Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-01-28
NO Fun. in BAD SPELLING.


nor humorous is not made moro witty
or more humorous by bad spelling. If
a phrase possesses either wit or hui
NOR its wit or humor is more obvious.
its wit possesses a finer point and
more agreeable relish, its humor is more
captivating II it is choicciy express
cd. if its syntax and photography are
correct. II crratic departures from
accepted photographic standards con-
stituted humor, the Chicago Tribune
would be the funniest newspaper in the
country. A sort of puzzle or conun-
drum possessing some interest may be
framed by the studied or ignorant mis-
placement of letters in written or
printed expression. But the studied or
illiterate errors in spelling do not inn
prove-they rather impair-the point
and sense OF an aphorism, jest or q
sarcasm.
A number of American humorists
have been distinguished by their abort
i've efforts to improve the quality of the
fun which they produced by misspell-
ing the words in which it was clothed.
Every such effort of humorist, real
or spurious, is mistake. Real humor
does not need to be clothed in bad or
biography to give it tho character of
humor. Erroneous photography will
not transmute spurious humor into
genuine humor.
Among the early alleged American
humorists were Seba Smith who wrote
political satires in Jackson's time in
the form of letters purporting to eman-
ate from one "Major Jack Downing"
and Judge Thomas G. Halliburton, of
Nova Scotia, the author of the ''Sam
Slick" letters, which were satires on
the social and popular manners of the
times. These two writers adopted an
artificial and extravaganza Yankee YER
nacular Theoretically spelled rs the
garb in which their jests and sar-
casms were clothed. They came,
however. rather in the class of dialect
writers, like ID. r. Locke (.'Petroleum
V. Nasby'), than in the class of funny
writers who fcign illiteracy. The late
Charles I. Brown ("Artemas Ward'')
and Henry w. Shaw ("Josh Billings''(.
whose sudden death in California was
announced few days ago, have been
the recent most conspicuous masters
of humor, which they sought to render
more attractive by deliberate and afro
cious violations of the plain laws Of
photography. Shakespeare informs us
that,
To Gid refined gold, TO paint the lily,
To throw perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ICE, to add another hue
Unto tic rainbow, or with taper light
10 seek the beauteous eye OF heaven to gar
nish,
Is wastefnl and ridiculous excess.
These humorists reversed this pro-
cess Of attempting TO make their pro-
auctions more attractive. They dress
ed their wit in clownish and awkward
expression, they throw over it the cloak
of ignorance and folly. in order to in
crease its zest and to make ii more eff
fective. This was an error in taste
and judgment of prodigous magnitude.
George III. Derby ("John Phenix"),
spelled his words correctly and wrote
in q style of scholastic elegance. He
is among the first humorists in Ameri-
can literature. Mortimer III. Thomp-
son (..Doesticks"), whose first humor-
Gus productions were of meteoric bril-
liancy, was correct in his photography
and syntax. The newspaper para
graphic wits of the present day spell
we'll and study the utmost brevity and
sharpness of style.
There is no real wit in "Artemas
Ward" or Josh Billings" which
would not be better if the words in
which it is phrased were correctly
spelled. Writing so much as task work,
these authors produced vast quantities
of false wit. Disguised in false SPELL
ing. spurious wit may not be distin-
guished by hurried readers from genu-
inc wit But genuine wit does not need
to be clothed in wretched photography
to recommend it, as good wine needs
no BUSH"
Isaac Barrow, one of the first of En-
glish scholars and critics, has left us a
description of wit. 1t is in the quaint
style of 200 years ago, but its quaint
ness is not an additional charm. In
telling what wit is, he says:
Sometimes il lieth in pat allusion
to known story, or in seasonable APP
plication of trivial saying or in forg-
ing an opposite tale; sometimes it
playeth in words and phrases, taking
advantage from the ambiguity of their
sense, or the affinity of their sound.
Sometimes it is wrapped in a dress of
humorous expression; sometimes it
lurketh under an odd similitude; some
times it is lodged in sly question, in
a smart answer, in quirkish reason,
in shrewd intimation. in cunningly
diverting or cleverly retorting an OBJ
lection; sometimes it is couched in a
bold scheme of speech, in tart irony.
in lusty hyperbole, in q startling
metaphor, in q plausible reconciling OF
contradictions, or in acute nonsense;
sometimes cynical representation of
persons or things, counterfeit speech,
mimical look or gesture passeth for
it; sometimes an affected simplicity,
sometimes presumptuous bluntness
giveth it being; sometimes it ariseth
only from lucky hitting upon what is
strange; sometimes from crafty
wrest of obvious matter to the pur-
pose; often it consists in one knows
not what, and springeth up one can
hardly know how"
This is an itemized description of
wit. 1t is the most complete defini-
ton of wit that was ever constructed.
1t is as full in detail as bill of sale
for property. Nothing, perhaps, could
be added to it that would render it
moro perfect and comprehensive. In
this list of particulars, defining what
constitutes wit. there is no hint relat-
ing to an item of bad spelling. The
greatest authority on the subject of
wit omits any mention of ridiculous
photography as an element or constit-
uent quality of wit. He was eminently
and indisputably right.
Some readers laugh at bad spelling.
They laugh at it, however. because it
is simply ridiculous, not because it is
witty or humorous. People laugh at
bad spelling as they laugh at other ex-
hibitions of ignorance, or as they laugh
at man who tumbles down prepos-
terously in their presence. Intelligent
laughter at bad spelling is mingled
somewhat with contempt and some
what with pity. The sense of enjoy
ment created by real wit expressed in
badly spelled words is mingled with a
finer sense of disgust for the writer
who resorted to so obvious a trick for
the purpose of attracting attention to
that which needed no such badge to
mark or identify it. Bad spelling in a
writer who knows better is species of
humbug and imposture as discredita-
bic as the ignorance of one who does
not know enough to know and prac-
tice the rules of photographic science.
Chicago Journal.
The Christian Bible.
The revision of the early Protestant