Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-10-21

when, having last fallen heavily on a
queen full, he laid aside his sombrero
. mop the beaded perspiration from
Ais brow, and in so doing exposed g
startling work of art in the shape ola
monstrous spider tatooed into the
skin OF his shining poll. | was fas-
cinated by the horrible thing, which
was so cleverly initiated in India ink
that it stood out from the scalp in all
the resemblance of life. 1t made my
flesh crawl to look at it, and | expert
enced an almost irresistible desire to
smash it with a broom and then "chug'
it up aud down half a dozen times, as
| have seen courageous women do, to
make sure | had crushed il. Msjah
looked Indignantly around to see if
his illluck could be traced 10 the fact
that anybody was sitting with
his foot on a rung Of his chair, and
caught my fascinated gaze riyeted on
his spider. In a moment all his
i'll -humOr had vanished, and his red
and rotund countenance beamed with
the pleasure which the inventor of a
patent churn feels in explaining its
movement at a county fair. "Ahl'
said he, II see you are admiring my
spidah. | Aattah myselfit was rather
a clevah ideah. What is the idea?
you ask. Why, my deah fellow pill
grim, it ought to be obvios to pusson
of yo' appah'nt dissunment. Flies,
sahl That tells the whole STONY. You
see-you may help me to three
k'yahds, Mr.. Dealah-evah since |
lost my hair from the fevah | have
been pestered to death with the in
funnel flies. They made life a bur
den to me, sab, every time | un-
coyahed my head, an as | couldn't
wear my hat in church, | dreaded for
Sunday to come around, Come to
the centah, gentlemen | tried a wash
o. p~ennyroyal an carbolic acid,
but it took the skin often my head,
and then the pesky flies was wussen
ever. Last August there come along a
drunken loafer who said he was a ship
wrecked sailah, and he was t~attooin
mummaids an ships an anchors on
all the boys in town. | caught the
idea from him. | asked him if he
could tattoo a spidah, and he said he'd
neyah tried it, but he guessed hecould
with a little practice so | engaged
him a good big spidah to sit for his
portrait, and paid a niggah s. to let
him practice on him. He tattooed
that niggah until at a little distance
he looked like Captain Costentenus
the tattoOed wonder OF Barnum's
suckus. He had spidah all over him.
The artists fast Efforts were horrid
daubs, buthe kept on improving with
each spidah. [ wanted bin to prac.
tice a couple O days mo befo' trnstin
him with the job 0 frescOin' my rink
but the niggah kicked like a mule and
swore he'd throw up the job and for.
feit his pay rather than have another
needle stuck into him, and | had t
comet to time. How did it show on the
niggah's hide? Well, you see, he useC
red ink on the niggah. [ felt shuah i
he could get the outlines all right ]
could trust him with the shading and
prospecting of the work you see b,
has made a mighty good job OF it
The spidah is no natch'rsl an lifelikt
that he'd deceive the elect, and as
consequence no fly has lit on my heaC
since it was put there. For the frs
week or two | was offully afraid tn,
- little cusses would drop. on tn
swindle and give it to me hotter
ever, but they didn't. BY rights
oughter patented the invention, ant
charged a royalty on every spidah. B!
j~udiciously advertising | might Z
made a fortune outen it. But | hadn'
the heart to do it. l bequethed tn.
invention to the hy-blow bald heads o
/, the greatest and freest country owe
which the eagle ever screamed, sab
and when | die my name will be GU
, In indelible letiahs on the adamantin
walls O. the Temple O. Fame, alODgsid
O. the buffers who discovered vac
cination, aud the Firginny patriot VIII,
dug mp the secre' O. mixin' greens il
his Ticker. You hear my ofal hawn.'