The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-02-20

An Inclination That Should Be Seerniy
Rcprpssci-L Life Is Not a Circus, but
Solemn Reality.
IN. Y. Hour.1
The inclina ion to be funny should be
carefully repressed. Ridicule and humor
are easy and natural to many people, but
if any one hopes to have high career, he
must so conduct himself that the idea of
seeing him in an elevated position Will
not make people laugh. A man had bet
ter be dishonest than funny, so far as the
attainment of high position is concerned.
1t is the same in private life. People who
are funny are not those whom we gener-
ally respect most. We come to think of
them with kind of contempt. They are
likely to be sought for as diners-out OF TO
make after-dinner speeches. When they
appear, or when their names are men,
toned, people are wont to grin. Now,
grins never signify any great esteem or
admiration. Let every reader OF the Hour
think over the list of after-dinner speakers
who generally talk at all public banquets.
Some of the same men are always on the
list That is because they do the ''funny
business" and set the table in roar.
There are always, or almost always,
speeches at these banquets which make a
lasting impression. Actual contributions
are even sometimes made to the fund of
thought or general information by ad-
dresses delivered on state occasions; but
the accepted funny man" never makes
one of these. He never says anything
ynt.th OF Of
) soon grow stale and tiresome. Yorick
will never be forgotten; yet that will not
4 be due to any of the good things he said,
but to what Hamlet said,
The truth is, life is real and earnest, and
he will succeed best in it who recognizes
this fact. Men of intelligence and right
sentiment appreciate it, The great minds
of the world have never been in the heads
of the worlds testers. There is enough in
life to make any one serious. There are
the.problems Of making an honest living,
of maintaining good reputation, of estab-
fishing pure character, and Of leading
respectable life. Jests do not help us on
in any of these things. 1t is serious
thoughts which aid us and so gain our ad-
miration, love and esteem. There are
times when anything amusing CRATES upon
our nerves, and then the perpetrator of
joke is hateful unto us. But even in our
gayesJ moods we do not scorn thought or
sentiment of real worth, although we may
not heed it. Its utterance, at least, never
excites our scorn.
The moral of it all is-do not cultivate
any fatal facility of jesting which you may
have. Strike out in life with serious pur-
pose and make serious business of pur-
suing it. This does not mean sanctimoni.
GUS facial expression; but it does mean in
tense earnestness, and where that exists
there will be little temptation to be funny.
A young man who has the gift Of speak
ing should be particularly careful Many
times when he rises to talk his impulse
will be to make his auditors laugh. 1t would
be easy, and he would instantly catch
their attention. But he should be careful
not to do it too often. Let him say some-
thing worth saying, or let him keep quiet.
1t is better to be respected as stupid
grave man even, than to be laughed at as
clown. The jesting lawyer; the punning
Judge; the fun-making clergyman; the
writer Of humorous books or paragraphs
who ever has any high regard for them?
Herein lies one of the drawbacks which ac-
tors have to contend with, and one of the
reasons why they so generally occupy in
ferior social positions. Their main object
is to amuse and entertain. Any one of
their number, therefore, who hopes to be
recognized as a man of worth and promi-
tpeuce must have extraordinary talents
which will induce men to respect him and
give him place in their esteem, despite
the fact that merely to amuse is his busi-
ness. So hard is it for us to place high
value on people who only entertain us!
But life is not circus; and clowns aud
testers will not succeed.