The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-02-24
A Brigbt Paragrapher.

1t is all right for \ man tn publish q
presumably humorous paper, and write
articles presumably pleasant, but the
man who yearns for Il reputation and
tortures exchanges with please copy"
requests, is M evaporation unto his
more sensible contemporary. II is we'll
enough for the funny nanthe most
despisable appellation in the language
to mark an occasional paragraph, in
volving some interesting current discus
sion, but the practice OF getting of q
good thing" and framing it with blue
marks, is below the man who actually
possesses merit. Nine times out OF ten
!. man marks his weakest work. Az -
rule he is incapable of judging. Repro
duction is not the result of favoritism.
Fayoritism may stimulate local celebri-
ties, but the papers published for the
public carefully select their reprint
regardless of the existence of friend
ship. A young gentleman, evidently a
graduate of some college, who publishes
~ small paper in q western town, marks
every paper he sends to this office. On
the margin of recent number he says:
II don't see why the photographers
should not have ring unto themselves.
l can aid your paper and you can aid
mine All need is for some ono to
start my paragraphs on the rounds. J"
The following are a few marked para
graphs:
Coal stoves should not be used in
winter, for then we want warm stoves.
Say, is the blacksmith forger?-Er.
Don't know. for we are not shoe-er.
A milkman may be true, but still ne
is coward.
These. you viii 1T once perceive are
very fine fragments Of humor. Circu-
lation is all they need. is in fact more
than they deserve. In several respects
the young gentleman seems to have
pretty fair sense. For instance, he
missed an issue of his paper several
weeks ago on account of u rush of job
work. In this he displayed ability, for
job work pays better than ''humor. !"
If you are requested to choose between
puns and job work, take the job work.
If YOU are called upon to decide upon
the laughablc merits of castor oil or
puns. render your decision in favor Of
the oil. The English language has been
great sufferer Verbs, nouns, and
pr0nouns have been twisted into the
corkscrews Of lingual distortion.
The punster's day of greatness is
gone, Young man. There was a time, 4
titful, nervous, cphcmeral time, when
the punstor could secure lecturing en-
gagement. but now he is neglected and
is compelled 10 work or tramp for his
! living. When a punster is particularly
worn out he may secure a position on
the London Fu0ch, but American pub
| LEGATIONS which glow in the spirit Of tina;
true humor which some great writer re-
marked ripens slowly. do not want hini
Ia camp in their neighborhood.
There is difference between para
graph and sentence containing u
mashed word, young journalistic gen
tloman. 4 column of thought, 4 bub-
bling. boiling spring Of humor can b,
expressed in paragraph. but Yer!
/ little of anything can he expressed IN .
pun. Charles Lamb. Theodore Hook.
| the poetic Hook, aud the immortal
I Shakespeare, to say nothing OF few
celebrated Americans. have made pun,
dance in portrayal and amusing glcs,
but the average di,tortcr Of words can
only come TO grief. ANY man wht
would be 80 old in attempting fun aud
SO overwhelmingly bucolic in the manner
of presentation as 10 say that in Tho
winter we do not want coal stoves
meaning cold. of course. should be- cori.
pellrd Ia ride lame steer. ink. YrGr