OCR Text |
Show r SHORT STORIES 1 OF STREET AND TOWN J took from It a neatly "written sheet which he handed to his friends. It read as follows1: ; "Salt Lake, Aug. 16, 1880. ' Mrs. Smlth, City; v., r. ' - -i . "Deac." JlSjiame: It Is again" necessary neces-sary Xor me', to call your attention to the account which you owe rrie for professional pro-fessional 'services, upon 'which you have thus Jar' made no -remittance. "Please recollect that a physician must live, and that to live he must pay the bills of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker, and unless he pays as he goes he cannot exist on this selfish sphere. "You will please recollect this fact: Some physicians are rich, and they can sometimes give professional services gratis. These fortunate ones have at first started on a strictly cash basis, and have thus laid the foundations for those fortunes that enable them later in life to conduct their businesses In certain instances for charity. "I have not yet succeeded in accomplishing accom-plishing this, as there are still a few of my patients who will -not produce the dollars and cents when they have them. "Please send me at once a part at least of the ?50 which my books show you to be in my debt for professional services rendered during the last year, and oblige. Yours very truly, ' It was one of the old physicians with a large local practice, who was in a reminiscent mood, and as he sat In his office, surrounded by . half a dozen friends, he told a story of . his early practice. ' ----- t "During the first year of rny practice," prac-tice," he said, 'I was fairly successful, financially. There was one old woman who had plenty of money, and whom I treated for several weeks. 'Finally she was cured and I told her that it would not be necessary for me to call any more. , She agreed that she was restored to perfect health, and said that she would like to have me mall her the bill and she would settle. "I took her at her word and sent her a bill for $30. A month passed nd I received no remittance, and sent her a brief statement of the account "Two months passed and still there was no cash In hand from the rich old woman. "I thought the matter over and finally sat down and wrote the woman the following fol-lowing letter, of which -I retained a copy." He reached within a filing case and ' WILLIAM BLANK. M. D." After the friends had read the letter, one of them asked the doctor how the matter ended. He said: "Well, the letter made her so mad that she sent me a check for the $30 by return mall but she changed her phy-cian phy-cian -that w eek." There is a young cptlclan in Salt Lake who delights In tiff beauties of nature; not only does he love to wander in the nearby canyons and view nature in all her wonders, but he takes his kodak along, in order that he may take snapshots and thus preserve the scenes w hich he has visited. On Sunday he paid a visit to City Creek canyon. It was not his first visit. In fact, there are few spots in this beautiful canyon that he has not photographed pho-tographed once or more. Slowly he wandered on, viewing the varied autumn au-tumn colors of nature. At a point four miles from the city he decided to cross the creek, go through the brush and secure a picture of a bluff which he had "never photographed from that point. Crossing the creek -was not an easy task, but he accomplished It without getting wet. He then pushed his way through the underbrush to a clear spot ' and prepared for his picture. Just as he was about to push the button he heard a sound in the brush to the right and. glancing around, he sawwhat he thought was a cow. Once more he made ready for the snapshot and again he heard the round in the brush. "I wonder if that fool cow would attack at-tack a fellow?" he remarked to himself as he turned to see if she was coming towards him. One glance was enough, for the supposed cow was a full-grown bear and was comlr.g slowly toward him, not over thirty feet away. He did not take the picture of the intersecting bluff, and he did not look at his 'watch, but he suddenly remembered remem-bered that he had promised to be home early, and he started at once. He did not cross the creek this time without getting wet, but he did not mind a little water, for he knew that he had promised prom-ised to be home early. There was no regular path through the underexowth, but he blazed one of his own, and when he struck the road he hit a gait that would mak Bnrney Oldfleld and his racing auto look like a counterfeit qua-ter qua-ter with a hole in it. Did he reach home in time for dinner? din-ner? Oh, yes; he was home before the cooking of dinner had commenced. To his young wife who remarked about his torn clothes and tired appearance he said that he had slipped while trying to climb a cliff. The next time he goes to take pictures, pic-tures, even on Main street, he will arm himself with a .30-.30 rifle. |