The Irish standard., 1900-11-17

Compared, however, with Thackeray
or Dickens no one could question Lev.
er's humor, but 1t was too simple, too
obvious, and aimed only at raising a
laugh. Just US tears helped to as
suaging of grief, so, in a sense, laugh
ter made an end of mirth. The defect
of Irish humor was its lack of gravity.
True humor was nothing essentially
complex. involving a double vision, a
normal standard Of proportion to
method. 1t was private and personal.
1t saw everything in two lights, and
not only laughed at Falstaff on the
field of battle, but laughed with him.
Its appeal was intellectual, and sur
vey of Irish literature showed a steady
growth of the intellectual quality in
Irish humor. The subject might be
described as century of Irish humor,
from Sheridan to Bernard Shaw, from
Miss Edgeworth to Miss Barlow; and
this way of stating it showed that at
least there had been no falling off.
Sheridan marked the close of the eight
eenth century. Miss Edgeworth invent
ed local color-before Scott was at the
beginning Of the romantic movement.
She might not have been Celtic, but
she was as good an Irish woman as
ever walked, and Castle Rack Rent
was a masterpiece. Her latter work
was inferior to it, because she aban-
dOned the dramatic form in order to
be free to moralize. Next after her
came Carleton, the nearest thing to
Burns that Ireland had to show. But
Burns found an instrument ready to
his hand, the Scotch vernacular song.
Carleton had to make bis own, and it
was always defective. His pathos and
his humor were both married by faulty
technique. At the close of the "Poor
Scholar" the son returning speaks in
stilted phrases till he has to restore the
fainting mother, and then he speaks to-
her in Irish, and it goes directly to her
heart. Carleton could never speak In
1rish-tllat was the trouble. Lever, on
the other hand, was voluble enough,
inexhaustible in. gaiety, in invention, in
animal spirits, but his work was
affected with the disease of anecdote.
Figures were merely sketched in-none
was seen with this special faculty Of
creative humor. Lever saw everything
as everybody might have seen it. LIE
Fanu, in his short stories, such as
"The Quare Gander," scarcely got be-
yond Glowing. The best of all stories
in the light anecdote kind was Fer
gusons tale in "Rlackwood" Father
Tom and the Pope" Farcical humor
could not be carried further than it
was there. 1t was the first example of
what was considered complacently as
typical Irish humor. The humor
which had to be considered in the best
contemporary work was very different.
Miss Barlow would not make anyone
laugh. but the subjects which she
dwelt on We're only bearable If seen
through delicate mist of mirth. She
treated of people Mt perpetual handi-.
grips with starvation-their little van
tiles, generosities and pretenses-with
- nf 1N1 %1Hnk
culiarlys and distinctly Irish. He (the
lecturer) owned to n preference for the
hunlorists who did not seek to raise II
laugll-for such humor as pervaded
Mr.. Yeats "Celtic Twilight" But
there were no greater attractions than
healthy, contagious. laughter, such as
was raised by Experiences of an Irish.
r. NJ" Nevertheless, it was not such
humor that would redeem Irish lltera-
ture from the reproach Of triviality.
The humor that made the greatness of
English literature appealed to more
faculties than the simple one of laugh
ter. 1t was n question whether to
include the literature Of satire and ill.,
vective. Once the order of bards num-
bered third of the Irish race, and
disturbed the whole country with their
satire. They had those bards still, but
called them politicians. Much good
talent went to waste OH bad words,
and it seemed good humor had dimin-
shed, and bad humor Increased in Irish
politics; so it was better to let the
orators alone. OF purely literary satire
there was little, except Moore's Fudge
Family, which was clever, and no
more. The list of writer's of humorous
verse was long, but n catalogue of
ephemera, even Father Prout Among
modern names one would mention the
author Of Father O'Flynn," best of
all humorous songs, the terrible wit of
Mr. Graves "Hawarden Horace and
Mr.. Godley's. "Musa Frivola." But
though humor was everywhere trace
able in Irish work, one did not find
the thing essential, the faculty of hui!
morOus creation. Humor ranked with
water power us one of the great tlnde-
veloped resources of Ireland Only
in one vein was 1t being utilized in
drama. Two Irish names taken away