Uncle Josh at Delmonico's
I USED to hear the summer boarders tell a whole lot about a place
here in New York kept by Mr. Delmonico. Thar's bin about ten thousand
summer boarders down to Punkin Centre one time and another, and I guess
I've carried the bundles and stood the grumblin' from about all of them;
and when anyone of 'em would find fault with anythin' I used to ast him
whar he boarded at in New York, and they all told me at Mr. Delmonico's;
so I'd cum to the conclusion that Mr. Delmonico must hav a right smart
purty good sized tavern; and I sed to mother—now mother, when I git
down to New York that's whar I'm goin' to board, at Mr. Delmonico's.
Wall, I got a feller to show me whar it wuz, and when I got on the
inside I don't s'pose I wuz ever more sot back in all my life; guess you
could have knocked my eyes off with a club; they stuck out like bumps on
a log. Wall sir, they had flowers and birds everywhere, and trees a
settin' in wash
tubs, didn't look to me as though they would stand much of a gale; and
about a hundred and fifty patent wind mills runnin' all to onct, and out
in the woods somewhar they had a band a-playin'. I couldn't see 'em but
I could hear 'em; guess some of 'em wuz a havin' a dance to settle down
their dinner; I couldn't tell whether it wuz a society festival or a
camp meetin' at feedin'
time. Wall, one feller cum up to me and commenced talkin' some furrin
language I didn't understand, somethin' about bon-sour, mon-sour. I jist
made up my mind he wuz one of them bunco fellers, and I wouldn't talk to
him. Then another feller cum up right smart like and wanted to know if
I'd hav my dinner table de hotel or all over a card, and I told him if
it wuz all the same to him he could bring me my dinner on a plate.
Wall, he handed me a programme of the dinner and I et about half way
down it and drank a bottle of cider pop what he give me, and it got into
my head, and I never felt so durn good in all my life. I got to singin'
and I danced Old Dan Tucker right thar in the dinin' room, and I took a
wrestle out of Mr. bon-sour mon-sour; and jist when I got to enjoyin'
myself right good, they called in alot of constables, and it cost me
sixteen dollars and forty-five cents, and then they took me out ridin'
in a little blue wagon with a bell on it, and they kept ringin' the bell
every foot of the way to let folks know I wuz one of Mr. Delmonico's
boarders.
[Description: Image of Uncle Josh disrupting dinner at Delmonico's]