The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings 9 – Lemon · Verses Across
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The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings 9The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings (part 9)
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Literature · Humor
The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings 9
The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings (part 9)
LemonEnglish
MCCCXIX.--A DEADLY WEAPON.
"WELL, sir," asked a noisy disputant, "don't you think that I have mauled my antagonist to some purpose?"--"O yes," replied a listener, "you have,--and if ever I should happen to fight with the Philistines, I'll borrow your jaw-bone!"
MCCCXX.--EQUALITY OF THE LAW.
THE following cannot be omitted from a Jest Book, although somewhat lengthy:--
A man was convicted of bigamy, and the annexed conversation took place.--Clerk of Assize: "What have you to say why judgment should not be passed upon you according to law?" Prisoner: "Well, my Lord, my wife took up with a hawker, and run away five years ago, and I've never seen her since, and I married this other woman last winter." Mr. Justice Maule: "I will tell you what you ought to have done; and if you say you did not know, I must tell you the law conclusively presumes that you did. You ought to have instructed your attorney to bring an action against the hawker for criminal conversation with your wife. That would have cost you about £100. When you had recovered substantial damages against the hawker, you would have instructed your proctor to sue in the Ecclesiastical Courts for a divorce à mensa atque thoro. That would have cost you £200 or £300 more. When you had obtained a divorce à mensa atque thoro, you would have had to appear by counsel before the House of Lords for a divorce à vinculo matrimonii. The bill might have been opposed in all its stages in both Houses of Parliament; and altogether you would have had to spend about £1000 or £1200. You will probably tell me that you never had a thousand farthings of your own in the world; but, prisoner, that makes no difference. Sitting here as a British judge, it is my duty to tell you that this is not a country in which there is one law for the rich and another for the poor."
MCCCXXI.--OPEN CONFESSION.
IN a cause tried in the Court of Queen's Bench, the plaintiff being a widow, and the defendants two medical men who had treated her for delirium tremens, and put her under restraint as a lunatic, witnesses were called on the part of the plaintiff to prove that she was not addicted to drinking. The last witness called by Mr. Montagu Chambers, the leading counsel on the part of the plaintiff, was Dr. Tunstal, who closed his evidence by describing a case of delirium tremens treated by him, in which the patient recovered in a single night. "It was," said the witness, "a case of gradual drinking, sipping all day, from morning till night." These words were scarcely uttered, than Mr. Chambers, turning to the Bench, said, "My lord, that is my case."
MCCCXXII.--QUITE PROFESSIONAL.
A COMEDIAN, who had been almost lifted from his feet by the pressure at the funeral of a celebrated tragedian, ultimately reached the church-door. Having recovered his breath, which had been suspended in the effort, he exclaimed, "And so this is the last we shall ever see of him. Poor fellow! he has drawn a full house, though, to the end."
MCCCXXIII.--ON DR. LETTSOM.
IF anybody comes to I,
I physics, bleeds, and sweats 'em;
If after that they like to die,
Why, what care I, I Lettsom.
MCCCXXIV.--EQUITABLE LAW.
A RICH man made his will, leaving all he had to a company of fellow-citizens to dispose of, but reserving to his right heir "such a portion as pleased them." The heir having sued the company for his share of the property, the judge inquired whether they wished to carry out the will of the testator, and if so, what provision they proposed making for the heir? "He shall have a tenth part," said they, "and we will retain for ourselves the other nine."--"Take, then," said the judge, "the tenth part to yourselves, and leave the rest to the heir; for by the will he is to have what part 'pleaseth you.'"
MCCCXXV.--IRISH AND SCOTCH LOYALTY.
WHEN George the Fourth went to Ireland, one of the "pisintry" said to the toll-keeper as the king passed through, "Och, now! an' his majesty never paid the turnpike, an' how's that?"--"O, kings never does; we lets 'em go free," was the answer. "Then there's the dirty money for ye," says Pat; "It shall never be said that the king came here, and found nobody to pay the turnpike for him." Tom Moore told this story to Sir Walter Scott, when they were comparing notes as to the two royal visits. "Now, Moore," replied Scott, "there ye have just the advantage of us: there was no want of enthusiasm here; the Scotch folk would have done anything in the world for his majesty, except pay the turnpike."
MCCCXXVI.--RUNNING ACCOUNTS.
THE valet of a man of fashion could get no money from him, and therefore told him that he should seek another master, and begged he would pay him the arrears of his wages. The gentleman, who liked his servant, and was desirous of keeping him, said, "True, I am in your debt, but your wages are running on."--"That's the very thing," answered the valet; "I am afraid they are running so fast, that I shall never catch them."
