The Complete Works of Artemus Ward (HTML edition)Ward, Artemus
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The Complete Works of Artemus Ward (HTML edition)
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
Feller Sitterzuns, the Afrikan may be Our Brother. Sevral hily
respectyble gentlemen, and sum talentid females tell us so, & fur
argyment's sake I mite be injooced to grant it, tho' I don't beleeve it
myself. But the Afrikan isn't our sister & our wife & our uncle. He
isn't sevral of our brothers & all our fust wife's relashuns. He
isn't our grandfather, and our grate grandfather, and our Aunt in the
country. Scacely. & yit numeris persons would have us think so. It's
troo he runs Congress & sevral other public grosserys, but then he ain't
everybody & everybody else likewise. [Notiss to bizness men of VANITY
FAIR: Extry charg fur this larst remark. It's a goak.--A.W.]
But we've got the Afrikan, or ruther he's got us, & now what air we
going to do about it? He's a orful noosanse. Praps he isn't to blame
fur it. Praps he was creatid fur sum wise purpuss, like the measles and
New Englan Rum, but it's mity hard to see it. At any rate he's no good
here, & as I statid to Mister What Is It, it's a pity he cooden't go orf
sumwhares quietly by hisself, whare he cood wear red weskits & speckled
neckties, & gratterfy his ambishun in varis interestin wase, without
havin a eternal fuss kickt up about him.
Praps I'm bearin down too hard upon Cuffy. Cum to think on it, I am.
He woodn't be sich a infernal noosanse if white peple would let him
alone. He mite indeed be interestin. And now I think of it, why can't
the white peple let him alone. What's the good of continnerly stirrin
him up with a ten-foot pole? He isn't the sweetest kind of Perfoomery
when in a natral stait.
Feller Sitterzens, the Union's in danger. The black devil Disunion is
trooly here, starein us all squarely in the face! We must drive him
back. Shall we make a 2nd Mexico of ourselves? Shall we sell our
birthrite for a mess of potash? Shall one brother put the knife to the
throat of anuther brother? Shall we mix our whisky with each other's
blud? Shall the star spangled Banner be cut up into dishcloths?
Standin here in this here Skoolhouse, upon my nativ shor so to speak, I
anser--Nary!
Oh you fellers who air raisin this row, & who in the fust place startid
it, I'm 'shamed of you. The Showman blushes for you, from his boots to
the topmost hair upon his wenerable hed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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