Saturday, December 29, 2007

Never Bet the Devil Your Head

Never Bet the Devil Your Head

"Never Bet the Devil Your Head"

Edgar Allan Poe

1841

"It is not my design to diminish my deceased friend, Toby Dammit. He was a sad dog, it is true, and he died a dog's death.

"The fact is that his precocity in vice was awful. At five months of age he used to get into such passions that he was unable to articulate. At six months, I caught him gnawing a pack of cards. At seven months he was in the constant habit of catching and kissing the female babies. At eight months he refused to put his signature to the Temperance pledge. Thus he went on increasing in iniquity, month after month, until, at the close of the first year, he not only insisted upon wearing moustaches, but had contracted a propensity for cursing and swearing, and for backing his assertions with wagers..."

Illustration taken from a 1904 edition of Poe's Collected Works

Full Performance Text (Copyright 2001 - Royalty Terms Available):: "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" - Poe Forward Events: Poe Humour

"Never Bet the Devil Your Head" - wiki

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