MCCCXXVII.--ON BLOOMFIELD, THE POET.
BLOOMFIELD, thy happy-omened name
Ensures continuance to thy fame;
Both sense and truth this verdict give.
While fields shall bloom, thy name shall live!
MCCCXXVIII.--SCOTCHMAN AND HIGHWAYMEN.
A SCOTCH pedestrian, attacked by three highwaymen, defended himself with great courage, but was at last overpowered, and his pockets rifled. The robbers expected, from the extraordinary resistance they had experienced, to find a rich booty; but were surprised to discover that the whole treasure which the sturdy Caledonian had been defending at the hazard of his life, was only a crooked sixpence. "The deuse is in him," said one of the rogues: "if he had had eighteen-pence I suppose he would have killed the whole of us."
MCCCXXIX.--IRISH IMPRUDENCE.
IN the year 1797, when democratic notions ran high, the king's coach was attacked as his majesty was going to the House of Peers. A gigantic Hibernian, who was conspicuously loyal in repelling the mob, attracted the attention of the king. Not long after, the Irishman received a message from Mr. Dundas to attend at his office. He went, and met with a gracious reception from the great man, who praised his loyalty and courage, and desired him to point out any way in which he would wish to be advanced, his majesty being desirous to reward him. Pat hesitated a moment, and then smirkingly said, "I'll tell you what, mister, make a Scotchman of me, and, by St. Patrick, there'll be no fear of my gettin' on." The minister, dumfounded for the moment by the mal-apropos hit, replied, "Make a Scotchman of you, sir! that's impossible, for I can't give you prudence."
MCCCXXX.--THE PIGS AND THE SILVER SPOON.
THE Earl of P---- kept a number of swine at his seat in Wiltshire, and crossing the yard one day he was surprised to see the pigs gathered round one trough, and making a great noise. Curiosity prompted him to see what was the cause, and on looking into the trough he perceived a large silver spoon. A servant-maid came out, and began to abuse the pigs for crying so. "Well they may," said his lordship, "when they have got but one silver spoon among them all."
MCCCXXXI.--A FALSE FACE TRUE.
THAT there is falsehood in his looks
I must and will deny;
They say their master is a knave:
And sure they do not lie.
MCCCXXXII.--A CONSIDERATE MAYOR.
A COUNTRY mayor being newly got into office, that he might be seen to do something in it, would persuade his brethren to have a new pair of gallows built; but one of the aldermen said, that they had an old pair which would serve well enough. "Yea," said the mayor, "the old ones shall be to hang strangers on, and the new pair for us and our heirs for ever."
MCCCXXXIII.--THE SAFE SIDE.
DURING the riots of 1780, most persons in London, in order to save their houses from being burnt or pulled down, wrote on their doors, "No Popery!" Old Grimaldi, the father of the celebrated "Joey," to avoid all mistakes, wrote on his, "No Religion!"
MCCCXXXIV.--VISIBLY LOSING.
IN an election for the borough of Tallagh, Councillor Egan, or "bully Egan," as he was familiarly called, being an unsuccessful candidate, appealed to a Committee of the House of Commons. It was in the heat of a very warm summer, and Egan (who was an immensely stout man) was struggling through the crowd, his handkerchief in one hand, his wig in the other, and his whole countenance raging like the dog-star, when he met Curran. "I'm sorry for you, my dear fellow," said Curran. "Sorry! why so, Jack, why so? I'm perfectly at my ease."--"Alas! Egan, it is but too visible that you're losing tallow (Tallagh) fast!"
MCCCXXXV.--REASON FOR THICK ANKLES.
"HARRY, I cannot think," says Dick,
"What makes my ankles grow so thick."
"You do not recollect," says Harry,
"How great a calf they have to carry."
MCCCXXXVI.--ERASMUS VERSUS LUTHER.
ERASMUS, of whom Cambridge has a right to be not a little proud, was entreated by Lord Mountjoy to attack the errors of Luther. "My lord," answered Erasmus, "nothing is more easy than to say Luther is mistaken, and nothing more difficult than to prove him so."
MCCCXXXVII.--SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.
SHERIDAN was once talking to a friend about the Prince Regent, who took great credit to himself for various public measures, as if they had been directed by his political skill, or foreseen by his political sagacity. "But," said Sheridan, "what his Royal Highness more particularly prides himself in, is the late excellent harvest."
MCCCXXXVIII.--FAIRLY WON.
