gospel, the idea is really an excellent one. If, on t'other hand,
it is proposed to send preachin alone, all I can say is that it's a
hard case for the niggers. If you expect a colored person to get
deeply interested in a tract when his stummuck is empty, you expect
too much."

I gave the negro as much as I could afford, and the kind-hearted
lan'lord did the same. I said:

"Farewell, my colored fren, I wish you well, certainly. You are now
as free as the eagle. Be like him and soar. But don't attempt to
convert a Ethiopian person while his stummuck yearns for vittles.
And you, ladies--I hope you are ready to help the poor and
unfortunate at home, as you seem to help the poor and unfortunate
abroad."

When they had gone, the lan'lord said, "Come into the garden, Ward."
And we went and culled some carrots for dinner.

7.14. ARTEMUS WARD ON HEALTH.


[The following fragment from the pen of Artemus Ward was written in
the last days of his illness, and was found amongst the loose papers
on the table beside his bed. It contains the last written jests of
the dying jester, and is illustrative of that strong spirit of humor
which even extreme exhaustion and the near approach of death itself
could not wholly destroy.

There is an anecdote related of Thomas Hood to the effect that when