OCR Text |
Show . . .The Causes of Laughter.;- Prof. James Sully, who lias written a 430-page book entitled "An Essay on Laughter," says that the peculiar muscular mus-cular actions which are grouped under the name of laughter are provoked by the Incongruous,' the unaccustomed and the unexpected Juxtaposition of things. Prof. Sully cites the story of a man arrested by soldiers who is allowed al-lowed to Join them at cards. He cheats and is kicked out, his playmates play-mates quite forgetting that he is their prisoner. With this may be coupled the story of two burglars in the dock. One of them kept on poking the other in the ribs as' the evidence against them proceeded, until he was made to desist bythe protest: "Who are you knocking about? I've as much right to be here as you." |