Dear Captain Billy—What is the difference between Spanish Flu and Spanish Fly?—Swede Harriet.

Spanish Flu is a disease. Spanish Fly is a drug, technically known as cantharides and is used as a plaster to cure rheumatism.

* * *

Dear Billy—I am infatuated with a handsome young man from Akron, Ohio, but when he comes to visit me in a neighboring village he acts so embarrassed and appears always to be in a mood of deep thought. Do you suppose he wants to pop the question but hasn’t the nerve?—Hellenic Helen.

Now, Hellenic Helen, how in Hell’s Gate or Helena do I know? Overlook his seeming taciturnity and remember that “deep rivers move with silent majesty; small brooks are noisy as hell, and actions speak louder than words.”

* * *

Dear Doctor Billy—Please give me the definition of the spinal column.—Slippery Lizz.

It’s a long disjointed bone, covered with knots—your head sits on one end and you sit on the other.

* * *

Dear Captain Bill—What is meant by “bigamy?” Dandy Dillon.