A Joke By Any Other Name

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 226, 25 September 1935, Page 16

A Joke By Any Other Name

There are no two opinious on the point that the English have a genuine hatred for showing their feelings. . . . As a rule their jokes aro uttered gravely; they always act on tho principle that a story or a word to produce its full effect must not be too obvious; a joke must be unexpected to come off. With an absolutely innocent expression, in an unemphatie manner, and in a tone that is banal to a degree, they launch tho most unexpected and devastating sallies. . . ■ Tho Scotsman is even better than the Englishman in telling stories which keep one on tenterhooks until the very last moment. . . . There is a strong likeness between stories told at Arles and at Glasgow, let us say, apart, perhaps, from a little more subtlety in tho North and impetuosity in the South. In neither

place does the narrator burst out laughing at the beginning or middle of his story; it’s not until the end that he breaks into a smile and challenges approval.

What delicate irony is to be found in the meeting of tho bosom friends Marius and Oliver on the quay at Marseilles. Marius sees Oliver, iind3 him depressed, asks about his troubles. Oliver’s solo answer is to point at a cargo boat in front of him. “You see that boat?” he says presently. “I'm unloading tho oranges and bringing them ashore tho wholo livelong day under this blazing sun.” Marius sympathises, and asks his friend how long he has been at this hard work. Sadly and simply Oliver answers, “I begin to-morrow.”—Comte Serge Fleury, in “The French and Ourselves.” (London: Bell).