Athothis : a satire on modern medicine / by Thomas C. Minor.

to grow angry, for he exclaimed: " Madam, do you de- sire to see your husband restored to health?" And the poor wife, clasping her hands nervously, replied : " I would lay down my life for him ! " Whereat, the physician, with even more vehemence, retorted: " Of course you would, like any other fool woman ! " then added, in a commanding voice, still extending the bank notes: " Here ! take this prescription immediately. Go to the grocer on the opposite corner. Buy a soup bone, vege- tables, bread, coffee, tea, butter, sugar, and milk ! Eat! and make your husband and child eat, for it's very evi- dent you are all starving. Do what I bid, madam, and your husband will recover. His life is now in your hands." The woman accepted the money, but the sick man, in a chiding way, exclaimed : " Doctor, this is not right, I can never repay you, for I shall never be able to rise from this bed again." " Nonsense ! " answered the doc- tor, " I will have you all right in another month, and, in the meantime, I will hunt you up some work so that you may repay me the money necessary for your support until such a time as you recover." Then, turning to the woman, he remarked : " The sooner you make soup for this man the better, for he needs soup, good nutritious soup ! Put in plenty of vegetables, especially onions; don't forget to buy onions ! Do you hear? Onions! I will bring some medicine this evening, but for the pres- ent, soup. Do you understand? Soup with onioDS !" And, rushing to the door, Doctor Soother disappeared; and as his heavy and rapid footsteps echoed along the tenement house stairs, and finally were lost in the dis- tance, two pairs of lips murmured: " God bless him !" " That was an old time type of a doctor," said Atho-