New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-10-16

! THE PROGRESS or NATIONAL HUUOR
Tho death Of the writer 80 widely known rs
Josh Billings may well Justify some inquiry IN
| to the growth and progress of American hutaor
Bnt in the first place, it is necessary to anticipate
! objections against taking such writer's as josh
Billings ut all seriously, by pointing out tEat the
| extent to which his productions circulate con-
clusvcly proves a genuine popularity, ana IS real
IL more significant as regards national intellectual
development than the most ambitious literary
efforts Of the small minority of highly educated
persons who are usually thought of as the repre-
sentative, and arbitcrs of national literature IL
is not indeed sufficiently borne IN mind that every
| nation has two distinct teratures: that oil the
! en- tured few anl that Of tho urcultured many.
The masses are not altogether lllltorate anywhere
! and less now than ever, but they seek and lnd
! kind of literature which sates their intellectual
! cravings and It Is usually such as is unknown 10
or ignored by the educated minority. HE most
popular novel by the most gifted author to use an
illustration has but relatively small circulation
| even when editions are cheapencd and multiplied ,
but below the grade Of such fiction there Is vast
reading public which dcy0urs the contents Of story
papers, dime novels and all that corresponds acre to
what N England is called the penny dreadful
Now 10 the readers of this class of literature
Gosh Billings" appealed, and by them his humcr
was promptly recognized. And while fastldlous
critics may dislain tho Transparent trIcN by which
| he occurred an outward look of quainness for MS
writings candid comparison and reflection show
! that the taste manifested by his public WAS quite
| on a par with that of tho generations which went
! into ecstacIes over q" Humphrey Caker" and
| laughed consumedly tho "Ramsbothan Let
| tors" The humOr OF Hood IN q" Up The Kline was
! indeed of a more complex character, being infused
with much of that element of unoxpcctedness
! ~ 10 baa tO
tlvcy American. Josh Billings however, was
! much more than mere translator Of extravagances
! into phonetic spelling Thcre was IL hm fund of
| that peculiar dry, laughtcrless humOr which the
| American farmer seems to sympathlze with partlc-
! ularly, doubtless because it erl5odlcs homely
! practical philosophy prcseryodirom the dulnoss OF
dacticism by the addition of that kind OF playful
leyIty which IN its most rollcklng manifestations
| il never very far removed from melancholy. fhs
sort of traycsticd speculation on men aud things
! hit tho fancy of men whose hoElcly and intimate
acquaintance with the facts of life causes them to
hunger for SONS mental recreation not beyond their
| appreciation.
| His "Almirax" especially tcklsd thousands of
| sobor-Inindcd persons who had for generations
studied and Ieiorrcd to the venerable publication
| which Josh Billings 80 audaciousy carIclturcd
| The humor was crude, no doubt and cumbrous for
| the most part but it was plain enough for even
somewhat slow minds 10 grasp. and it was
| thoroughly assimllabe because il dealt with the
! h6mcy matters of everyday experience. certain
! flavor of mild cynicsm in tho humOrist was quite
! enjoyed, too. and this enjoyment may be regarded
AS indicating growth Of capacity in literary apprc
| henson, since it belongs properly to a place some
| what in advance Ot tho one described. But the
popularity OF " Josh Billings" Is not, rs sometimes
assumed a symptom of intellectual dsgoneracy. 1t
| il On the contrary proof that large percentage
of tho American people to-day occupy position
parallel to that which the educated classes Of this
| conatry and England occupied half q century or 80
ago. The development of national hunor canhot
| proceed by leaps and bounds. 1t must be gradual
process. and between its highest and It's lowest
stages there will always b. broad area Of separa-
ton The humor cf tho "Biglow Papers is American
| humor in its highest expression f; that OF Josh
Billings" is not indeed che huiaor in its lowest
expression. though 1t is low. But tho audience of
Josh Billings" is worry much larger one than Mr.
Lowell can attract, nor should this fact bc re-
qarded as humiliariag Tho popular taste grows
slowly but II grows and it is to be noted especially
that tho hunor which that taste recognizes whether
in its best or in Its medium CT its poorer express
sions, is distnctvoly and unquestioaa5ly native,
indigenous product racy of the soil, and even when
| thin genuine and mborrOwod.