Verses Across™
        • 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899

Themes · What’s new · About, terms & privacy · ·
Also from us: Verses Across ↗ (the world's scriptures)

Literature · Humor

A Book of Burlesques 74The Second Man

18

Literature · Humor

A Book of Burlesques 74

The Second Man

MenckenEnglish
Yes, these foreigners know the game. They have made millions out of it in Paris. Every time you go to see a musical comedy at home, the second act is laid in Paris, and you see a whole stageful of girls wriggling around, and a lot of old sports having the time of their lives. All your life you hear that Paris is something rich and racy, something that makes New York look like Roanoke, Virginia. Well, you fall for the ballyho and come over to have your fling--and then you find that Paris is largely bunk. I spent a whole week in Paris, trying to find something really awful. I hired one of those Jew guides at five dollars a day and told him to go the limit. I said to him: "Don't mind me. I am twenty-one years old. Let me have the genuine goods." But the worst he could show me wasn't half as bad as what I have seen in Chicago. Every night I would say to that Jew: "Come on, now Mr. Cohen; let's get away from these tinhorn shows. Lead me to the real stuff." Well, I believe the fellow did his darndest, but he always fell down. I almost felt sorry for him. In the end, when I paid him off, I said to him: "Save up your money, my boy, and come over to the States. Let me know when you land. I'll show you the sights for nothing. This Baracca Class atmosphere is killing you."

Spotted a mistake or have an idea?

A Book of Burlesques 73A Book of Burlesques 75
Sources & credits: Mencken

Mencken — A Book of Burlesques (H. L. Mencken) (author lived 1880–1956). Public Domain. H. L. Mencken, A Book of Burlesques; public domain in the US; text from Project Gutenberg #22145. Source

Literature · Humor

A Book of Burlesques 75

MenckenEnglish