Cijo^e Beuti^t^. 125 



dentist, or, if so, charge him very considerably more, 

 for undoubtedly such pictures, or their likes, if seen 

 again under the most auspicious circumstances will 

 not inspire one with the same unalloyed feelings of 

 delight as if other recollections were not brought 

 very vividly to your mind by them as well. For, 

 mark you, my good Sir or Madam, we contemplate 

 them only before ''the operation," and not after we 

 have obtained the relief we sought. Then, you may 

 recollect, we pay, and ungraciously hasten with scant 

 thanks from the scene, and in our freedom from pain 

 soon forget all about the brighter side of our bene- 

 factors art, if not his surroundings, in the humdrum 

 of the busy outside world in which we mingle 

 painlessly once more. 



O that repulsive velvet-seated chair ! O that 

 ostentatious washing of hands ! O that ominous 

 napkin and blue glass thingemybob ! That sewing- 

 machine, knife-grinding kind of treadmill ! That glass 

 of nauseously tepid water! That bundle of spillaken- 

 like instruments ; and, above all, that prominently 

 placed saucer containing gold — real gold ! We do 

 not forget one or any of you, if, perhaps, from 

 after-consultation with our looking-glass we may 

 have had, individually, grave cause to doubt the 

 latter's extensive application in our own case. But 

 no matter if the supposed gold hath subsequently a 



