DIED OF A JOKE.

Kumara Times, Issue 1025, 14 January 1880, Page 3

DIED OF A JOKE.

Whatever may be tie cause, the fact is notorious that English -wit is nearly if not quite as extinct as is the Dodo. We have no funny men that can at all compare -with Theodore Hook, Tom Hood, and Douglas Jen-old, and should the faculty for making jokes revive in this age, let us hope it may do so gradually, if not to avoid the recurrence of such a disaster as happened in Fleet street last Monday, An Unfortunate compositor, engaged upon one of the journals, supposed to be comic actually came across a slip of "copy" that wes laughable. He seemed delighted but surprised, and proceeded to set it up with a broad grin upon his lace. When it came to the turn of the reader—an old man who had been in the office many read the" proof," he rubbed his spectacles in astonishment and the unaccustomed Bight of a joke brought back to him the memories of his early manhood, This jest was bandied about; and, the copy being in an unknown hand, speculation was rife as to who could have been the author. Certainly it is too good to be the work of one of the professional wits. In due course the compositor had the "proof" to correct, and having inadvertently placed a few types in his mouth, he gave a great guffaw and swallowed the little pieces of metal, one of which stuck in his wind-pipe, and the poor fellow lies on the point of death.

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