Frontier Humor in Verse, Prose and PictureCox, Palmer
General
Frontier Humor in Verse, Prose and Picture
Cox, Palmer
Canadian wit and humor
Another little sketch attracted great attention, especially from the
ladies, whose love for the beautiful is only excelled by their love for
the good. It was entitled “Love’s Young Dream.” I regret I am not able
to give the artist’s name. I could not get near enough to decipher the
signature, owing to the crowd of ladies admiring the beautiful gem.
The members of the Graphic Club were sketching. Accepting an invitation
from one I stepped into their room to see them draw. Quite a number of
artists were present. The famous marine painter was there, who loves to
paint the vessel going before the wind, when in its might it takes “the
ruffian billows by the top.” It was pleasant to watch his pencil pile up
the “yeasty waves” at will.
[Illustration: “LOVE’S YOUNG DREAM.”]
It was also interesting to lean over the landscape painter’s shoulder
and see the branches sprout from his grand old oaks, against whose
trunks it would seem the storms of centuries had spent their force.
It was no less pleasant or interesting to perceive the horns shoot from
the animal painter’s cows. As the creature grows under his active
pencil, we may be inclined to think she will be of the Mooley species,
and never shake a gory horn above a prostrate victim; but alas! a few
hasty but well directed strokes, and she stands forth more formidable
than the armed rhinoceros or rampant unicorn. Then we hold our breath,
as we see the pencil slide away to some other locality before a tail is
attached to the body, and inwardly wonder whether the artist has
forgotten to bestow upon her that graceful adjunct, or is intentionally
giving us a new species of cattle. We heave a sigh of relief when the
pencil returns, after a brief skirmish along the ribs, to bestow upon
the cow that terminal appendage, at once a scourge for milk-maids and a
swing for dogs.
A ROLLING STONE.
This afternoon, while climbing a steep hill that overlooks the bay, in
company with a gentleman named Stone, I saw an illustration of the old
maxim, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” We had almost completed the
ascent, when Stone’s feet slipped from under him, and striking upon his
side he commenced a rapid descent.
About four hundred feet of steep grade stretched before him without let
or hindrance. I saw at a glance he was bound to pass over every inch of
the space before he stopped. Onward he went, gathering speed as he
proceeded, and catching wildly around him at every revolution; but, as
there was nothing growing upon the barren slope but stunted grass or
brittle moss, his efforts to “slow speed” were in vain. After he had
made about ten revolutions his hat came off, and for a short time the
race between him and his tile was truly interesting. It would have been
an even bet, which would first reach the fence at the bottom of the
hill. After making about half the distance, however, the hat swung in
ahead of him.
[Illustration: A THROUGH PASSENGER.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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