Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-10-24

a joke than with a fist blow, espac
| tally if you haven't much height an,
weight behind your fist. Instead o
the other mans going in search of al
arnica bottle or pistol or a police
man, he generally hangs about will
| the hope of getting another blow o
| the same sort. One Needn't be little {,
| try it.
Abraham Lincoln had a fist almost
as big as the hand of Providence. and
as long reach as John l.. Sullivan
but he always used a joke instead; sc
men who came to growl remained to
laugh. I'm not concerned about the
size of my own hand, for it has been
big enough to get and keep eyervthine
that belonged to me. AS to reach as
long as my jests reach their mark I
shan't take the trouble to measure
arms with anyone.
There's always something in a Jest
for the man who hears IT. How abont
the jester? Most men want the earth.
so they get the bad as we'll as the good ::
hut the best that the world affords is
good enough for the jester. so | shan't
Try to break the record 1t is often
said that the jester swims near the
top. Why shouldn't he? Isn't that
where the cream is? And isn't he gen.
erous enough to leave the SKINNED
milk tor the chaps dismal enough to
prefer to swim at the bottom?
l am often moved to pride when I
realize now ancient is my craft Adam
Gid not have jester; but he did not
need one, for he was the only man-ex.
cept you and Who married the onlv
woman i'll the world. Neither did old
Noah have or need one, for he had the
laugh on everybody else when the
floods fell and he found himself on Of
the rain. But as soon as the world
dried off and got full enough of peopJe
to set up kings in business, the lester
appears in history, and the nations
without testers TO keep kings minds in
good working order dropped out of the
procession. The only one of them
that survives is Persia, where John.
the eJster, is. as he always was. in
nlSh 1aVor at court. When trouble Is
in the air he merely winks at the shah
and gets off: ''Oh, Pshaw," or some
other bon mot old enough to he sweet.
.hen the monarch doubles up and
laughs the frown from his face and the
headsman sheathes his sword and
takes day off
Speaking of old saws that are al
ways welcome reminds me to pro-
test against the unthinking persons
VINO cry Chestnut" against every
Joke that is not newly coined. In one
way 1t is compliment, for the chest
nut is the sweetest nut that grows,
but 1t does not reach perfection until
1t mas had many soakings and frosts,
anu has been kicked around under
the dead leaves SO many times that if
1t was anything except a chestnut it
would have been lost. Good stories
are like good principles, the older
they are the stronger their pull.
There is not more popular tale in
the world than that of Cinderella. 1t
is so good that nations have almost
fought for the honor of originating
it. Yet few years ago some anti
quarians dug up some inscribed clay
tablets from the ruins of an Asiatic
city that was centuries old when
Noah was boy. Some sharps at
that sort of thing began to decipher
them, and suddenly they came upon
the story of Cinderella-her golden
slipper, fairy godmother, princely
lover and all. But do the children
say Chestnut" if you give them this,
and then tell them the story of Gin
derella? Not they!-unless you do
not know how to tell it. A story is
like food; it doesn't matter how ia
miiar it is, if you know how to
serve it well.
Why, the story teller-of the same
old stories, tools as busy in Persia
today as he was thousands of years
ago, and one of the most important
of his duties is the passing of the hat
You will find him on the street cor
ners of the towns with a crowd
about him. When he reaches the most
interesting part of the story he will
stop, like the newspaper serial with
ITO be continued in our next" Then
he passes the fez. The listeners know
we'll what the remainder OF the story
will be; but instead of Chestnut" he
hears the melodious chink Of cop
pers.
Not only the shah but many a wealthy
Persian keeps a jester for the sole pur-
pose of being made to laugh when ne
chaps would not seem funny to an Ameri-
can-suCh, for instance, as going down on
all tours, knocking people down and dress
ing in fantastic attire-but there is no ac-
for tastes, as the old woman sad
when she kissed the cow. The shah
jester has a great swing-he has twelve
houses and not a mortgage on one of
them He also has all the. wives he
wants. Who says that talent is not
properly appreciated in Persia? =,
If you will run over to Europe you will
find the Irish prototype of the Persian
story teller on the streets of Dublin and
Limerick Many time ] have seen him
on the street corner telling the thrilling
story of how O'Shamus was shot or
some similarly cheering tale-for fighting
seems the funniest of fun to an lrishman
And Just before first blood is drawn the
story teller pauses to pass the hat. INTO
which drops hard earned pennies that
had been saved for something else. 1t IS
the old Persian act. The manner Is the
same, though the coat and hat are difer-
ent. 50 T should not be surprised TO iearn ,
that the Irish are direct descendants OF
the ancient Persians-Marshall P. Wilder
in New York Tribune.
The City "Jays."