Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1853-07-06
THE RIDICULOUS.

The following incidents are reported in the
New York papers to have been related by Park
Benjamin, in his lecture, on the Ridiculous, be-
fore the Brooklyn Institute:
An anecdote is told of n clergyman, who
while in the pulpit praying, CHANGING to open
his eyes, discovered two boys in the gallery,
one with red hair, fast asleep, while the other,
being awake, was holding his hands to his COM
panion's head, as if warming his hands. Such
an exhibition Of the ridiculous could not but
force itself upon the mind of the minister and
he was obliged to stop in his prayers
1t was Rochefoucalt who said, there is some
thing in the misfortunes of our best friends that
pleases u.s." | have seen wife who dearly low
ed her husband scream with laughter at his
humping his head on the edge of the door,
Laughter have seen dutiful children laugh
themselves almost into fits at their fathers miss
ing his chair and sitting on the floor-as did
just now Laughter] con taking his seat at
the desk, Mr. b. had the misfortune to g let
down" upon the floor, owing TO the upsetting
of the stool) have seen people at church un-
able TO restrain their mirth at the sight of bit
of court plaster which had slipped from the fore
head down to the extreme end Of the pastors
nose. Laughter.l
Funnier than any joke, more supremely ride
utUuS tIliil bllc TtI-
alive to the " gentlemen of color who left New
York on a Western tour, and finding himselfn
Buffalo without anything to employ his time,
thought he would send telegraphic despatch
back home, inquiring of his partner as to their
business. He sent this message; (" How is
lhings!" To this interrogatory his partner i'm
medatey replied; Things is fine" Laugh
ter Resting on this, he was in no very good
temper, when he returned home and found his
partner had sold out all his goods, pocketed
the money, shut up store, and run off with his
wife
! We never see ourselves as others see U.S.
"Three chimney sweeps" says Hazlett, hap
pening 10 meet at Lincoln's Inn Fields laughed
at each other till they came near dying" In cit
les the sense of the ridiculous is worn off by
constant atriton. Let big fat man slip upon
the ice, and you may be sure that those by
ISLANDERS who laugh Mt him are strangers be-
cause the citizen has become accustomed TO such
sights.
When the swine had (" the freedom of the city
they used to be the occasion of quite as much
fun as disgust They were always performing
the most unexpected and the most obstinate
feats and exploits on Broadway. A portly fe.
male was sailing slowly along Broadway in all
the conscious dignity of city life-dressed out
with her silk and satns, her ribands and laces
her white kid gloves, &c, and looking like a
representative Of Consantinople, Judging from
her Sublime Porte,) when all of sudden she
found herself sitting upon the back of fine
large porker, who came hurrying round the cor
ner of street; and so firmly was she seated
there that she was treated with a gratutous
ride of whole block before being thrown from
her perilous position. Laughter Whether
injured or not by her fall, could she be ptied
by the bystanders! No: the sense of the ri
diculous overruled all feelings Of pity or com
passion.
Cresus is said to have laughed to death al
seeing donkey eat thistles.
Pitable sights, also not unfrequently suggest
the ridiculous Thus it is the depth of sadness
to behold being drunk and rolling il
the gutter Bot how ridiculous when, on going
up to him and asking him how he got there, b,
replies =" made an appointment to meet ;
man here J" Laughter.l
A friend of mine passing house where there
was funeral, stepped up to an Irishman anC
The Irishman replied:
@ cannot exactly say, sir, but presume it il
the gentleman in the coflin!"
Thus how absurd appear all the numberless
littlenesses of life. Ostenation itself is ridicu
lous. II wears gold rings, and satins, and bro
cades, and laces, and diamond breaslpns, (whicl
are suspected to be paste0 it has a, box at th,
Opera, to which it goes every night, (tho' boret
by the musc:) il carries rare bouquet, rathe