The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-10-08
THE DRUGGISTS FRIEND.

THE DRUGGISTS FRIEND.
My dear boy" said the druggist, us
he laid his hand on my shoulder in a
fatberly way. this running a drug
store is one of the pleasantest things Of
life There is nothing to annoy you
or put you out. Everything flows on
as placidly as a river to the sea. You
sometimes fairly long for something to
irritate or annoy you. You have lame
foot and can't get about, SO suppose
you come in and make yourself COM
Portable and spend the day with me. I
want you to see particular phase OF
this profession-the callers who drop in
to give me greeting and help to make
life worth the. living. ts-..s. $50
Next morning at s o'clock found rne
at the drug store. Two men had called
before I got there One had dropped
in to ask the druggist why he didn't
open an ice cream parlor in connection
with the store, and the other had a
dispute with his wife as to whether
skunk's oil or goose grease was the
best for case of Group. and he want
cd il decided.
The third man entered with me. No.
doubt he meant to- get around sooner
but he had been detained somewhere
He entered at a pace which was lux
uriously lazy, and his whole demeanor
proved that he expected warm wei
come. - 4ei $50
We'll, Taylor. what dye think hap
pened down on. 1Seeond Place last
he, asked, as he lifted the cover
of a jar and helped himself to half a
dozen slippery elm torches. 7
Have no idea.
Come out here till 1 tell you''
INN bottling cough syrup and must
rush it along" a. 's4
Cough syrup. chi? That reminds me
that I haven't had cold for three
years. Say, you know Fatty Brown, of
course?"
"Well?"
He threw stone at cat last even
ing and hit one of the White boys in
the eye Ever hear of such a thing in
all your life2 If he gets out of it. for
about thousand dollars he'll be lucky
Why don't you come out and talk
awhile? The grocer wanted me TO stop
and tell him all about that accident
down to Coney Island. but 1 felt you
would rather be expecting me-
"I'm-Im very busy said the Grus-
gist, but putting lots of excuses in his
'1Oh, you are. Well. so am L I've
got a dozen places to go to this fore
noon and don't know which to take
first
succession, and then a woman entered
accompanied by her nurse girl and baby.
She looked anxious and nervous, and as
the druggist came forward she SAID:
Doctor, 1 was thinking of going to
Coney Island but I have been told that
babies get sand in their ears down
there. Could you tell"
Il am not a DOCTOR modest1y replied
the druggist.
wei. it seems as if you ought to be
able to tell wether my baby would get
sand in his ears or not. If he should"
Then you hold him over your arm,
thus. and let it run out again
She looked at him long minute to
see whether he was in earnest or not
and then her face flushed and she
walked stiff1v out of the store. The
druggist was telling me that the wo-
man had come in almost every day for
eight months to talk about that baby.
but never to MAKE purchase. when
Z Say, Doc I heard mighty good
joke down at Frisbie's just now. and
stopped in TO tell it to you. A New
Yorker who visited Denver for the first
time was going along
I'm very busy, Mr. Wanless. inter-
rupted the druggist
but you like a joke. and this is a
ripper The New Yorker was going
along -
Yes. but excuse me, please"
''You don't want to hear it?'
81 haven't time today. Come in some
other dav
Not by blamed sight. I haven't
got to make a date with a man to tell
him a Joke
Mr.. Wanless went out, feeling mad
and hurt, but another and another bore
took his place. Durig the day they
dropped in to the number of fifty. They
wanted to tell the news, to ask the
news, and to be friendly. Each and
every one expected the druggist to drop
everything and give them at least a
quarter of an hour of his time. They
wanted to discuss the war. politics.
crime, the weather and what not, and
they were astonished. put out, and
hurt when he refused to gossip and
argue. After ten hours of it I got up
to hobble home. and the druggist kind
ly got my crutch and gave me start.
and said:
"Thev talk about the human nature
to be studied on the street cars and in
the crowds my boy. but when you
want straight goods and a yard wide
this is the place to find it. / have
about 500 boFes who call during the
week You haven't seen over forty of
'e1n today. but maybe you have a dim
idea of how the old thing works-just
a g1immering, you ow."-( Copyright,
1903, by C. B. Lewis.1
The Black Diamond says that the cool
weather has brought about notable I'M
provement' in the coal trade. This. how