New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-01-26
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
AMERICAN HUMOR.

ms letters 70 the public press, during the year 1896
Illustrated by Thomas Mast Boston, Ice Is shepard
Mr. Lowell takes his leave as misunderstanding
Uantonly killed the gentle and trudite Homer vii
berand taken from Us forever our enthusiastic IIO
sea and the charming scamp Pirdofrcdum Sawin, by
claiming the rank of emeritus, aud welcoming as a
successor that genuine ard delightful humOIs the
"Rev. Petroleum V. Nasty" Mr. Lincoln is SAID TO
have found the satiTes of Nasty great comfort ul-
ring the gravest honrs of the Presidency, quaulP
offering 10 exchange places with the WrieI-h ny
making the exchange he could obtain the Nasty GUT
We think il certain that no writer in the west uu "S
much Ia the triumph oi'thc Eep"D"e"" P'"'S
A. the author of this volume. His letters were 'oi'u
sn all the Republican journals read at political meet
fngs quoted al forge aud diun'I-t'"'' una y" '"'
stump and their irony served to point ana S'reils'nc"
MANY q political argument. Mr.. NaSbyS popularity
not to he r,nndfnl Of the appreciation OF MI In
coin and Mr.. Lowell justfics MS I'm examining hiS
claims 70 be considered true mnnoriSt
Atboncb the humorous writers Of England are
moro non,Ior in America than IN their own country,
Che bnmor Of America is distinct from that OF In
lond ~ il * from tle Inschicvous bumor OF France
. ar tbe grim and pOnderous hInnor oil Germany, III
Tnpland il is something Spteiul Nhen the Eh2usn-
ioets he ,haffs lie has little respect for feel
Inrs and will say mpertncnt things IN Il oroi VIA
wav without the least idea Of being Impairment
NJ, Dckens's Notes ON America stinGug book
tn American chapters in Martin Chuzzlewit are de
I,btfnI In England they were no doubt considered
cuiot harmless iun yet IN America they gave much
ofiense. You may laugh al the Americana coat hat
and bonse hut Won must NOT mock the great Yankee
Nation nor speak sueGingiy OF The National Bld'
We enjoy the delicate humor Of Lamb ,; ana yet II"
one of our writers has attained his finish ana pehe-
tIation. We regard KiugakeS Eothcu 4s an eNquls-
nely humorous hook-not osttntatious-but with a
Inn
WAYS present to the readers sense And yet hlng-
lok. i, NOT a proGessed hmorst hut writer Of travel
and history Sometimes we think that hunor does
not h.louc to a country but 10 q generation. Inc
Lnmor Of ShakcsrcaIe las an uncertain flavor MOST
Of Shakespcare's humorists were phIaNe-iancieis-
fond Of double Whom Hamlet
chaffs the grave digger or Cu2zoS OsIlc OF oaho'S
words with PolOnus We do not sec humor, nut hiso-
lence. The incompatible humOr OF Falstali Is that
Of smart, pert keen sentences, coarse ana p"lahe'
Take the woong scene between Henry '. and the
Princess Katharine in some respects perhaps. one Of
lhe most humorous III Shakespeare both IN situation
And dialogue and we find il tame and cold. formal
and strained wanting nature. Swifts fun was
beastly. Fielding gave Ms in Squire Western one ol
he most humorous characters in the English rural
ne traditional heavy father OF romance and COM
sdy; and yet we cannot enjoy Squire Western With
put blmsliug. He could never come lniO our g"0d
The HuInOT 81 BufnS was nearly, anu ''Ii'
hon the earth YetTam OShauter requires peculiar
education to he felt inst as much as Garcantua or
Sancho Pan1a The humOr Of franklin comes nearer
our higher standard than any of the last century
writers with the exception, perhaps, OF Goldsmith
Yet Franklin does not hesitate To write questions
Die line III a letter TO lady. II would be difficult to
laugh over joel Barlow's rhymes, and it gives MS
sorrow when we see the dead and buried whimsical
lice Of the last generation brought from The grave
Even jokes become skeletons, and look CHASTITY Who
reads Knickerbockers famous history OF finds enter
tainment in the Salmaeundi that used to set this
soOdly town in roar.
The humor of to-day is not that of Irving; nor rs
the humor of America like that of England. The
English are fond of Artcmus Ward. Mr.. iowclrs
most ardent admirers are IN England. Just rs Mr..
Dickens and Mr.. Thackeray fiud The most enthusi-
nstic admiration in America. When the negro min
Strels went to London with their backened faces and
crisp curly wigs, and quaint humorous songs, they
Grew crowds. We have humOr more sweet and
natural than that which came from the poor slave.
and we trust that some writer viii do il Justice With
Ihe exception Of Hosea Biglow, onr humorists are
Western. Mtcluus Ward from Ohio. The
writer called MARX Twain who has not done much
beyond showing promise is from California. Ms.
Webb who did some clever things when in New
York, and from whom We expect much eleyerncss
again is from the West believe. Mr.. Nasty al
Enough protesting TO come from NewJeIscy. is resi-
dent Of Ohio The bumor Of the West is larger and
broader than that of the East. We might say IL was
roarser but this wOnld imply injustice are far
from intending Perhaps we may SAY that in the
West il is natural. in the East il is artificial Mr..
I'urtiss Potipbar Papers would he dull reading in an
Illinois farmhouse, and there a good many par
lors IN New-YOTk where chapter of Nasty would
8 never be finished ATtemus Wards earlier Writings
were We fear We must say they were more
Eacy and true than his recent contributions. His CON
aributiOns TO IaHch stupid Indeed. the claims
. Of this writer 10 be ranked among true humorists
may be disputed. even AT the risk Of offending Mr.
charles Reade, who calls him delicious" and Mr.
Thomas Hnghes-himsef one Of the t1rest hrunor-
lets Of England-who recently told MS how much he
enjoyed the Snowman at Egyptian Hall. The con
xeption of Artemus Ward, although the felicous
name happens 10 be that of "A Revolutionary patriot
II admirable The old Western shoNmau-keeu. tn-
scrupulOus illiterate-with his eyer-prcsmt wax
HcgerE" his odd shrewd sense, and at times ncon-
rsivabe stupidity, with the wife Betsey Jane. of
whom more might be made, answers some of the
most essential requirements Of hunOT and is much
character as cur dearlybelOved pastor of Jaalam,
with his whimsical classics, his homrly pedantry
now yielded Get MS say it sadly to the edacious
ioOth OF Time"
AItcmus Wards first adventures filled with
vulgar bgotry which makes them now unpleasant
reading lie is, perhaps, the only distinctivey
American humorist who went ont Of his way to ap-
bland Slavery. Wa presume be is as much ashamed
Of this element Of his career Our present
author deserves the high honor Of always having
written on the side Of truth and freedom an honor
which he shares with Mr. Lowell The point Of Ar
iemus Wards humor lay in the fact that he indigd-