Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-12-07
Mistsllanp.


SepaTdDiy COHueItcu Will .GuOlCe iuu
aud although he was entirely guiltless
Of a mass of nonsense which has been
attributed to him, his writings are re-
plete with strong. broad, uncompromi-
sing humor, of which he may be con-
sidered, in fact, the parent. The ever
lasting popularity Of his anecdotes and
stories, rehashed, intcrpolatcd, appro-
prated by others, but always preserv-
ing the original kernel of absurdity,
show how completely American they
are, and how completely the American
mind is in sympathy with that quality
OF humor. @F a"os |t@ "a8
.a 1t would not be precisely exact, per.
haps, to say that Crockett's mantle fell
upon. John Phoenix the nom dc plume
Of the late Captain George Fl. Derby !;
but the iattcr's effusions are no less
American than those of the aredoubt-
able hero of the Alamo, and contain
much Of the same ludicrous breadth of
imagination. Captain Derby, however,
depended far more on the employment
of ingenionsly chosen words and clabo-
rately constructed phrases than his
predecessor though, in the matter of
elegance or inelegance, there is not a
great deal to choose between them.
The Letters of Does,icks,' by Nor,
timer Thompson, first published in a
Western Journal some years ago, and
extensively copied, is another charac-
terstic series of American exaggera-
tions. Mr.. Thompson seems to have
looked at the labors, the ambitions.
the amusements, and the social rela-
tions of his fellow-beings through a
pane of defective window-glass, and
to have reproduced them by vivacious
description. 1t is greatly to be regret
ted that lie fell into the common error
OF hunting down brilliant first sue
cess, and published volume after vol
ume of hasty aud illdigested matter.
which soon oyershadowed aud swal-
lowed up the pleasant reputation he
had SD easily aud deseryedly won. The
fault of writing too much is most
serious one with the clever portion Of
the young Journalists Of today. They
write columns where they should write
paragraphs. and seem to think that tai
ent depends upon measurement. In
| all branches oil humorous writing THIS
error is fatal. Humor is always an
overflow, aud unless the man is kept
brimful the whole time, by ample read
ing. by reflection, by vivacious society
| and wide observation. he can have no
| overflow. The moment that he locks
himself into his room to write funny
| things from morning until night Inc
ceases to be funny at all, and stares
downward upon the melancholy path
Of decadence known only to those who
outliye their reputation. +
The most thoroughly American hn-
morist now actively before the public
is Charles +, Browne, whose sou5rHaet,
"Artemus Ward, enjoys reputation
on both sides Of the Atlantic. lie has
been fortunate enough to use a certain
awkward talent for public speaking To
place himself far beyond the neccessi-
ty Of writing for his daily bread. II
IL difficult to read his occasional let
ters, published hither aud thither, with
out wishing he had begun his career
as humorist independently Of the
rather cheap and hackneyed peculiari
ty Of orthography that distinguishes
them. The old English humorists ex
hausted this species of eccentrici.y
and ifit retained any show Of vitality
Tom Hood and Thackeray certainly
left nothing further to be done in thai
way. Ii is true that in some cases
1" Artemus Ward" points q joke by
his misspelling. which would not be .
joke otherwise but it is also true, thai
for every bon mot thus originated, ter
are injured by the same process. Apar,
from this blemisll, the simple drollery ol
his writings is irresistible. The charac
ter Of the old Hoosier Snowman, frou
whom the lettersare supposed to ema
nate, is admirably delineaied ; and one
never loses sight OF him, nor confuses
his identity with that Of Mr.. Browne
for moment. As a lecturer, this gen
tleman's continued success is an evi
dence Of his merit, and Of his sympa
thy with the national feeling for exag
geration aud bnrlesque.
His quaint, grave. halfhesitant maj
ncr upon tho rostrum has quite al
much TO do with the liberal laughte
and applause he receives as the words
he utters ;and both together have beer
the source Of much pleasure, Of a rol
licking and unthinking sort, to man.
thousands of persons Of all classes ant
conditions between Maine and Caliiur
MIA. @
Of more subtle and sarcastic ma
tare is the humor Of Robert Ii. Newell
who has produced several volume
under the title Of the = Orpheus q, ker
Papers," Mr.. Newelps theme is th
, political inner history Of the conduc
{ Of the war, about which so much ha
h.a., ....A .u..ttap hsy .vnn.x, Il l.srni r