Doc walked up to the cotton-bale and placed his carpet-bag on it, close beside Bill.
“Saunders,” said he, “in this thing is a pistol nearly a foot and a half long. Now I'll give you my horse all right, even if you are the most unreliable man I ever saw, and I'll pay the druggist his hundred; but if you go around the neighborhood boasting that you got well after I gave you up, something is going to flash, and it won't be out of a black bottle, either, but right out of Old Miss Betsy, here in this carpet-bag. I don't blame you for getting well, as a sort of a lark, you understand; but when you make a serious affair of it, you hurt my professional pride. Old Miss Betsy is right in here. Do you gather me?”
“I pick up yo' threads putty well, Doc, I think.”
“All right; and see that with them threads you sew up your mouth. You may be proof against the pizen of the swamp, but you ain't proof against the jolt of a lead-mine. That's all.”
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS
- How does the description of the doctor's home emphasize character?
- What was the doctor's ability?
- How does the writer make the doctor a universal character as well as a local character?
- How does the writer produce humor?
- How does the writer arouse our respect for the doctor?
- How does the writer arouse our sympathy?
- What character trait does the anecdote reveal?
- Why does the writer use so much conversation in telling the anecdote?
- What advantage does the writer gain by ending the sketch so abruptly?
- How does the sketch affect the reader?
SUBJECTS FOR WRITTEN IMITATION
| 1. The Druggist | 11. The Teacher |
| 2. A Borrowing Neighbor | 12. The Minister |
| 3. The Natural Leader | 13. The Policeman |
| 4. The Peanut Man | 14. The Expressman |
| 5. The Milkman | 15. The Freshman |
| 6. The Iceman | 16. The Senior |
| 7. The Conductor | 17. The College Student |
| 8. The Clerk | 18. The Elevator Boy |
| 9. The Postman | 19. The Farmer |
| 10. The Lawyer | 20. The Grocer |
DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING
Select for your subject a person in whom you see many laughable traits, but whom you really admire. Sum up his characteristics briefly and suggestively. Make your humor the kind that will awaken smiles but not ridicule. Use exaggeration in moderation. Be particularly careful to select words that will convey the half-humorous, half-serious thought that you wish to communicate. End your sketch by telling an anecdote that will emphasize one or more of the characteristics that you have mentioned. Tell the anecdote in a “snappy” way, with crisp dialogue.