The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1853-04-13

triton. Let big fat man slip upon the
ice. and you may be sure that those by
ISLANDERS who laugh at him are strangers,
because the citizen has became accustom-
ed to such sights. When the swine had
"the freedom of the city, they used to be
the occasion OF quite as much fun as dis
gust. They were always performing the
most unexpected and the most obstinate
feats and exploits on Broadway.
A portly female was sailing slowly a
long Broadway in all the conciou. dignity
of city lite-dressed out with her silks and
satins, her ribbons and her laces. her
white kid gloves, etc., aud looking like a
representative of Constantinople, Judging
from her Sublime Porte when all Of
sudden she found herself sitting upon the
back of fine, large porker, who came
hurrying around the corner of a street;
and so firmly was she seated there that
she was treated to gratuitous ride of a
whole block before being thrown from her
perilious position. Laughter.] Whether
injured or not by her fall, could she be
pitied by the by-standersl No; the sense
of the ridiculous overruled all feelings Of
pity or compassion.
Cresus is said to have laughed to death
at seeing donkey eat this,les. Phiable
sights. also, not unfrequently suggest the
ridiculous. Thus it Is the depth Of sad
ness 10 behold fellow being drunk and
rolling in the gutter. But how ridiculous
when, on going up to him. and asking
him how he got there, he replies: 81 made
an appointment to meet man hereE'-
Laughter A friend of mine, passing a
house where there was funeral. stepped
up TO an Irishman and asked him if he
could inform him who was dead. The
Irishman replied: "l can not exactly say,
sir, but presume it is the gentleman in
the coffin!''
Thus how absurd appear, through the
medium of the ridiculous. all the number
less littlenesses Of life. Ostentation is it.
self ridiculous. 1t wears gold rings, and
satins, and brocades. and laces, and dia-
mond breast-pins, (which are suspected to
be paste;) it has box at the Opera. to
which it goes every night, (though bored
by the music,) it carries rare bouquet,
rather big. which it presents to lady in
the next box. 1t has lorgnetle, which ii
levels on the already discovered stars, or
searches the house for other luminaries.-:
1t always goes to church Sundays, rain or
shine, and reads prayer aloud, and throws
a halfeagle in the plate with loud ring
But, while Ostentation thus lives wrapt in
the mantle of its own sefishness, it is al
ways absurd. People laugh at it.
Much of the ridiculous may be seen in
various other departments Of life. Look
at some of the criticisms III the reviews
where the writer desires to display his own
| talents rather than give an idea OF the work
upon which he is writing-making the au.
thor mere hook from which to suspend
his own corruscations. That criticism is
very absurd in which the critic judges his
author by his own standard Of thought and
style.
The lecturer also spoke of man with
whom he was acquainted, who thought him
self poet, because his rhymes were pub
lished in the weekly papers occasionally
And he also thought himself very fash
ionabIe man. because he went to the ope
ra, dressed in the height Of fashion, and
visited Saratoga once year. Neverthe
less. this very man was the laughing stock
of all who knew him. The lecturer hae
also heard of young lady who regarded
herself as one of the ready-to-b be- -died.fo
kind-one who considered herself as thu
pink of perfection, and the leader Of fash
ion, who was in reality, so extremely un
attractive as to be liked by her oaDn sea-
To all such mistaken mortals, he woult
recommend the lines of Burns:
so wad some power the giftie gle them
To see themselves as ithers see them:
'Twad frae many bunder free them,
And foolish notion'