Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville MilitiaSmith, Seba
History
Letters of Major Jack Downing, of the Downingville Militia
Smith, Seba
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Caricatures and cartoons; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Humor
"Wal," ses I, "wen I was a boy, an went to school the six weeks I speak
of, there was a boy in my class who could beat me a spellin an readin,
an in eenamost everything, but I could lick him jest as easy as I could
whistle. He hadn't eny more spunk, or pluck, or courage than a sick
kitten, an mighty little genewine common sense. His father, however,
sent him to college, an the fust thing I heerd of him, the papers were
callin him a larned man, an he ain't done enything ever sence but to
blab at Abolishin meetins an make Abolishin speeches. Now," ses I,
"that's wat I call an edicated fool. Jest like the larned pig, he can
do wat he larns to do or sees done; but as for real common sense to
tell wether a thing is rite or rong, he ain't worth eny more for it
than a bull-dog is to catch rats."
Sumnure looked kinder streaked wen I sed this, but I didn't say a word,
an jest here the Kernel, who had been down stairs to get his boot-jack,
cum in. Ses he, "Good mornin, Mr. Sumnure. I'll bet you one of Chase's
greenbacks," ses he, "that you can't tell why this boot-jack is like
an offis-seeker." Sumnure sed he couldn't. "Wal," ses the Kernel,
"because it sticks close to the heels of the Presidint."
I telled the Kernel how that Sumnure sed that the Messige warn't
grammatikal. "Wal," ses he, "I beleeve everything goes rong sence I
became Presidint. The country is upside down; the niggers are more
trubbul than ever before; the white men are cuttin one another's
throats, an it seems as if Bedlam was let loose; an now the grammer has
been violated, they say. Wal, I wonder wat on arth I am fit for. I
never succeeded well in flat-botein; I allers had poor craps wen I
tried to be a farmer; I was too tall to split rails handy; and, as a
lawyer, I warn't enything more than from poor to middlin. Ef I can't be
Presidint, I don't see wat on arth I was made for."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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