Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-07-31
CURING A COUGH.
A SEASONABLE STORY IN THESE DAYS
OF GRIP.

Even If the Point of the Whole Yarn
Is to Show How Not to Cure 1t, You
viii Admit You lave Learned
Something.
It certainly was rather a nasty cough,
but I think l should have got over it
without much suffering if Tookes had
not interfered. He said: "Don't you go
taking any beastly dangerous cough
mixtures with opium in them. Just get
some %licorice and break it up, and
keep a bit in your mouth-that'Il cure
you"
In a weak moment l took his advice.
1t was easy enough to get the l~icorice
i thought it wonderfully cheap, too
but breaking it up was quite another
matter. First I tried with my fingers,
and, 81 course, made no impression.
Then l used the hearthbroom, and at
once succeeded in smashing off a piece
of the handle. So I laid the ~licorice
on the table and banged it with the
poker; whereupon it flew across the
room, knocked over a vase, and fell into
the coal scuttle. I rescued it, wiped it,
and tried again, wrapping it in a hand
kerchief to prevent further accidents.
A succession of blows knocked several
holes in the handkerchief, but made not
the least impression on its contents. ]
got rather angry, as the exertion had
made me cough violently, and used the
poker with increased force. A caster
promptly came off one leg Of the table,
and the whole thing tilted over to one
side, shooting the lamp-unlighted, for
tunately-on to the floor. I cleared
away the broken glass and some of the
oil and went On with my labors. The
handkerchief was in rags by this time,
so I substituted several thicknesses Of
paper, put the parcel on the floor, and
hit it with all my strength. The blow
brought a cloud Of dust out of the car
pet, which nearly choked me, but that
little black roll was not even cracked. ]
took a short rest, during which interval
the people next door sent in to ask il
anything had gone wrong. My temper
had, but l didn't tell them SO. l took
off my coat and had another shot. In
five minutes l was in a violent perspira-
ton; the poker was considerably bent.
and the licorice, though badly bruised,
was unbroken.
l nerved myself for a final effort and
struck one tremendous blow for free
dom. Crack! at last! A piece had been
detached; but where was it? The main
body of the l~icorice was there, with g
Jagged edge, but the fragment had burst
through the paper and disappeared. l
hunted for it all over the room for ten
minutes; then | noticed a peculiar
smell and found the fragment burning
gayly in the fire. So all my trouble was
wasted. l sent for the coal hammer,
but, having some fear for the flooring.
| took the l~icorice outside and placed
it on a large stone. Then l swung the
hammer and struck home. Victory
The lump had suddenly and completely
collapsed. When I came to examine it
/ found an almost impalpable black
powder mixed with scraps of paper and
chips of stone, and not much of it al
that. I gave it up as a bad job, and
went indoors.
My cough WAS so greatly aggravated
by the dust and my exertions inside ant
the damp air in the garden, that l hat
to go to bed for a week, and spent most
of the time in saying rude things about
Tookes and the inventor of l~icorice az
an article of food. However, I have
learned something, and at the next
council meeting I shall propose that oul
roads, which are abominably soft, be in
the future mended with licorice, if II
can be broken into pieces Of a suitable
size by any instrument known to mod
Urn civilization. Judy.