friend Smith who was very shrewd
and decided to consult him and + get his
advice about either accepting or refusing
the offer. Smith listened to him atten-
lively and after little thinking he said :
"You must certainly accept the bequest
you cannot afford to refuse, and about the
clause, we must find some way out of it,
r of course you can not work three
years for nothing. My advice is this :
Keep your old office and Practice there
only upon payment, and move into the
villa with your family and consider it
your home. | will attend to your sign,
and if anybody wants to have teeth in
serted which very much doubt you will
have to be called from your office and
come to your house to do what the appli-
cant demands.
Brown left his friend very much in
doubt, as the matter was still not clear to
him, but he put faith in his friend and
decided to do what he said.
After few days, Brown was made the
recipient of the sign-the product of his
friends ingenuity. He could not repress
hls merriment when the force of the joke
first struck him in the region of his risi-
bilities. Shaking with laughter, he nailed
it to the door of the villa garden.
The period of three years passed, Brown
had carried out the provisions of the will
and the magnificent property was really
and truly his. To the reader who is with
out knowledge of the exact character OF
the sign, it msy seem very strange that,
during the entire three years. not one had
applied to take advantage of the generous
offer The reader, however, is not to I'M
derstand from this that all the people of
the neighborhood were fully supplied
with teeth; it was, more likely, the par
ticular character of the insertion offered
that deferred the deserving poor.
For the sign not only bore the necessary
inscription, teeth inserted free of charge"
but, above the lettering, there glared at
the observer, the pictured representation
of ferocious bulldog, with blood-shot
eyes. and protruding and plainly visible
teeth
Was it any wonder that Dentist Brown
was untroubled by any applicants for a
share of the benevolence of the late-de-
ceased owner of the villa?