Life — February 10, 1910 — page 32: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

LIFE: himself a great humorist in his kind, | Phi li Morris wholly failed to do so, and set us down as a serious-minded people. Perhaps ORIGINAL it was because his humor was purely LONDON Cigarettes objective. He laughed at others— dom or never at himself—and so he remained a great caricaturist, a low comedian in literature. es 8 8 The one smoke HATEVER we may achieve in that always letters when we get our growth, it seems within the bounds of reason- | < *‘shows class.” able surmise that we shall excel the rest of the world in humor. As France surpasses us in esprit, as England ex- hibits a more polished wit, as Germany matches our broader sense of fun, so we, drawing our blood and our brains from them all, will blend them with a temperament all our own—the tem- perament of a serious people keenly alive to the incongruous. + 8 6 RIPE, RICH AND (@® —y MELLOW UNIQUE IN PURITY. OF CAMBRIDGE 95, regular size . AMBASSADOR (4 aieRaiSeer aves OC. HIGHEST STANDARD IN QUALITY. GUARANTEED BY ITS PROPRIETORS UNDER THE NATIONAL PURE FOOD LAW AN ABSOLUTELY PURE RYE WHISKEY HE American capacity for self- mockery is not perhaps so much an actual and obvious expression of literature as it is a private impulse, a hidden spring controlling the concep- tions of the literary worker. Thus Mr. George W. Cable has confessed that = when he wished to portray a villain he invariably looked inward—a process of moral dissection pushed a bit further than Louis Stevenson’s frolicsome ven- ture when he built up the character of John Silver with the tissues of an in- timate friend. “The Little Brown Box" HUNTER BALTIMORE RYE Seid a al tectum cate amd by fttern WM, LANAHAN & But not in literature alone or in the literary attitude—not in thought but in action may we seek and find the self- mocking Americans. When Sergeant Betron and Corporal Burke, survivors (Continued on page 261) TeLlieay70 | LHe Art of the Ages (Continued from page 259) victim himself has almost surely helped Ne@Feins adds to the distinction and beauty of to shape the jest and can at least laugh a litile at his own share in it. the home so much as a few selected reproductions ‘The humor born of a sane introspec- > tion is the humor quickest in sympa- of the world’s greatest Art. thetic understanding. Its cardinal qual- ity—the capacity for self-mockery— We select rather than manufacture. We colors and makes tolerant its attitude strive to acquaint you with the articles you need; toward the antics of humanity. But, best s ; at 1 . first of all, and above all, it redeems the best at moderate prices and restrains the performance of its Wealso endeavor to aid you in plac- possessor in many of the crises of ing art objects with the best decorative character and experience. The Ameri- can sense of humor at its best proceeds effect in a house, library or school. unconsciously from the habit of intro- spection; in its expressions we find Let us suggest a color scheme for any part the American laughing at himself of the house, from nursery toliving or dining room. quite as often as he laughs at others. We can also suggest furniture, sculpture in He belongs to a nation that is at the plaster, bronze, or stone, rugs and prints, or same time serious and flippant—to a picture frames, which are works of art in breed that is given to hide its senti- themselves. ment and its seriousness of purpose be- hind a mask. To the foreigner our Address ADAM BUDGE sense of humor is often quite bewilder- ing; it takes him a long time to under- 114 West 32d Street, New York City stand us. Charles Dickens, though 260 comicbooks.com