Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-12-25
A SENSE or HuMoR.
oh, Yes, Every Man is Absolutely Ger
tain He Owns II.


A sense of humor is something
which every man possesses in su-
perlative degree. Men will admit
they have no reverence, they will
i'll treat their wives, outdo their
neighbors-will own up, indeed, to
every crime on the calendar, but not
to being devoid of sense of humor.
And, moreover, the sense of hu-
NOR belonging to every man is in
variably "keen." The most stolid,
phlegmatic person, who never gets
near enough to the point of joke
to throw his hat upon it, will tell
you with tears in his eyes that he
never would have been able to have
lived through if it hadn't been for
his sense Of humor.
The worst offender, however, is
the one who makes business of
exploiting this universally assumed
trait. He takes you aside in kind
of joyous confidence.
81 couldn't begin to tell you," he
declares, "all the funny things l
see. / don't know why it is"-this
with an air as if it were heaven
sent gift which he modestly is in
no sense responsible for--"but any
thing funny-real funny-appeals
to me. If / could only remember to
set them down! But somehow /
never think of it at the time"
He then proceeds to tell you OF
an incident that happened to him
self-personally. You have heard
the story perhaps ten years back-so
far back, indeed, that you have al
most forgotten it. But you wouldn't
let your friend know that for the
world.
When he has finished you laugh
heartily. Long practice has trained
you to laugh upon these occasions
as if you really meant it, and you
tell him that it is certainly one OF
the best things you have ever heard.
Henceforth you avoid him. A burn
ed victim breads the man with a
sense of humor.
Why is it that man, modest in
other respects, who, if he saved an
others life would conceal it, boldly
and unblushingly talks about his
wonderful sense of humor without
the slightest compunction?
Next to him comes the young
girl of the family. Let us call her
dear Mabel.
You've seen Mabel, of course?
'Do you know her mother de-
clares, E'that child sees the funny
side of everything! You just ought
to hear her! No matter where she
goes it is always the same! Why,
last night we sat up listening to her
while she entertained us with what
she saw on the trolley car-just
think of it--and---well, l thought
should certainly split with laughter.
Mimic! Perfect! And you ought
to see the poetry she wrotel Shed
be awful mad if she knew was
showing it. / wanted her to send it
to the papers, but ! couldn't per-
! suade her. Isn't it perfectly splen-
did? j suppose she ought not to
be encouraged too much. have a
friend who's a writer, and he ad-
vised me to keep her down. But it
does seem as if talent like that
ought to be put to use. Oh, you
just wait till you hear her! Such a
sense of humor!''
You don't wait. You love dear
Mabel--at distance. You sneak
away in the cleaning. You have
been there before. Henceforth when
Mabel heaves in sight you put your
helm hard port and wear ship.
1t has often been shyly intimated
by bachelors--that women have
no sense of humor.
Yet think of the monumental
joke every woman plays on man
when she marries him! - Success
Magazine.
Throwino Stones at a Tiuer.