The American Joe Miller: A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humor
Philosophy
The American Joe Miller: A Collection of Yankee Wit and Humor
American wit and humor
A DRY JOKE IN A DRY GOODS' STORE.--76.
An amusing incident recently took place in one of our dry goods'
stores down town. A good-looking, honest-faced country girl, came to
town with her lover, to do a trifle of shopping. The magnitude of the
store, the piles on piles of goods, the dazzling array of articles,
the rows of busy clerks, the flitting cash boys, quite overpowered
our good friend, who scarcely knew what to do. Her swain obstinately
refused to go in, but loitered about the door. The clerks being all
busy just at the moment, the young lady was obliged to remain standing
a few moments. At length, a dapper fellow, with gold watch and chain
and flourishing moustache, came bowing and smiling up to the blushing
customer, with--"Anybody waiting on you, madam?" The colour deepened
in her cheeks, as she hesitated and drew a long breath; till, finally,
with a nod of her head towards the door, she faltered out, "Yes, sir;
he is."
YANKEE NOTION OF MACBETH.--77.
After having witnessed the performance, from what I could make out of
the play I don't think Macbeth was a good moral character; and his
lady appeared to me to possess a tarnation dictatorial temper, and to
have exceedingly loose notions of hospitality, which, together with an
unpleasant habit of talking to herself and walking about _en chemise_,
must make her a decidedly unpleasant companion.
THE PUGNACIOUS RAM.--78.
John B. Gough, in one of his eloquent temperance lectures, was
encouraging those who signed the pledge to stick to it. "Stick to
it," said he, "as the old ram did to his butting." The story is that
a farmer had a ram which would run his head against the cows, horses,
pigs, and, indeed, against everything in motion. The farmer himself
was more than once butted over, and he finally determined to break up
this propensity: so he tied a heavy block of wood upon a rope, and
hung it on the limb of a tree. The block was set in motion, and the
ram, seeing it move towards him, hit it a blow. This sent it off;
but it swung back, and the ram hit it again, and so kept on doing.
The farmer watched him until it was dark, and then left him (true to
his nature) butting away. Early in the morning, on going out to see
how the ram had fared, he found that he had butted himself all away,
except a part of his tail, and that was hammering away at the swinging
block. That's the way to stick to your pledge.
A HORRIFIED DANDY.--79.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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