THE only practical joke in which Richard Harris Barham (better known by his nom-de-plume of Thomas Ingoldsby) ever personally engaged, was enacted when he was a boy at Canterbury. In company with a schoolfellow, D----, now a gallant major, he entered a Quakers' meeting-house; when, looking round at the grave assembly, the latter held up a penny tart, and said solemnly, "Whoever speaks first shall have this pie."--"Go thy way, boy," said a drab-colored gentleman, rising; "go thy way, and----"--"The pie's yours, sir!" exclaimed D----, placing it before the astonished speaker, and hastily effecting his escape.
MCCCXXXIX.--A FORTUNATE EXPEDIENT.
A GENTLEMAN of Trinity College, travelling through France, was annoyed at the slowness of the pace, and wishing to urge the postilion to greater speed, tried his bad French until he was out of patience. At last it occurred to him that, if he was not understood, he might at least frighten the fellow by using some high-sounding words, and he roared into the ear of the postilion: "Westmoreland, Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham!" which the fellow mistaking for some tremendous threat, had the desired effect, and induced him to increase his speed.
MCCCXL.--ON THE FOUR GEORGES.
GEORGE the First was always reckoned
Vile,--but viler, George the Second;
And what mortal ever heard
Any good of George the Third?
When from earth the Fourth descended,
God be praised, the Georges ended.
MCCCXLI.--WHAT EVERYBODY DOES.
HOPKINS once lent Simpson, his next door neighbor, an umbrella, and having an urgent call to make on a wet day, knocked at Simpson's door. "I want my umbrella."--"Can't have it," said Simpson. "Why? I want to go to the East End, and it rains in torrents; what am I to do for an umbrella?"--"Do?" answered Simpson, passing through the door, "do as I did, borrow one!"
MCCCXLII.--WHAT IS AN ARCHDEACON?
LORD ALTHORP, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, having to propose to the House of Commons a vote of £400 a year for the salary of the Archdeacon of Bengal, was puzzled by a question from Mr. Hume, "What are the duties of an archdeacon?" So he sent one of the subordinate occupants of the Treasury Bench to the other House to obtain an answer to the question from one of the bishops. To Dr. Blomfield accordingly the messenger went, and repeated the question, "What is an archdeacon?"--"An archdeacon," replied the bishop, in his quick way, "an archdeacon is an ecclesiastical officer, who performs archidiaconal functions"; and with this reply Lord Althorp and the House were perfectly satisfied. It ought to be added, however, that when the story was repeated to the bishop himself, he said that he had no recollection of having made any such answer; but that if he had, it must have been suggested to him by a saying of old John White, a dentist, whom he had known in early days, who used to recommend the use of lavender-water to his patients, and when pressed for a reason for his recommendation, replied, "On account of its lavendric properties."
MCCCXLIII.--"ON MR. PITT'S BEING PELTED BY THE MOB, ON LORD MAYOR'S DAY, 1787."
THE City-feast inverted here we find,
For Pitt had his dessert before he dined.
MCCCXLIV.--LATIMER.
THE pious and learned martyr, and Bishop of Worcester, who was educated at Christ College, Cambridge, and was one of the first reformers of the Church of England, at a controversial conference, being out-talked by younger divines, and out-argued by those who were more studied in the fathers, said, "I cannot talk for my religion, but I am ready to die for it."
MCCCXLV.--EXCUSE FOR COWARDICE.
A BRAGGART ran away from battle, and gave as a reason, that a friend had written his epitaph, which had an excellent point in it, provided he attained the age of one hundred.
MCCCXLVI.--A NEW IDEA.
ONE of Mrs. Montague's blue-stocking ladies fastened upon Foote, at one of the routs in Portman Square, with her views of Locke "On the Understanding," which she protested she admired above all things; only there was one particular word, very often repeated, which she could not distinctly make out, and that was the word (pronouncing it very long) ide-a. "But I suppose," said she, "it comes from a Greek derivation."--"You are perfectly right, madam," said Foote; "it comes from the word ideaowski."--"And pray, sir, what does that mean?"--"It is the feminine of idiot, madam!"
MCCCXLVII--THE POOR CURATE.
FOR the Rector in vain through the parish you'll search,
But the Curate you'll find living hard by the church.
MCCCXLVIII.--NEIGHBORLY POLITENESS.
