The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-03-06

cOIuS, and mad the ln1uenZa ana all
other kinds of diseases, brought on by the
cEe ng cable winter weather, but, there
was 10 such thing as grippe among us
common people. They might have had
it among the rich people, but the poorer
classes were not able to indulge in such
high-sounding Frenchfiod complaint as
LaGrippe." l don't know who intro
duced the thing here, and, wishing him
no harm, l don't want to know; for /
am sure he is no friend of mine. l don t
complain at a bad cold, nor grumble
much, (however much may sneeze and
cough over a worse cold but the
grippe is something / have no patience
with, and am, by it, very much like old
Mrs. Aston used to say of the preacher,
who would come to see her and stay
week at a time. She said: II always
hate to see him come; I'm in a bad
hlmcr all the time he's here, and mighty
glad when he is gone" That expresses
my feelings about the grippe. exactly. for
I've had it. About ten years ago the
thing took me, or l took it: either would
be correct; and I've had annual vista
tions ever since. 1t is the grippiest
GrlITe that ever grip,>ed me. They say
that turtle, when he bites one, won't
let go mis- hold until it thunders; but
I've never heard any thunder that would
break the hold of the grippe. 1t makes
no difference whether the weather is
clear, or cloudy; raining, hailing or snow
ing, the grippe puts in its work. And it
is 10 respecter of persons, but like that
old fellow who goes about seeking whom
he may devour,. taking all and leaving
none, the grippe treats all alike, and just
as mean as possible
What is the grippe, anyhow? / know
it well enough by the way it treats me;
ret that I can tell it by sight, nor by
sound; but, it has a way of its own by
which it can make known its presence.
A fellow feels badly when he has a bad
cold: when he's got the tuoth-ache, the
earachP, or the headache; and feels
mighty bad also when he's got the rheu-
nlatism, the scatica or "lumbago;' but.
he don't know how badly a man can feel
Until he has the grippe.
Ii have a friend in this world who
is as fond of me as the grippe, l don't
know it. UNLIMITED and unwante6;
whether I'm busy or otherwise. here it
comes, and there's not a particle of use
of trying to excuse myself, for it will
take no excuse. but walk right in, hangs
up its hat, takes a seat and crosses
its legs and there it is; and there it's
goIng to stay until 1 have spent from
five to ten dollars to have it turned OUT.
That's my trouble right now, trying to
orst that most disagreeable visitor that
l rate to see come, that keeps me in bad
hrnor when here, and though driven
out a dozen times has no more manners
than TO come right back again.
Again l ask what is the grippe, and
where did it come from? Old DR.. keely
said it was the same thing as the cpl
ZootiC in army horses. That raises the
question did we catch the grippe from
horses. or did the horses catch the cpl
Zootic from us. / thought there must be
some horse power conneced With 1t, some
how; for it's strength is wonderful.
When you have sneezed enough to loose
the hair on your head, and eoughed
.eLoEgh to bring up things from the very
bottom, ard blown enough TO run a
Munchausen windmill, and begin TO in
duige the hope that you have broken
the grippe's grip, you find, after the
struggle is over that the grippe is still
holding its grip. Ten years ago. with
the aid of one of the best doctors in
Raleigh, ! tried to break the thing loose:
but, it held on week after week, and
though spring was coming on It showed
no signs of leaving me, l was getting
inpatient. aye becoming desperate, and
was willing to try any remedy As luck
would have 1t, l saw a statement in a
paper. made by DR.. keely, to the effect
that assafoetida would cure the worst
kind OF case of grippe, that he had tried
it in all sorts of cases and cured every
one The dose was sixteen grains four
times a day, making sixty-four grains
day l didn't know whether there was
any virtue in the assatoetida; but.
thought Id treat Mr.. Grippe to a few
doses of it anyhow; if it did nothing else
it might make his longer stay very un-
pleasant. So, for three days l swallowed
sixty-four grains of assafoetida a day.
a total Of one hundred and ninety-two
grains in the three days. Did l get we'll?
OF course l. did. Did the assafoetida cure
me? 1 don't know. Some of the doctors
who tried to tease me about my ASA
foetida remedy, said the supposed good
effect was imagination To which l re-
piled: 1T makes no difference which it
was, the assafoetida or Ihe imagination,
ST. l got clear of the grippe" But I've
had il since, repeatedly.
Yes, I've got the grippe right now;
throat is sore, my nose is stopped up,
my eyes arc running water, and, al
together, I'm feeling, as old Mr. Stokes
used to say. powerful bad" That's
the reason / am not writing an old time
story. I'm feeling too solemn for story
writing; and in too bad humor to try
to be funny. Coughing and sneezing take
me by turns. and pocket handkerchiefs
have to be changed so often I can't give
an idea half a chance to hatch out, be-
fore the whole thing has to be repeated
l wonder if Job ever had the grippe? I
cont expect an answer from any honest
Eible reader but l thought that tmaybe)
some of the advanced thinkers and
higher critics would like to try their
hands on it, as it's about on a Par with
the most of the questions they like to
tGtkle.
There is not much religion in the
grippe, nor is it, in any sense, means
III grace but, it certainly does make
follow feel his utter dependence and
causes him to place a hitherto unac-
knowledged high estimate upon the faith
fulness of the wife. who patiently bears