The Lehi sun. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1913-1949, 1922-03-02
BEING TOO funny
oversupply Of HumOr Not a Thing
TO Be Desired.
According to Writer II One "ou'o
succeed in Life, Cultivate Bear
ing Of selemnlty


.Never make people laugh. II you
.y,uld succeed in life you must De
s,le,nn solemn as an ass That au
Vice 10 Il young and ambitious member
~ norllament is quoted in Ralph Ne
nm. mayfair and Montmartre'
Nlichael Dane writes in the continental
edition of the London Mail. II Is au'
vice which every young man ""o
wants TO make himself great hGufe
I'm the wcrld must take to heart ahu
act upon. D.,
When read that instruction
thought at once of man whom ! was
nriytleped TO know a few years ago.
lie was a member of parliament. Al
though few realized the fact there
we're in the heart Of him some ilam
ing enthusiasms, some determinations
10 right wrongs. and to make for the
following generations a better worlu
than his own pampered youth mao
known. He was a man who mlgh'
have made this world better, saner'
and cleaner place to live ln-but com
paratvdy early In life he had made
the mistake Of displaying himself as
a funny man.
That man was the late Spencer
Leigh Hughes. There will always live
I'm 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-whlch Is
stlll more rare-he had the conslruc'
tive mind. But he had shown him
self to the world as a jester, and the
world, which will never forgive a
Jester who turns from his jesting to
serious affairs, compelled him to re-
main a jester to the end.
The world has so deep, SO Unsuitable
need for laughter that 1t believes
It cannot spare any Of its clowns. II
Is cOmpassed about with serious people,
and II has a cranky belief that serious
people are alone TO be trusted with
its serious work But once a man has
revealed his possession Of trace of
the spirit of the clown II will not
allow him thenceforward to appear as
anything else.
You have only to look round the
life OF today to see how violently
true this Is. There Is w. w. Jacobs
lie 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
II not surpass Edgar Allan Poe In
grlmly 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
X. G. Knowles. The world which wants
to laugh knew him as an admirable
music hall comedian. Only few were
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 fel.
lowshlp Of the Royal Geographical
society.
il you are born that way the world
VIII quite possibly pay you lot OF
money for being funny, But It 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 humorlst. John
Sebastian Bach, funniest Of all must.
clans, is praised mainly because II,
odd moments he wrote solemn music.
The funny man may earn money at
the moment. He never earns anything
else.