a new flying ogle fit for the Ring; which I teach in No. XLVII. TUESDAY, APRIL 24. Ride, fi fapis Laugh, if you're wife. MART. MR. Hobbes, in his discourse of human nature, which in my humble opinion, is much the best of all his works, after fome very curious obfervations upon laughter, concludes thus: The paffion of laughter is nothing • elfe but fudden glory arifing from fome fudden conception of fome eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our own formerly; for men laugh at the follies of themselves paft when they come fuddenly to remembrance, except they bring with them any prefent difhonour.' According to this author therefore, when we hear a man laugh exceffively, inftead of faying he is very merry, we ought to tell him he is very proud. And indeed, if we look into the bottom of this matter, we shall meet with many obfervations to confirm us in his opinion. Every one laughs at fomebody that is in an inferior state of folly to himfelf. It was formerly the custom for every great houfe in England to keep a tame fool dreffed in petticoats, that the heir of the family might have an opportunity of joking upon him, and diverting himself with his abfurdities. For the fame reafon idiots are ftill in requeft in most of the courts of Germany, where there is not a prince of any great magnificence who has not two or three dreffed, distinguished, undifputed fools in his re tinue, whom the rest of the courtiers are always breaking their jefts upon. The Dutch, who are more famous for their induftry and application than for wit and humour, hang up in feveral of their streets what they call the fign of the Gaper; that is, the head of an idiot dressed in a cap and bells, and gaping in a most immoderate manner: this is a ftanding jeft at Amfterdam. Thus every one diverts himself with fome perfon or other that is below him in point of understanding, and triumphs in the fuperiority of his genius, whilft he has fuch objects of derifion before his eyes. Mr. Dennis has very well expreffed this in a couple of humorous lines, which are part of a tranflation of a fatire in Monfieur Boileau: Thus one fool lolls his tongue out at another, Mr. Hobbes's reflection gives us the reason why the infignificant people abovementioned are stirrers-up of laughter among men of a grofs tafte; but as the more understanding part of mankind do not find their rifibility affected by fuch ordinary objects, it may be worth the while to examine into the feveral provocatives of laughter in men of fuperior fenfe and knowledge. 6 In the first place I must obferve, that there is a set of merry drolls, whom the common people of all countries admire, and feem to love fo well, that they could eat 'them,' according to the old proverb; I mean those circumforaneous wits whom every nation calls by the name of that dish of meat which it loves best. In Holland they are termed Pickled Herrings; in France, Jean Pottages; in Italy, Maccaronies; and in Great Britain, Jack Puddings. Thefe merry wags, from whatfoever food they receive their titles, that they may make their audiences laugh, always appear in a fool's coat, and commit fuch blunders and mistakes in every step they take and every word they utter, as thofe who liften to them would be afhamed of. But But this little triumph of the understanding, under the difguife of laughter, is nowhere more visible than in that cuftom which prevails everywhere among us on the first day of the prefent month, when every body takes it in his head to make as many fools as he can. In proportion as there are more follies difcovered, fo there is more laughter raised on this day than on any other in the whole year. A neighbour of mine, who is a haberdasher by trade, and a very fhallow conceited fellow, makes his boasts that for thefe ten years fucceffively he has not made lefs than a hundred April fools. My landlady had a falling out with him about a fortnight ago, for fending every one of her children upon fome fleeveless errand, as the terms it. Her eldest fon went to buy an halfpenny worth of incle at a fhoemaker's; the eldest daughter was dispatched half a mile to fee a monster; and in fhort, the whole family of innocent children made April-fools: nay, my landlady herself did not escape him. This empty fellow has laughed upon these conceits ever fince. This art of wit is well enough when confined to one day in a twelvemonth; but there is an ingenious tribe of men fprung up of late years, who are for making Aprilfools every day in the year. These gentlemen are commonly diftinguifhed by the name of Biters: a race of men that are perpetually employed in laughing at those miftakes which are of their own production. Thus we see, in proportion as one man is more refined than another, he chooses his fool out of a lower or higher clafs of mankind; or, to fpeak in a more philofophical language, that fecret elation and pride of heart which is generally called laughter, arifes in him, from his comparing himfelf with an object below him, whether it fo happens that it be a natural or an artificial fool. indeed very poffible, that the perfons we laugh at may, in the main of their characters, be much wifer men than ourselves; but if they would have us laugh at them, they must fall fhort of us in thofe refpects which ftir up this paffion. It is I am afraid I fhall appear too abstracted in my speculations if I fhew that when a man of wit makes us laugh, it is by betraying fome oddnefs or infirmity in his own character, or in the reprefentation which he makes of others; and that when we laugh at a brute, or even at an inanimate thing, it is at fome action or incident that bears a remote analogy to any blunder or abfurdity in reafonable creatures. But to come into common life, I fhall by the confideration of those stage-coxcombs that are able to fhake a whole audience, and take notice of a particular sort of men, who are such provokers of mirth in converfation that it is impoffible for a club or merry-meeting to fubfift without them; I mean thofe honeft gentlemen that are always exposed to the wit and raillery of their wellwifhers and companions; that are pelted by men, women, and children, friends and foes; and, in a word, stand as Butts in converfation, for every one to fhoot at that pleafes. I know feveral of these Butts who are men of wit and fenfe, though by fome odd turn of humour, fome unlucky caft in their perfon or behaviour, they have always the misfortune to make the company merry. The truth of it is, a man is not qualified for a Butt who has not a good deal of wit and vivacity, even on the ridiculous fide of his character. A ftupid Butt is only fit for the converfation of ordinary people; men of wit require one that will give them play, and beftir himfelf in the abfurd part of his behaviour: a Butt with thefe accomplishments frequently gets the laugh on his fide, and turns the ridicule upon him that attacks him. Sir John Falstaff was an hero of this fpecies, and gives a good defcription of himself in his capacity of a Butt, after the following manner: "Men of all forts," fays that merry knight, "take a pride to gird at me. The brain "of man is not able to invent any thing that tends to "laughter more than I invent, or is invented on me. I am not only witty in myfelf, but the caufe that wit is "in other men." C. 1 No. XLVIII. No. XLVIII. TUESDAY, APRIL 25. Per multas aditum fibi fæpe figuras Repperit OVID. Thro' various fhapes he often finds access. MY correfpondents take it ill if I do not, from time to time, let them know I have received their letters. The most effectual way will be to publifh fome of them that are upon important fubjects; which I fhall introduce with a letter of my own, that I writ a fortnight ago, to a fraternity who thought fit to make me an honorary member. To the Prefident and Fellows of the Ugly Club. May it pleafe your Deformities, I Have received the notification of the honour you have done me in admitting me into your Society. I acknowledge my want of merit, and for that reason • fhall endeavour at all times to make up my own failures, by introducing and recommending to the club, perfons of more undoubted qualifications than I can pretend " to. I shall next week come down in the stage-coach, in order to take my feat at the board; and fhall bring ⚫ with me a candidate of each fex. The perfons I fhall ⚫ prefent to you are, an old Beau and a modern Pict. If they are not foeminently gifted by nature as our affembly expects, give me leave to fay, their acquired uglinefs is greater than any that has ever appeared before you. The Beau has varied his drefs every day of his life for thefe thirty years last past, and still added to the deformity he was born with. The Pict has still greater merit toward us, and has, ever since the came to years of difcretion, deferted the handfome party, and taken all poffible pains to acquire the face in which I fhall |