The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-11-28
JOSH BILLINGS"
Various Tributes to His Genial
Quaint Worth.

IA more sweet and delightful nature
than Josh Billings (lIenry Shaw never
lived. says ID. X. Locke. of the Toledo
Blade, in his editorial tribute to the
dead humorist HE was singular
compound of simpli city and shrewdness
He was more philosopher than humor-
ist His sayings will outlive those of
Poor Richard, and they ought to. for
his was pleasant philosophy that b ad
nothing of meanness in it.
HE did not write as a profession.
Writing adopted him. He originally
wrote his sayings because he had to.
The public got taste for them and
compelled him to write them. He was
not money-maker, and yet he was in
small way. When he found goodness
he made the public pay He was very
shrewd IN his investments, so that he
left his family a competency.
"He captivated on the platform be-
cause his manner exactly fitted his mat
ter. His lectures were nothing but a
collection of sayings carefully and
artsticalfy arranged so as to appear
without form, He was always popular
because his talk was like his writings
intended to discourage meanness and
to be helpful to those who needed help.
There was not a mean or selfish thing
IN him, and his work was merely re.
flex OF himself. He was an originator
and compressor His great merit was
in taking column and boiling it down
so as to get it into two lines. His work
was converting ashes into potash.
He was all in all delightful man.
and was in private life what he was on
the platform and in print. He never did
a mean thing, and never had an enemy
among good men"
"He was a man no one could know
WELL said Milward Adams. of Central
Music Hall, Toledo. II asked him olce
why he did not stand up and talk to his
audience, and he replied We'll, sir,
old as | am, and as long as have been
before the public. l never 90 on the
stage but / am so nervous and fright
ened that l don't know who | am for
the next twenty minutes. Do YOU
know he used to conduct most all of his
business correspondence by postal card,
with his communication on it mostly
printed; and the characterst' thing
ABOUT this was that in the corner of the
card was good picture of Josh in chair
while beside him, with cheek against
his, was donkey around whose neck
Josh had an arm. He announced his
terms in this fashion: i will lecture
Tor fun and one hundred dollars thrown
IN. Aud, that's what he got unless
visiting some small place where they
couldn't pay as much. He picked up
his wisdom as he went. He told me
once, when l asked him where he got
his ideas for all his sayings, that he got
them everywhere looking at this thing
and at that as he travelled from place to
place. He never seemed conscious that
he was humorist." ~ II 4o'r'5 ssa
Some years ago there was published,
Tor advertising purposes, letter which
Josh Billings wrote to a gentleman in
the way OF autobiography. 1t was in
part as follows:
! was born IN berkshire County, Mass,
during the nineteenth century of highly re,
spectacle parents and owe what little sue
cess nave attained to the wisdom of my
frasran Tna a ree t e., OF my mother At the
ward and followed it until stood upon the
banks OF the wide Missouri, without any
plans Tor life, and but little better in feelings
than cheerful vagrant For twenty-fiye
years the various wandcrings of a border
NE nade me aequa nted with scenes and ex-
perences better calculated to cut the char
acter sharp, than to refine IT, and IL escaped
without scars. IT was simply because the
e eas. !tib Of my nature looked upon
Ia common with most Americans who have
10 push early to test their own wings en-
gagged in all the usual enterprises of q front
lereman, having been at times land hunter.
farmer, drover steamboat captain and even
pioneer, for iyrart ally organized an, enter
prise as early us 1885 to cross the Rocky
Mountains Tn : last-named enterprise was
profound failure, but its Inception and
preliminary arrangements afforded me one
lures. and that Is three letters now. in my
possession, wr item to me personally by
Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams and Martin
Van Buren,, commencing me and the
undertaking to the kind care and patronage
of all people and all nations f =,
II lmay be said 70 ever have commenced
literary career. II certainly was much
later in life than st men commit the folly,
for ! had passed forty-five years before 1
little reputation may have made has been
accomplished W thin the last nine years, aud
l consider that owe all of this little to the
Kindness Of the world at large, who, while
they have scovered but little wit, or even
humor, in what have written. have done
me the credit to acknowledge that my pro-
- u
all my faith, hope and charity upon this one
Impulse of my n'ture, and that is, II could
have my way. u, ere would be smile coutin-
ually on the face of every human being on
Gods footstool, and this smile should ever
and anon widen into broad grin
II have not the Inclination 10 go into an
extended recount OF the trials and failures
that have met with since first put on the
cap and bells. but can assure you that
would not contend with them again for
what little glory and stamps they have won
for me"
The bad spelling under which Josh
Billings pregnant savings so profitably
thrived was purrosely taken on. partly
through fear of his ability to spell cor
rectly. aud partl, from eccentrcity. So
Billings quasi-phonetic method became
all his own, and no man lives who can
fix a law thereto. His was horse sense
expressed in the plain Saxon of homely
people. He turned out aphorisms grin
ming with TRUTH If his lectures were
nondescript it is because they lacked
unity and cohere ncy. not matter. He
was neither Artenus Ward nor the droll
and brilliant Phoenix. nor Bob Burdette,
nor Mark Twain-that everybody
knows; he was Josh Billings. kind OF
Old Man of the Mountain, who talked
wisdom. to the people with his books
and came to aIruse them with the
same. expounded in his dry but huinor-
Gus way, from their platforms
In certain localities. says repre-
sentative of the Redpath Lyceum Blu
reau. Josh Bill ngs was in demand, and
could command one hundred and fifty
dollars for lecture. being called for In
- a 4 "a