Arizona republican., 1893-05-26
SEABROOKE ON FUN.
The Comedian Talks Pleasantly
 About His Trade.
He Thinks That Laughter Is Infectious, or Contagious, and Cites a Funny In- cident In Support of His
 Novel Theory.

Did it ever strike you, as it often has me, that the word fun" is in itself funny? asks Thomas O. Seabrooke, the comic opera fun maker, in the Chicago Post. In fact, to me, he con continues, the word and its derivatives are the funniest things about it. We often hear of comedians who are 'fune- really funny"--and to own the truth, l am much afraid shall be checked up in that class, should this article appear in cold type-but it is really funny that hat same dismal word would be fun ,-really" if we but changed the division )f its syllables.
 The old dictionaries set down fun" as "a low word,'' and its definition as vulgar mcrriment:" but think modern merry makers have reformed all that. It is long exploded notion that in or der to be funny one must be indecent. To define fun is most difficult, and when l am asked to do so feel like quoting Emerson: If you ask me how dare say so, or why it is so, am the most helpless of mortal men,
 Fun embraces the entire range of wit and humor. l believe all perfect hu- manity enjoys joke, but as regards that which seems most comical to one another may not be able to see any thing humorous in itwhatever Humor, that is to say the juXtaposition of the incongruous, is nearly if not always ri- diculous, and at the ludicrous we laugh. It T {, h,t l,,, l., but not at wit. This is hardly true, although the amount of laughter in- cited by refined wit is vastly different from that which broad humor compels.
 It is question in my mind whether or not laughter is always caused by merriment. have known persons who laughed most when they were very an gry. While crossing one of Chieago's crowded thoroughfares during the past week there was terrific explosion within ten fcgr of me, and the cover of a man-hole wan- "n~nnning toward the top of sky-scraper. 1 ducked my head, dodged, then ran for my life. A pair of white horses attached to blue cab ran into ne, knocked off my hat and was be- spattered with mud. The spectators iaughed; l laughed too; this proves that laughter is infectious, or con- tagious, or whatever you like. There was certainly nothing very amusing in the situation to me. and yet laughed with the crowd. remembered that had been struggling for years to have people laugh at me, and so thought best to be gay, and thereupon stopped blithely. picked up my wounded hat and walked merrily away.
 Its enough to make horse laugh," is common expression which we may suppose arose from the usually accepted fact that horses never do laugh. The ability to enjoy wit and humor is one of the nooler instincts of mankind, and in proof of this the fact is cited that brutes do not possess this faculty. It is, how ever. mistake to say that dogs, for in- stance, do not have realization of a sense of fun, and m this they are shown to be superior to all other members of the animal kingdom. I knew a Skye terrier who would actually weep and laugh upon provocation. Many time have ] seen the tears streaming from his eyes, and when he was ticliled I have noticed a broad grin upon his face.
 It is an axiom that we judge of peo- pie better by their popular songs than by their sermons, and think all will agree that the world is brighter and better for its laughter.
 They cannot be complete in aught
 Who are not humorously prone
 man without merry thought
 Could hardly have funny bone"
 Trite but true is the oft quoted Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone;" so let us laugh. As to what we shall laugh at is matter of education
 Some Queer Notions of Women.