it off de fence, for
hit's pow'ful oncom'fable up yer." So he give me a push, an' sont me
over to'ard ma side, an' I went home. Then I want sum'in t' eat, an' my
ol' 'ooman she wouldn' git it fo' me, an' so, jes' fo' a joke, das
all--jes' a joke, I hit 'er awn de haid. But would you believe it, she
couldn't take a joke. She tu'n aroun', an' sir, she sail inter me
sum'in' scan'lous! I didn' do nothin', 'cause I feelin' kind o'weak jes'
then--an' so I made up ma min' I wasn' goin' to stay with her. Dis
mawnin' she gone out washin', an' I jes' move right out. Hit's no use
tryin' to live with a 'ooman who cain't take a joke!'"

From the poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich to George Ade's Fables in Slang
is a far cry, but one is as typical a style of humor as the other.
Ade's is the more distinctly original, for he not only created the
style, but another language. The aptness of its turns, and the marvelous
way in which he hit the bull's-eye of human foibles and weaknesses
lifted him into instantaneous popularity. A famous _bon mot_ of George
Ade's which has been quoted threadbare, but which serves excellently to
illustrate his native wit, is his remark about a suit of clothes which
the tailor assured him he could _never_ wear out. He said when he put
them on he didn't _dare_ to.

From the laughter-makers pure and simple, we come to those who, while
acknowledging the cloud, yet see the silver lining--the exponents of the
smile through tears.

The best of these, Frank L. Stanton, has beautifully said:

"This world that we're a-livin' in
Is mighty hard to beat;
With every rose you get a thorn,
But ain't the roses sweet?"

He does not deny the thorns, but calls attention to the sweetness of the
roses--a gospel of compensation that speaks to the heart of all; kind
words of cheer to the weary traveler.

Such a philosopher was the kind-hearted and sympathetic Irish boy who,
walking along with the parish priest, met a weary organ-grinder, who
asked how far it was to the next town. The boy answered, "Four miles."
The priest remonstrated:

"Why, Mike, how can you deceive him so? You know it is eight."

"Well, your riverence," said the good-natured fellow, "I saw how tired
he was, and I wanted to kape his courage up. If I'd told him the truth,
he'd have been down-hearted intirely!"

This is really a jolly old world, and people are very apt to find just
what they are looking for. If they are looking for happi