Stanley Medley - Humor

Humor is a topic that I have a lot of affinity for. Of course humor has been around since time eternal. Here are a few jokes I found from the 19th and early 20th century.

I present them for those of you who are interested in historical and evolutionary humor. Some of the humor might escape those of us of our century, but some of the humor is timeless as you will see.

OCULAR DEMONSTRATION.

MR. NEWMAN is a famous New England singing-master; i. e., a teacher of vocal music in the rural districts. Stopping over night at the house of a simple minded old lady, whose grandson and pet, Enoch, was a pupil of Mr. Newman, he was asked by the lady how Enoch was getting on. He gave a rather poor account of the boy, and asked his grandmother if she thought Enoch had any ear for music.

“Wa’al,” said the old woman, “I raaly don’t know; won’t you just take the candle and see?”

ART CRITICISM.

AT a recent exhibition of paintings, a lady and her son were regarding with much interest, a picture which the catalogue designated as “Luther at the Diet of Worms.” Having descanted at some length upon its merits, the boy remarked, “Mother, I see Luther and the table, but where are the worms?”

THAT’S NOTHING.

A MAN, hearing of another who was 100 years old, said contemptuously: “Pshaw! what a fuss about nothing! Why, if my grandfather was alive he would be one hundred and fifty years old.”

YANKEE THRIFT.

QUOTH Patrick of the Yankee: “Bedad, if he was cast away on a dissolute island, he’d get up the next mornin’ an’ go around sellin’ maps to the inhabitants.”

SAFE MAN.

A POOR son of the Emerald Isle applied for employment to an avaricious hunks, who told him he employed no Irishmen; “for,” said he, “the last one died on my hands, and I was forced to bury him at my own expense.”

“Ah! your honour,” said Pat, brightening up, “and is that all? Then you’ll give me the place, for sure I can get a certificate that I niver died in the employ of any master I iver sarved.”

 

Stanley R Medley