The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 1: Essays, Sketches, and LettersWard, Artemus
General
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 1: Essays, Sketches, and Letters
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
L-- jumped up and saw the other cars moving rapidly away. He was
left solitary and alone, in a dismal piece of woods known as the
Black Swamp. He remained there in the car until night, when the
down-train came along and took him to Toledo. He had to pay fare,
his up through-ticket not being good on that train. His buggies had
gone unattended to Chicago. He was very angry. He finally got
through, but he will never hear the last of that "little voucher."
1.55. THE GENTLEMANLY CONDUCTOR.
Few have any idea of the trials and tribulations of the railway
conductor--"the gentlemanly conductor," as one-horse newspapers
delight in styling him. Unless you are gifted with the patience of
the lamented Job, who, tradition informs us, had "biles" all over
his body, and didn't swear once, never go for a Conductor, me boy!
The other evening we enlivened a railroad car with our brilliant
presence. Starting time was not quite up, and the passengers were
amusing themselves by laughing, swearing, singing, and talking,
according to their particular fancy. The Conductor came in, and the
following were a few of the questions put to him:--One old fellow,
who was wrapped up in a horse-blanket, and who apparently had about
two pounds of pigtail in his mouth, wanted to know, "What pint of
compass the keers was travelin in?" An old lady, surrounded by
band-boxes and enveloped in flannels, wanted to know what time
the eight o'clock train left Rock Island for "Dubu-kue?" A
carroty-haired young man wanted to know if "free omyibuses" ran
from the cars to the taverns in Toledo? A tall, razor-faced
individual, evidently from the interior of Connecticut, desired to
know if "conductin" paid as well eout West as it did deoun in his
country; and a portly, close-shaven man with round keen eyes, and
in whose face you could read the interest-table, asked the price of
corner lots in Omaha. These and many other equally absurd questions
the conductor answered calmly and in a resigned manner. And we
shuddered as we thought how he would have to answer a similar string
of questions in each of the three cars ahead.
1.56. MORALITY AND GENIUS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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