Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1908-01-09
SERIOUS, YET FUNNY
UNCONSCIOUS AuMoR THAT HELPS
TO PUT SPICE IN LIFE.


Some Examples of Delightful Incon.
gruittes In Speaking, Writing and
Painting That Appeal Strongly to
the Sense of the Ridiculous.
Nothing las added more to the merri.
ment of the world than the uninten
tonal, unconscious humor of writer's
public speakers and, in fact, all classes
and conditions OF men and women.
And there is none so delightful. 1t far
exceeds in mirtl provoking quality the
cold blooded humor of the professional
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, arc to be met with in
our cars and OH our streets. but they
are not the type of the American, for
lie is as ready for laugh as for a
speculation. as fond Of joke as an
Office"
And the joke is all the more enjoy
able when it is spontaneous. The great
,r the stress and strain of life the
grcatcr the need and demand for hu-
NOR. and no one deprccatcS the Nal,lc
Of hutor excepting those who have
none OF this good gift to their portion.
Sunset" Cox. one of the wittiest men
of his day. says in his book, WHY We
laugh eliminate from the lter;l,
iure and conduct of amy one people the
ll,i,Sin. and the amused faculty. ami
goa p.o1li,ce 5, sle.ility AIS dahl and GG
interesting as the cnders and ashes ci
/ llir volcanic fields of Iceland. But III
ci,idc the amusing element witlla
| the experience ;llll history of mankind
and no description of luNuriance. With
I grape. olive, nectarlie anu orange. such
I as makes the wales of Portugal Il peren-
, .iial smile. is adequate 10 emphasize the
/ contrast"
4 one could not Vel Instance II more
amusing blunder than that IN Il paint
! Ing o.. liic blessed Virgin in an ole
1
1 Virgin is represented as sitting on Il
red velvet sofa fondlilig Il cat with one
hand while With the other she is po;lt
/ ing coffee from IL silver coli'ecpot
| This il, AIS amusing as IL painting in a
German church representing the sacri-
tee OF Isaac by .Nbr;lham. LIN this
painting abraham is about to dis.
1,,,, i,iS t,J mt
un.el dcscends and pours II pitcher o;
water on the pan of the pistol. THEREBY
4 saving Isaac.
4 The writer once saw Il crude painting
OF King Ilerod With Il pair of specta-
rles painted OIL his nose. There is
very old painting OF st. Peter denying
1.-THE Saviour. and several of the Roman
4 soldiers in the background have pipes
In thei, mouths.
Those who are on the lookout for
them will find many amusing blunders
In the daily papers and In periodicals
Of all kinds. Ii was but the other day
that the writer saw Miss Fanny Cros-
J 10y referred To i'm II religious paper as
The .'uuthor of so many blind poems"
And it was Il great metropolitan daily
That one morning gave its readers the
following information regarding the
; wrecliing of IL Snip the nisat before:
"'lihe cuptail swan ashore and .,!c.
!, ceeded in saving the life OF his wife.
She was insured in the Northern Ma
rine Insurance company and Carried o
cargo of cement"
Equally amusing as an instance OF
unconscious humor was the statement
made by another paper regarding the
capsiZing of II boat ut sea. 1t said that
"but one life was lost. and that was
found afterwards
, He must be sadly deficient in humoT
who does not find himself amused by Il
sign like the following seen in the win
dow of Il shoemaker: Amy respectable
man. woman or child cam have 81 tit III
| this shop" II was an enterpriSing fur
iier who placed II card in his window
; stating that for the benefit of the la
dies he would make "muifs, boas, etc.
) out of their own skins"
+ a prolific source of amusement t.
manuscript readers is the surprising
y way in which aspirants for literary
!. honor and glory often put things
. We find one young woman saying OF
> her heroine: "Ihe countess fell back III
q deadly swoon When she revived hel
spirit had fed
> Another young writer places her her
5 oinc in Il very perlous situation ant
= then says of her. Her lips quivered
!. her cheeks grew pale; her breath came
! In short pants"
\ a third writer gives this amusing
description of the appearance Of SOM
one she referred to as "the bell o
: the ball:" "She was clad in some soft
! clinging. fleccy, vapory stuff of pures
white that gave the appearance of
y bit of detached cloud floating in TIN
:. sky. She Wore no ornament with TIL
5 exception of several bits Of rare brio
e a-brac gathered in foreign cline"
y a charming bit of purely unconsciou
humor was that noticed by some Wis
q itors to Il great English coal mine. A
the mouth Of the great central shat
hundreds of feet deep was Il placar
z bearing these words:
please do not tumble down til