The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-03-04

DOI6 IUbO Jou u SnpIle anu q piaIO HcAo
door into a celestial harp. If used in
moderation, it is blessing, but when
carried to excess it biteth like serpent
and stingeth like an adder. Hail to it !
Long may it reign
Humor has evoluted from a physical
fact to a mental exercise, from chance
luxury into an actual necessity. Its pri-
NAL source was exemplified In pain and
trouble, its origin being the mirth
evoked among savages at the sight OF
distorted or crippled humanity. A
hunchback or olubfooted man even to-
day is huge joke among barbarian
peoples. In their uncultured eyes he is
quite as humorous as one of Zim's pic
lures of a colored man being kicked In
the stomach by long legged cow or
Francis Wilson in comic opera. Savages
find vast amusement in witnessing
captive burning at the stake. They
really keenly enjoy torturing bee, and
an Eskimo has been known to laugh
gleefully at seeing his wife in the en-
brace of polar bear. Time brings its
revenges, however, and today the hu
morist is the victor, not the victim. He
fortunes his audience and goes home to
laugh as he counts the proceeds.
To the deep thinking mind there is
something saddening in the thought
that humor is even of pain, but it is,
alas, too true. "Humpty Dumpty" and
punch and judy" both old comedy
effects, testify to this creation of laugh
ter by the misfortunes of others, and it
underlies many of the comic effects of
today.
Ghosts OF Dead Jokes Haunt Us.
Students Of this interesting subject
have long aud earnestly searched for the
original funny man, the one who is to
blame for all the puns, jokes and quips
now strewn knee deep along times path
way, but he is lost in the foggy back
ground of antiquity. Peer into the dim
who TESTED before the alphabet was in
vented, and you viii see the already
aged spooks of the mother law, the
bulldog, the pants seat, the William
goat and the baldhead joke, as we'll as
many, many others. These jests were
uttered in tongues now dead and forgot
ten, but their spirits still live.
And yet the original joker must have
existed. I mean the first jester, not the
practical joker, who was simian pro-
totype, but the man who by comically
reciting his own misery made others
la,1b a,a 1x,l,o baooroa q farori+a a
mastodon or cave bear banquets and had
delicate morsels of marrow sent him by
his admirers. His paleolithic gags are
still lying IN wait in back country tav-
erns, and each generation finds them
new and funny, and nations yet unborn
are awaiting them in the silence of the
hence. This prehistoric jester was the
father Of humor. just as his boon COM
panion who carved on reindeer horn or
mammoth tusk was the father Of art
the first men who took an optimistic
view OF life.
The striking feature Of the jests Of
antiquity, when we come within the
historic period, was in their primitive
coarseness, even obscenItN which is gen
orally laid TO the rudeness Of the age.
The ancient joke was quite decollete at
botn ends. IL is a sad commentary 10
know that one of our greatest and most
prolific humorists haSremarked that the
funniest and wittiest things unfortu-
nately could not be told in decent So
ciety." Every classic work has some
well meant attempt at humor which
probably served IT'S purpose. Even Greek
and Egyptian mythology had lists Of
the practical jokes Of the gods them
selves
The Bible is probably the only work
that lacks n humorous element-that is,
of deliberate purpose. The semireligious
plays of medieval times were more
than half buffoonery Of the coarsest,
lewdest sort. and quite until the begin
ming Of this century humor. had de-
cidedly ripe flavor indeed, and such of
il as was printed is now read and kept
where the children cannot get at it
IL Is fact, moreover. that popular
humOr muSt smell IF c'is soil, 50 &c
speak, even now. Perfume IL. and is
aroma evar0ra,es; polish Y. and II IS
6u- and qo5aJiesS- II nlGS5 still carry
the element NJ ayFooneTy. even if i
sometilueS CRATES on refined ears, ana
lear the rauS Il suffering somewhere
= : tJ- s1a4e0oCv
The Gaod Ola Joi.es.
- the lgSs ~ re people. tire grea.
. l1dy e MOTT l.r'e-s. the old. old joke
i ever precious J. greeted again sB,.
, again VIA laughter and applause. and
( no matter how changed IN dress O. al