THE STORY OF THE 
HIPPOPOTAMUS. 
It is related of a former United States Senator from Ohio that he was 
one day at a circus and menagerie, where he was watching the feeding of 
the hippopotamus, when a party, among whom was a dentist, approached. 
The dentist laughingly said: 
“Many’s the time I took molars like that fellow has, and put them in 
the mouths of my patients.” 
Pressed to explain what he meant, he stated that the tusks of the hippo¬ 
potamus were of finest ivory and used in making false teeth. The Senator 
had been an attentive listener to the conversation, and suddenly he was 
seen to shudder and turn pale. Reaching into his mouth he took out a 
plate, and, passing it to the dentist, asked whether the teeth in it were made 
from the hippopotamus’ tusks. When he was assured they were, he refused 
to replace them, and never again wore false teeth. A peculiar lisping pre¬ 
vented his making speeches after that, but no amount of persuasion sufficed 
to overcome his disgust at the teeth. 
The hippopotamus is generally spoken of as a river horse, because that is 
the translation of its Greek name, but “river hog” would be a more truthful 
description. 
Hippopotami are bulky animals, with round, barrel-like bodies of great 
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