"'Gineral Order Number Sivin Hundred an' noineteen,'" he read slowly.
"And is it possible 'tis only th' sivin hundred an' noineteenth of thim
I have been gettin'? I w'u'd have said 't was th' forty-sivinth thousand
gineral order I have had t' learn and memorize. Wheniver th' prisidint,
or th' vice-prisidint, or th' manager, or th' janitor, or th' office-boy
at th' head office has nawthin' else t' do they be thinkin' up a new
gineral order t' sind t' Flannery. 'What's th' news of th' day?' says
th' prisidint. 'Nawthin' doin',' says th' janitor. 'Then wake up and
sind Flannery a gineral order t' learn th' Declaration av Indepindince
by hearrt,' says th' prisidint. 'Mebby he do be gittin' lazy!' 'And
shall I add on th' Constitution av th' United States?' says th' janitor.
'Sure!' says th' prisidint, ''t will do Flannery no harm t' be busy.'"
He held the paper out at arm's length and shook his head at it, and then
slapped it down on the counter and gave it his attention.
"'To all imployees av th' Interurban Ixpriss Company,'" he read. "'On
an' after this date all imployees av this company will use, in their
correspondince, and in all other official business, the follyin' list av
t'ree hunderd words. By order of th' prisidint.' Sure!" he said. "'Under
penalty av dismissal from th' service av th' company,' as ye might be
sayin'!"
He turned to the list of three hundred words and began to read it. As he
passed down the list the frown on his brow deepened. At "anapest" it was
a noticeable frown, at "apothem" it became very pronounced, and at
"dieresis" his shaggy red brows nearly covered his eyes, he was frowning
so hard.
"I wonder what th' Interurban Ixpriss Company w'u'd loike me t' be
writin' thim on th' subject av 'ecumenical'?" he said. "Mebby there be
some of these here 'edile' and 'egis' things comin' by ixpriss, and 't
will be a foine thing t' know how t' spell thim whin th' con-_sign_-y
puts in a claim fer damages, but if th' company is goin' t' carry many
'eponyms' and 'esophaguses' Mike Flannery will be lookin' for another
job.--And w'u'd you look at this wan! 'Paleography!' Thim be nice words
t' order th' agints av th' ixpriss company t' be usin'!"
He pulled at a lock of his hair thoughtfully.
"I wonder, now," he said, "do they want Mike Flannery t' learn all thim
words by hearrt, and use thim all. Should I be usin' thim all in one
letter, or distribute thim throughout th' correspondince, or what? 'T is
a grand lot of worrds if I only knew what anny of thim meant, but 't
will be hard t' find a subject t' write on t' run in this word of
'homonym.' There has not been one of thim about th' office since Mike
Flannery has been here."
But his duty was plain, and he took his varnish pot and pasted the list
on the wall beside his desk where he could refer to it instantly, and
then he slid on to his high stool to write the acknowledgment of the
receipt of the list.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account