The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 1: Essays, Sketches, and LettersWard, Artemus
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The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 1: Essays, Sketches, and Letters
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
My naburs is mourn harf crazy on the new-fangled ideas about
Sperrets. Sperretooul Sircles is held nitely & 4 or 5 long hared
fellers has settled here and gone into the Sperret biznis
excloosively. A atemt was made to git Mrs. A. Ward to embark
into the Sperret biznis but the atemt faled. 1 of the long hared
fellers told her she was a ethereal creeter & wood make a sweet
mejium, whareupon she attact him with a mop handle & drove him
out of the house. I will hear obsarve that Mrs.Ward is a
invalerble womum--the partner of my goys & the shairer of my
sorrers. In my absunse she watchis my interests & things with a
Eagle Eye & when I return she welcums me in afectionate stile.
Trooly it is with us as it was with Mr. & Mrs. INGOMER in the
Play, to whit,--
2 soles with but a single thawt
2 harts which beet as 1.
My naburs injooced me to attend a Sperretooul Sircle at Squire
Smith's. When I arrove I found the east room chock full includin
all the old maids in the villige & the long hared fellers a4sed.
When I went in I was salootid with "hear cums the benited man"--
"hear cums the hory-heded unbeleever"--"hear cums the skoffer at
trooth," etsettery, etsettery.
Sez I, "my frens, it's troo I'm hear, & now bring on your
Sperrets."
1 of the long hared fellers riz up and sed he would state a few
remarks. He sed man was a critter of intelleck & was movin on to
a Gole. Sum men had bigger intellecks than other men had and
thay wood git to the Gole the soonerest. Sum men was beests &
wood never git into the Gole at all. He sed the Erth was
materiel but man was immaterial, and hens man was different from
the Erth. The Erth, continnered the speaker, resolves round on
its own axeltree onct in 24 hours, but as man haint gut no
axeltree he cant resolve. He sed the ethereal essunce of the
koordinate branchis of super-human natur becum mettymorfussed as
man progrest in harmonial coexistunce & eventooally anty
humanized theirselves & turned into reglar sperretuellers. (This
was versifferusly applauded by the cumpany, and as I make it a
pint to get along as pleasant as possible, I sung out "bully for
you, old boy.")
The cumpany then drew round the table and the Sircle kommenst
to go it. Thay axed me if thare was an body in the Sperret land
which I wood like to convarse with. I sed if Bill Tompkins, who
was onct my partner in the show biznis, was sober, I should like
to convarse with him a few periods.
"Is the Sperret of William Tompkins present?" sed 1 of the long
hared chaps, and there was three knox on the table.
Sez I, "William, how goze it, Old Sweetness?"
"Pretty ruff, old hoss," he replide.
That was a pleasant way we had of addressin each other when he
was in the flesh.
"Air you in the show bizniz, William?" sed I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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