THE BIGLOW PAPERS No. I. A LETTER JOSEPH T. FROM MR. EZEKIEL BIGLOW OF JAALAM TO THE HON. BUCKINGHAM, EDITOR OF THE BOSTON COURIER, INCLOSING A POEM OF HIS SON, MR. HOSEA BIGLOW. JAYLEM, june 1846. MISTER EDDYTER : Our Hosea wuz down to Boston last week, and he see a cruetin Sarjunt a struttin round as popler as a hen with 1 chicking, with 2 fellers a drummin and fifin arter him like all nater. the sarjunt he thout Hosea hed n't gut his i teeth cut cos he looked a kindo's though he'd jest com down, so he cal'lated to hook him in, but Hosy wood n't take none o' his sarse for all he hed much as 20 Rooster's tales stuck onto his hat and eenamost enuf brass a bobbin up and down on his shoulders and figureed onto his coat and trousis, let alone wut nater hed sot in his featers, to make a 6 pounder out on. wal, Hosea he com home considerabal riled, and arter I'd gone to bed I heern Him a thrashin round like a short-tailed Bull in fli-time. The old Woman ses she to me ses she, Zekle, ses she, our Hosee 's gut the chollery or suthin anuther ses she, 1 don't you Bee skeered, ses I, he 's oney amakin pottery 1 ses i, he's ollers on hand at that ere busynes like Da & martin, and shure enuf, cum mornin, Hosy he cum down stares full chizzle, hare on eend and cote tales flyin, and sot rite of to go reed his varses to Parson Wilbur bein he haint aney grate shows o' book larnin himself, bimeby he cum back and sed the parson wuz dreffle tickled with 'em as i hoop you will Be, and said they wuz True grit. Hosea ses taint hardly fair to call 'em hisn now, cos the parson kind o' slicked off sum o' the last varses, but he told Hosee he did n't want to put his ore in to tetch to the Rest on 'em, bein they wuz verry well As thay wuz, and then Hosy ses he sed suthin a nuther about Simplex Mundishes or sum sech feller, but I guess Hosea kind o' did n't hear him, for I never hearn o' nobody o' that name in this villadge, and I've lived here man and boy 76 year cum next tater diggin, and thair aint no wheres a kitting spryer 'n I be. If you print 'em I wish you'd jest let folks know who hosy's father is, cos my ant Keziah used to say it's nater to be curus ses she, she aint livin though and he's a likely kind o' lad. EZEKIEL BIGLOW. THRASH away, you'll hev to rattle 'Taint a knowin' kind o' cattle 1 Aut insanit, aut versos facit. — H. W. Put in stiff, you fifer feller, Let folks see how spry you be, Guess you'll toot till you are yeller 'Fore you git ahold o' me! Thet air flag's a leetle rotten, Hope it aint your Sunday's best ; — Fact! it takes a sight o' cotton To stuff out a soger's chest: Sence we farmers hev to pay fer 't, Ef you must wear humps like these, S'posin' you should try salt hay fer 't, It would du ez slick ez grease. 'T would n't suit them Southun fellers, O' them nigger-drivin' States. Them thet rule us, them slave-traders, Haint they cut a thunderin' swarth (Helped by Yankee renegaders), Thru the vartu o' the North! We begin to think it 's nater To take sarse an' not be riled; Who'd expect to see a tater All on eend at bein' biled? Ez fer war, I call it murder, Than my Testyment fer that; Ef 'Taint your eppyletts an' feathers Make the thing a grain more right; "Taint afollerin' your bell-wethers Will excuse ye in His sight; Wut's the use o' meetin'-goin' They may talk o' Freedom's airy Fer the barthrights of our race; To abuse ye, an' to scorn ye, Aint it cute to see a Yankee Tell ye jest the eend I've come to Any gump could larn by heart; Hev one glory an' one shame. Ev'y thin' thet 's done inhuman Injers all on 'em the same. 'Taint by turnin' out to hack folks "Taint the hide thet makes it wus, All it keers fer in a feller 'S jest to make him fill its pus. Want to tackle me in, du ye? |