the complete works of artemus ward, part 1-第18部分
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terrible by his vile insinuations; & finally smothers her to
deth with a piller。 Mrs。 Iago cums in just as Otheller has
finished the fowl deed & givs him fits right & left; showin him
that he has bin orfully gulled by her miserble cuss of a
husband。 Iago cums in; & his wife commences rakin him down
also; when he stabs her。 Otheller jaws him a spell & then cuts
a small hole in his stummick with his sword。 Iago pints to
Desdemony's deth bed & goes orf with a sardonic smile onto his
countenance。 Otheller tells the peple that he has dun the
state sum service & they know it; axes them to do as fair a
thing as they can for him under the circumstances; & kills
hisself with a fish…knife; which is the most sensible thing he
can do。 This is a breef skedule of the synopsis of the play。
Edwin Forrest is a grate acter。 I thot I saw Otheller before
me all the time he was actin; & when the curtin fell; I found
my spectacles was still mistened with salt…water; which had run
from my eyes while poor Desdemony was dyin。 Betsy JaneBetsy
Jane! let us pray that our domestic bliss may never be busted
up by a Iago!
Edwin Forrest makes money actin out on the stage。 He gits
five…hundred dollars a nite & his board & washin。 I wish I had
such a Forrest in my Garding!
1。21。 THE SHOW BUSINESS AND POPULAR LECTURES。
I feel that the Show Bizniss; which Ive stroven to ornyment; is
bein usurpt by Poplar Lecturs; as thay air kalled; tho in my
pinion thay air poplar humbugs。 Individoouls; who git hard up;
embark in the lecturin biznis。 They cram theirselves with
hi…sounding frazis; frizzle up their hare; git trustid for a soot
of black close & cum out to lectur at 50 dollers a pop。 Thay
aint over stockt with branes; but thay hav brass enuff to make
suffishunt kittles to bile all the sope that will be required
by the ensooin sixteen ginerashuns。 Peple flock to heer um in
krowds。 The men go becawz its poplar & the wimin folks go to
see what other wimin folks have on。 When its over the lecturer
goze & ragales hisself with oysters and sich; while the peple
say; 〃What a charmin lectur that air was;〃 etsettery;
etsettery; when 9 out of 10 of um don't have no moore idee of
what the lecturer sed than my kangeroo has of the sevunth speer
of hevun。 Thare's moore infurmashun to be gut out of a well
conductid noospaperprice 3 sentsthan thare is out of ten
poplar lectures at 25 or 50 dollers a pop; as the kase may be。
These same peple; bare in mind; stick up their nosis at moral
wax figgers & sagashus beests。 Thay say these things is low。
Gents; it greeves my hart in my old age; when I'm in 〃the Sheer
& yeller leef〃 (to cote frum my Irish frend Mister McBeth) to
see that the Show biznis is pritty much plade out; howsomever I
shall chance it agane in the Spring。
1。22。 WOMAN'S RIGHTS。
I pitcht my tent in a small town in Injianny one day last
seeson; & while I was standin at the dore takin money; a
deppytashun of ladies came up & sed they wos members of the
Bunkumville Female Moral Reformin & Wimin's Rite's Associashun;
and thay axed me if they cood go in without payin。
〃Not exactly;〃 sez I; 〃but you can pay without goin in。〃
〃Dew you know who we air?〃 sed one of the wimina tall and
feroshus lookin critter; with a blew kotton umbreller under her
arm〃do you know who we air; Sir?〃
〃My impreshun is;〃 sed I; 〃from a kersery view; that you air
females。〃
〃We air; Sur;〃 sed the feroshus woman〃we belong to a Society
whitch beleeves wimin has riteswhitch beleeves in razin her
to her proper speerwhitch beleeves she is indowed with as
much intelleck as man iswhitch beleeves she is trampled on
and aboozed& who will resist henso4th & forever the
incroachments of proud & domineering men。〃
Durin her discourse; the exsentric female grabed me by the
coat…kollor & was swinging her umbreller wildly over my hed。
〃I hope; marm;〃 sez I; starting back; 〃that your intensions is
honorable! I'm a lone man hear in a strange place。 Besides;
I've a wife to hum。〃
〃Yes;〃 cried the female; 〃& she's a slave! Doth she never
dream of freedomdoth she never think of throwin off the yoke
of tyrrinny & thinkin & votin for herself?Doth she never
think of these here things?〃
〃Not bein a natral born fool;〃 sed I; by this time a little
riled; 〃I kin safely say that she dothunt。〃
〃Oh whotwhot!〃 screamed the female; swingin her umbreller in
the air。〃O; what is the price that woman pays for her
expeeriunce!〃
〃I don't know;〃 sez I; 〃the price of my show is 15 cents pur
individooal。〃
〃& can't our Soisety go in free?〃 asked the female。
〃Not if I know it;〃 sed I。
〃Crooil; crooil man!〃 she cried; & bust into teers。
〃Won't you let my darter in?〃 sed anuther of the exsentric
wimin; taken me afeckshunitely by the hand。 〃O; please let my
darter in;shee's a sweet gushin child of natur。〃
〃Let her gush!〃 roared I; as mad as I cood stick at their
tarnal nonsense; 〃let her gush!〃 Where upon they all sprung
back with the simultanious observashun that I was a Beest。
