New-York tribune., 1874-10-19
MORE VITTY THAN WISE.

The Great American HumOTistS must open
their ranks for recruit who bids fair to pluck
the laurels from the funniest of them. Judge
Edwards PierrepOnt, who has been heretofore
considered a man Of rather serious views OF
life. comes forward to claim the credit of the
most hilarious joke of the time. He has writ
ten letter to friend in Northern NewYOrk
saving "he is satisfied that Gen. Grant has
"no wish or plan or intent to run for third
"term.n He goes on to explain why false i'm
pressiOns have arisen in relation to tho mat
ter. 1t seems that he and his acquaintances,"
scorning to be questionedIbe the election
day of 1876 as to their opinion of the propri-
ETY. of third term for President, have been
in the habit of talking "iokingly to the ene-
"mies of Gen. Grant, saying that his enemies
"might force us to run him for third term,
"etcn He says that this has placed the Pres
ident and his friends in "an awkward position
This is certainly true. We have rarely seen
more delightful humOr and more sorrOwful
truth in so little space. The only fault about
this Joke lies in the excessive finesse and
delicacy of its irony. 1t is so fine that few
can see it. Only the most gifted microscopic
minds can perceive the joke in the third
term leaders in the Presidents kitchen organ,
the third term resolutions of the South Caro-
lima and Florida Conventions. the third term
letters of Kcmper and other Southern poll
ticians, the third term speeches of Pomeroy
and COnkling at Utica, and the distinct and
positive third term prOnouncement of Alex
ander II. Stephens the other day in Georgia.
We doubt if anybody would have seen
what those mad wags were aiming at
if it had not been for this lucid commentary
of Judge Pierrepont. They were merely in
for lark. They had no other object in view
but to increase the innocent gayety of the
world. But they played their spOrtive game 80
excessively fine that many simple-minded peo-
pie thought they were in earnest, and were so
frightened at the comic grimaces and funny
antics of these amateur comedians that they
went off in their panic and voted the DEM
ocratic ticket before any of the humorous
troop had time to explain. Perhaps the actors
did not see the joke themselves 30 clearly
until after the election. Our best Jokes some
times have that fine posthumOus growth.
Brilliant as the wit of it seems, when Judge
Pierrepont holds it up to us in the right light
and shows us where the laugh comes in, we
cannot regard the joke as an especially happy
one. when we consider it in connection with
what we may call its environment. Take the
funny men, the subject the joke was about,
and the results of it altogether, and nobody
can conscientiously class it among the facetiie
which have had good luck. There is nothing
more effective in politics than humor and
satire properly handled. 1t was one of the
keenest and most powerful blades in the
armory of Lincoln. In the hands of Horace
Greeley it never missed its mark. But when
we think of Ohio, we are brought reluctantly
to the conclusion that as practical jokers these
third term friends of Gen. Grant are far
more witty than wise. We do not believe that
Gen. Dix with all his appreciation of genial
letters will pay to this effort of Messieurs
Pierrepont, Pomeroy g. Co. the passing
tribute of q smile. And Gen. Grant
for whose honor tho merry jest