The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-11-25
Humorous
Charles Lamb
An Interesting Review of the Life
and Work of the Noted
English Humorist.

English Humorist. !
Paper Read Before the Chaattaatq,ta Ctrcls.
1t has always been a matter of won {
der to me that the works of Charles
Lamb ale so little read and generally i
speaking so poorly apprec ciated by
Americans. The humor OF Lamb is SO
kindly in it's expression, SO absolutely
devoid Of sting or satire and above all
80 essenta 'ly human iG its character
istics that it should appeal to the better
side of people h have produced
Bret Harte, Artemus Ward and the I'm
mortal Twain. Lamb perhaps stands
alone as an exponent of this class of
English humor Beside him FL o OOd
might be classed as low comedian. Not
that the author of The Song of the
Shirt was by any means always comic
rather the reverse. But in his purely
humorous pieces such as tie Balla1 of
is certain cOarseness, even a tinge OF
vulgar play to lower audience which
is entirely absent in Lamb. Pope, in
his Essay on Man and in the Dunciad
gives an example of savage cynicism
and contempt for humanity in which
only diseased Imagination could find
cause for smile l do not by any
mt ans wish it understood that wish
to class Pope as humorist. L use the
iIIustIat merely to draw attention to
the difference between the savage wit
in the Dunciad and the kindly humor,
of say, Lambs Poor Relations.
| Byron, inspired as he himself says, by
gin and water, wrote Don Juan,
perhaps the best example of lascivious
humor in the English language. Tom
Moore, under the name of Little, in his
first effort 20 reach the public, put out a
number of poems of the same class
Both Byron and Moore wee ashamed
of II cir works and both, as you know
ma their mark on higher levels. The
only other works of Byron that can by
? any stietch of the imagination be class.
ed as humorous are English Bards and
, Scotch Reverles and The Vision o
Judgment. OLe Was the wall of 6
o prtuant, disappointed boy, pourin
;, Eabus. OH every body and anybody with
in reach; while the other was scnrril
, GUS and Atheistic alta k upon the es
. tabllshed order
). Lamb was born in London in th
= year 1875. His parents were poor AM
unable to afford him any very grea
= educational advantages. Bygreat, goo'
10 luck however he obtained III his eight
= year a presentation to CbrisL's Hospl
!. tai, one of England's most admirabl
;. educational institutions, where he wa
- grounded in the classics and becam
;. familiar with the works of the pure
- school of Latin writer's, such as Lucial
- Terence and Sallust. But perhaps tn
: greatest influence that his school asst
Citations had in forming the literar
- bent of Lamb was the acquaintance h
-, formed there with Coleridge. The
:, friendship for each other was lifelon
~ and Lamb always refers to Coleride
;. in terms of love and respect.
- Coleridge who was rather inclined
W. be slightly pompous in private life
=. one occasion asked Lamb to atten
- church on the following Sunday. Col
ridge had just been ordained and WI
to preach his first sermon. "Charles,
wish you would attend the service ne
Suuday-you have never heard M
preach, l believe" 81 never heard u
:. do anything else," was Lambs qui
no rtjoinder.
he That must have been a pleasant cot
r. rie that met in Lambs poorly furnish
lar room: Coleridge, Hunt, Cary, Lei
- and Others of similar tastes, if not
les such recognized genius. There mt
& have been something intensely lovat
his about Lamb that could draw such 10
,n ,n to him. He was poor clerk, employ
during the day in that dreary mercs