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Letter to Editor
August 15, 1838
Canton Herald
Canton, Madison County, Mississippi
What is this article about?
A reader sends a found manuscript titled 'Diary of a Loafer' from August 11, 1838, to the Canton Herald editor for deciphering. It humorously depicts a vagrant's low funds and observations of drinking and political talk on nullification, Clay, and Calhoun in a whiskey-and-slave county; the rest is illegible.
Clipping
OCR Quality
88%
Good
Full Text
For the Canton Herald
Mr. Editor: I picked up the following production in the streets of Canton a short time since, and as I cannot decipher it myself, I send it to you for the exercise of your knowledge of Chirography.
B.
DIARY OF A LOAFER.
August 11, 1838. Vell, here I am avay down in this here county of niggers and viskey, and just three quarters of a dollar an one bit in my pocket, vich these folks calls six bits or some sich like. I vent into a grocery shop to vet my vistle, this morning, jist ven I'd left my very comfortable lodgins onder a hoke tree; and my gracious! how these here folks drinks! and talks polities, on nullification, on Clay an Calhoun an all sich like. Mere the manuscript, from long exposure, has become entirely illegible.
Mr. Editor: I picked up the following production in the streets of Canton a short time since, and as I cannot decipher it myself, I send it to you for the exercise of your knowledge of Chirography.
B.
DIARY OF A LOAFER.
August 11, 1838. Vell, here I am avay down in this here county of niggers and viskey, and just three quarters of a dollar an one bit in my pocket, vich these folks calls six bits or some sich like. I vent into a grocery shop to vet my vistle, this morning, jist ven I'd left my very comfortable lodgins onder a hoke tree; and my gracious! how these here folks drinks! and talks polities, on nullification, on Clay an Calhoun an all sich like. Mere the manuscript, from long exposure, has become entirely illegible.
What sub-type of article is it?
Comedic
What themes does it cover?
Politics
Social Issues
What keywords are associated?
Diary Of A Loafer
Canton Streets
Nullification
Clay Calhoun
Whiskey Drinking
Politics Talk
Vagrancy
What entities or persons were involved?
B.
Mr. Editor
Letter to Editor Details
Author
B.
Recipient
Mr. Editor
Main Argument
submitting a found indecipherable manuscript titled 'diary of a loafer' for the editor to interpret, sharing its humorous dialect entry about vagrancy, drinking, and local political discussions.
Notable Details
Dialect Mimicking Immigrant Or Uneducated Speech
References To Nullification Crisis, Henry Clay, And John C. Calhoun
Date: August 11, 1838
Mentions 'County Of Niggers And Viskey'