Waterbury Democrat., 1902-06-20

missioner of the board of education. in a brief address. In opening his ad- dress MT Bruce made reference to the Soldiers monument in this city, erect ed in honor of the 900 gallant men who left here to fight the glorious battles of the Union. 'sThe sculptor of the mon ument was George E. Bissell who once lived near Waterbury and whose studios are in Poughkeepsie, N. Y.. and Paris This is a connecting link to me from the fact that he made the statue of Lincoln, freeing the slave. in Edin- burgh, Scotland. the money for which I secured from Americans. This is the only statue of Lincoln outside the United States" MT Bruce also re- ferred to another statue .'The Snow Angel by Larkin G. Mead. formerly of Brattleboro, Vt, now of Florence, Italy. When a boy of 10 years he made an angel of snow in the public square of Brattleboro. Vt. As a man he realized his dream in producing the statue in nlarble. The speaker, turn ing to the class, recifed with dramatic force:
 s'There is nothing desired beneath star
 or sun.
 Which patient Genius has not won."
 Mir Bruce then passed to the subject of his lecture, Wit and Humor," de- fning wit as a termination of an idea in the unexpected. He spoke of wit as being always conscious, while humor Is often mere happening. His illus fratfons were very pat and well suited to the occasion. He continued: .sAs wit is said to lie in the unexpected resem- blance of differences, so humor may be said to lie in the exaggeration of the differences of resemblances. One. therefore. is inducted wit; the other. deducted humor. It is the nature of humor to radiate, of wit to focalize. Humor distorts. wit rectifies. Wit is a flash, a meeting of positive and mega tive electricity; humor is heat light ming, which plays about the subject. Wit deals with nerve force, brain tele- graphy, is termed dry in comparison with humor, which still preserves a trace of its cid meaning. moisture. Wit is possible only between two per sons or between two ideas, humor be- tween a person and an idea We, therefore, more often see humor, think wit more often. Humor gives itself entire. wit with reservation. Humor laughs with mouth wide open. wit with mouth partially closed.
 Mir Bruce then spoke on the power of word in connection with wit and illustrated the power of the changing of word by quoting the tribute of Robert Ingersoll to Napoleon and then turning the rhetoric and eloquence of 1ngersoll by sublime passage of elo- Quence in the cause of truth. This was one of the most beautiful periods during the lecture. NIT Bruce then defined a pun as an idea sidetracked fo let the train. common sense, pass by. He divided the pun into the upward and downward slide. He also referred to the difference between a pun and a felicity. He said that if q nations history was seen in it's music, it's char- acter was seen in it's wit He regard ed caution as distinctive character of Scottish wit and evasion as q dis tfnctive character of Irish wit and gave several happy illustrations. He spoke of exaggeration, natural result of America's growth, as one of the pe- culiaritfes of American hu'nor, and while this tended to that quality, the kaste of the people tended to intensity