The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 7: Miscellaneous — John Shaqi
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 7: MiscellaneousWard, Artemus
General
The Complete Works of Artemus Ward — Part 7: Miscellaneous
Ward, Artemus
American wit and humor
"This is a very good country here where you are. You Irish hav
enjoyed our boons, held your share in our offices, and you certainly
have done your share of our votin. Then why this hulla-balloo about
freein Ireland? You do your frens in Ireland a great injoory, too;
because they b'lieve you're comin sure enuff, and they fly off the
handle and git into jail. My Irish frens, ponder these things a
little. 'Zamine 'em closely, and above all find out where the
pusses go to."
I sot down. There was no applaws, but they listened to me kindly.
They know'd I was honest, however wrong I might be; and they know'd
too, that there was no peple on arth whose generosity and gallantry
I had a higher respect for than the Irish, excep when they fly off
the handle. So, my feller citizens, let me toot my horn.
But Squire Thaxter put his hand onto my hed and said, in a mournful
tone of vois, "Mr. Ward, your mind is failin. Your intellect
totters! You are only about sixty years of age, yet you will soon
be a drivelin dotard, and hav no control over yourself."
"I have no control over my arms now," I replied, drivin my elbows
suddenly into the Squire's stomack, which caused that corpulent
magistrate to fall vilently off the stage into the fiddlers' box,
where he stuck his vener'ble hed into a base drum, and stated
"Murder" twice, in a very loud vois.
It was late when I got home. The children and my wife was all abed.
But a candle--a candle made from taller of our own raisin--gleamed
in Betsy's room; it gleamed for I! All was still. The sweet silver
moon was a shinin bright, and the beautiful stars was up to their
usual doins! I felt a sentymental mood so gently ore me stealin,
and I pawsed before Betsy's window, and sung, in a kind of op'ratic
vois, as follers, impromtoo, to wit:
Wake, Bessy, wake,
My sweet galoot!
Rise up, fair lady,
While I touch my lute!
The winder--I regret to say that the winder went up with a vi'lent
crash, and a form robed in spotless white exclaimed, "Cum into the
house, you old fool. To-morrer you'll be goin round complainin
about your liver!"
I sot up a spell by the kitchen fire readin Lewis Napoleon's "Life
of Julius Caesar." What a reckless old cuss he was! Yit Lewis
picturs him in glowin cullers. Caesar made it lively for the boys
in Gaul, didn't he? He slewd one million of citizens, male and
female--Gauls and Gaulusses--and then he sold another million of 'em
into slavery. He continnered this cheerful stile of thing for sum
time, when one day he was 'sassinated in Rome by sum high-toned
Roman gen'lmen, led on by Mr. Brutus. When old Bruty inserted his
knife into him, Caesar admitted that he was gone up. His funeral
was a great success, the house bein crowded to its utmost capacity.
Ten minutes after the doors were opened, the Ushers had to put up
cards on which was prntd, "Standin Room Only."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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