The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 5: The London Punch LettersWard, Artemus
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The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 5: The London Punch Letters
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
Well, one day I said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will show you the
Bear's fondness for his master," and I went and laid down. I
tho't I observed a pecooliar expression into his eyes, as he
rolled clumsily to'ards me, but I didn't dream of the scene which
follered. He laid down, and put his paw on my breast.
"Affection of the Bear for his Master," I repeated. "You see the
Monarch of the Western Wilds in a subjugated state. Fierce as
these animals naturally are, we now see that they have hearts and
can love. This Bear, the largest in the world, and measurin
seventeen feet round the body, loves me as a mer-ther loves her
che-ild!" But what was my horror when the grizzly and infamus
Bear threw his other paw UNDER me, and riz with me to his feet.
Then claspin me in a close embrace he waltzed up and down the
platform in a frightful manner, I yellin with fear and anguish.
To make matters wuss, a low scurrilus young man in the audiens
hollered out:
"Playfulness of the Bear! Quick moosic!"
I jest 'scaped with my life. The Bear met with a wiolent death
the next day, by bein in the way when a hevily loaded gun was
fired off by one of my men.
But you should hear my Essy which I wrote for the Social Science
Meetins. It would have had a movin effeck on them.
I feel that I must now conclood.
I have read Earl Bright's speech at Leeds, and I hope we shall
now hear from John Derby. I trust that not only they, but Wm. E.
Stanley and Lord Gladstone will cling inflexibly to those great
fundamental principles, which they understand far better than I
do, and I will add that I do not understand anything about any of
them whatever in the least--and let us all be happy, and live
within our means, even if we have to borrer money to do it with.
Very respectfully yours,
Artemus Ward.
5.8. A VISIT TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
MR. PUNCH, My dear Sir,--You didn't get a instructiv article from
my pen last week on account of my nervus sistim havin underwent a
dreffle shock. I got caught in a brief shine of sun, and it
utterly upsot me. I was walkin in Regent Street one day last
week, enjoyin your rich black fog and bracing rains, when all at
once the Sun bust out and actooally shone for nearly half an hour
steady. I acted promptly. I called a cab and told the driver to
run his hoss at a friteful rate of speed to my lodgins, but it
wasn't of no avale. I had orful cramps, and my appytite left me,
and my pults went down to 10 degrees below zero. But by careful
nussin I shall no doubt recover speedy, if the present sparklin
and exileratin weather continners.
[All of the foregoin is sarcasum.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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