The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-21
Puns and Punsters.

Who does not love a pun? or course, this species of wit must be of the best sort or "bad enough to be good, which amounts to the same thing. It is true you meet a scowling moralist-
 "A reasoning, self-sufficieut thing,
 An intellectual all-in-all,
 Who has a morbid abhorrenee of these "agreeable levities," as Lamb calls them, "these twinkling corpuscula of converse ton"
 Our friend Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, said:
 If I had my way. homicide and yer bicide alike would be forbidden. Nerbi- eide, which is depriving a word of it's rightful meaning, by violent treatment in other words a pun-which Is prima facia an insult to those to whom you are talking The other-homicide, which is manslaughter-is no worse."
 Everybody remembers the hackneyed saying of Dr. Johnson that "a man who would make pun would pick pocket V And yet the eloquent and ponderous ba- shaw of conversation on a certain oc- casion, pointed one of his 5eenest sar- casms with pun. How shocking. Visit ing St. Andrews college, shortly after that institution had made itself famous, by selling it's honors, the doctor asked the provost of the college, How the col lege was prospering?"
 The provost complained that 1t was poor.
 well" said Dr. Johnson, you have only to keep on, as you have begun, and you will get rich by degrees.
 Another authority whom the enemies of puns are fond of quoting is our own American lexicographer, Webster who in his ponderous dictionary. after vainly trying to define a pun-a thing which de- fies definition, as much as lovers glance or a squeeze of the hand-pronounces it 'a, low species of wit" at the same time giving the brand of untruth most ex- quisite pieces of pleasantly in our lan- guage.
 'tThus," says he, "a man who had a tall wife named Experience, observed that he had by Long Experience proved the blessings of a married life" The barbarian to call this splendid jeu d esprit low wit suggested, as 1t was, by tall woman, who had known all the joys of Hy-men, as well as high women.
 The truth is, that only such stubborn old foggies as Webster Appropriately chyistened Noah) or the dull, Anticipated | fellows who have not the ingenuity to perpetrate a pun, object to this cunning play upon words this double entente" :" which is most enjoyable, if shrewdly and felicitiously done. Sour grapes explains the situation in this. as in many other cases; in other words, it isn't hard for
  with whom wit is always at zero.
 
 In response to the charges that 'pun- ming was the very lowest kind of wit" one of the great classicists retortedi
 'very true-for it is the foundation of it."
 The great dean of St. PatricISs who was himself brilliant punster had viz orously defended the fraternity, declar- ing it
 Quite legitimate fun
 To be blazing away at every one, With a regular double loaded gun" So thought Hood. South, Fuller and many others
 o Shakespeare, the myriad minded, it has been observed--with some exaggera- ton, perhaps-that "a pun has the Cleo patra, for which he lost the world-and was content to lose"
 Some of his dialogues are an inces- sant, rattling, fire of puns; and 1t Is evident that he chuckled over a shock ingiy bad leu de mot with as much de- light as those less great than himself. Burke was brilliant pupster and some of his classic witticisms which turned on the point of a pun have never been sur passed.
 When some one inquired once upon a time whether 1t was worth going to see the Isle of Man, Burke quickly ans- wered:
 By all means; the proper study of mankind is man"
 The conversation and writings of the old English divines, as is well known, reeked and rioted with puns.
 One of the cleverest is accredited to Dr. Mountain, tho chaplain of Charles II. Being asged one day by that monarch 10 whom he should present a certain bish- opric, then vacant, the chaplain saidi
 If you had but faith sire. I could tell you who."
 How so?' said Charles, had but faith?"
 "Why, yes." said the witty divine,