The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1921-12-02
BEING TOO FUNNY
0Versupply Of Humor Not a Thing
to Be Desired.
According to Writer, II One Would
Succeed In Life, Cultivate Bear.
Ing of SoIsmnlty.

'Never make people laugh. II you
would succeed in life you must be
solemn, solemn as an ass" That ad-
vice to young and ambitious member
Of parliament is quoted In Ralph Ne
Wills Mayfair and Montmartre,"
Michael Dane writes in the continental
edition of the London Mail. 1t is ads
vice which every young man who
wants to make himself a great figure
In the world must take TO heart, and
act upon.
When / read that instruction I
thought at once Of man whom l was
privileged to know a few years ago.
He was a member of parliament. AL
though few realized the fact, there
were In the heart Of him some fam
Ing enthusiasts, some determinations
to right wrongs, and to make for the
following generations better world
than his own pampered youth had
known. He was man who might
have made this world better, saner,
and cleaner place to live in--but COM
paratively early in life he had made
the mistake Of displaying himself as
funny man.
That man was the late Spencer
Leigh Hughes There will always live
In my mind the memory of one talk
had with him when, putting aside the
cap and bells of the Jester, he spoke
Of the things which lay near his heart,
and ! realized the nature Of the man
who was usually so thoroughly dis,
guised. He had vision and-which is
still more rare-he had the cOnstruc-
tive mind. But he had shown him-
self to the world as Jester, and the
world, which will never forgive a
Jester who turns from his jesting to
serious affairs, compelled him to re-
main Jester to the end.
The world has so deep. so Unsuitable
a need for laughter that It believes
1t cannot spare any of its clowns. 1t
Is compassed about with serious people,
and 1t has cranky belief that serious
people are alone to be trusted with
Its serious work. But once man has
revealed his possession of a trace of
the spirit of the clown It will not
allow him thenceforward to appear as
anything else.
You have only to look round the
Iifn ~ fnAou fn hnu uinlanflU
true this is. There is w. w. Jacobs.
He began to write funny stories, and
the world will take none but funny
stories from him. In the Monkeys
Paw" he showed that he could equal
IL not surpass Edgar Allan Poe In
grimly tragic writing, but the world
does not want him to write yarns
about fat sallormen and impossible
villagers.
Then there is the case OF the late
r. G. Knowles. The world which wants
TO laugh knew him as an admirable
music hall comedian. Only few we're
aware that he was an explorer of note,
and that he only went on the stage
to earn money enough to finance the
expeditions which earned him the fell
lowship OF the Royal Geographical
society.
II you are born that way the world
will quite possibly pay you lot Of
money for being funny. But 1t is per-
fectly certain that 1t will forbid you
to follow any other trade than that
of the clown. and will forbid you any
enduring fame. Shakespeare is ven-
Grated for his tragedies, not for his
comedies. Hogarth is honored as an
artist and not as humorist. John
Sebastian Bach, funniest of all musi-
clans. is praised mainly because In
odd moments he wrote solemn music.
The funny man may earn money at
the moment. He never earns anything
else.