Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1907-12-19
SERIOUS, YET FUNNY

(; - AN4S i
! UNCONSCIOUS HuMoR THAT HELPS
Il TO PUT SPICE IN LIFE.
Some Examples of Delightful Incon-
| gruitics In Speaking. Writing and
| Painting That Appeal Strongly TO
the Sense OF the Ridiculous.
| Nothing has added moro to the merri-
mcnt of the world than the uninten
tional. unconscious hu,nor of writer's
public speakers and. in fact. all classes
and conditions Of men and women.
And there is none 50 delightful 1t far
exceeds in mirth provoking quality the
wits.
We Americans are fun loving peo-
pie, and we must and will have our
jollity. Some one has said with Ger.
tain truth: With all our vanity. ener-
gy and unrest we are not a dull, cheer
less people. Sour faced fellows. yellow
and dyspeptic. are to be met with in
our cars and OH our streets, but they
are not the type of the American, for
he is as ready for u laugh as for a
, speculation, us fond of joke as an
Office
And the joke is all the more enjoy
able when it is spontaneous. The great
er the stress and strain of life the
greater the need and demand for hu-
NOR, and no one dcplcci,cs the value
OF humor excepting those Who have
none of this good gilt 10 t.eii portion.
sunset Cox. oac Of the wtticst men
of his day. says in his book, why We
Laugh" Eliminate from the liter;l-
ture aud conduct of amy one people the
amusing and the amused faculty, and
you produce IL sterility as dull and UNI
interesting as the cinders and ashes OF
tllp volcanic fields of Iceland. But in
cude the amusing element within
the experience and history of mankind,
and no description of luXurance. with
grape. olive. nectarine and orange, such
us makes the wales of Portugal IL peren-
| nia smile. is adequate to emphasize the
contrast"
One could not we'll instance a more
amusing blunder than that i'm IL paint
ing of the blessed Virgin" in AN old
church in Spain. In this painting tina
| Virgin is represented as sitting OH II
red velvet sofa fondlny Il cat With one
hand. while with the other she is poula
ing coffee from Il silver coffcepot.
/; This il; as amusing as Il painting in a
!, German church representing the s;icri-
tice OF Isaac by Abraham. In this
| painting Abraham is aboat to dis.
charge IL huge pistol at Isaac when an
Mngcl dcscends and pours Il pitcher o.
water OIL the pan of the pistol. thereby
saving, Isaac.
The writer once saw a crude painting
Of King Ilerod With y pair OF spccta
cles painted Oh nj; isose. There is u
very CID painting o. ST. Peter denying
the Saviour. and several OF the Roman
soldiers i'm the background have pipes
In their mouths.
l, Those who are ON the lookout fol
them will find many amusing blunders
in the daily papers and in periodicals.
of all kinds. 1t was but the other day
that the writer saw Miss Fanny Coos
| by referred TO In Il religious paper as
the author of so many blind poems"
| And it was a great metropolitan daily
| that one morning gave its readers the
following Information regarding the
"1le captain swan ashore and sue
cceded in saving the life of his wife
| She was insured in the Northern Ma
rine Insurance company and carried
cargo of cement"
| Equally amusing as an instance OF
unconscious humor was the Statement!
made by another paper regarding the
| capsiZing of ~ boat ut se.l. IT said that
"bnt one life was lost. and that was
found afterw;ird."
He must he sadly deficient in humor
who does not find himself amused by II
Sign like the following seen in the win
dow OF u shoemaker: Any respectable
man. woman or child can have Il lit IN
this shop" Ii Was an eaterprising fur
rier who placed IL card in his window
stating that for the benefit of the In
dies he would make "muifs, boas, etc.
out of their own skins
| a prolific source OF amusement to
manuscript readers Is; the surprising
| way i'm which aspirants for literary
honor and glory often put things"
We find one young woman saying Of
her heroine: THE countess fell back in
deadly swoon When she revived her
| spirit had lled.'
| Another young writer places her her
Dine in very perilous situation am
then says of her. "IIer lips quivercd.
her cheeks grew pale; her breath came
IN shor, pants"
A third writer gives this amusing
description of the appearance of some
one she referred to as "the bell Of
the BALI" "She was clad in some soft
clinging. feecy. vapory stuff of purest
white that gave the appearance of Il
bit Of detached cloud floating in the
Sky. She wore no ornament with the
exception of several bits Of rare brio