Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-04-06

THE ANr.

The ant liz a menny footed insekt.
They live about one thousand five hum
dred and fifty of them (more or iess), in the
same hole in the ground, and hold their
property i'm common.
They hav no holydays, no eight-hour
sistem, nor never strike for emmy higher
wages
They are cheerful little toilers, and hev
no malice, nor back door to their hearts.
Their IL no sedentary loafers amung
them, and yu never see one outc a job.
They git up arly, go tew bed late, work
all the time and eat on the run.
Yu never see two ants argueing sum
phoolish question that neither ov them
didn't understand; they don't kare wheth-
er the moon liz inhabited, or not; nor
whether fish weighing two pounds, put
into n pail ov water allreddy phull Will
make the pail slop over, or weigh more.
They amt a-hunting after the philoso-
piers stone, nor Citing crazy over the
cauze of the sudden earthquakes.
They don't care whether Jupiter IL 80 or
81 millions ov miles up in the air, nor
whether the arth bobs around on its axes
or not, so long az it don't bob over their
korn crib and spill their barley.
They are simple, little, bizzy aunts, full
ov faith, working hard, living prudently,
committing no sin, prazeing God by mind
ing their own bizzness, and dieing when
their times comes, tew make room for the
next crop ov aunts.
They are O reproach to the lazy, an en-
ccuragement few the industrious, a rebuke
few the viscious, and a study to the Chris
tian
If WI want few take lesson in arkitek-
ture, 20 and set down bi the side ov their
hole In the ground, and wonder how SO
menny kin liv so thick.
If yure pashunce needs cOnsolashun,
watch the ants, and be strengthened.
I ,,,o,, l,ad Iod.laI taxr, hi, o;fx,l tho
pashunce and grit ov theze little atoms ov
animated natuT. every mountin on the buzz
yum ov the arth would, before this, hav
bin levelled, and every inch ov surface
would scream with fruitfulness, and count
less lots ov human critters would hav bin
added to the inhabitants oy the universe
and bin fed on corn and other sass.
/ hay sot by the hour and half down
near an aunt-hill, and marvelled; hav
wondered ut their instinkts, and hav
thought how big must be the jackass who
waz satisfied to beleave that even an ant,
the least ov the bugs, could hav bin created,
made bizzy, and sot to work by chance.
Oh, how lido pity the individual who be-
leaves that all things here are the work ov
an acksikent! He robs himself ov all plez-
cure on earth. and all right i'm Heaven.
| had rather be an ant (even humbly,
bandy-legged, profane swearing ant, than
to look upon the things ov this world az
would upon the throw OV the dice.
Ants are older than Adam.
Man (for yerv yize y.eosO,,s) want bilt UNI
til all other things were finished, and pro-
nounced good.
If man had bin made fust he would hav
insisted upon bossing the rest ov the lob.
He probably would hay obiekted to Hav-
ing enny LITTLE. bizzy aunts at ali. and yari-
Gus other obiekshuns would hav bin offer
ed. equally green.
am clad that man waz the last thing
made. II
IF man hadn't hav bin made at all. YOU
never would hay heard me find enny fault
about II
I haven't mucb faith in man. not be-
konze he kant do we'll. Int bekauze he
wont.
Ants hay bye laws. and a constitution.
and they mean sumthing.
Their laws amt like our laws. made with
a hole in them. SO that man kan steal n
hoss and ride thru them ON walk.
They DON'T hav emmy whisky ring that
~ virfewons simnIv 6ekauze II hooks bi
the millvun and then Ieralizes its own
ackts. 80. ~ 80
nn tho Ear sbe,I redSv few he s1aJlerad
hos - 70