Mrs. Curtis had started taking cod liver oil when she was Miriam Devonshire. Her father insisted that it was the healthiest substance on the face of the earth. Miriam did not believe it at first, but Mrs. Curtis did. Mrs. Curtis took it her whole life, as did her brothers and sisters, and not one of them died of illness.
Miriam Devonshire lived on a farm near London. There were two parents, four girls, three boys, and several animals. Miriam, being the second eldest girl, had to work with them. She learned much from her father, how to soothe a fretting cow for milking, how to find a hen's eggs when they are hidden, and how to shoot a horse right in the brain so it does not suffer. Miriam was a sensible girl and took these lessons to heart. She never mourned the dead animals. She understood that it was cruel to keep a suffering creature alive. That was why Mrs. Curtis used cyanide to kill rats. It was quick and efficient and caused no undue pain.
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