New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-01-28

The North British Review publishes article
on american Humor," in which occurs the TO-.
lowing comparison between the respective pow
ers of humorous exaggeration possessed by the
| old Norsemen and the modern Yankees:
The most obvious characteristic of American
| hnmor is its power of pitching it strong,'' and
| drawing the long bow. It is the humor of exag-
| geraton. This consists in fattening up joke until
it is rotund and rubicund, unctuOus and irresistible
As Falstaff himself, who was created by Shakespeare
and fed fat, as to become for all time the very
| impers0nati0n of humor in state of corpulence.
| That place in the geography of the United States
called Clown East,' has been most prolific in the
monstrosities of mirth. Only there would freed
coon have cried to the marksman with his gun
pointed, ''Don't fire. Colonel, I'll come down.
Only in that region do they travel at such speed
| that the iron rails get hot enough to serve the
carriages with heat, instead of hot water bottles,
and sometimes hot that on looking back you
the irons writing about like live snakes, trying
to wriggle OFF to the water to Cool themselves.
Only there do they travel fast that the signal
whistle is of for their engines, because on
one occasion, least, the train in, and smash
ed in a collision, long before the sound Of the
whistle got there! Only there can blow be
struck so ''sCk' as to take the animals ear off
with such ease that the animal does not know he is
ear short until he puts his forefoOt up TO scratch
it. Only there, surely, the thieves cute that
they drew walnut log right out of its bark, and
left five sieepiy watchmen all noddng, as they sat
astride tunnel of walnut wood rind.
good deal of our old friend Sam Sticks
mother wit may be fathered Down East" He is
great master of the humor of eXaggeraion; a
brobdignagian Of the brag, more successful in
splitting sides than in splitting hairs.
Here is a sample from the d" Season Ticket"
Mr.. Peabody, an unmitigated Down-Eaater, is
describing the quality of some land in British
North America, and he gives a torcible illustra
ton of the natural richness of the soil:
81 took handful of guano, that elixir of
vegetation, and sowed few cucumber seeds in
it. Well, sir, / was considerable tired when had
done it, and SO | iust took stretch for it ander
a great pine tree, and took nap. Stranger
as true as | am talking to you this here blessed
minute, when | woke [ was bound as tight as
sheep going to market on butchers cart, and
tied fast to the tree. | thought | should never
get out of the scrape, the cucumber vines had SO
grown and twisted round and round me and my
legs, while | was asleep. Fortunately one arm
was free; SO got out my jack-knite, opened it
with my teeth and cut myself out, and off for
Victoria again, hot foot. When | came into the
town says our captain to me, Peabody, what in
natur is that ere great yaIler thing that's a-stickin
out of your pocket!' Nothin', says !, lookn' as
'mazed as a puppy nine days old, when he first
opens his eyes, and takes his first stare. Well, l
put nay hand to feel. and pulled out great, big
ripe cucumber, foot long, that had ripened and
gone to seed there"
Sam Slick does not, however, try to make people
grin till they get the locaw, merely for the pleas
ure of seeing them fixed up" Nor does he open
their eyes to the widest, to show them nothing.
MS great OBJECT mas Deeu TO wake up brlLlSuerS
to true sense of the value OF those great posses
sions of ours in North America. He has given us
many poke in the ribs, and nearly thump on the
back, by way of enlightenng US in matters of
great Importance, which we have ignorantly neg
lected. His exaggerations have often given
weight to the blows which he has struck with
Thor's sledge-hammer. Mentioning Thors hammer
reminds us, Also that this humor of eXaggeration,
this vociferant laugh from Clown East is a far
new-world echo of the old Morse humor.
One night, when weary they look round and
see house wide open, and so they enter The
house has one large hall and little closet. In the
morning they find this house is only the glove of
giant. The door was the gove-wrist, the little
closet was place for the thumb. Now this type
OF an idea, as we call it, has been printed from a
thousand times for humorous purposes. Sailors
and soldiers in telling their wonderful stories, still
use it with as much effect as ever.
We shall give more illustration of our mean
ing from g Morse Tales translated with such ten
der beauty and robust vigor by Mr. Dasent. In
this story the stretching of it, the piling of it up
the going in for it, and resolute thoroughness are
altogether down east u in character and keeping
'OnceS on time there was king who had a
daughter AND she such dreadful story. teller
that the ikeof her was not to be found far near
So the king gave out that if any one could tell such
string Of lies as&,woud get her to say that's a
story he should Nave her to wife, and half the
kingdom besides. Well many came as You may
ancy, to try their luck, every one would have
'een very glad to have the 10 say nothing
II the kingdom. But they cut q sorry inquire
or TIE princess was so given story-telilng' tAat