FAVORS
At the village store, the young farmer complained bitterly.
"Old Si Durfee wants me to be one of the pall-bearers once more at his wife"s funeral. An" it"s like this. Si had me fer pall-bearer when his first wife was buried. An" then agin fer his second. An" when Eliza died, she as was his third, he up an" axed me agin. An" now, I snum, it"s the fourth time. An" ye know, a feller can"t be the hull time a-takin" favors, an" not payin" "em back."
FIGHTING
The boy hurried home to his father with an announcement:
"Me and Joe Peck had a fight to-day."
The father nodded gravely.
"Mr. Peck has already called to see me about it."
The little boy"s face brightened.
"Gee, pop! I hope you made out "s well "s I did!"
FINANCE
A very black little girl made her way into the presence of the lady of the house, and with much embarra.s.sment, but very clearly, explained who she was, and what her mission:
"Please, mum, I"se Ophelia. I"se de washerwoman"s little girl, an" mama, she sent me to say, would you please to len" her a dime. She got to pay some bills."
The successful financier snorted contemptuously.
"Money! pooh! there are a million ways of making money."
"But only one honest way," a listener declared.
"What way is that?" the financier demanded.
"Naturally, you wouldn"t know," was the answer.
The eminent financier was discoursing.
"The true secret of success," he said, "is to find out what the people want."
"And the next thing," someone suggested, "is to give it to them."
The financier shook his head contemptuously.
"No--to corner it."
The eminent banker explained just how he started in business:
"I had nothing to do, and I rented an empty store, and put up a sign, _Bank_. As soon as I opened for business, a man dropped in, and made a deposit of two hundred dollars. The next day another man dropped in and deposited three hundred dollars. And so, sir, the third day, my confidence in the enterprise reached such a point that I put in fifty dollars of my own money."
FINANCIERS
"My pa, he"s a financier," boasted one small boy to another.
""Tain"t much to brag of," the other sneered. "My pa an" uncle Jack are in jail, too."
FISHING
The congressman from California was telling at dinner in the hotel of tuna fishing.
"Just run out in a small motor boat," he explained, "and anything less than a hundred pounds is poor sport."
The colored waiter was so excited that he interrupted:
"You say you go after hundred-pound fish in a little motor boat, suh?"
The congressman nodded.
"But," the darky protested, "ain"t you scairt fer fear you"ll ketch one?"
FLATTERY
An eminent statesman was being driven rapidly by his chauffeur, when the car struck and killed a dog that leaped in front of it. At the statesman"s order, the chauffeur stopped the car, and the great man got out and hurried back to where a woman was standing by the remains. The dead dog"s mistress was deeply grieved, and more deeply angered. As the statesman attempted to address her placatingly, she turned on him wrathfully, and told him just what she thought, which was considerable and by no means agreeable. When, at last, she paused for breath, the culprit tried again to soothe her, saying:
"Madam, I shall be glad to replace your dog."
The woman drew herself up haughtily, surveyed the statesman with supreme scorn, and hissed:
"Sir, you flatter yourself!"
FLEAS
The debutante was alarmed over the prospect of being taken in to dinner by the distinguished statesman.
"Whatever can we talk about?" she demanded anxiously of her mother.