1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



body, and declared me physically sound in 

 every way. with the exception, of course, of the 

 malarial fever and the nervous condition of my 

 system. He said that what I have called par- 

 alysis of my right side was simply nervousness 

 brought onby too much mental work. As yet 

 there was no organic derangement aniiivhcre; 

 but he cautioned me that there soon would be 

 if I continued to abuse the good strong body 

 God had given me. When he spoke of my 

 paralysis I told him I should have to tell him 

 about the •" one-sided medicine " our own physi- 

 cian used in helping the chills on that special 

 side, and also in helping me out of some of my 

 notions I had for years held on to so tenaciously. 

 And I think, dear reader. I will tell you about 

 • it. After I awoke from that refi'eshing and 

 '"dreamless" sleep I told you about (after my 

 sleepless night of suffering) the doctor came in, 

 shaking vigorously in his hands a bottle of 

 labeled whisky. Said I. " Surely, doctor, you 

 are not going to give me whisky, "are you?" 



He knew all about my feelings in regard to 

 .alcohol, opium, and such like dangerous (dan- 

 gerous to both body and soul) drugs; and, dur- 

 ing my whole sickness, he has not prescribed 

 .any thing of the sort. In reply to my question 

 he said, "■ Why, this is the 'one-sided medicine' 

 I told you I would bring." 



" But, doctor, have I got to take itf " 



With a characteristic twinkle in his eye he 

 replied. "■ No, Mrs. Root must take it." 



Now. I am a firm believer, as you may all 

 know, in the doctrine that man and wife are 

 •one; yet in all of the triumphs that medicine 

 has made, even in recent times, I had never 

 before heard that a sick man might be cured 

 by giving the medicine to his wife, even though 

 the twain' rrre one. In answer to my perplexity 

 he replied. ■■ This one-sided medicine is simply 

 whisky and cayenne pepper. Your wife is to 

 take it, as I said, but she lakes it and bathes 

 your defective side when the chills come on. I 

 told you some time ago that the paralysis that 

 you worried about was little more than skin 

 deep — that there was no derangement at all 

 except an affection of the nei'ves that lie near 

 the surface. You are beginning to have con- 

 siderable faith in medicine, and now see the 

 demonstration of what I have been trying to 

 convince you of." 



Well, the chills came on bt^fore long, and my 

 wife applied the medicine, rubbing it in briskly, 

 as the doctor directed. Sure enough, the chilly 

 side was fully as warm as the other, and may 

 be a little more so. I rememVjer of dreaming, 

 during the fever, that my wife had put that 

 cold right foot into a stocking made of red-pep- 

 per pods. It was a glossy bright r(>d. but it 

 made my right foot very wai'in and comfort- 

 able. A good many years ago a patient whose 

 fever had just left him was in such a 

 feeble state that he was fast sinking. This 

 same doctor advised getting up a circulation 

 by rubbing briskly with cayenne pepper and 

 whisky. For a time the patient seemed to pay 

 no attention to it, and some of the friends found 

 a good deal of fault because he thus disturbed 

 the last moments of a dying man. Pretty soon, 

 however, the patient began to scold because 

 the rubbing made his flesh smart. The oper- 

 ators began to look inquii'ingly at the doctor; 

 but he was smiling, and told them to go on. 

 .Said he. "If you can get him to feel the pepper 

 you will start a circulation and he will live." 

 And he die? live. Now. the point I wish to 

 make here is, that you should have confidence 

 in your friends and in your family physician — 

 *»nough confidence to put aside your notions, 

 and be guided by his knowledge and skill. 



Pardon me if I dwell considerably on the 

 iidjuncts of the sick-room. I think that perhaps 



some of my suggestions may help others as I 

 have been helped. When I began to mend I 

 was impatient to get out of doors, aitd especial- 

 ly to get over to the office and see to the folks. 

 The doctor had cautioned me repeatedly. He 

 had not. however, said just when I might go 

 over to the factory and when I must not. One 

 beautiful day, when I was feeling pretty strong 

 I ventured cautiously out on the street. After 

 sitting down a good many times I reached the 

 factory. Then I went back home and lay 

 down. Of course, they were all worrying about 

 me; but I was so certain that it would do me 

 no harm I made another trip after a while. 

 Very cautiously I climbed the stairs that lead 

 to the office. My slippers made no noise, and I 

 was nearly in the center of the room where a 

 dozen were at work, before any one noticed me 

 at all. The roomful of clerks were so intent, 

 each on his or her own business, that not one of 

 them noticed my presence. Have you ever 

 heard of unkind speeches about the way 

 ■'hands" behave when the '"boss" is away'? 

 And yet, after several weeks' absence, here 

 each one was working so industriously and 

 faithfully— so intent on the real work before 

 him— that I stood some little time unobserved. 

 During that time a prayer of thanksgiving 

 went up from my heart for these faithful friends 

 who were all doing their work so well in their 

 employer's absence. Finally the young lady 

 who opens the mail raised her eyes and uttered 

 an exclamation of surprise. They gathered 

 around me and shook hands, and "then com- 

 menced scolding me. and telling me to go 

 "■siraight hock home.'' I asked them if that 

 was the way they always treated their com- 

 pany. Well, before the day was over I had 

 been to the factory four times and upstairs 

 tirwc. The last time I started out, Ernest was 

 so vehi-ment that I did not know but he would 

 take me by the collar and march me back 

 home. He is usually so mild, and especially so 

 deferential to his father, that it was really a 

 "big joke" to me to see the tables turned — my- 

 self the child (in fact. I felt weak enough to be 

 a child, certainly) and he the father or guardi- 

 an. I insisted, however, all the while, that I 

 knew what I was about: that I was not suffer- 

 ing in the least; that I was not imprudent. 

 When the doctor came, however, there was a 

 general stir of the young and old Roots and 

 their relatives, and they made such a "• fuss." 

 as I termed it. that I replied something like 

 this: 



" Look here, friends, please do be quiet, and 

 don't go on any more. And even though I am 

 sure you are foolish and mistaken, foi' the sake 

 of peace in the family I will submit— not be- 

 cause I believe there is any need of it, but 

 because of the importunities and urgent en- 

 treaties of mv verv best frienas and relatives." 



Had it not been foi- tnese urgent entreaties 

 and expostulations I do not know how many 

 more trips I should have made before the day 

 was over. In fact. I think I went to sleep with 

 the strong conviction that I was right and that 

 the whole lot of them, including the doctor, 

 were full of '" notions." However, on the line 

 of reasoning, as Paul put it, "" If meat make my 

 brother to offend. I will eat no flesh." I submit- 

 ted to them. Do you guess the outcome'? Why, 

 next morning my legs ached in a way I had not 

 known since my childhood days when I ttsed to 

 have what they told me were "growing pains" 

 in my legs. It laid me up and set me back a 

 full week: and although several weeks have 

 passed, I fear I have not got over it yet. Love 

 to your neighbor or to your brother includes 

 also a faithful attention to. and at least a con- 

 sideration of. his honest convictions: and when 

 a lot of brothers, or neighbors, if you choose. 



