The Jewish advance., 1879-11-21
g4e BaIsiOoseope.* :
A NEW SERIES OF LOOSE SKETCHES ABOUT Ev-
ERYTHING IN GENERAL AND NOTHING
IN PARTICULAR.
MY HUMOR.


Heaven knows, cannot suppress my
humor by the best will. But, after all,
ze style cest phomn,e, and since | have
the privilege of counting in the census
as human being, the society which l
grace with my existence must take me
as [ am. And if there is any truth in
the saying that "the manner of the man
is reflection Of the influences which
have worked on him, well, my friends
then must felicitate themselves upon
my manner, and thank Providence for
having provided me with the talent to
pui down their influence black on white,
perhaps for the coming man to be edi-
fed by it.
At times when [ am quite satisfied
with myself (and this happens once
every day at leasD [ persuade myself
that I am not unpleasant at all-in fact,
that am of very amiable disposition.
You ought TO have seen me in an as
sembly of Rabbins few months ago,
and | wager that you would be of the
same opinion. There were great Rab-
bins (value $4,000 per annum) and small
Rabbins (value 81, 200 to $1,900) Rab-
bins by virtue of learning, and Rabbins
by virtue of eloquence Rabbins by the
grace of honest application, and Rabbins
by the grace Of congregation leaders,
whose countrymen they are-all sorts
of Rabbins were there. And l, poor
innocent lamb, between so many lions,
Il sat there and listened, and listened,
and listened to their wise, world-moving
wisdom. [ have made my ear like
basket" to use talmudical expression;
like wagon, [ may say, in which two
tons Of coal could be transported at a
time. And, truly, my trouble was not
in vain, for [ have carried off more than
four tons of wisdom from the learned
expostulations I have heard on that oc-
casion. [ was all smiles. felt that |
was perfectly lovely. was on the
point of saying something exceedingly
pleasant, when in came lady Gin the
full sense of the word) and couple of
beautiful, fresh, healthy and playful
children, and all my desire of saying
something to the rabbins vanished away;
and I felt as though I would rather
tumble about on the floor and play with
the little ones, orwell, anything in this
innocent, natural, guileless way of
amusement rather than please the rab-
bins.
A photographed artist once tortured
me with five sittings' in his effort of
taking my likeness. 1 am somewhat of
a connoseur in this line, and thought
that the second or the third plate he had
taken might do very we'll. But the
artist was not of this opinion. They
won't do, sir! was the disheartening
verdict, Il will trouble you to SIT
again"
why, my dear sir" I demonstrated.
is not this picture sharp enough ? Is
not the position easy? The plate is
really excellent, I think.
I" 1t is not for the sharpness or pos
ture," the unmerciful artist dogmatized,
but there is peculiar twinkle in your
eye which / have not caught"
The barbarian He has thrown drop
of poison into the cup of my moral ex
*The first and second series of these sketches
have been published in the american Isrdelite
under the headings of "Thoughts and Fan
cies" and 1.-THE Kaleidoscope" respectively.
The editor of that journal, a man of nearly
thirty years standing in the American Jewish
literature, has pleaded an imperfect under
standing of the tenor and contents of The sat
ires after he had published them, all and had
appended favorable editorial notices to almost
every chapter. 1 hope that the editor of the
JEWISH ADVANCE will pay the writer in the
same honorable manner.-JnDRIM.