The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-04
SOMETHING ABOUT JOKES
MANY OF THEM ARE AS OLD as
THE PYRAMIDS.

Former Generations - Something
about Distinctively Native Ameri-
can Humor.
From the Neto Yorh Sun.
The sense Of the ludicrous has been an i'm
portant factor in human affairs. There
was a time when France was said to be
despotism tempered By epigrams; and if the
faculty from which epigrams spring does
not at the present day rule kingdoms, it still
does, in its various manifestations, exert a
most potent influence upon human society.
In our deeper sorrows we seek support from
fortitude. or the consultations of religion,
and the graver crimes against social order
we hand over TO the legal tribunals; but all
those minor offenses which contribute 50
much to the misery Of life are under the
control Of ridioule. Through fear of it
many a man Is deferred from the violation
of that decorum and good order which are
essential TO existence in civilized commu-
nifty.
Manifested as wit and humor, this faculty
sottens the asperities of life. mitigates i s
discomforts and allevistes its ever recurring
daily cares. 1t smooths the wrinkles Of age,
makes the melancholy man to smile, IN
AnaSh-o Tic pToIeLuoI anu Lu6 nypOcflUe, anu
rebukes folly, impatience, aud that univer-
sal sslhshness which Is the parent OF nearly
all the misery that exists in the world. 1t
has ever been the favorite weapon OF the
moralist and reformer; but its natural Office
Is to cheer rather than to correct Aud
this it doubtless has done ever since man
was created.
The kings and great barons of MEDIEVAL
times employed court testers to contribute
70 the enjoyment Of their guests, and many
OF their witticisms are in exist ence to-day.
Many others, too, are alive which came into
being more than 9, 600 years ago, and, what
Is remarkable, every one of these old witt
cisms has had numerous progeny. In
cropping among the shades of departed jokes
we find many sprightly elf in antique
garb so like 30 some airy nothing Of to-day
that We at once detect a relationship, and
are tempted to exclaim with the western
orator, That which hath been shall be, and
1t never shall be nary different"
Max Muller has shown that hundreds of
words OF as many different meanings have
descended from one root and 80 it is with
jokes. If all the traditional links could be
supplied, we might trace many a score of
them TO some old Yorick, VINO shook his
jolly sides at the builders of the pyramids.
Many OF the most amugiug extravagances
in Baron Munchausen" are borrowed liter
ally from the old Latin Jest books. The
wild boar, SO. that when the former was slain
the latter was lured into captivity
to hold, is older than the
Crusades. And so the Scotchman who,
rising from an humble position to be
mayor, assured his ''neebors that he was
still mon, had Dutch grandmother. The
old story Is that when a certain man had
been made the project of small village he
bought his wife rich fur garment. She,
proud of her finery and vain of her hus.
bands new honors, entered church Just as
the congregation was rising TO hear the
Psalter read. and, thinking this was being
done out Of respect to her. said graciously:
''Sit down, good peoplei | have not for
gotten was once DOOR,"
OF equal antiquity is the story Of the two
lrishmen crossing stream, one upon the
back OF the other, and the second one carry
keg of whisky. Sure, Paddy" said the
latter, IF We carry me don't / carry the
whisky, and isn't that fair and aiquill7 1t
Is slightly different In the older story where
certain Piero, plying his weary mule
which bore heavy plough, took the plough
upon his shoulder, and mounting the mule
said to it: Now you may go along, Dob
bin, for not you, but l, bear the plough"
The mention Of whisky and water sug-
gests couple of tales which are current
at the south in reference to that little known
class styled "mean whites" A northern
man was once forced to dine at one of their
novels, and missing the customary whisky
kag" from the table, he said to the house
wife: Can't you give me u mug of knock
'em-sbiff p" 81 can't, stranger" was the
reply. I'VE hain't nary drap ter speer."
None to sparep he exclaimed. "Why, !
see barrel OF it there in the corner" "a
baril Nv hit" said the woman why,
whot's thot for a lone widder and seven
CHI
over"
L have not been able to trace the pedigree
of the foregoing, but the following Is Of
highly respectable parentaga 1t Is related
that a traveller, overtaken by a storm, once
asked shelter at one of these cabins The
rain was pouring in at the rent in the roof
and the man, his wife and bakers dozen
Of tow-headed children were huddled &C.
gether on the only dry spot in the one room
OF the hut. why don't you mend your
roofT asked the traveller. 1--WE can't.
stranger; hit rains" was the answer. "But
why don't you mend it when it doesn't
rains" he asked. why, what the use
o. mendin' hit when hit doan't rain?" was
the sensible reply. This same answer
was made-perhaps by some ancestor of
this "poor whiten man-to the eminent
Bishop Butler in the north of England
nearly $50 years ago. The distinguished
author OF the Analogy" was holding SER
vice in a dilapidated church, aud, storm
coming on, no was nearly drowned out"
by torrent of water that filtered through
a thousand rents in the roof. AT the close
of the service he mildly demonstrated at the
leaky condition of things aud suggested
that the first suushiny day should be de-
voted to repairing the edifice. "But it
doan't need repair, your worship. when it
doan't shower" was the answer of the
worthy church warden.
Not few of the jokes attributed to Ire
land originated in other countries ages ago.
OF such was the advice given by one son Of
Erin to another at a tavern. when he found
that his boiled egg was ready to hatoh:
Down wild it, Murphy Down wild it, me
boy, or the landlord will come in and
charge We for a chicken breakfast" The
old Latin joke is the same, with the slight
differ ence that when the repast was over
the companion of the chicken eater required
him to pay the reckoning of both. "If you
don't" he said, I'M tell the landlord of the
chicken you've had for dinner, and then
what a bill you'll have to pay"
Everybody has probably heard of the En-
glishman, who being told by bystander
that his coat was on fire, CURLY replied:
"What business is that of yours, sir? have
seen yonrs burning this half hour and not
bothered you about it," This is the twin
brother to the story Tom Brown tells of a
roguish boy, who said to a traveller warm
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