The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1873-07-02
Josh BillingS-American llumorists

Under this title the Revue des Deux
Mondes, which occupies the highest
rank in the world of letters, publishes
an article on our comic writer's from
the pen Of Tn BENTON. OF Josh Bill
llngs the French writer says:
Gosh Billings is a philosopher, and
Intentionally sententious.
"He will always be remembered
through a certain number of aphorisms,
proverbs and sayings, such as the tol-
lowing:
Truth is the only thing that cannot
be improved upon"
1--WE hate those who do not ask orr
advise and dispise those who do"
"Virtue which has not been tempted
is good virtue; untasted wine is GOOD
wine-in the BOTTLE"
"if you are happy, don't tell the
world so-the world does not relish
this kind of confidence"
1.-The only way to govern mankind is
by the rod; You may wreath it in flow
ers, or hide it in velvet, but it is the
rod after all that does the works.
"Secrets make @ dungeon of the
heart, and jailer of its owner"
"Give the devil his due, but take
care not to owe him too much"
"Men of genius are like eagles, who
live on what they kill; men Of talent
are like crows-live on what is killed
for Them"
"The wise man does not think to
elude the vicissitudes of life-he only
seeks to blunt their edge"
"Fear is the first lesson learnt, and
the last one forgotten"
"Josh Billings favorite probverb is,
that the great art of writing we'll is to
know when to stop. He has scrupu-
lousy conformed to this precept, for
his sayings, which sometimes consist
of two lines, rarely exceed two pages"
Notwithstanding the pleasant form
they derive from oddities, they are al
most always fundamentally serious,
and are distinguished by great care
for morality, even on subjects appa-
rently foreign to it,"
"Thus certain thoughts on kissing
leads us from the material kiss, the ba-
by's kiss, that Of friendship and of
courtship to pretty little conjugal
scent"
yesterday evening l guessed from
the eager air of a young man who pass
ed me that he was husband Just es-
Gaping from his business"
'He was Fastening his steps when
Iv l., e..
AS naturally as the bee to the flower,
they flew to each other. There was
nothing sentimental in this kiss, moth
ing guilty, it sounded clearly, it filled
the air like legal proclamation, and
without any preamble, for $50 hat
was crushed, and lace collar hopeless
y mangled. ltcould not be the first, it
betrayed happy experience: t was
neither studied nor stolen; it defied tho
echo. it was the worthy reward of
day sanctified by work and saddcned
by separation. AS such I envied it
more than any other.
"Billings delights in the small de-
tails OF a happily united family. The
coming of the first baby sweeps into
poetry.
eff you have good wife," he says,
keep quiet, and thank Heaven every |
twenty minutes, but however, pre-
serve us from family blue stockings.m
eve are told that there is no situa-
ton in the world that woman cannot
ill as we'll as man; but Josh Billings
would rather be beaten by his wife in
taking care of the baby than in q polit-
ical address, or discussion on the We
terinary art; and, as far as he can see,
there is nothing true woman prefers
to the glory Of ruling over mans
heart, and to do so, she must know less
than a man, or succeed in making him
think So"
The exchange of love for science is q
doubtful gain for the ladies, and pos
tive loss for us poor devils; and Josh
Billings maintains that nine women
out of ten will prefer to be looked down
On tenderly than to be looked up to
with establishment. AS for learned wo-
men, let us say nothing against them,
only that it is clear that they go best in
single harness.
''His humor is satirical, but still
by kind of careless good
,umor which is peculiar to him, He
leenly ridicules the political aspera-
ions of his countrymen, which leads
hem to become Governors of States
~ electioneering frauds, while nature
Kindly desigaed them for some more
lecent trade, such as carpenter or