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
"I sed, Sir, that they was sealed!" He spoke in a traggerdy
voice.
"Will they probly continner on in that stile to any grate
extent, Sir?" I axed.
"Sir," sed he, turnin as red as a biled beet, "don't you know
that the rules of our Church is that I, the Profit, may hev as
meny wives as I wants?"
"Jes so," I sed. "You are old pie, ain't you?"
"Them as is Sealed to me--that is to say, to be mine when I
wants um--air at present my sperretooul wives," sed Mister
Yung.
"Long may thay wave!" sez I, seein I shood git into a scrape ef
I didn't look out.
In a privit conversashun with Brigham I learnt the follerin
fax: It takes him six weeks to kiss his wives. He don't do it
only onct a yere & sez it is wuss nor cleanin house. He don't
pretend to know his children, thare is so many of um, tho they
all know him. He sez about every child he meats call him Par,
& he takes it for grantid it is so. His wives air very
expensiv. Thay allers want suthin & ef he don't buy it for um
thay set the house in a uproar. He sez he don't have a minit's
peace. His wives fite amung their selves so much that he has
bilt a fitin room for thare speshul benefit, & when too of 'em
get into a row he has em turnd loose into that place, whare the
dispoot is settled accordin to the rules of the London prize
ring. Sum times thay abooz hisself individooally. Thay hev
pulled the most of his hair out at the roots & he wares meny a
horrible scar upon his body, inflicted with mop-handles,
broom-sticks, and sich. Occashunly they git mad & scald him
with bilin hot water. When he got eny waze cranky thay'd shut
him up in a dark closit, previsly whippin him arter the stile
of muthers when thare orfsprings git onruly. Sumptimes when he
went in swimmin thay'd go to the banks of the Lake & steal all
his close, thereby compellin him to sneek home by a sircootius
rowt, drest in the Skanderlus stile of the Greek Slaiv. "I
find that the keers of a marrid life way hevy onto me," sed the
Profit, "& sumtimes I wish I'd remaned singel." I left the
Profit and startid for the tavern whare I put up to. On my way
I was overtuk by a lurge krowd of Mormons, which they
surroundid me & statid that they were goin into the Show free.
"Wall," sez I, "ef I find a individooal who is goin round
lettin folks into his show free, I'll let you know."
"We've had a Revelashun biddin us go into A. Wards's Show
without payin nothin!" thay showtid.
"Yes," hollered a lot of femaile Mormonesses, ceasin me by the
cote tales & swingin me round very rapid, "we're all goin in
free! So sez the Revelashun!"
"What's Old Revelashun got to do with my show?" sez I, gittin
putty rily. "Tell Mister Revelashun," sed I, drawin myself up
to my full hite and lookin round upon the ornery krowd with a
prowd & defiant mean, "tell Mister Revelashun to mind his own
bizness, subject only to the Konstitushun of the United
States!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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