Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-13
At the End Of the Rainbow.
GETTING THE FACTS.
BY WALT MASON.
BY WALT MASON.

did you know that Mrs. Chrome is
dangerously ill?' inquired Mrs. Quigway.
mo: that's news to me-" replied
Quigway. What ails her?'
''Oh. she's been ailing all summer. She
had as good health as any woman until
last spring. Then she went to see the first
base ball game Of the season, and sat for
two hours in cold grandstand, and
when she went home she was all covered
with goosefiesh and full Of influenza. I
could hear her sneezing three blocks away
as she was going home. Mrs. Birthstone
was spending the afternoon with me that
day, and I said to her at the time: You
mark my words. Mrs Birthstone. that
poor woman will be in the hands OF the
doctors tomorrow And. sure enough.
she was. 1 advised her against going to
the game. feeling sure that she was TAX
ing her life in her hands. for we had sad
experiences in our own family. which
showed that there's nothing more dan
gerous than spring cold.
"My father was always a great man
for being outdoors, and 1t was almost i'm
possible to keep him in the house II the
sun happened to be shining. One Sun
day he stayed home from church. and
when the rest OF us returned rom the
porch In his shirt sleeves, and mother
fairly wrung her hands and wept. That
foolish man. says she, vii! be down with
pink eye or epizootic, or something before
human beings so she made him 30 Into
the house, and then she made him several
quarts Of ginger tea and filled tuo with
hot water. and he had to soak his feet
all afternoon. and the language he used
was a sight to b seen. Mother was the
best woman in the world, but when she
made up her mind that somebody needed
doctoring, that somebody had to be doc
tored, no matter how he screamed.
Zone evening q stranger came to our
house and asked IL he couldn't stay all
night. Father was very hospitaDie ana
never turned anybody from his door. ana
SO the stranger, who WIS a very melan-
cholv looking man, was shown into the
spare room, and he went to bed at once
After a while we heard him groaning, and
mother listened for a time and then saio:
That poor man is getting pneumonia.
thing will have to be done at once. L
wouldn't have a stranger die in this
house for anything. The neighhors would
be sure to say we murdered him Tor his
money; and l don't propose 70 Ds , S,assec
Mother was the most determined woman
Won ever saw, and when she made up her
mind to do q thing 1t was as good as
done.
$50 she went to the cupboard and
poured out a big spoonful of cod liver
oil. She always had great faith in cod
liver OIL probably because 1t tasted like
a coroner's inquest in China. as father
used to say. Then she stepped up to the
strangers bedside and told him to drink
it. He started to say something. but she
had no patience with people who protest.
ed against taking medicine when they
were i'll, so she seized his nose and poured
the oil down his throat. The shrek that
poor man gave rings in my ears even
now Father and the boys all had to rush
ing what he would have done. 1t turned
out that the poor man had an attack or
toothache, which made him groan. and
he looked upon the dose OF cod liver oil
as adding insult to injury.
Mother was always happy wnen Aunt
Sarah came to our house, for Aunt Sarah
had at least q dozen diseases. ana really
enjoyed taking medicine: While she was
visiting us the house smelled like drug
store. and mother was 50 busy making
dog fennel tea and burdock broth and
such things that she hadn't time to cook
our meals, One evening she brewed
quart of some kind OF tea ana went 10
sprinkle some cinnamon in 1t to give IL q
good flavor, but " mistake she used
CAYENNE pepper. Aunt Sarah drank
pint of it before she realized that some
one had blundered. The poor woman
jumped over four chairs and then through
the window. taking the sash with her, and
then took a header into the cistern: ana
father had an awful time getting her out
She never came to our place again
s.Pm much Obliged to you for this In
teresting information about Mrs. Chro-
mo-" said Quigway. with some sarcasm.