The pioneer-review. [volume] (Philip, Haakon County, S.D.) 1920-current, 1922-03-23
BEING TOO FUNNY
0versuppIy Of Humor Not a Thing
to Be Desired.
According to Writer, If One Would
Succeed in Life, Cultivate Bear
ing Of Solemnity.

Never make people laugh IL YOU
would succeed in life YOU must b.
solemn, solemn AS all ass" That aid
vice To u young and ambitious member
OF parliament is quoted in Ralph Ne
Wills Mayfair and Montmartre,"
Michael Dane writes in the cont mental
edition of the London Mail, 1t is adj
vice which every young man who
wants to make himself great figure
in the world must take To heart, and
act upon.
When | lead that instruction |
thought at once of man whom | was
privileged To know few wears ago
He was member Of parliament Al
though few realized the fact. there
were In the heart Of him some fam
ing enlhusaSms, some determinations
10 right wrongs, and To make for he
following generations u better world
than his OWN pampered youth had
known. He was Il man who might
have made this world Il better. Saner,
and cleaner place TO live in--but COM
paratively early in life he had made
the mistake of displaying himself as
II funny man.
That nun 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
Euised. He had vision and-which Is
still more rare--he had the conSiruc-
tive mind. But he had shown HIM
self to the world as jester, and the
world. which will never forgive
jester who turns from his jeSling 10
serious affairs. compelled him To re-
main Al jester to the end.
The world has So deep. so Unsuitable
a need for laughter that il helieNes
ii cannot spare any of Its clowns. Ii
Is conpassed about with serious people.
and II has a cranky belief that serious
people are alone 10 be trusted with
lis serious work. But once Il man has
revealed his possession of trace of
the spirit of the clown it will moi
allow him thenceforward to appear as
anything else.
You have only to look round the
life of today to see how violently
1rue this is. There is W. w. Jacobs.
He began to write funny stories. and
The world will take none bul funny
stories from him. In the "Monkey'>
hu Shnu-aL that ~ rAl,II nuIIDl
il not surpass Edgar Allan Poe IN
grimiy tragic writing, but the world
does not want him to write yarns
about fat sailOrmen and impossible
villagers.
Then there is the case of the late
X. q. 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 fell
lOwship of the Royal Geographical
society.
il yon are born that way the world
will quite possibly pay you IA lot %
money for being funny. But ii Is per
fectly certain that it 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 a humorist. john
Sebastian Bach, funniest of all must
cians. is praised mainly because IN
odd moments he wrote solemn music.
The funny man may earn money nj
the moment He never earns anything
else.