I often git letters from sum of our best philanthropisters, who love me,
thay say, and who wonder whi i don’t write sum longer things. Awl I kan
say tew them iz, that a short bilt writer iz often dull enuff, and a
long bilt one iz necessisarily so. A streak ov lazy lightning, a mile
long, that anyboddy kan dodge, soon loozes awl its novelty.
Thare iz grate power in words, if yu don’t hitch tew menny ov them
together; but their only power iz the interpretashun ov ideas; and the
more ginger you kan git intu the pod the better the dose.
Sum men are never so brilliant as when they don’t make enny remarks, and
no man needn’t git mad at himself bekauze he haz sed a good thing
without wasting a word.
A comik essayer haz got tew have a sprinkling ov the monkey in him; he
must akt sensible things strangely; it iz not an eazy task tew be a good
monkey, nor will it exackly answer tew be an artyfishall monkey; the
deviltry in a monkey iz natral--if it want, it wouldn’t be funny, but
ridikilous.
Az i hav sed on a feuter occasion before, it iz eazier tew be a good
critick, than a poor writer, but i am the last man tew giv enny man
mutch credit, for being able tew find fault.
If enny ov yure readers, Dear Mr. ---- ---- ----, or enny ov the fust
klass philanthropisters or philanthropisterisses, hav got anny spare
kapital lieing idle, they would like tew insert into the comik essa
bizness, i am reddy tew sell out mi small stock, good will and fixtures,
and i will quietly go into the frogs hind legg trade, and at the end ov
90 days, if they don’t find the silver-plated nonsense bizzness harder
tew steer than they think it iz, i will giv them credit for having a
good stock ov brains or impudense, i don’t know whitch.
A man who iz on a jurney, iz expekted tew go slow, and git dull, but if
he iz on an errand he iz expekted tew be lively, it iz jistly thus with
yure long and yure cluss bilt writers.
I hope thoze who take the pain tew read this squiblet, will giv me
credit for writing what i think, if it ain’t so sarching and brilliant,
and i would thank thoze who semioftenly advice me tew pump more power
and doxology into what i write, tew purchase me out and sett up the hot
paragraff trade theirselfs, and giv us wit on the haff-shell,
nitroglycerine humor, fun soaked in kamphene, jests crazy tew go oph at
haff cock, and raw sense that will make a saw-hoss laff.
I am mad that i ever set sail in the comik essa schooner, tew be so
often caught on the flats, and if i could git out of it now and hav enny
karakter at all left i would grab at the offer.
I will stop bi saying that it iz a darn sight eazier tew write too mutch
than it iz too little, and awl comik attempts, must be quick tew win,
for folks wont bear but little phooling at once on enny subjik, and i
say bully for you, folks.
BEAU BENNET’S SUPPLIKASHUN.
Kind Fortune, teach thi servant humility, but let no sneak ov an upstart
outshine him in things that are stylish.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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