There has already been some extravatations and a marked multiformity. I
also noticed an inflamed and angry color to the stroma with trimmings of
the same. This might only indicate that Mr. Flannery had kept his mouth
open too much during the summer, and sunburned the roof of his mouth, were
it not that I also discovered traces of gumboil microbes of the squamous
variety. This leads me to fear the worst for Mr. Flannery. However, if the
gentlemanly, courteous and urbane members of the Academy of Science, of
Erin Prairie, to whom I am already largely indebted for past favors, will
kindly forward to me, prepaid, another scraping from the mansard roof of
Mr. Flannery's mouth next week, I will open another keg of hard words and
trace this gumboil theory to a successful termination, if I have to use up
the whole ceiling of the patient's mouth.
Yours, with great sincerity, profundity and verbosity,
Bill Nye,
Microscopist, Lobulist and Microbist.
Hudson, Wis., May 3.
Parental Advice.
The past fifty years have done much for the newspaper and periodical
readers of the United States. That period has been fruitful of great
advancement and a great reduction in price, but these are not all. Fifty
years and less have classified information so that science and sense are
conveniently found, and humor and nonsense have their proper sphere. All
branches are pretty full of lively and thoroughly competent writers, who
take hold of their own special work even as the thorough, quick-eyed
mechanic takes hold of his line of labor and acquits himself in a
creditable manner. The various lines of journalism may appear to be
crowded, but they are not. There may be too much vagabond journalism, but
the road that is traveled by the legitimate laborer is not crowded. The
clean, Caucasian journalist, as he climbs the hill, is not crowded very
much. He can make out to elbow his way toward the front, if he tries very
hard. There may be too much James Crow science, and too much editorial
vandalism and gush, and too much of the journalism for revenue only. There
may be too much ringworm humor also, but there is still a demand for the
scientific work of the true student. There is still a good market for
honest editorial opinion, reliable news and fearless and funny paragraph
work and character sketches, as the song and dance men would say.
All this, however, points in one direction. It all has one hoarse voice,
and in the tones of the culverin, whatever that is, it says that to the
young man who is starting out with the intention of filling the tomb of a
millionaire, “Learn to do something well.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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