The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-05-01
THE PASSING SHOW.

II there Is one thing more than anoth-
or that goes TO prove the possibility of
The0sophy, the doctrines Of reincarna-
ton and the rather doubtful scientific
estimate of the number OF lives owned
and controlled by a cat. that thing is the
term Of existence given the average vau-
deville joke The manner in which these
are worked up and hen worked over af-
lords delightful study in the art of re-
suscitation, with little dab Of ancient
history on the side. Sometimes the uuips
ard jests return 50 disguised that it is
Only with considerable care that one can
recognize them, but generally the effort
at hiding their origin is both feeble and
unsuccessful. The better class of wit
ticisms go over regular course of treat.
ment and make their appearance in new
ana established forms at periodical inter
Vals. Those less fortunate are laid nv
for rainy day and moder in the dust
Of obscurity until some national or no
lit.cal situation enables the stndious and
far-reaching dealer in antiquities TO dis
cover the remains, inject into them the
essence Of public interest and deliver
them 10 an unsuspecting class of good
humored theatergoers.
1t is strange but true that the great
majority OF amusement lovers prefer
hearing an old joke to a new one In
10 which the rule regarding the age Of
wine does not apply man who can
only sit back and wonder what the
meaning Of an original jest may be will
not only laugh himself into commissions
over moss backed. bewhiskercd relic of
the early humorists, but will CRAFTY his
vanity by explaining the matter TO every
one within earshot and forcing them
through sheer policy, 10 laugh also. Cen
r.T, III lii
whom lunacy experts say is Invariably
crazy, but he enjoys it and the comedian
enjoys it and the friend to whom he re-
Iates II appears to enjoy ii most of all
ana so the only person who suffers is the
manager of the theater who has TO pay
for lights during the time taken up in
the delight Of greeting an old acquaint-
ance. Whereas the usual run of men do
not begin to take pleasure in a recent
jest until they have reached the bosom
of their families and heard their cooks
dilate on the merits Of the entertainer
who told il. Once upon time Il woman
went TO q minstrel show in this country
and managed TO sit through the entire
performance without smiling more than
twice and then in a contemptuous. you re-
old-enOug -to-know-better sort of way
But month later she heard an English
man tell the same story without the point
sprained her jaw and had to visit her
dentist twice day all through the win
ter.
Many an antediluvian specimen of the
jest tribe that resembles a choke more
than joke is never recognized at all
No matter how old the tale is there must
always be someone in the house who has
never heard ii before and who spends half
his weeks salary getting his intmates
into "A barroom and making them listen
If someone got up in a first-class house
and declared that Noah built that beau
uful sample of marine architecture known
as the ark there would be plenty of people
present who had never heard il before.
For this and many other reasons new
Jokes are fewer than white collars in
ghost dance. Now and then one appears.
but generally feels its position as
stranger in a strange land SO keenly that
ii disappears with the issue of the comic
weekly in which it is published and is
never heard of again Comedians and
singers avoid 1t with cold and unchar-
liable persistency; newspaper men Will