Probably the sharpest man that the world haz been blest with thus far iz
the natral born Yankee pedlar. He takes to the bizzness just az handy az
a yung duk takes to the water, who haz been hatched out by mistake amung
a lot ov hen's eggs. He kan see just whare the proffit lies in a dicker,
and aint afrade to invest hiz whole pile, at a minnitt's notiss, in an
assorted lot ov goose yokes. He begins life yung, and like the bizzy
ant, gits up arly, and eats on the run. Az long az he keeps honest he iz
sure to sukceed, but sumtimes hiz genius iz too mutch for hiz integrity,
and every boddy gits to be az frade ov him, az they are ov a hornet. The
hornet iz the smartest bug in kreashun, but haint got no friends. The
world luvs to be cheated, but they want to hav it dun bi an honest man,
and not bi a hornet, and then they never seem to git tired ov it. I hav
seen Yankee pedlars who allwus cheated every boddy they traded with, but
they allwuss did it so honest, and square, that every boddy seemed to be
happy when their turn cum. But the old fashioned Yankee pedlar, with his
little red painted kart, and bobtail pony, like the letterings on the
mile stuns, iz fast fading away.
_SEIZE._
Stik and hang yung man, it iz the last six inches in a race that allwuss
wins the munny.
* * * * *
If yu want to find out just how mean, and dishonest, yu hav allwuss
been, git a nominashun, and run for sum offiss.
30 Days. NOVEMBER. 1876.
Q.--What are oaths? @ @ @
A.--Sin in italicks. @ @ @
[Illustration]
_John read in a hand bill somewhare,
That salt water was shure to save him,
So he went forthwith to Long Branch,
And hired a man to bathe him._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Josh Billings' Farmer's Allminax, 1870-1879 — John Shaqi
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