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
"Wall," sez I, "ef all you fellers repose in that there Buzzum thar'll
be mity poor nussin for sum of you!" whereupon Old Abe buttoned his
weskit clear up and blusht like a maidin of sweet 16. Jest at this pint
of the conversation another swarm of orfice-seekers arrove & cum pilin
into the parler. Sum wanted post orfices, sum wanted collectorships,
sum wantid furrin missions, and all wanted sumthin. I thought Old Abe
would go crazy. He hadn't more than had time to shake hands with 'em,
before another tremenjis crowd cum porein onto his premises. His house
and dooryard was now perfeckly overflowed with orfice seekers, all
clameruss for a immejit interview with with Old Abe. One man from Ohio,
who had about seven inches of corn whisky into him, mistook me for Old
Abe and addrest me as "The Pra-hayrie Flower of the West!" Thinks I you
want a offiss putty bad. Another man with a gold-heded cane and a
red nose told Old Abe he was "a seckind Washington & the Pride of the
Boundliss West."
Sez I, "Square, you wouldn't take a small post-offiss if you could git
it, would you?"
Sez he, "A patrit is abuv them things, sir!"
"There's a putty big crop of patrits this season, ain't there, Squire?"
sez I, when another crowd of offiss seekers pored in. The house,
dooryard, barng & woodshed was now all full, and when another crowd
cum I told 'em not to go away for want of room as the hog-pen was still
empty. One patrit from a small town in Michygan went up on top the
house, got into the chimney and slid into the parler where Old Abe was
endeverin to keep the hungry pack of orfice-seekers from chawin him up
alive without benefit of clergy. The minit he reached the fireplace he
jumpt up, brusht the soot out of his eyes, and yelled: "Don't make eny
pintment at the Spunkville postoffiss till you've read my papers. All
the respectful men in our town is signers to that there dockyment!"
"Good God!" cried Old Abe, "they cum upon me from the skize down the
chimneys, and from the bowels of the yerth!" He hadn't more'n got
them words out of his delikit mouth before two fat offiss-seekers from
Winconsin, in endeverin to crawl atween his legs for the purpuss of
applyin for the tollgateship at Milwawky, upsot the President eleck, &
he would hev gone sprawlin into the fireplace if I hadn't caught him in
these arms. But I hadn't more'n stood him up strate before another man
cum crashing down the chimney, his head strikin me viliently again the
inards and prostratin my voluptoous form onto the floor. "Mr. Linkin,"
shoutid the infatooated being, "my papers is signed by every clergyman
in our town, and likewise the skoolmaster!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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