The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-04-23
LAUGH AND BE MERRY.
SOME METHODS OF PRODUCING
AND WAYS OF SHOWING MIRTH.

The College "Man with the Iaugh'-The
..Dry Grin" the Essence OF American
uumor-Thc French Like wit-Improve-
ment in Our laughter Loving Propensity.
Laughter. when il i aroused by legitimate
rroyocation. is such Il wholesome and re
irsbing ihing that il Is melancholy TO watch
the gradual atrophy. Of the ris'ble faculties
which seems TO be The inevitable result 81
advancing civilization Not many years ago
there wa an undergraduate at ono OF our
universities who was blessed with 50 natural
md infectious q laugh that he was Regarded
by the whole college with "A certain degree Oh
prido. and the dons, wh,n entertaining a
stranger at the nigh table, never tailed To ex
ulain when the familiar sound was heard,
',Ohl that's -, the maI with the laugh.
We are not aware that the man with the
laugh has had "A successor, AMI u this be 50,
IL : a matter Of unmixad regret For one
seldom hears a genuine langh nowadays, and
much OF the phraseology Of laughter Is a
mere fashion OF speech
NO LAUGHS AND Dol LAUGHS.
There are many psople whose sides have
never achel from over indulgence IN the out
ward EXPRESSION Of mirth. Indeed, We helieNai
that lust ~ there are cats who cannot purf,
so there arr unfortunate numan ~teings.who
cannot hugh out loud With some persons a
uhccze Of a chgckle is the utmost they can
compass Some men laugh h%abitually In fal-
setto. which. we need hardly say. Is far lesa
pleasant than a laugh in the natural voice
And thcn~here is what may be called 80
cietyr laugh, an artificial abomination almost
A. exccrable as the latest fashionable mon
strosity. the bent elbow overland shake.
We remember once 10 have heard a temi
nine laugh 40 painfully and regularly tunetul
that il could literally have been reduced to
musical notation. There is also a coarsa
laugh to which wo have heard the admirably
expressive epithot Of square mouthed APP
nlled-a Gargautuan laugh evoked by highly
favored anecdotes OF the gun or smoking
room category Love Is a liberal education,
a. a Greek proyorh. unconsciousiy initiated
uy Steele. has IL. and. according 20 Shake
speare. one OF its refining influences Is shown
IN the matter Of laughter When a man falls
IN love. SAYS Speed. he no longer laughs Ike
a cock c~roNing-and Speed was by profession
a great authority on love and laughter
The abatement of opep laughter among us
/. possibly due IN part 20 the tendency oi TIE
humorous literature of a race % whom, Gc-
cordlng to Mr.. Bryce, 'c are chiefly benolden
for our food tor mirth-tAe Americans Tie
es-ence Of the modem American humor is
what Uncle Eemus calls the dry grin" IL
wa. hardl, So with Artemus Ward, who's,
lecture. delivered With The most melancholy
.....H-HNn funny U Nn "
enable many of his auditors to realize what
bad been previously only n figure oi speech
They laughed ull they We're perfectly al on
tho inhabitants of Great Britain the Anglo
Irish have probably the greatest appreciation
of humor, and posses iho most infectious
laughs
Our cousins tho Germans enjoy a joke
especially 70 hoax-as thelf phrase, rs ~
gum Todo lacucn.n indicates. though tho
greatest German joker OF recent times
SapAir, was jew. The French are too iSgi-
ral TO appreciate nousansa. Wit rather than
humor appeals 20 their temperament, though
the Instance " ltahelai, proves tAe danger of
generalization The Turk has great fund
of dry humor latent Boz him, AMI enjoys Is
.,late laugh. but be- has "a poor opinion ct
mascaralik. or hahitual ioolng 80 the same
time he more than to'erntos the humorous
and generally scanial0Ds buiiooneries oi
Karagueuz lBlackiacel, TIE Turkish Puici
nelio.
Il L BRUTALITY ~ HORSE PLAY.
In Persia laughter s. annually evoked 10y
the following rather cheap means. IS a part
e the Bairam festivities given by eeIsians
II hsvh standing. a number Of Jews, who
have been caught for tho occasion, are sud
denly hustled into tho deep haouz, or tank,
which Is D. be- found IN ever courtyard, and
lett TO- truggloout, half drowned and bedrag
zled, anil the shrieks Of the spectators. The
nero all the world over Is roputeI a laughter
loving creature, except when the outward
manifestation OF mirrh Is checked 10y the new
found sense Of dignity which accompanies
conversion 90 Islam. Whatever they feel,
the Chinese are certainly chary Of expressing
amusement IN Occidental fashion. ThoJapan-
esc. on tho other hand, are an cminently
cheerful and merry people.
H.. however. the tendency Of civilization is
rather 10 eifaco the outward and physical '
symbols by which the natural man expresses
his mirth. against this los may bc set many
co~antersailiug advantages. On the whole,
wo gretiiy our laughter loving propensity IN
a lar more legitimate fashion than the gen
GRAFTON Of Theodore Hook. There Is les
brutal horse play, less i~ndecncy. less OF the
desire 20 amuso ourselves at the direct ex-
pense, TO tno discomfort or by the pain OF
other people.
The old Adam causes some Of US 10 regret
the decline If tho harlequinade; but we
should reconcile ourselves t. its elimination
by remembering that 10 was IN great measure
true 10 life. Tho days Of pantomimlc practi-
cal joking-as drawn IN the pages OF Tom
Cringlcs LOgn-are over; aud with the dis
appearance Of the reality We can cheerlully
dispense with its minnie relresentation. II
VEG further back. how swinish Is tho fun Of
tho Middle Agesi
What an inlIcti0n "A court fool must have
been In real hie, and how nhuman vas the
practice Of making piayth!uss OF dwarfs-
always VIGOROUSLY sensitive u ridicuie-who
should have been objects OF pity rather than
butts OF m.rrlment, We may laugh iess
loudly than cur great-grandiathcrs, but Our
appreciation Of IA joke Is not necessarily any
the less keen on that account Nor Is there
any los Of yirhty or grit involved in this
purging Of fun OF is grOsser elements a
man IS never les, manly for having u pure
Imagination London Spectator.
Violet Colored Marble oluuns.