Release date is 2015-01-10

SOL SMITH: A Bully Boat and a Brag Captain
AMBROSE BIERCE: The Dog and the Bees
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES: Dislikes
G. H. DERBY ("Phoenix," "Squibob"): Illustrated Newspapers -- Tushmaker's Toothpuller
MARY MAPES DODGE: Miss Malony on the Chinese Question
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL: The Courtin' -- A Letter from Mr. Ezekiel Bigelow
JOHN GODFREY SAXE: The Coquette, a Portrait
SAMUEL L. CLEMENS ("Mark Twain"): Colonel Mulberry Sellers
FREDERICK WILLIAM SHELTON: Incidents in a Retired Life
BRET HARTE: Melons -- The Society upon the Stanislaus
CHARLES GODFREY LELAND: Ballad
JAMES JEFFREY ROCHE: The V-a-s-e
FRANK R. STOCKTON: Pomona's Novel
JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE: Fred Trover's Little Iron-clad
ROBERT JONES BURDETTE: The Artless Prattle of Childhood
ANONYMOUS: St. Peter at the Gate
HENRY GUY CARLETON: The Thompson Street Poker Club
GEORGE T. LANIGAN: The Fox and the Crow
HENRY CUYLER BUNNER: Behold the Deeds!
FRANK DEMPSTER SHERMAN: A Rhyme for Priscilla
THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH: A Rivermouth Romance
GELETT BURGESS: The Bohemians of Boston
MARION COUTHOUY SMITH: The Composite Ghost
BILL NYE: A Fatal Thirst
GEORGE W. PECK: Peck's Bad Boy
MISCELLANEOUS: Susan Simpson -- A Boston Lullaby -- The House That Jack Built -- An Insurance Agent's Story -- An Epitaph -- Some Messages Received by Teachers in Brooklyn Public Schools -- The Trout's Appeal.

E-text prepared by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

"Little Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor, Volume II" by Thomas L. Masson is a collection of humorous writings and short stories compiled in the early 20th century. This volume features a variety of contributions from notable American authors such as Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, showcasing their wit through anecdotes, fables, and comic sketches that explore everyday life and human nature. The opening portion of the volume introduces several pieces, starting with "A Bully Boat and a Brag Captain," which humorously recounts a steamboat journey along the Mississippi River led by a good-natured captain with a proclivity for card games. We also see a fable from Ambrose Bierce about a dog facing off with bees, highlighting the folly of overzealous actions. Additional segments include Oliver Wendell Holmes' reflections on dislike and personal aversions, laying a light-hearted foundation for the witty exploration of human quirks and social interactions that follows throughout the collection. Each piece captures unique aspects of American humor, making it a delightful read for those interested in classic wit. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

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