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Show ARTEMUS WARD ON WORK. A Humorous Lecture Deliverd to An Old Southern "Uncle." Shortly after the war Artemus Ward, (Charles Farrar Browne,) the famous humorist hu-morist of a generation ajro, visited the plantation plan-tation of a friend at Lake Providence, La. There, for the first time in his life, the eccentric ec-centric fillister found himself face to face with the good-natured plantation darkey. He found in him a never-failing source of humor and amusement. He wouldn't hunt, either afoot or on horseback, but spent most of his spare time strolling through the negro ne-gro quarters. His humor, uttered with the utmost gravity, was too deep for the comprehension com-prehension of the lately liberated slaves. They listened to his utterances with as much earnestness as ever Greek paid to Delphic oracle, and gave him their entire confidence. Among the negroes on the place was an old patriarch of the Uncle Tom variety-, called Uncle Jeff. Finding him at work one day, Artemus stopped him and said in tones of irreat gravity : "Uncle Jefferson, why do you thus pursue pur-sue the habit of industry? Indolence is preferable. I prefer it myself. I am happiest hap-piest when I am idle. Why cannot you pur. sue a life of happy idleness, too"? Why do you not break away from this habit of work-intr work-intr at once? Uncle Jefferson, you couid live for months without performing any kind of labor, and at the expiration of that time feel fresh and vigorous enough to begin be-gin it over again. Idleness invigorates the system. Idleness is a sweet boon. No one ehouid work. He should hire somebody to work for him." During this exposition of the beauty and benefits of idleness as a regular business, Artemus' countenance wore a mournful look, as though he were deeply commiserating the sad state of Uncle Jeff. The patriarch eazed at the humorist with surprised admiration for the great and good and wise originator of a theory which coincided with his own ideas. "You is jes right Mistah Artenias," he exclaimed, as the sad humorist, handing him a dollar greenback, silently waved him way. Uncle Jeff hastened to tell the won-tierlul won-tierlul story in the quarters, and to exhibit the bill as proof, and Artemus laughed and . chuckled for an hour afterward. |