The Peterkin Papers

Now his wife was just consenting when the Peterkin family burst in. You can imagine how mad the chemist was He came near throwing his crucible-that was the name of his melting-pot-at their heads. But he didn't. He listened as calmly as he could to the story of how Mrs. Peterkin had put salt in her coffee. At first he said he couldn't do anything about it; but when Agamemnon said they would pay in gold if he would only go, he packed up his bottles in a leather case, and went back with them all. First he looked at the coffee, and then stirred it. Then he put in a little chlorate of potassium, and the family tried it all round; but it tasted no better. Then he stirred in a little bichlorate of magnesia. But Mrs. Peterkin didn't like that. Then he added some tartaric acid and some hypersulphate of lime. But no; it was no better. "I have it " exclaimed the chemist, -"a little ammonia is just the thing " No, it wasn't the thing at all.