It is related of George Clark, the celebrated negro minstrel, that, being examined as a witness, he was severely interrogated by the attorney, who wished to break down his evidence. "You are in the negro minstrel business, I believe?" inquired the lawyer. "Yes, sir," was the prompt reply. "Isn't that rather a low calling?" demanded the lawyer. "I don't know but what it is, sir," replied the minstrel, "but it is so much better than my father's that I am rather proud of it." "What was your father's calling?" "He was a lawyer," replied Clark, in a tone of regret that put the audience in a roar. The lawyer let him alone.
THE MAN WHO CAN MAKE US LAUGH.
God bless the man who can make us laugh.
Who can make us forget for a time,
In the sparkling mirth of a paragraph,
Or a bit of ridiculous rime,
The burden of care that is carried each day,
The thoughts that awaken a sigh,
The sorrows that threaten to darken our way,
God bless the dear man say I.
QUEER BLUNDERS.
Illegible copy has caused innumerable amusing and not a few serious blunders in print. A speaker quoted these lines:
O, come, thou goddess fair and free,
In heaven yclept Euphrosyne.
They were printed as written:
O, come, thou goddess fair and free,
In heaven she crept and froze her knee.