Among the small things of this earth is the man who is proud of his knowledge. He is a standing testimony against himself of perversion of the good thing-sheer intellectual Beau-Brummelism, pride in what was given us to clothe our nakedness. It is unconscious self-disparagement at bottom; for it makes the clothing the better part of us, a folly that is none the less for being applied to our soul-garments, which, like our bodily, are outside us, and for their set and use, whether they serve and adorn a man, or be of little use, and make him a scarecrow, depend on the wearer, who, in this case, is pretty much his own tailor. And any way, pride in the matter is very misplaced.

On the other hand, however, let not your no-knowledge men think too complacently of themselves from light comparison with those that know, and fancy that, because a little contact with the elements of knowledge has cost them less trouble than they anticipated, it had been a small matter, or one of quite easy achievement for themselves, to have attained the higher standing had they been so minded. This, like all false notions, is mischievous, but chiefly to the owner, who may much mistake himself, which is bad for anybody. Before taking up with the notion finally, he would do well to consider this, that knowledge, like other things, not always puts its hard face in front. Some knowledge is hard at the outset, some in the prosecution. Of nine-tenths of the difficult acquirements the difficulty lies in the aggregate of things separately easy; and you may very well do one or two of the things with a facility that would be very deceitful promise of your success with the whole; as a man may walk a mile and be unequal to walking forty miles. By such arithmetic the fond parent who talks of the dear boy's marvellous genius, but that he wants application, might solve the matter more wholesomely for young Hopeful's future prospects, and consider if the boy's

case be not the one-mile power, and not the forty? Lack of application is at bottom lack of power; in most cases an inclination bred of nature, which says, "do not work me hard, I can't stand it." Will and power go together oftener than is supposed, and the practical value to the individual of early recognizing want of will to be want of power, is that his case may admit of cure by irksome but bracing exercise, which he will never submit to if he think himself already strong.

XIX.

ON PUNNING.

UNNING, as a habit, is a nuisance to others, and a mischief to the punster. And yet, if there be quality, it is the abuse of a good thing, which requires to be pruned, and not pulled up by the roots. In a good punster there is, after all, stuff to make twenty of the lean solemnity that cries "Oh!" at a perpetration, and quotes Johnson's mot for the matter, and who is as remote from wit himself as can be.

If the punster on such notable occasion, should feel depressed in his vocation-but what punster, in what company, ever was?-let him be comforted; he hath a higher than Johnson on his side, even the immortal Will, who punned more puns in those glorious plays of his, than was ever done in the same compass, perhaps, out of Spain. Yet this encouraging example, while it exalts the punster's office, limits its exercise wonderfully, if allowed as an example; for his puns were telling, and told on telling occasions. It was ever the shot in the "bull's eye" with him; and that when the target was up already, not put so

for the occasion. And there lies the pinch of the matter. Your puns should be good, and not be interruption to any thing better; a bright something pitched in the stream, and will float withal. But of worse matter it may be good interruption, if done without the oversetting of courtesy. As, for instance, if there be some Goliath of talk, great in Gath and elsewhere, who is holding forth with authority and power, but with that peculiar effect upon the company that they are in some peril of tetanus, from suppressed yawn, I say that the little David that shall come forth with five smooth stones from the brook of his imagination, and plant me one of them right in the forehead of the Philistine, and bring him down amidst the guffaws of the beholders, will have wrought a deliverance in Israel. Only little David should bethink him that this Goliath is but stunned, and will revive to be his enemy for life. And the rest may very likely wish him no good for compromising them in the presence of the great man. But the sayer good things must lay his account with this

"For so it is, and more the pity,

Be wise is bad, far worse be witty."

of

Sad, however, as is often the lot of the wise, it may save him from the worser lot of the witty. And, truly, there be many wise that run little risk in that quarter; for, though in wit there be much wisdom, there is much wisdom in which there is no wit. But the true wisdom of wit lieth in not scattering it indiscriminately; and the punster who hath wisdom and wit-and, with deference to the great Samuel, both may point a pun-will show his puns are not puny by never punily punning, like the writer at this moment, but take him for warning, not example, and reserve his smallarms practice for fit occasion. Of such fitness the punster himself, unhappily, must be the only judge, but let him lean to the side of retention, and against his bias, which may be always reckoned on for not letting the faculty rust.

There is one use of this faculty which may be worth his attention, if he be fond of character. For gauging your men in a mixed company, to get at their culture, and that sort of thing, there is nothing like a shower of puns, bad and good, that shall have some range. The Samuel Johnson-man, who, did he but know it, is often a Sammy but not a Johnson, will at once plant himself in that great man's chair, and whether he inflict the pick-pocket novelty or not, will be sure to cry "Oh! shocking!" and in ✦ earnest, and that, mark you, whether the pun be the flattest thing that ever fell even from your mouth, or brisk and sparkling as Sidney Smith's.

Another will laugh, or be silent, as it takes him; if silent, it argues nothing, but, if he laugh, it shows a genial nature, so far; for laughter on occasion testifies something. And, if the word-play turn upon such matter, it may test his culture, reading, or what not, ay, better than elaborate examination on those heads; for, even as isolated passages try your knowledge of Greek, so casual allusion tries your familiarity with the subject-matter. I commend this method, therefore, to the consideration of the Civil Service examiners, whether a good punning bout with the candidates would not test their efficiency somewhat. A good spell at it would elicit something unless there be any special objection "to spell." But this by the way,and there is one caution to be observed as to casual allusion eliciting what is in a man. If he take the allusion you may infer knowledge, but not the contrary from his not taking it; for many men of great depth are not quick at small matters. And in little matters as well as great, small inference from large data should be your rule. The man that hath inference from every instance, is a chatterling, and the reasoning faculty is not in him.

But puns should be improvised. Their worth is in their spontaneousness. Anecdotes, indeed, may be bottled,

nay, too often are bottled, decanted, and rebottled, over and over, and yet go down, with wry face sometimes, yet they go; but a bottled pun is an abomination, and a fraud upon the company.

In this word-play there must be something agreeable to human nature from its prevalence in states of society widely different, and ages far apart. Why Dr. Johnson disliked it is not told, that I am aware, but good reason may be suggested for his dislike. Nothing is more damaging to the ex cathedra style, and when a man is riding high horse on his hobby, than a pun that shall tickle gravity in its tenderest part, and clean out of its dignity. The Doctor's dictum as to punning, and picking pockets, is significant of his feeling on the subject. The punster whips a valuable out of your possession, viz., the attention of the company, and is out of reach of your club, which flourish about as you will, touches him not and may make you ridiculous. A pun would give no prise to the knock-me-down method of Johnson. Confutation, where nothing is asserted, would puzzle a senior wrangler, and there is no crushing laughter with an argument. Johnson's prime objection to punning was, probably, its diverting the channel of talk. His wrath thereat was like that of the burly man of meal at any one diverting the stream that turned his mill.