New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-07-02
PRESIDENTIAL JOKES.

Doomed. doubtless, for our sins, to read all
the speeches made by the President ana ms
followers, not less than those made 10 the
President and his followers, our weary eyes
have often run down the closely printed
column in search of that cheerful Interpolation
by which the reporters (sly dogsD point out
the Jokes just as painter wrote, This is
"horser under his problematical chef dGuure;
and we have come to the agreeable conclusion
that the American people are the easiest to tickle
in the world, and beat the gods all hollow
in ready and resonant laughter. Nor Is 1t every
nation which can boast of so many statesmen
who are also wags of first-rate water; and
we do not see why our Secretary OF State
should not follow the great example OF
Lord Bacon and leave a textbook for the recre-
alton of future ages. 1t is wonderful how little
fun will set whole company to Growing
Thus, in the grave and academic groves OF
Yale, when the Secretary was introduced to
the students as an LII. d. of that college, MIR.
Seward. bowling said "Ad eundem" Laugh
teri For six long hours we have studied this
Joke, analyzed it, translated it, transposed it,
put it in the form of a conundrum, paraphrased
il into an epigram, rendered it into Greek, read
meaning, expecting every moment to burst into
involuntary commissions of mirth, but bathed,
weary, and disappointed, we have come to the
conclusion that its delicate essence was IN
capable of transportation, or that Its dlstin-
guished author at the moment OF delivery
must have aided the comprehension or his
auditors by some gesture or physiognomcal
expression at the precise moment of his de-
livery. Nothing is fiatter than fiat champagne,
and this, doubtless, was an excellent qulrk at
tho instant of its primal pop. We can only
regret that we were not on the spot to enjoy It.
But the humors of p. M. G. Randall, upon
the same occasion, were equally reconcile, and
quite as enthusiastically snickered at. "He
chad conceived very unfavorable opinion OF
"Yale College, because it always turns out the
"best of men," Laughter and cheers.l The
Joke, evidently, here is ON the words turns
"out,n i. O., expels or rusticates. The students
must be an incorrigibly sad set of boys if they
found anything to laugh at in this melancholy
suggestion. If the p. NJ G.: had ever been rusti-
Gated himself he would know that there
is no fun in it whatever. What the Dons OF
the College thought of this flippant allusion to
the most fearful penalty which it IS In their
power to inhicA we do not pretend 10 know
they may, for politeness sake, have joined in
the laughter, in a hollow kind of way, but
their private indignation must have wrenched
the very Hebrew and Greek roots ont of them,
and we should not be surprised to learn
that they determined on the spot never to
make the P. NJ. G. either an A. B., or an A. NJ,
or an LII. D., or Phi. D., or ans 7. d., even
Speciai gratid.
We have large collection of jokes made at
different points of the Presidential progress,
but they are too numerous for commentary In
our crowded columns, and we mean to keep
them for private discipline and self-mortiiica-
ton at those moments when the exuberance of
our spirits may be inconsistent with just views
of tho melancholy nature Of human life. There
arc several quips of the Presidents making
which might have set Democritus himself to
blubbering; but we have compassion on our
readers and S2rlear " quote them. ~