, 1872-11-06

replied the 1r1shman. '' he told me it was bis
leg" This h]under is anticipated almost in its
very terms By Scholasticus.
''Scho1asticus' SOD was sent off By his father
to the wars. When he WAS setting out from hls
home he promised his father that he would
bring back to him the head Of one OF the enemy,
'Oh!' said Scho1asticus, I don't care il you
come back even without your own head, pro,
vidod only I see you come back safe and
Still more literal is the identity Of the story
Of the scotehman's horse, which just died as me
owner had brought it to live on stra" q oay'
with the joke against Scholasticus.
+" "Scholasticus wishing to train his morse TO
live on very little, gradually took away the toa-
der from him. At length, of course, the horse
died Of starvation. what pity! said scholas-
ticus, Just as had trainedhlm to i've on notn-
There are similar prototypes Of the Irish bull,
schoIasticus, in trying to learn to swim, has
narrow escape Of drowning, stralshtway i.,7 ne
VOWS that q be will never touch water again till
Te shall first have learned how to swim"
friend tells him that he was dreaming about
him last night, and that he imagined he met him
and saluted him ST beg your pardon" said
scholasticus, "for not returning the salute, but
Another of his friends falling seriously i'll,
Scholasticus goes to see him. On his asking
him how he was, the patient was not able to
answer him, and ScholasticuB became very
angry 4' hope I shall Boon be sick myself
said he, "and when you ask me how I am, T
! shall pay you back by not answering you"
Again Wishing to see how he looks while Sleep
ing, he shuts his eyes and stands before the
looking-glass. Hearing TINT ravens live to the
age Of two hundred years, he buys raven IN or
as to their age is true. On another occasion, on
board ship in storm, seeing tho rest of the
passengers lashing themselves to planks, hen
coops, oars, and other objects, as security in
case Of wreck, Scholasticus makes himself fast
to an anchor. Finally, having occasion to make
hurried journey, upon his coming to the ferry,
he enters the ferTyboat on horseback, booted
and spurred, and when asked why he does 80,
replies that he wants to get over the river moro
quickly.
are introduced, in order to play each other of,
and thus mutually to heighten each others ab-
surdity.
Scho1asticus, one day, is surprised to meet q
brother scholastieue, Who had Lately been s', re-
dead!" "Weu," replied his friend, you see mo
still alive and kicking Scholasticus shook his
head. 'sThat is al very well,' said he; "but I
assure you that the person who told me Has o
| much more credible authority"
So again, Scholasticus and his friend, who, as
it CHANGED, was bald, having engaged to keep
watch together, agreed to divide the duty
between them, each in turn sleeping while
The OLQEI kepL NAlCu+ " Uo UJ Lib pAlt-
ner awakened when the time of his own watch
| arrived. During one Of ScholasticuB sleeping
times his friend played him the trick Of shaving
! his head. scholasticus, on awaking, put up his
hand, and feeling his head bald, called out in
alarm, that "they had awakened the wrong
person."
But for the most part the point Of the joke is
| purely tho simplicity and awkwardness of the
unhappy subject, or his ignorance OF the affairs
of common life. Thus, when he sees friend
| u1>..i &t-f1
specting his teeth. with a view, Of course, to
! ASCERTAIN the horses age, he expresses his
surprise that his friend would take 40
much trouble, whereas he might be sat; t;
| right, as he had just seen him eat his
| corn with great ayidity.. On another occasion,
| having house to sell, he brings with him one
Of the stones Of the wall 'sas q sample Of the
| house." On another, seeing his doctor coming
| ashamed" f" as he says, .sto meet the doctor-it
is so long since have been ILL.," And when a
| thievish slave continued to steal his wine by
| boring hole in the bottom of q jar which scho-
lasticus had carefully sealed, and when 9 friend
at the top we're safe, perhaps the wine had been
abstracted from the bottom, ssYou fool" says
scholasticus, don't you see that it is not the
bottom Of the vine, but the top that is gone"
Not very profound, it must be confessed, nor Of
high order Of humorous invention. But,
neyertheless it is impossible not to recognize
in them the type, if not the actual germ,
OF much of what passes for humor in our self
t satisfied age and, in common with the analo-
gies between the tradition, the legend, and the
fiction Of different races, and ages widely dis
tant in time from each other,, they serve to IL
lustrate that community. or it may be that mu-
tual intercommunication OF thought, which is
bond Of connection between all nteratures,
the rldest and the most refined that which has
! hardly emerged from the simplest elementary
stage, and TINT which has reached the highest
degree of culture and elaboration.