The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-17
HUMORISTS OF
AN ELDER DAY
Going Back Before the War,
There Were "John Phoenix
"Josh Billings" and "Artemus
Ward"
Gndianapolis NeWS.)


speaking of American humorists'
said a gentleman with a Tor
forgotten things, did ever hear
of III Phoenix? Perhaps not. for
he belonged to the old school Of hui
morists, and died many years ago. He
was contemporary with Henry w.
Shaw Gosh Billings) and Charles +.
Browne (Artemus Ward), and was a
better educated man than either OF
the others and quite as popular in his
way. They depended largely, though
not wholly, on a queer system OF
phonetic spelling, which exaggerated
their humor, but John Phoenix never
used that. The earliest humorist OF
this school, though he did not depend
on bad spelling either, was Benjamin
p. Shillaber (1S14-1890), the origina-
tor of Mrs. Partington. Shillaber was
a printer by trade, became editorially
connected with the Boston Post and
other. papers, and wrote some good
verse. His Mrs. Darlington, some
times called Americas Mrs. MalaprOp,
was famous in her day and still sur
wives. Her misuse of the English Ian
guage has given many a reader a
good laugh. Here is a sample when
she was beginning to grow old: 1 am
not so young as 1 once was, and L
don't believe I shall ever be, if I live
" liz dSC u 0dlIISOI, NIISI, iCUSCH
knows as we'll as l do, I don't want
to, for I wouldn't be a centurion or
an octagon and survive my factories
and become idiomatic for anything.
BUT, then, there is no knowing how a
thing will turn out till it talk eS place.
and we shall all come to an end some
day, though we may never live to see
it. Mrs. Partington and her son k
were living characters in their day.
Henry w. Shaw G81S-1885), once
widely known as Josh Billings, was
born in Massachusetts. lived several
years in California, and finally return
ed East and became an a~uctioneer. It
was he who invented the phonetic
style Of a spelling, which had great
vogue and is still sometimes affected
by young writer's, who do not know
how to use it. Billings Farmers AL
minax,' published annually between
1870 and 1880, had quite a circula-
simply bad without representing any
dialect, but he had a quaint style of
expression, as, for example: 'Fa1lin'
In love is like fallin' in molasses-
sweet, but drefful dolby. Yu can't
tell what makes a kiss taste so good
eny more thar you kin a peech. Eny
man who kin Set down where it is cool
and tell what a kis tastes like hain't
got eny more taste in his mouth than
a knot-hol hez.' There is a sorthumor
there and perhaps the bad spelling
helps it out.
Charles F. Browne OS34-186D
once widely known as Artemus Ward,
was a real humOrist, and the best
speller Of any of them. He also was
a printer by trade, working first on a
country paper in Maine, where he was
born, n afterward in Boston and on
different Western papers He first
came into notice as a humorous writer
during a connection of several years
with the Cleveland Plain Dealer,
where he had a dunn Of 'Artemus
Wards Sayings Later. for a few
years, he edited Vanity Fair, in New
fork. and added to his popularity.
After a trip to California he gave
comic lectures on MOrmonism with a
panoramic accompaniment, and drew
crowded houses. In 1866 he visited
England and was very we'll received,
but his health broke down ana he died
there. He had the distinction of be-
ing the first American contributor to
Punch. People used to laugh at his
description of his visit to Brigham
Young, of whom he said: He is the
most married man I ever saw. In a
privit co-nversashun with Brigham [
learnt the follerin' fax: 1t takes him
six weeks to kiss his wives. He don't
do it only onct a and seq it's
wusS nor leanin' house. He don't
pretend to know his children, there is
so many Of EN-. tho they all know
him. He seq about every child he
meats calls him par. n he takes it
for granted it is So
John Phoenix was contemporary
/ with the humorists above named and
belongs in their class His real name
was George H Derby G823-1S6D. He
was graduated at West Point in 1876.
served during the Mexican War, was
severely wounded in the battle of Ger
rn G0rdO DcOm0tQ6 fn nanfa;n go
served in the army till forced to re-
sign by i'll health. He wrote for q
California paper While on duty in that
State and published two volumes. one
entitled Phoenixiana' and the other
.Squlbob papers. When his health
| failed Re returned to New York. be-
came insane from a sunstroke ann
died in 1861. His humor was OF the
e~xIrayagant kind. dealing in burlesoue
fashion with serious or practical ton