St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-05-21
Humorous Objects.

Not only Is the susceptibility to hui |
MOI different among different nations,
but the humorous objects differ 10y rca
son of different customs and habits.
There is nothing very lau"hablr To us
in the manner in which we ut our hotels
and depOtS gobbic down our food. hut
even an Arab OF Il ChiueSc would laugh
at the operation if we did not. Yet it
is ludicrouS to lis to see an Arab lady
pick cut the choice titbits with which
YOU had loaded your plate. or roll a
little ball of hash III her dainty fingers.
and bN way Of especially honoring yeu.
plug your mouth with it unexpectedly
or to see il Chinese with his ch"pSticks
load himself up with boiled rice. and
ram it down :l> we would Il wad in Il
gun, II is said that the ladies under
the dominion of the Grand Lama,
when goodlookiug, diStigure their faces
to preserve them from vanity. have
never seen that recorded of our ladies
Heaven forbid. The idea. however.
l. as ludiclous as the Tartar custom oi
pulling IL man 10y the ears when they
want him tn drink. and keep on pulling
till he opens his mouth. when they
pour down the liquor. know Il man
whose ears do not require to Ice pulled.
There is nothing very langI.ahlr to
an American in the shaking of hands.
which is everywhere practiced i'll ON
county. but foreigners do find III II
much amusement. Yet nothing will
he more ridiculous to us than the >aln
tatl"n III Germany, where one may See
two big. bmlN. hairy men IuSh To each
others embrace and kiss with school
girl tcrNcnrN. The people of Ihibet
salute 10y lolIing ont the tongue and
scratching the right ear. and the E>qui-
mauX hy rubbing their noses with their
thumb aud describing Il comic section
in the air with then fingers custom
pIlcticcd 10y mischicVous urchinS in our
land. but not exactly aS Il >HlutatorN
grace. it i now happily h"nored i'll
the breach. In Turkey IN American
travelling with his unveiled wife. even
without the appcmdages. So usual here.
of six small children. and seven large
trunks and haudhuNr>. i to them in Il
funny prcdIcament. On the Other hand.
~ hat would Ice funny with lis. among
the Turks i quite reverse. An Ameri-
can gives u> an instance in his expert
curt in SNria. He was about to mount
| HIS Ullllt illll'lSl Al 'I'N' WI ''Il'Ilis III
visitors. and wished to rive them an
exaggerated idea nt Amelican agility.
/ He jumped Il little to far. and oNcrshOt
/ the maIk. coming down on the other
side like Il diver. with his hands and
nose III the mud. his feet caught III the
| saddle. and his coat skirts clrVerly Y rolled
over his head to screen him from what
/ he surpassed WAS II laughing crowd. Yet
not II soul smiled. not il sound WAS
heard save Il tender grunt of sympathy
and dcmUrc ntfeI> nt aid. Now Il lmk
in America, with ba@@N hIecche> and
turhancd head. taking Il leap over Il
mule in the streets of an American city.
and getting stuck upside down. with
his prohusci> in Il rut and his heels III
the saddle. would h- Salutcd with some
thing mole than Il grunt of sympathy
aud dcmuic offers of aid. We haN,
more humor than dignity the Turks
more dignity than humor.
There never was an American wh'
would not sacrifice his courtesy ano
sympathy To his fun. He must have it
however, well seasoned and done i'll {;
hurry and its prevailing characteristic il
must be eXaggeration. lou SAW thu
illustrated even III the Imordiuate hope
, of So calm and Sedatc Il statesman a:
Mr.. Seward, as to the closing up OF on
late civil war i'll sixty days. That VA
the huge joke OF our time. There VA
Il court in General Grants army whicl
sentenced il man to work ten Years ol
General Buffers Dutch Gap Canal; an,
it was generally said. if not believed
in the army that Palmer, who made tn,
patented limbs, had purchased 2O0'
acres of Western land. and planted i
with locust and maple. with Il view IL
| economic in the future in his manu-
| facture of arms and legs. The Hon. S
S. Cor. in Hdrper's -Hdyn-ine for IprH.