Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-11-30

y = y -
tured last evening iAe<hse - Hal
ON the comicalities, vkimsi1 . aad
realities Of Southern NE. n1<nee
vas appreeistis :. shou ujpf svm,
pathy aot esly with ttn 6e 1s;ve
humor Of the lecturer but = - y.
thos and the bits Of real elodc = I1fA
which be interpreted his Ghat
protracted monOlogues 70 Ia = - 80
He began his lsctuseu ~ orkins
upon the wide variations 90 and
the understanding Of il dsc kkal,
or and training Of thought and feeling,
bet always with the one great principle
underlying all fun, that in everything,
from flee pass over a railroad to the
misadventures Of our best friends, hu-
manity's most frequent instances of ex-
ultation are those in which some one
else agrees to pay the piper, and our
pleasure is in proportion to our vicarious
expenditure for it.
The people Of one nation naturally
fail to appreciate the humor of those Of
another, not because they are lacking
in sense Of humor, but for the reason
that they have not been trained to see
things in the same way. For instance,
the amiable Texan who wears a snake
for hat band, and calls his six-shooter
pet names, is by no means dull per-
son, yet he would fail to grasp the spirit
Of English humor generally. It may be
SAID Of every people that "by their jokes
shall ye know them"
There is no mistaking the origin of
that story Of the Mississippian who. be-
ing asked by a newcomer in the coun-
try it he should carry pistol, replied :
"Weil, stranger, you mout move about
hyer more'n year and never need a
pistol, but if You should happen to need
IT. you'd need it powerful" Or that
one of the kentuckian, who. being a
witness for the Common ealth, was
very closely questioned, and told how
he was sent for fresh pack Of cards
and got them, and returning, stopped
for moment outside the door. There
he banked, and not all the questioning
and urging could get him step further
until the Judge threatened TO fine him
and send him to Jail If he did not an.
swer, and then he sald: "Well, Judge,
if must tell why I stopped out thar
suppose | must. 1t was because old
Ben Hardin told me to look keeriullv
over the kyards and mark the bowers"
One Of the happiest hit. .sof the even
ing was the lecturers bright and racy
description OF the characteristics of the
ideal Southern gentlemen before the
war, the panama-wcaring, fre-eating,
horse-racing, cock-fghting, poker-play-
ing person, to whom draw-poker came
as new revelation Of a perfect Joy;
as new world for him 10 conquer:
with illimitable possibilities of excite
ments and consequent happiness. Its
very name was seductive to him
Draw !" He had been used singly to
drawing on his banker, his pistol, and
his Imagination, and here was an oppor-
tunlty for him to draw on all three at
once and the same time.
Then the names of the hands charmed
him. ''Flushes!' and '.fulls !" II he
had not always been ''fush," there was
at least pretty tolerable certainty ci
his being generally full" The thing
seemed familiar, yet invested VITA a
new charm. But that staggering South
ern swashbuckler was not in truth the
typical Southern gentleman, any more
than the colporteurs ana peddlers and
lightning rod agents who went down
South were types Of Northern gentle
men.
After tribute to the worth Of the
people of the South, their newly devel-
oped industry, and the resignation with
which they have sought TO adapt them
selves to their altered fortunes, the lee
turer returned to the humorous side of
Southern life as it existed before the
war, when the exploits Of the Howl
ing Raccoon of the Mountains" were
sung; when man pranced forth who
proclaimed: 81 am fighter from Bitter
creek; I'm a wolf, and this is nv night
TO howl; I've three rows of teeth. and
nary two teeth alike. The people of
Bitter creek are all fighters, and the
higher up the creek YOU go the worse
they are, and I'm from the head wa
ters."
Our literature, he said, is often imi-
tatlve, but our out>poken language is our
own nature, and, as people, we are
funny in spite of ourselves. We are
unconsclously funny very often, as was
that kentuckian. who receiving certain
well-understood signs from his partner
at game Of whist, broke out piteously.
"How can play the ace when I hahn I
got IT I" In the United States humor
turns on character and incident, not or
plays Of thought or words. 1t was IN
this direction that the best representa-
tive humor Of the South had taken form,
and found its development IN the char
acters Of Sut Lovengood, Bill Arp, Ma
lor Jones and others, among whom last,
and, perhaps, greatest Of oil, was Capt.
Simon Suggs Of the Tallapoosa volnn-
teers. They were all exhibits OF South
ern life, mainly of Georgia life. as it W as
before it became so matter Of fact aud
melancholy as it is to-day.
The lecturer read selections from the
works in which these worthless appear.
Sut Lovengood's struggles and miser-
les with his first billed shirt" and the
misconduct Of SUITS father when play
ing horse, were narrated rather than
read; but SUITS trick on the local pre- ach-
er was read in full. By far the larges,
share Of this portion Of the lecture wa.
devoted TO the fife and adventures oi
Captain Simon Suggs. Simon's star.
from home; hi. brilliant imperscna.ion