It will be "a work which no gentleman's library should be without." It
is considered necessary to the safety of the Union, that its democratic
principles be thoroughly disseminated, and it is indispensable to the
stability of the English throne that its monarchical doctrines be
thoroughly comprehended. Every man, woman, child, canal driver, billiard
marker, faro dealer, and member of Congress will be provided with a
copy, thereby preserving the Union, destroying our liberties, and
keeping unsullied the honor and dignity of "OUR FLAG."
I hope the public will be as well satisfied by this eloquent speech
as Philander was, that this book is one of immense utility, and will
consequently peruse the same with a huge degree of gratification.
[Illustration: Doesticks on a Bender.]
III.
Niagara.
I was never given to accepting the decisions of others as gospel in
any cases where it was possible for me to manufacture a home-made
opinion of my own; and I did not greatly wonder at myself when I
discovered that my emotions, when I first beheld that great aqueous
brag of universal Yankeedom, Niagara, were not of the stereotyped and
generally-considered-to-be-necessary--sort. The letter which follows,
and which is all the reminiscence of my visit extant, was published soon
after, and extensively copied, and was, in fact, the first article which
bore the name of Doesticks.
IV.
Doesticks on a Bender.
I have been to Niagara--you know Niagara Falls--big rocks, water, foam,
Table Rock, Indian curiosities, squaws, moccasins, stuffed snakes,
rapids, wolves, Clifton House, suspension bridge, place where the water
runs swift, the ladies faint, scream, and get the paint washed off their
faces; where the aristocratic Indian ladies sit on the dirt and make
little bags; where all the inhabitants swindle strangers; where the cars
go in a hurry, the waiters are impudent, and all the small boys swear.
When I came in sight of the suspension bridge, I was vividly impressed
with the idea that it was "some" bridge; in fact, a considerable
curiosity, and a "considerable" bridge. Took a glass of beer and walked
up to the Falls; another glass of beer and walked under the Falls;
wanted another glass of beer, but couldn't get it; walked away from the
Falls, wet through, mad, triumphant, victorious; humbug! humbug! Sir,
all humbug! except the dampness of everything, which is a moist
certainty, and the cupidity of everybody, which is a diabolical fact,
and the Indians and niggers everywhere, which is a satanic truth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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