The hearing of Mrs. Kali phosphoricum, whose fast had improved her, was acute to noises and voices. She could hear the hum of conversation from the dining room but could not understand what was being said. She at once became suspicious and concluded she had better make an exertion to find out what was going on even though she now had such a pain in the occiput that she couldn’t have her hair done up. When, with sunken eyes and hair hanging down her back, she entered the dining room, she might easily have been mistaken for a crazy woman, but Alumina phosphorica, who knew what headaches binding up the hair caused, understood and made a place for her at the table.
Mrs. Kali phosphoricum had a ravenous appetite when she started for the table but at the sight of food, her hunger fled so she sat and drank ice water and looked about for something sour and something sweet. She did not need to look far, for Mother Phosphorus had catered for his family before and had learnt to consider the desires and aversions of each. Like herself, Alumina phosphorica, Ferrum phosphoricum and Natrum phosphoricum disliked meat and Alumina phosphorica disliked beer. Magnesia phosphoricum inherited from her the aversion to coffee. Mother Phosphorus didn’t like boiled milk but Natrum phosphoricum and Ferrum phosphoricum went a little farther and disliked all milk.
Mrs. Magnesia phosphorica said her baby had been troubled with colic more or less ever since it was born, in fact had inherited it from both its father’s and mother’s family. The colic usually appeared about three or four o’clock in the afternoon and doubled him up. She found that it was better from warmth and pressure, so she put the baby, stomach down, on a hot water bottle and when she couldn’t get the hot water, she found that rubbing his abdomen with her warm hand using pressure answered the purpose.
Mrs. Ferrum phosphoricum didn’t know what was the matter with her little fair skinned, golden curly locks. It wasn’t sick in any way that she could discover but was just weak. It was true, it sometimes had the colic but a stool almost immediately cured it. It was suggested that perhaps it was the nosebleed that had weakened the child but Mrs. Ferrum phosphoricum said “no, probably the baby has inherited both the weakness and nosebleed as the Ferrum and Phosphorus families were both troubled in the same way.”
Mrs. Calcarea phosphorica said there was not the least doubt as to what was the matter with her little bow-legged, emaciated youngster. Lack of nutrition was written all over him. She couldn’t understand it for she had fed him enough to make him big and fat like her mother’s babies. His troubles began when he was a tiny infant. At that time, a bloody fluid was noticed oozing from the navel. Then he had colic and diarrhoea, his teeth were slow in coming and his fontanelles hadn’t even closed yet. He was slow in learning to walk, but with such bowlegs and crooked back, that might be expected. She sometimes wondered if he was lacking in mentality, he seemed so stupid.
Mrs. Natrum phosphoricum’s baby was bottle fed, therefore she had her own troubles with it. He had a ravenous appetite, consequently ate too much; the food soured in the stomach and the baby had colic and worms. He had sour eructations, sour vomit, sour stools, sour perspiration. He certainly was sour baby, sour, wormy and squint-eyed. Alumina phosphorica said the trouble with the babies was bad enough but if the rest wanted to know what real trouble was, they should wait until a promising son should break down mentally at the end of his college life.
While they were still talking, the men came in and told them the sun was getting low and it was time to go home. Father Phosphorus had locomotor ataxia, so couldn’t do much towards helping them but Mother Phosphorus bundled up the babies and did her best to speed the parting guests.
She was one of the first students to graduate from the Philadelphia Post-Graduate School of Homeopathy and served at the school as Clinician, Professor of Children's Diseases and Professor of Repertory. She taught from 1933 until her health failed. She also taught Pierre Schmidt how to use the repertory.
Her accomplishments include being one of the founders of the American Foundation of Homeopath. She was a frequent contributor of articles, many of which are printed in the Homeopathic Recorder. She died on May 7, 1931.