The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-04-21
LAST CENTURY HuMoRlsrs.


 1 IAushcr of " lsha iglesAas." in Macmilians.l
 The last century was fertile h indsvsd- ual character among all classes of the people. Village hfe was peculiarly pro- ductive of it Its plenty. Us humorous instincts, and its genial neighboriiness is well seen n Sserne. and has been weii de pic,ed by the la.e Lord Lysscn. and hy one who. within the lines which he never overpassed. was perhaps the most perfect humorisf that ever wrote Washington Irving. in hone's liable Book there IS a sketch ct a city worthy. written by Hone himself but which would do credit ,o Charles Lamb. which illustrates with distinctness what a fertile source of hu- nor this individuality of character was. and how. with such examples around h,sn. the humoris,ie writer naturally grew into existence. and found materials ready 10 his hand.
 The whole nation. familiar with his life. recognized the Shandean humor as true. and 1t was continued III English It. erature Curious and graphic examples of Il are io bc found. even to a late date. in Poor Robins Almanack. which. started as Is said. by the poe, Hcuiek, himself no mean humoris,. was tor more than century the most original of its brethren. But S;erne's hlmor was not only developed by this life: Don ouiNote, Sir Roger de Beverley and Uncle Toby are. ahSe. the offspring ot II. They all corresponded ,o this highest mark oi the | humorous eharacter-peffeetlon m itself the ridiculous and pathetic blended i into one lt .s not enough to depict a i ladicrous character. and side by sIdc with i II a pathetic. There Is the work of the dramAtist but not of the humorist. IL must be admitted. think. that the hunor ] of the .Sbs. lslo, IS mostly of this charae- ter. The effect Is produced by the alter a,ion of grave and lively papers. now a l lively letter from rake. then a dts course upon immortality. but in Sir i Roger the two arc united. as far as each goes. as much as m the highest efforts of humorous writing. Sir Roger ! is. m fact. mild reproduction ot Don ouINoie.
 Let us turn back m recollection ovei 1 the pages of the se. Asasy. and sec with aha, magic ,oSeh Mir. Addison brings the English life both ot city and country i betore US Mf Thaekefas does not. lsep- ] ture Ia think. ti>e 10 the ;uil estimate o AddIsons work.
 |" l, IS as ! lslker of small talk that ws love inn i3t. says. and As A spectator of mankind The last k surely true bui IS the fifsi. Addison {. k IS ueNei small: his hshtes, touch n the dcscrip ton of the slightest flop has as deep ] meaning as hts paper uaon Nes,mlnstei Abbey. In Addisons kind cons, on!, minor cases are tried Indeed. should nave thought that was a hanging asslze in which the foul plays were lashcd ~s'h a witherlng sarcasm. Addison's humoi was permcated with intention and pur. pose, and with insight into the whole o life.
 It is here that he rises immeasurabl, above Fielding. and here, l think. we again gam a clear insight into the real facts of the unconscious theory with re- speci to genius. The theory contains much truth, as we have seen, but the ] chances are that such writers as Fielding are unconscious. because they only see and can. therefore, only describe part oi l life. Tom ones IS nature. but. as Ad. ] dison sad, nature m its lowest form. ] Fielding has always gained by being con ] trasied only with Richardson. and by be l ing opposed io hlm Addison was dead. /, 1, was tartunitc for t.eldins tha, the ] rapler was rusted and the skilled hard cold.