Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-07-13
Practical Jokes.

A practical joke is a sort of trick
played by one person upon another,
in the hope of making him uncom-
Portable and ridiculous. To put ones
friend in an absurd situation, to in
terfere with his rights, to do some
thing which will hurt him in body
or mind, not very deeply, perhaps,
yet really, is the object of the practi-
cal joker.
l have never, in my life, been able
to see the least good, the. least inno-
cent fun in practical jokes, but ! have
seen great deal of evil mischief re-
sulting from them. | cannot think
of a person addicted to practical jok-
ing as any thing but mean and con-
temptihle. For how can we honor
the disposition which takes pleasure
in cruelty?
Some years ago just at dusk "a maid
servant, in Gel tain beautiful home,
took it into her head that it would be
rare fun to dress herselfin a sheet and
brighten another of the servants. So
she slipped into the grounds, hid her.
self behind tcr, and waited her op.
portunity. Dancing merrily along
singing with voice like a bird came
sweet little daughter of the house,
who had been sent on an GRAND to
the lodge at the end of the green ave.
nue.. The merry child, sensitive to
her finger tips, caught glimpse of
the straight, stark figure, skulking
behind the oaks, and was so fright
ened that few months afterward
she died-of nervous shock, the ply
sicians said, which then began its ia
tai work.
In one of our New England Col
leges youth who had been study
ing hard that he might enter the
Freshman class, was startled from his
sleep at midnight by party of fell
lows in masks, who proceeded to
make sport for themselves by the
stupid process called "hazing" their
companion. They had their silly fun,
but it is to be hoped that none of
the number engaged in it can ever
think of that night without a pang,
for it made the youth insane.
| don't like to believe that any of
my readers engage in this wretched
kind ofjesting. If they do, it is be-
cause they have never looked at it
from the right point of view. There
isn't among my friends one, l am
sure, who would be happy in making
any one else miserable.
l saw Fred, the other day, perched
in nook, way, way up in tall
tree,and | thought, "What a splendid
climber you are, Fred, and how nim-
bly, you'd run to the mizzen-top, if
you were sailor boyw / knew that
Fred was as sure-footed as cat, and
had eyes like squirrel, and the grip
OF "A monkey, so l was not alarmed
on his account. Not so his mother.
She came to the door, called, Erred!
Fred" and finally deserted him in
his airy nest, from which "his voice
fell like falling star" Then she
was much distressed and frightened,
and Twas disappointed in Fred, be-
cause, instead of relieving her fears
at once, he said:
"O,pouf,mamma!there's no danger.
Why are you so excited? I've been
here dozens of times"
He did descend at last; but true
gentleman would not have allowed
woman to be frightened, even for
an instant, especially when the wO-
man was his own mother.
The spirit which leads one not to
care when friend is suffering ter
rors on ones account, is the same
which makes the practical jest posi-
bic. Aunt Marjorie's children must
Danish this, if they would make their
little world happy.-Harper's.