The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 2: WarWard, Artemus
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The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 2: War
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
I was fixin myself up to attend the great war meetin', when my
daughter entered with a young man who was evijently from the
city, and who wore long hair, and had a wild expression into
his eye. In one hand he carried a port-folio, and his other
paw claspt a bunch of small brushes. My daughter introduced
him as MR. SWEIBIER, the distinguished landscape painter from
Philadelphy.
"He is a artist, papa. Here is one of his master-pieces--a
young mother gazin' admirin'ly upon her first-born," and my
daughter showed me a really pretty picter, done in ile. "Is
it not beautiful, papa? He throws so much soul into his
work."
"Does he? does he?" said I--"well, I reckon I'd better hire
him to whitewash our fence. It needs it. What will you
charge, sir," I continued, "to throw some soul into my fence?"
My daughter went out of the room in very short meeter, takin'
the artist with her, and from the emphatical manner in which
the door slam'd, I concluded she was summat disgusted at my
remarks. She closed the door, I may say, in ITALICS. I went
into the closet and larfed all alone by myself for over half
an hour. I larfed so vi'lently that the preserve jars rattled
like a cavalry offisser's sword and things, which it aroused
my BETSY, who came and opened the door pretty suddent. She
seized me by the few lonely hairs that still linger sadly upon
my bare-footed hed, and dragged me out of the closet,
incidentally obsarving that she didn't exactly see why she
should be compelled, at her advanced stage of life, to open a
assylum for sooperanooated idiots.
My wife is one of the best wimin on this continent, altho' she
isn't always gentle as a lamb, with mint sauce. No, not
always.
But to return to the war meetin'. It was largely attended.
The Editor of the "Bugle" arose and got up and said the fact
could no longer be disguised that we were involved in a war.
"Human gore," said he, "is flowin'. All able-bodied men
should seize a musket and march to the tented field. I repeat
it sir, to the tented field."
A voice--"Why don't you go yourself, you old blowhard?"
"I am identified, young man, with a Arkymedian leaver which
moves the world," said the Editor, wiping his auburn brow with
his left coat-tail; "I allude, young man, to the press:
Terms, two dollars a year, invariably in advance. Job
printing executed with neatness and dispatch!" And with this
brilliant bust of elekance the Editor introduced Mr. J. Brutus
Hinkins, who is suffering from an attack of College in a
naberin' place. Mr. Hinkins said Washington was not safe.
Who can save our national capeetle?
"DAN SETCHELL," I said. "He can do it afternoons. Let him
plant his light and airy form onto the Long Bridge, make faces
at the hirelin' foe, and they'll skedaddle! Old SETCH can do
it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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