Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 06, May 7, 1870 — John Shaqi
Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 06, May 7, 1870Various
General
Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 06, May 7, 1870
Various
American wit and humor -- Periodicals
The positive character of this prediction made it very, welcome. My
wife and myself had been invited by friends in Westchester County to go
to their house on Saturday evening, stay all night, and pass the
following day—Easter-Sunday—with them. We had nearly made up our minds
to do it. They are very pleasant folks to visit, especially about
Easter time; for the man of the house has a mania for hens, and, being
a dyer by trade, his poultry, using the refuse of the drugs instead of
gravel to aid their digestion, lay natural painted eggs of the most
varied and delicate tints. If I am strict in any matter of religion, it
is with regard to having a blow-out of eggs at Easter. My wife is as
fond of eggs as myself, (the yolk sits lightly, she says, which is a
joke upon yoke,) and she required no egging on to persuade her to
accept the invitation. We were doubtful about the weather, though; but
the "Professor's" prediction decided us, and we went.
I thought it felt mighty like rain as we walked the short distance from
the railway station to our host's. I had rain-pains in my back, and my
wife said her corns were shooting. Nor did our punctual aches deceive
us. Between that Saturday night and Easter-Sunday morning it began to
rain. Easter-Sunday was the wettest day I remember ever to have
experienced. There was no "let up" of the deluge throughout that day
and Easter-Monday. We—my wife and I—are suffering dreadfully from the
effects of Easter-eggs, which we were obliged to devour by the stack
merely to kill time, as we could not walk out. Should we die, I will
let you know; but really it was too bad of "Professor" THATCHER.
WEATHERBOUND.
P.S.—Who is "Professor" THATCHER?
THE BIRD OF WISDOM IN IOWA.
Civilization, it seems, is making some headway in Iowa. Boys are no
longer allowed to shoot small birds there, especially song-birds. And
so the little warblers can pipe it all day, if they like, and when they
grow tired and hungry, they are welcome to refresh their small systems
at the strawberry beds. There is one feature of the regulation in
question, however, that does pain us. While vocal and fly-gobbling
talents are tenderly fostered, dignified Wisdom is not only neglected,
but persecuted. Our old friend the Owl is reputed by the people of Iowa
to be rather particular in his diet, (as all wise creatures are,) and
to prefer a nice young spring chicken to almost any other "delicacy of
the season"—a proof of wisdom and refinement that proved too much for
the people of Iowa. And so they have left the poor old Owl out of the
protective enactment; and it is not only legal to shoot him, but
meritorious. The legislators could have stood the wisdom, perhaps by
itself; and possibly they might have respected the taste; but the
combination troubled them, and could not, of course, be tolerated.
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