〃My female friends;〃 sed I; 〃be4 you leeve; I've a few remarks
to remark; wa them well。 The female woman is one of the
greatest institooshuns of which this land can boste。 Its
onpossible to get along without her。 Had there bin no female
wimin in the world; I should scarcely be here with my
unparalleld show on this very occashun。 She is good in
sicknessgood in wellnessgood all the time。 O woman;
woman!〃 I cried; my feelins worked up to a hi poetick pitch;
〃you air a angle when you behave yourself; but when you take
off your proper appairel & (mettyforically speaken)get into
pantyloonswhen you desert your firesides; & with your heds
full of wimin's rites noshuns go round like roarin lions;
seekin whom you may devour someboddyin short; when you
undertake to play the man; you play the devil and air an
emfatic noosance。 My female friends;〃 I continnered; as they
were indignantly departin; 〃wa well what A。 Ward has sed!〃
1。23。 WOULD…BE SEA DOGS。
Sum of the captings on the Upper Ohio River put on a heep of
airs。 To hear 'em git orf saler lingo you'd spose they'd bin
on the briny Deep for a lifetime; when the fact is they haint
tasted salt water since they was infants; when they had to take
it for WORMS。 Still they air good natered fellers; and when
they drink they take a dose big enuff for a grown person。
1。24。 THE PRINCE OF WALES。
To my friends of the Editorial Corpse:
I rite these lines on British sile。 I've bin follerin Mrs。
Victory's hopeful sun Albert Edward threw Kanady with my
onparaleled Show; and tho I haint made much in a pecoonary pint
of vew; I've lernt sumthin new; over hear on British Sile;
whare they bleeve in Saint George and the Dragoon。 Previs to
cumin over hear I tawt my organist how to grind Rule Brittany
and other airs which is poplar on British Sile。 I likewise
fixt a wax figger up to represent Sir Edmun Hed the Govner
Ginral。 The statoot I fixt up is the most versytile wax
statoot I ever saw。 I've showd it as Wm。 Penn; Napoleon
Bonypart; Juke of Wellington; the Beneker Boy; Mrs。 Cunningham
& varis other notid persons; and also for a sertin pirut named
Hix。 I've bin so long amung wax statoots that I can fix 'em up
to soot the tastes of folks; & with sum paints I hav I kin giv
their facis a beneverlent or fiendish look as the kase
requires。 I giv Sir Edmun Hed a beneverlent look; & when sum
folks who thawt they was smart sed it didn't look like Sir
Edmun Hed anymore than it did anybody else; I sed; 〃That's the
pint。 That's the beauty of the Statoot。 It looks like Sir
Edmun Hed or any other man。 You may kall it what you pleese。
Ef it don't look like anybody that ever lived; then it's
sertinly a remarkable Statoot & well worth seein。 _I_ kall it
Sir Edmun Hed。 YOU may kall it what you pleese!〃 'I had 'em
thare。'
At larst I've had a interview with the Prince; tho it putty
nigh cost me my vallerble life。 I cawt a glimpse of him as he
sot on the Pizarro of the hotel in Sarnia; & elbowd myself
threw a crowd of wimin; children; sojers & Injins that was
hangin round the tavern。 I was drawin near to the Prince when
a red…faced man in Millingtery close grabd holt of me and axed
me whare I was goin all so bold?
〃To see Albert Edard the Prince of Wales;〃 sez I; 〃who are
you?〃
He sed he was Kurnel of the Seventy Fust Regiment; Her
Magisty's troops。 I told him I hoped the Seventy Onesters was
in good helth; and was passin by when he ceased hold of me
agin; and sed in a tone of indigent cirprise:
〃What? Impossible! It kannot be! Blarst my hize; sir; did I
understan you to say that you was actooally goin into the
presents of his Royal Iniss?〃
〃That's what's the matter with me;〃 I replide。
〃But blarst my hize; sir; its onprecedented。 It's orful; sir。
Nothin' like it hain't happened sins the Gun Powder Plot of Guy
Forks。 Owdashus man; who air you?〃
〃Sir;〃 sez I; drawin myself up & puttin on a defiant air; 〃I'm
a Amerycan sitterzen。 My name is Ward。 I'm a husband & the
father of twins; which I'm happy to state thay look like me。
By perfeshun I'm a exhibiter of wax works & sich。〃
〃Good God!〃 yelled the Kurnal; 〃the idee of a exhibiter of wax
figgers goin into the presents of Royalty! The British Lion
may well roar with raje at the thawt!〃
Sez I; 〃Speakin of the British Lion; Kurnal; I'd like to make a
bargin with you fur that beast fur a few weeks to add to my
Show。〃 I didn't meen nothin by this。 I was only gettin orf a
goak; but you roter hev seen the Old Kurnal jump up & howl。 He
actooally fomed at the mowth。
〃This can't be real;〃 he showtid。 〃No; no。 It's a horrid
dream。 Sir; you air not a human beinyou hav no existents
yure a Myth!〃
〃Wall;〃 sez I; 〃old hoss; yule find me a ruther onkomfortable
Myth ef you punch my inards in that way agin。〃 I began to git
a little riled; fur when he called me a Myth he puncht me putty
hard。 The Kurnal now commenst showtin fur the Seventy Onesters。
I at fust thawt I'd stay & becum a Marter to British Outraje;
as sich a course mite git my name up & be a good advertisement
fur my Show; but it occurred to me that ef enny of the Seventy
Ones