Irish Americans -- Humor; Irish-American wit and humor
“But wud ye believe it, Hinnissy, manny iv these misguided women rayfuse
f'r to take a job that aint in a city. They prefer th' bustle an'
roar iv th' busy marts iv thrade, th' sthreet car, th' saloon on three
corners an' th' church on wan, th' pa-apers ivry mornin' with pitchers
iv th' s'ciety fav'rite that's just thrown up a good job at Armours to
elope with th' well-known club man who used to be yard-masther iv th'
three B's, G, L, & N., th' shy peek into th' dhry-goods store, an' other
base luxuries, to a free an' healthy life in th' counthry between iliven
P.M. an' four A.M. Wensdahs an' Sundahs. 'Tis worse thin that, Hinnissy,
f'r whin they ar-re in th' city they seem to dislike their wurruk an'
manny iv thim ar-re givin' up splindid jobs with good large families
where they have no chanst to spind their salaries, if they dhraw thim,
an' takin' places in shops, an' gettin' marrid an' adoptin' other
devices that will give thim th' chanst f'r to wear out their good
clothes. 'Tis a horrible situation. Riley th' conthractor dhropped in
here th' other day in his horse an' buggy on his way to the dhrainage
canal an' he was all wurruked up over th' question. 'Why,' he says,
''tis scand'lous th' way servants act,' he says. 'Mrs. Riley has
hystrics,' he says. 'An' ivry two or three nights whin I come home,' he
says, 'I have to win a fight again' a cook with a stove lid befure I
can move me family off th' fr-ront stoop,' he says. 'We threat thim well
too,' he says. 'I gave th' las' wan we had fifty cints an' a cook book
at Chris'mas an' th' next day she left befure breakfast,' he says. 'What
naytionalties do ye hire?' says I. 'I've thried thim all,' he says,
'an',' he says, 'I'll say this in shame,' he says, 'that th' Irish ar-re
th' worst,' he says. 'Well,' says I, 'ye need have no shame,' I says,
'f'r'tis on'y th' people that ar-re good servants that'll niver be
masthers,' I says. 'Th' Irish ar-re no good as servants because they
ar-re too good,' I says. 'Th' Dutch ar-re no good because they aint good
enough. No matther how they start they get th' noodle habit. I had wan,
wanst, an' she got so she put noodles in me tay,' I says. 'Th' Swedes
ar-re all right but they always get marrid th' sicond day. Ye'll have a
polisman at th' dure with a warrant f'r th' arrist iv ye'er cook if ye
hire a Boheemyan,' I says. 'Coons'd be all right but they're liable f'r
to hand ye ye'er food in ragtime, an' if ye ordher pork-chops f'r dinner
an' th' hall is long, 'tis little ye'll have to eat whin th' platter's
set down,' I says. 'No,' says I, 'they'se no naytionality now livin' in
this counthry that're nathral bor-rn servants,' I says. 'If ye want
to save throuble,' I says, 'ye'll import ye'er help. They'se a race
iv people livin' in Cinthral Africa that'd be jus' r-right. They niver
sleep, tkey can carry twice their weight on their backs, they have no
frinds, they wear no clothes, they can't read, they can't dance an'
they don't dhrink.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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