Such persons, if females, usually come into the city for the double purpose of seeing a doctor, or a dozen, and shopping,—doing the shopping first; tramping from one end of the city to the other, visiting the doctor last, with bundles and boxes by the score, “in a great hurry; must catch a certain train; all tired out;” making the opportunity for diagnosis an unfavorable one, and not unusually asking the doctor—a stranger, perhaps—to trust them till they come again.
A SHOPPING PATIENT.
Whoever “O. Shaw” may be, he knows a thing or two. Hear him.
An Affectionate Wife.
A poor mechanic, three weeks after marriage, was addressed by his wife thus:—
“Harry, don’t you think a new silk dress would become my beauty?”
He answered affirmatively, of course, and promised that when his present job was completed, which would be in about a fortnight, the necessary stamps would be forthcoming, and that she might then array her loveliness in the wished-for dress. The affectionate wife kissed him, and thus rewarded his generosity. Three days afterwards the man met with an accident, and was brought home on a shutter, and it was evident that for weeks he would be confined to his bed. On beholding him, his wife gave vent to repeated outbursts of agony, as an affectionate woman should, considering the cause. This touched the unfortunate man, and he said, consolingly,—
“Dry your tears, dear Nettie; I’ll be all right again in a few weeks.”
“Perhaps you may,” she answered; “but all your earnings for a long time after you resume work will be required to pay your doctor’s bill, and you won’t be able to get me that new silk dress.”—O. Shaw.