The St. Louis Republic., 1905-12-24


may take their Jokes seriously. but Americans
making too serious business Of making jokes
The inevitable result Of ovcrc;ting and over
drinking should serve warnings against this
national inclination to turn all the affairs Of this
world into joke. II this American dclugc ii
lcvi,y continues before long it will liz dangerous
thin: for any man to make joke in this country.
especially in the West. There will not only be ND
appreciation. but there will bc jokes kft. The
higher the humOr. the harder it will lie to have to
go back to the old virgnal stock again. 1t will bc
like having to revert to bccr after having cnjoycd
steady course Of champagne for half lifetime
In arranging for little dinner for few friends Of
friend Of mine not Eng ago. this example
brought up bv the elderly waiter into whose hands
] committed the task Of selecting the courses. lie
suggested that certain amount Of high-fricci wine
could lie served to guests and safely ic followed by
amount of inferior brands. there bcing danger
that any guest would lack appreciation Of the later
courses. after having had sufficient quantity of
high-Iriccd wines to start with At certain stage
Of the proceedings his dccacy Of and discern
mcnt would depart. And Furthermore. the guest
need not necessarily bc muddled.
This is the age uf disillusion Many old idols and
innumcrable ideals have leen destroyed ty the
RELENTLESS scallel of the scientist. We told
to-day that life is to lc made everlasting. AMI to-
morrow may bc told that the end of the world
is already in sight. 1t bcho"vcs to take
Chances. e1tnCT way. We mttSt nc1tue1 U0VOulc
surfcited reduce the visible supply
Humnr should In essence waited by the wind
unexpected and delightful because unlocked for.
We all know what forced hunlor Is. Stories "f the
struggles If writers to manufacture their work
never interesting To the public. 1t docs n" good
for the professional humorist writer to tear his hair
and struggle for adequate expression. He must
wait patiently for the thought to come. Stories
from writer's like Mark Twain may mean long days
and months Of hard work-thc hardest kind III hard
work-bcforc coming to their fruiti"n. The woman
living in the swccts-shop must have particular
and peculiar sweet to tempt her jaicd appetite
True humor lasts and will doubtless outlast the
world after much Of the sardonic quils Of to-day
have hccn rclc,atstl to oblivion. Tie hunnnr Of
Dickens will hvc-the humor of the roast teef ard
plum-puddng Of Old Enylnd-which is th. OLD
England II America wcl1-thc home of the fathers
That humor based upon the kindlicr thoughts will
survive causc Of its worth: is the humor that
s;irs the heart emotion pleassn. I" be tear
full. stirring to lie l'ostcrous IN appreciation
When We attempt the analysis Of national kumor
we should rcn,cmlsr that Mark Twain has several
armies of admirers in England. just Charles
Dickens has his armies Of lovers in America. Be-
sides. al: that good and harmless and cheerful and
he.l,hful "f whatever country sooner OF later will
he waited the wings Of appreciation around this
little g:or al the world. and every nation will
take 10 itself what II deems best.
So the real hu;nor of the world " Ill not tc manu
featured 10 order. projected the wings of
ether !; will watt itself INTO niche. and gently
im;.rcc,;i',!y. spread its the fragrant
joss-s,.ck gives Eastern perfume in the shawl
c.sh:oued room. Il will whisper on the vagrant
wind without prcdcstincd destination. ]; IS
vasrani itself. roaming tho world: now and then
VARYING its course to soo,he a heavily Cloulcd isow
though Of itself loves the sunshine of happiness
gi.dncss. youth. laughter everything that is good
U. worth while in life.
II attempt to i,nprison hunm-dissect II.
analyze il. plac ard it. Ioe humOs viii give up
this hfc Then We vii he in q s0sry state indeed!