Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-04-27

and jolly innkeeper; that of the wife Of
Bath. of Cook and Reeve and Squire
and Miller is apt enough to entitlc him
TO the honor of being our first English
humorist, opening the way and set
ting the form for all who were to fol-
low. Coming to Shakespeare, it is
enough to say that all his comedies
without exception fall under this cate
cory, although he is at his best only
when he rises from the plane of mere
verbal witticism to the higher plane of
genuine English pleasantly. When we
come to the Augustan age, and take up
The Spectator of Addison, what
wealth of English prose comedy is seen
In Cir Roger. de Coverley; Freeport. the
merchant: in Captain Sartoy, VIII Hon
eycomb and Wimble. Charles Lamb, in
his papers "On the Inconvenience of
Being Hanged" ION the Melancholy
Tailors." ION Burial Societies and I'm
dertakers" and "On the Convalescent."
is at his best as humorist. as in DE
Quincy in his Murder as One of the
Fine Arts" So Dickens and Hood and
Sydney Smith and Moore each in his
way is inimitable, as the personality of
the humorist appears.
Strange indeed that the element OF
sadness is sometimes found in these
liSht-hearted comedians of their time
In Lamb and Goldsmith and Sterne and
De Quincy and Hood-laughter and
Attii ALTERNATING anu ever IIllDEll1S.
some standard English authors have
little humor in their natures or writ
jngs-as Bacon, who. if for no other
reason, could never have written the
Shakespearean comedy; Milton. who
but once in his poctry-in his lines to
Holson. the university carrier-evcr
condesccndeti To wit: Burke and Coicr-
idge and Lamb and Carlyle and Mat
thew Arnold. each Of whom would have
welded wider influence if Il larger
element of kindly pleasaiSsry" were
found in the serious prose
There is kind OF humor involved in
what we call pithy sayings. i'll pointed.
pertinent utterancc. as we find it in
some of the early preachers and au-
thors as in Hugh Latimer of the time
OF Henry VIII; in Knox and Fox ana
Burton and Browne; In Thomas Fuller
ana l%aak Walton. andl above all, In
| John punyan. "Pilgrims Progress"
owes as much to its humorous pith and
point as to any other one literary uual-
ity. the Bedford dreamer, rs we call
him. being wde-awake to all tina. was
passing. In his metrical Introduction
to the prose allegory this happy vein
is everywhere evident. After jotting
down some random thoughts he tells
us how he came to print them:
| well! When j had thus put my ends
| together
showed them others, that I might sec
| whether
They would condemn them or them
justify;
And some said. Let them live; some
Let them die;
Some said. John, print IT.: others said
Not So;
Some said. 1t might do good; others
said. No
Now was I in a strait. and did not sec
Which was the best thing to be done
by me-
At last I thought, since you are thus
1 print it will; and thus the case de-
cided"
This is wit. humor. satire, good sense
and point All in one. and Froude is right
when he says of Bunyan that Ibis nat
ural humor perhaps saved him" So il
did 1t saved him and saved his writ
ings. His healthy seriousness" adds
froudc. often best expresses itself in
playful quaintness." Even in his most
sober work. The Holy War" his sense
OF tne essential Guaintness of things
STANDS him in good stead and he on
| couraScs the Christian warriors To sing
and be glad even when the fight is tho
| fiercest.
Hence we revert to the position as
Sumed Mt the outset. tho absolute ncccs-
Slty OF the element of pleasantly in
/ the world as ii is and as ii goes on
| from day to day Pessimism cannot
flourish in its presence. Even n narrow
ana repressivc theology cannot live in
the light OF IL: much less tho spirit Of
rcpining and rcstlessncss and sour
nln"ed misanthropy. According to tho
/ old chronological and ilcdicai lncaninr
/ the humors were the moisturcs and
fluids of the body-hlood choler phlogm
ana melancholy (back bile). When
,hese were In proper adjustment
INC system was normal the man was In
/ good humOr. Even 50 II il; vot i'm ,bn
/ higher sphere Of mind and soul n man
IN good humor being thus proved To- he
IN mental and moral equilibrium. well
balanced or poised. natural. normal. n
sound healthy and hcalthfnl man.
nearly and happy himself ard diffusin.,
life and good will and blessing whor-
| ever his lot is cast.