Most all the animile kritters hav instinkt, which is wuth more to them than reason would be, for instinkt don’t make enny blunders.
If the animiles had reason, they would akt just as ridikilus as we men folks do.
But a hen don’t seem tew hav even instinkt, and was made expressly for a phool.
I hav seen a hen fly out ov a good warm shelter, on the 15th ov January, when the snow was 3 foot high, and lite on the top ov a stun wall, and coolly set thare, and freeze tew deth.
Noboddy but a darn phool would do this, unless it was tew save a bet.
I hav saw a human being do similar things, but they did it tew win a bet.
To save a bet, is self-preservashun, and self-preservashun, is the fust law ov natur, so sez Blakstone, and he is the best judge ov law now living.
If i couldn’t be Josh Billings, i would like, next in suit tew be Blakstone, and compoze sum law.
Not so far removed from the Josh Billings type of humor is the work of James Russell Lowell. His well known Biglow Papers exploit in perfection the back country New England politics as well as native character.