is not even mentioned.

In the words of the old Lambeth adage--

"What is a merry man?
Let him do what he can
To entertain his guests
With wine and pleasant jests,
Yet if his wife do frown
All merryment goes down."

What salt is to food, wit and humor are to conversation and literature.
"You do not," an amusing writer in the _Cornhill_ has said, "expect humor
in Thomas a Kempis or Hebrew Prophets;" but we have Solomon's authority
that there is a time to laugh, as well as to weep.

"To read a good comedy is to keep the best company in the world, when the
best things are said, and the most amusing things happen." [3]

It is not without reason that every one resents the imputation of being
unable to see a joke.

Laughter appears to be the special prerogative of man. The higher animals
present us with proof of evident, if not highly developed reasoning power,
but it is more than doubtful whether they are capable of appreciating a
joke.

Wit, moreover, has solved many difficulties and decided many
controversies.