The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-11-08
WHY WE LAUGH BY S. $. Cox, Author of Buck

WHY WE LAUGH By 3. 8. Cox, Author OF Buck
eye Abroad, etc, ETC.
Some philosopher has defined man as
the animal which laughs. In the light of
science the definition will not hold. The
higher animals are known to indulge in a
sort of taciptent laugh Under the stimu-
lus of pleasing bodily sensation an orang
or chimpanzee moves the same muscles
that we move when we laugh Their fea-
lures, being less mobile, do not break
out with genuine laughter, Only the
faintest ripple of laughter passes over the
face of a pleased orang or baboon. The
pleasure which excites this ripple is physi-
cal. The seat of our laughter is mental.
IF you tickle us do we not laugh?
The great dramatist did not sound this
emotion to the bottom. If you tickle
us we laugh merely as the orang laughs,
If you tickle our fancy" we laugh the real
human laugh.
Points of resemblance or analogy be-
tween things the most unlike, when sprung
suddenly on the mind, startle it as tick
ling startles the body, and laughter is an
expression of the surprise.
We remember to have heard the prince
Of orators and wits, Tom Corwin, draw
dismal word-picture of the condi-
ton Of the country. The times were
hard and the orator was laying the blame
on the reigning party. A man who had
just been appointed to lucrative Office,
spoke out loudly and ostentatiously Mr..
Corwin, the times are not hard" With a
most inimitable expression Corwin turned
Lis eye on the man and said, Doth the
aoiId ass bray sohile he hath graSs?" Nc
assemblage of men ever broke into great.
er tumult of laughter The .oficeholder
sank down, feeling that he was an ass and
berating himself for braying then and
there.
If we analize this incident it will give us
an answer to the question" why we laugh, y
and justify our rationale of the emotion
The emotion is complex one. Incongru
tiles, far fetched analogies, and extrava
gancies, minister to it,
Few men of our times have made sc
many laugh as the author of the book OF
our table. Mr.. Cox is one of the mos
versatile of men. AS editor, consul, con
gresham, orator and author, he has lon,
been known to the public, and in ever,
capacity he has been known as a laugh
provoking wit He has culled the choic
est wit and eloquence from the proceeding
of congress- except his own.
If one needs to laugh and can't hea
Switzerland as Dundreary. let him taxi
up this volume and read excerps from
Corwin's speech, on, Crary, or Procto
Knots speech on Duluth, or Premises re
ply to McNutt The point of this last i,
in single turn, and we are tempted t.
transfer it to our columns:
Gov. McNutt, who met Prentiss in de
bate, had lamented his conviyial habits
In reply Prentiss described the inspiration
of wine and whiskey. He described tn
glug-glug-glug of the jug as the opposin
candidate tits it, and the glug- glug-glu
as the inspiring draught disappeared dow
the candidates throat. Then turning t
McNutt be said: Fellow citizens, durin
this campaign have been drunk onl
once. Over in Simpson county | wa
compelled to sleep in the same bed wit
this man and 10 the morning l was drum
. on corn whiskey Ihad LAIN too close an
v I a0aS drunk from absorption.
We advise every one to get " Why "
Laugh, to read it, and then If he don
laugh to give an account of himself in a
!. article which we will publish as an excel
tional phase of human nature, Why Y
do not Laugh