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
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THE SHOW BUSINESS AND POPULAR LECTURES.
I feel that the Show Bizniss, which Ive stroven to ornyment, is bein
usurpt by Poplar Lecturs, as thay air kalled, tho in my pinion thay air
poplar humbugs. Individoouls, who git hard up, embark in the lecturin
biznis. They cram theirselves with hi-sounding frazis, frizzle up their
hare, git trustid for a soot of black close & cum out to lectur at 50
dollers a pop. Thay aint over stockt with branes, but thay hav brass
enuff to make suffishunt kittles to bile all the sope that will be
required by the ensooin sixteen ginerashuns. Peple flock to heer um in
krowds. The men go becawz its poplar & the wimin folks go to see what
other wimin folks have on. When its over the lecturer goze & ragales
hisself with oysters and sich, while the peple say, "What a charmin
lectur that air was," etsettery, etsettery, when 9 out of 10 of um don't
have no moore idee of what the lecturer sed than my kangeroo has of the
sevunth speer of hevun. Thare's moore infurmashun to be gut out of a
well conductid noospape--price 3 sents--than thare is out of ten poplar
lectures at 25 or 50 dollers a pop, as the kase may be. These same
peple, bare in mind, stick up their nosis at moral wax figgers &
sagashus beests. Thay say these things is low. Gents, it greeves my
hart in my old age, when I'm in "the Sheer & yeller leef" (to cote frum
my Irish frend Mister McBeth) to see that the Show biznis is pritty much
plade out; howsomever I shall chance it agane in the Spring.
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WOMAN'S RIGHTS.
I pitcht my tent in a small town in Injianny one day last seeson, &
while I was standin at the dore takin money, a deppytashun of ladies
came up & sed they wos members of the Bunkumville Female Moral Reformin
& Wimin's Rite's Associashun, and thay axed me if they cood go in
without payin.
"Not exactly," sez I, "but you can pay without goin in."
"Dew you know who we air?" sed one of the wimin--a tall and feroshus
lookin critter, with a blew kotton umbreller under her arm--"do you know
who we air, Sir?"
"My impreshun is," sed I, "from a kersery view, that you air females."
"We air, Sur," sed the feroshus woman--"we belong to a Society whitch
beleeves wimin has rites--whitch beleeves in razin her to her proper
speer--whitch beleeves she is indowed with as much intelleck as man
is--whitch beleeves she is trampled on and aboozed--& who will resist
henso4th & forever the incroachments of proud & domineering men."
Durin her discourse, the exsentric female grabed me by the coat-kollor &
was swinging her umbreller wildly over my hed.
"I hope, marm," sez I, starting back, "that your intensions is
honorable! I'm a lone man hear in a strange place. Besides, I've a
wife to hum."
"Yes," cried the female, "& she's a slave! Doth she never dream of
freedom--doth she never think of throwin off the yoke of tyrrinny
& thinkin & votin for herself?--Doth she never think of these here
things?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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