Humor is a topic that I have a lot of affinity for. Of course humor has been around since time eternal. Here are a few jokes I found from the 19th and early 20th century.
I present them for those of you who are interested in historical and evolutionary humor. Some of the humor might escape those of us of our century, but some of the humor is timeless as you will see.
OCULAR DEMONSTRATION.
MR. NEWMAN is a famous New England singing-master; i. e., a teacher of vocal music in the rural districts. Stopping over night at the house of a simple minded old lady, whose grandson and pet, Enoch, was a pupil of Mr. Newman, he was asked by the lady how Enoch was getting on. He gave a rather poor account of the boy, and asked his grandmother if she thought Enoch had any ear for music.
“Wa’al,” said the old woman, “I raaly don’t know; won’t you just take the candle and see?”
A SUFFICIENT REASON.
THERE was once a clergyman in New Hampshire, noted for his long sermons and indolent habits. “How is it,” said a man to his neighbour, “Parson —-, the laziest man living, writes these interminable sermons?” “Why,” said the other, “he probably gets to writing and he is too lazy to stop.”
INCONSIDERATE CLEANLINESS.
“BRING in the oysters I told you to open,” said the head of a household growing impatient. “There they are,” replied the Irish cook proudly. “It took me a long time to clean them; but I’ve done it, and thrown all the nasty insides into the strate.”
YANKEE THRIFT.
QUOTH Patrick of the Yankee: “Bedad, if he was cast away on a dissolute island, he’d get up the next mornin’ an’ go around sellin’ maps to the inhabitants.”
SAFE MAN.
A POOR son of the Emerald Isle applied for employment to an avaricious hunks, who told him he employed no Irishmen; “for,” said he, “the last one died on my hands, and I was forced to bury him at my own expense.”
“Ah! your honour,” said Pat, brightening up, “and is that all? Then you’ll give me the place, for sure I can get a certificate that I niver died in the employ of any master I iver sarved.”