The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 5: The London Punch Letters — John Shaqi
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 5: The London Punch LettersWard, Artemus
General
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 5: The London Punch Letters
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
It's a sing'lar fack, but I never sot eyes on your excellent
British Mooseum till the other day. I've sent a great many peple
there, as also to your genial Tower of London, however. It
happened thusly: When one of my excellent countrymen jest
arrived in London would come and see me, and display a
inclination to cling to me too lengthy, thus showing a respect
for me which I feel I do not deserve, I would sugjest a visit to
the Mooseum and Tower. The Mooseum would ockepy him a day at
leest, and the Tower another. Thus I've derived considerable
peace and comfort from them noble edifisses, and I hope they will
long continner to grace your metroplis. There's my fren Col.
Larkins, from Wisconsin, who I regret to say understands the
Jamaica question, and wants to talk with me about it; I sent him
to the Tower four days ago, and he hasn't got throogh with it
yit. He likes it very much, and he writes me that he can't never
thank me sufficient for directin him to so interestin a bildin.
I writ him not to mention it. The Col. says it is fortnit we
live in a intellectooal age which wouldn't countenance such
infamus things as occurd in this Tower. I'm aware that it is
fashin'ble to compliment this age, but I ain't so clear that the
Col. is altogether right. This is a very respectable age, but
it's pretty easily riled; and considerin upon how slight a
provycation we who live in it go to cuttin each other's throats,
it may perhaps be doubted whether our intellecks is so much
massiver than our ancestors' intellecks was, after all.
I allus ride outside with the cabman. I am of humble parentage,
but I have (if you will permit me to say so) the spirit of the
eagle, which chafes when shut up in a four-wheeler, and I feel
much eagler when I'm in the open air. So on the mornin on which
I went to the Mooseum I lit a pipe, and callin a cab, I told the
driver to take me there as quick as his Arabian charger could go.
The driver was under the inflooence of beer and narrerly escaped
runnin over a aged female in the match trade, whereupon I
remonstratid with him. I said, "That poor old woman may be the
only mother of a young man like you." Then throwing considerable
pathos into my voice, I said:
"That poor old woman may be the only mother of a young man like
you. Then throwing considerable pathos into my voice I said,
"You have a mother?"
He said, "You lie!" I got down and called another cab, but said
nothin to this driver about his parents.
The British Mooseum is a magnificent free show for the people.
It is kept open for the benefit of all.
The humble costymonger, who traverses the busy streets with a
cart containin all kinds of vegetables, such as carrots, turnips,
etc, and drawn by a spirited jackass--he can go to the Mooseum
and reap benefits therefrom as well as the lord of high degree.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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