---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 3
number: 1
published: 1899-11
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "In Lighter Mood," *Improvement Era* 3, no. 1 (November 1899): 71.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera31unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera31unse
start_page: 71
end_page: 71
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1899-11)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera31unse
  publication_year: 1899
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1899, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# In Lighter Mood

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LIGHTER MOOD.

        A baker who bought his butter in pound rolls from a farmer, notic-
ing that the     rolls looked   rather small, weighed them, and found that
they were all under a pound in weight.         Thereupon he put the farmer
into the county court.
        "These butter rolls," said the judge, "are certainly under a pound in
weight.      Have you any scales?" he asked.
        "I have," said the farmer.
        "And have you any weights?
        "No, sir."
        "Then how do you weigh your butter?"
        "That's very simple," said the farmer.   "While I've been selling but-
ter to the baker I've been buying pound loaves from him and I have used
them for weights on my own scales."
                                *       *        *

        As Artemus Ward was once traveling           in the cars, dreading to be
bored and feeling miserable, a man approached him, sat down and said,
        "Did you hear that last thing on Horace Greeley?"
        "Greeley? Greeley?" said Artemus.      "Horace Greeley? Who is he?"
      The man was quiet about five minutes. Pretty soon he said,
      "George Francis Train is kicking up a good deal of a row over Eng-
land.   Do you think they will put him in a bastile?"
        "Train? Train? George Francis Train?" said Artemus, solemnly, "I
never heard of him."
        This ignorance kept the man quiet about fifteen minutes, then he
said,
    "What do you think about General Grant's chances for the Presi-
dency?  Do you think they will run him?"
    "Grant? Grant? Hang it man," said Artemus, "you appear to
know more strangers than any man I ever saw."
    The man was furious. He walked off, but at last came back and
said,
        "You confounded ignoramus, did you ever hear of Adam?"
        "What was his other name?"