The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-03-17

Ireland-and occasionally the wit
stings. unless one has the sense of
humor to laugh with It. "May the
blessing Of God so after you," says
the beggar with outstretched hand, and
when you have passed without giving
any aims, land never overtake YOU"
Again the Dublin carman when he
has received an insufficient fare, look
ing at the coin IN the palm of his hand
as is the way OF his brethren else
where:
"Ah, well, SIR" more in sorrow than
in anger, Il leave you to Him that
made you"
/. Another on similar occasion, said
heartily:
"Arrah. bad luck to the Land
League!"
But why?" asked the astonished
passenger.
"Yerra. sure it killed out all the gen.
try"
In another case a friend of mine, a
small man who was walking with his
tall sister, was importuned by a beg
gar, but gave nothing. The beggar
mistook the relationship and got home
neatly on the two by rcmarkng soto
voce:
"Ah. well, then, may God help tine
poor little crature that couldn't say
no to YOU
There goes high art" remarked a
Wexford beggar, as a very tall friend
of mine with sketching apparatus
passed down the street.
The beggar's wit is not always vitu-
perative. One asked another of an
elderly parson who passed by with q
jubilant air:
whats come to the ould gentleman
at ell, at all?"
Sure. didn't you hear? He was
married last week.
Il thought there was something
when seen him goin' along like that,
just touchin' the ground in a nodd
place."
In another case my sister was i'm
portuned by q female tinker, i. c., gypsy,
with three children. Further on she
met the lady's mate with three more.
Our mothers dead, Miss, an we're
orphans" whined the children; give
a penny to the poor orphans"
My sister, young and dogmatic, fixed
an accusing glance OH the orphans"
Il don't believe you are orphans
she said. Il met your mother farther
down the road"
Come away, childher. come away"
said the father, sorrowfully. shes
an unbeliever." This, however, be-
longs more to pure roguery than to
wit. and there's a deal OF SLY rogucry
in Ireland.
Sometimes the wit is in the form Of
compliment. One remembers the fa-
nous compliment paid to one OF tho
Cummings by Dublin COMFORTER.
Look at her, look at her! 1 could
light my pipe at the fire of her eye {"
Only an lrishman could have said to
4 lady: well. don't know your age
but sure, whatever age you are. you
don't look it."
There is the conscious hunor in Ire
land. but there is also the unconsci Jus,
or at least the subconscious, which is
as much a part Of Ireland as her
grcenness and her clouds. One re-
members the host at the country hotel.
who, when an angry English guest in
formed him that he had put his boots
outside his bedroom door every hight
Of the week and they had never been
touched, replied blandly:
Sure that's nothing at all. We're
the honestest people in the .yor;l in
this country You might lave your
goold watch there, an It'd never be
touched, let alone your boots"
Again there is the answer OF a Dub-
lin car driver made to a friend CT
mine who asked how many the car
was supposed to hold. well, four IL
you. sit contagious and six il you sit
familiar"
Humor, conscious or unconscious, is
thing that meets you everywhere in
Ireland. Tho sly and innocent. ap-
pcaling roguery is thing that
meets You on all sides; the
topsy- turviness, the quaintncss, the
odd. unexpected way Of looking a.
things. are the very ESSENCE Of gayety
in the country.
II is in the "a, ami the speech OF
every peasant; 1t 10 rs ut YOU from ill.,.
eyes Of the .own,r.'.. 1t makes n
crowd anywhel. thing of life ami
gayety, electric "ith laughter. resron-
sivc to everything but dulincss. That
must have been the snake which st,
Patrick scotched, for it Is not to be
found from end to end of at least Irish
Ireland.
In land where they are all racont.
eurs, the wonder is that there are any
listeners. It must only be by a gen.
erous system of reciprocity. Even
when they blunder they blunder Wit
tily, and that makes the difference be-
tween an Irish blunder and the blun.l-