The Humour of America: Selected, with an Introduction and Index of American Humorists
General
The Humour of America: Selected, with an Introduction and Index of American Humorists
American wit and humor
MY naburs is mourn harf crazy on the new-fangled idear about Sperrets.
Sperretooul Sircles is held nitely & 4 or 5 long hared fellers has
settled here and gone into the sperret biznis excloosively. A atemt was
made to git Mrs. A. Ward to embark into the Sperret biznis but the atemt
faled. 1 of the long hared fellers told her she was a ethereal creeter &
wood make a sweet mejium, whareupon she attact him with a mop handle &
drove him out of the house. I will hear obsarve that Mrs. Ward is a
invalerble womun—the partner of my goys & the shairer of my sorrers. In
my absunce she watchis my interests & things with a Eagle Eye & when I
return she welcums me in afectionate stile. Trooly it is with us as it
was with Mr. & Mrs. INGOMER in the Play, to whit—
2 soles with but a single thawt
2 harts which beet as 1.
My naburs injooced me to attend a Sperretooul Sircle at Squire Smith’s.
When I arrove I found the east room chock full includin all the old
maids in the villige & the long hared fellers a4sed. When I went in I
was salootid with “hear cums the benited man”—“hear cums the hory-heded
unbeleever”—“hear cums the skoffer at trooth,” etsettery, etsettery.
Sez I, “my frens, it’s troo I’m hear, & now bring on your Sperrets”
1 of the long hared fellers riz up and sed he would state a few remarks.
He sed man was a critter of intelleck & was movin on to a Gole. Sum men
had bigger intellecks than other men had and thay wood git to the Gole
the soonerest. Sum men was beests & wood never git into the Gole at all.
He sed the Erth was materiel but man was immateriel, and hens man was
different from the Erth. The Erth, continnered the speaker, resolves
round on its own axeltree onct in 24 hours, but as man haint gut no
axeltree he cant resolve. He sed the ethereal essunce of the koordinate
branchis of superhuman natur becum mettymorfussed as man progrest in
harmonial coexistunce & eventooally anty humanized theirselves & turned
into reglar sperretuellers. [This was versifferusly applauded by the
cumpany, and as I make it a pint to get along as pleasant as possible, I
sung out “bully for you, old boy.”]
The cumpany then drew round the table and the Sircle kommenst to go it.
Thay axed me if thare was anbody in the Sperret land which I wood like
to convarse with. I sed if Bill Tompkins, who was onct my partner in the
show biznis, was sober, I should like to convarse with him a few
periods.
“Is the Sperret of William Tompkins present?” sed 1 of the long hared
chaps, and there was three knox on the table.
Sez I, “William, how goze it, Old Sweetness?”
“Pretty ruff, old hoss,” he replide.
That was a pleasant way we had of addressin each other when he was in
the flesh.
“Air you in the show biznis, William?” sed I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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