Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-07-21
eoWsEa ANDTHE DRUGoIsT.7

don't exactly like the house in
which | live and the neighborhood is
|, by no means what | would have it,
but have continued to stick for the
last two or three years simply to see
the thing out between Mr.. Bowser and
his family druggist, writes NJ. Quad in
the american Druggist. The "affair"
began three or four years ago, when
the corner drug store changed hands
and stranger took possession. Mr..
Bowser was one of the first to call.
He looked the new man over and then
observed:
"You are supposed to know your
business as druggist and hope you
do. This is no neighborhood for a
man who puts up arsenic for quinine.
You'd better turn a hundred prescrip-
tions away than make one blunder."
al think can run this business" +"
replied the druggist, with all proper
dignity.
"Well, perhaps you can, but it will
be we'll to keep your eyes open. l
shall trade with you more or less, and
if you make blunder you'll find a
man who'll follow you to your grave"
"You might take your custom else
where"
"But don't propose to. This is a
drug store and you are supposed to be
druggist. l shall get what l want i'll
the drug line right here. Only, as l
remarked before, don't try to put up
prescriptions and watch dog fight at
the same time."
That was the beginning. Tie drug
gist decided that Mr.. Bowser was an
old crank and that the less he saw Of
him the better, and Mr.. Bowser decid-
ed that the druggist was too mighty in.
dependent and needed to be taken
down few pegs. There was another
drug store only block away, but he
would do all his buying at this one
out of spite. 1t wasn't three days be-
fore he felt anguish and wanted quiz
nine, and he dropped in to say:
"If you think you can put up a
quarters worth OF two-grain quinine
capsules go ahead and do it, but don't
ring in morphine or strychnine on
me-"
"For fear of mistakes you had bet
ter 60 elsewhere" replied the druggist.
"Pll be hanged if doW shouted
Mr.. Bowser as he pounded on the
counter. "You are either a druggist
or not druggist. You either know
enough to put up quinine capsules or
you don't. stand on my rights"
The druggist to0k the bluff and put
up the quinine, but as he closed the
deal he couldn't help saying:
"There are folks in this neighbor-
hood who seem to 60 with a crank"
"And there are druggists around
here who want to haul in their horns
if they expect to keep out of bank.
ruptcy!" replied Mr.. Bowser as he
walked out.
In time the two men came to respect
and like each other, singular as it
may seem, although Mr.. Bowser never
entered the drug store that row
didn't result. He was determined to
humble that druggist or perish, and
the druggist was determined to main
tain his independence if his sales
didn't 60 above cake of ca mphor ice.
There were times when We, who were
lookers.on, decided that Mr.. Bowser
had the best of it. He'd drop in about
8 o'clock of an evening after castor oil
or squills for young Bowser, and as he
received the bottle he would shake his
head and soberly remark:
MAY possibly be all right, but l
dunno-dunno. You were gawpiug
all around the store as you put it up,
and it's a chance you haven't worked
something else in."
"Then you'd better leave it," the
druggist would reply.
all do nothing of the kind! If
this turns out to be another blunder
up you 60 to a lamp postp
"Bowser, you're crank"
"And you ought to be running a
carpenter shopl"
AS near midnight as possible the
druggist, who lived over the store,
would be jumped out of bed by the fu-
rious ring Of his night bell and upon
rushing down stairs would find Bow.
ser and be greeted with:
81 told you you'd mixed poison
with that castor oilp
But l didn'tW
"But you did! / gave the boy a
dose at 9 o'clock and he's now in con-
vuIsiOns! If don't have you dang
ling from lamp post before you're
an hour older then my name isn't
Bowserp
Then Bowser would rush off and
leave the druggist to sweat and swear
through the rest of the night and
hear no more of the case for two or
three days. 1t was at such times that
Mr.. Bowser had the best of it, but the
druggist never failed to come back at
him. If Bowser dropped in when
there were three or four other people
present he'd be publicly saluted with ::
"Good evening, Mr.. Bowser-good
evening. Just wait q minute and I'll