The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-04-05

There Adolphus gasped. His eyes
stared at the neatly typewriter pages
before him. He was electrified. The
room swan. He paled. he trembled.
! A mute horror seized his bewildered
/ senses. and cold. ominous sweat be
gan to creep down his back. A realiza
ton of his awkward position came to
him fully. as he observed that the
students were staring wonderingly al
him on account of his sudden stop
page Of speech and the prolongation
of his unaccountable silence.
T; This flashed over Adolphus: the
manuscript before him was not hil
own! In his hurry in leaving the train
the humorist had grabbed up the
wrong manuscript roll.
It was the crucial. critical moment
In the life Of Adolphus. He could not
speak extempore. he could not remem'
Der his lecture verbatim. A hundred
eyes were focused upon him. A sud.
den resolve came to him. In despera-
ton he called out huskily:
"The subject Of my lecture 10 The
Jokes Of the Ancients.'
Good" 'New!" "Give Us . sam.
ple!" and like eager and urgent calls
filed the air.
Adolphus began to read. He had
not proceeded ten lines before he
realized that the humorist was an
adept in his line There were only
ten basic jokes in the world, he
claimed. and the ancients originated
them all. With exquisite wit and
finish the manuscript expatiated on
these.
As Adolphus proceeded there were
grim smiles. then outlaws. At de.
cided interruption the lecturer looked
up In his mild. astonished way, to
observe the room convulsed. with jolly
men laughing till the tears came into
their eyes. One student was so over.
come that he had fallen to the door
In q spasm Of uproarious hilarity.
The Jokes were funny. but there
was an added zest to tho apprecia,
tiveness Of the audience. This was
the solemn. owl-like seriousness Of the
lecturer. To Adolphus It was no fun
All this was trivial a. compared with
his own high literary screed. Besides
that. his province was to instruct, not
to amuse, and the faculty might criti.
CHE.
With wild whopps tho crowd made
a rush for Adolphus as he folded up
his manuscript Four stalwart fellows
raised him on their shoulders. Amid
gay hurrahs they started from the
room with him.
Gentleman! gentlemen!" repri.
handed . stentorian voice % they
reached the doorway. and the presi-
dent Of the college halted the process.
sion.
IT'S all right, Prex," declared the
ringleader of the riot. We've elected
him our new professor. and we're 60.
ing to give him the honorary degree
in all our fraternal societies by car.
rying him three times around the
campus to the tune Of"
A rollieking college song rang out
from the formidable, clustering mob
bearing Ado,pLus in triumph from the
scene
A favorite all around, the young
man was settled for life. and harpv
bridegroom in the bargain, a few
weeks later
That was not all of it. The humor.
list hunted up Adc!phus to get back
his manuscript Tho one he had ia.
ken by mistake he claimed had saved
the day for him. It's sentiment and
classical tinge had just caught his
audience. II gave him a great repu.
tation for versatility, and the lecture
bureau had raised his pay. He hired
Adolphus on the spot to write him a
series OF lectures in the same vein, !
and this work resulted in some sub.
stantial pin money for his delighted
little wife.
Copyright. l9l3 by w. @. Chapman)