SIR GODFREY KNELLER and Dr. Ratcliffe lived next door to each other, and were extremely intimate. Kneller had a very fine garden, and as the doctor was fond of flowers, he permitted him to have a door into it. Ratcliffe's servants gathering and destroying the flowers, Kneller sent to inform him that he would nail up the door; to which Ratcliffe, in his rough manner, replied, "Tell him, he may do anything but paint it."--"Well," replied Kneller, "he may say what he will, for tell him, I will take anything from him, except physic."
MCCCXLIX.--A HEAVY WEIGHT.
MR. DOUGLAS, son of the Bishop of Salisbury, was six feet two inches in height, and of enormous bulk. The little boys of Oxford always gathered about him when he went into the streets, to look up at his towering bulk. "Get out of my way, you little scamps," he used to cry, "or I will roll upon you." It was upon this gentleman that Canning composed the following epigram:--
That the stones of our chapel are both black and white,
Is most undeniably true;
But, as Douglas walks o'er them both morning and night,
It's a wonder they're not black and blue.
MCCCL.--A SYLLABIC DIFFERENCE.
GIBBON, the historian, was one day attending the trial of Warren Hastings in Westminster Hall, and Sheridan, having perceived him there, took occasion to mention "the luminous author of The Decline and Fall." After he had finished, one of his friends reproached him with flattering Gibbon. "Why, what did I say of him?" asked Sheridan. "You called him the luminous author."--"Luminous! Oh, I meant voluminous!"
MCCCLI.--"SINKING" THE WELL.
THEODORE HOOK once observed a party of laborers sinking a well. "What are you about?" he inquired. "Boring for water, sir," was the answer. "Water's a bore at any time," responded Hook; "besides, you're quite wrong; remember the old proverb,--'Let well alone.'"
MCCCLII.--ON A GENTLEMAN NAMED HEDDY.
IN reading his name it may truly be said,
You will make that man dy if you cut off his Hed.
MCCCLIII.--THE WAY TO KEW.
HOOK, in the supposed character of Gower-street undergraduate, says: "One problem was given me to work which I did in a twinkling. Given C A B to find Q. Answer: Take your C A B through Hammersmith, turn to the left just before you come to Brentford, and Kew is right before you."
MCCCLIV.--ABOVE PROOF.
AN East-India Governor having died abroad, his body was put in arrack, to preserve it for interment, in England. A sailor on board the ship being frequently drunk, the captain forbade the purser, and indeed all in the ship, to let him have any liquor. Shortly after the fellow appeared very drunk. How he obtained the liquor, no one could guess. The captain resolved to find out, promising to forgive him if he would tell from whom he got the liquor. After some hesitation, he hiccupped out, "Why, please your honor, I tapped the Governor."
MCCCLV.--AWKWARD ORTHOGRAPHY.
MATHEWS once went to Wakefield, then, from commercial failures, in a dreadful state. In vain did he announce his inimitable "Youthful Days"; the Yorkshiremen came not. When he progressed to Edinburgh, a friend asked him if he made much money in Wakefield. "Not a shilling!" was the reply. "Not a shilling!" reiterated his astonished acquaintance. "Why, didn't you go there to star?"--"Yes," replied Mathews, with mirthful mournfulness; "but they spell it with a ve in Wakefield."
MCCCLVI.--MISS WILBERFORCE.
WHEN Mr. Wilberforce was a candidate for Hull, his sister, an amiable and witty young lady, offered the compliment of a new gown to each of the wives of those freemen who voted for her brother, on which she was saluted with a cry of "Miss Wilberforce for ever!" when she pleasantly observed, "I thank you, gentlemen, but I can not agree with you; for really, I do not wish to be Miss Wilberforce for ever!"
MCCCLVII.--WRITTEN ON THE UNION, 1801, BY A BARRISTER OF DUBLIN.
WHY should we explain, that the times are so bad,
Pursuing a querulous strain?
When Erin gives up all the rights that she had,
What right has she left to complain?
MCCCLVIII.--A COOL PROPOSITION.
AT the breaking up of a fashionable party at the west end of town, one of the company said he was about to "drop in" at Lady Blessington's; whereupon a young gentleman, a perfect stranger to the speaker, very modestly said, "O then, you can take me with you; I want very much to know her, and you can introduce me." While the other was standing aghast at the impudence of the proposal, and muttering something about being but a slight acquaintance himself, etc., Sydney Smith observed, "Pray oblige our young friend; you can do it easily enough by introducing him in a capacity very desirable at this close season of the year,--say you are bringing with you the cool of the evening."
MCCCLIX.--A PROPER NAME.
WHEN Messrs. Abbot and Egerton took the old Coburg Theatre for the purpose of bringing forward the legitimate drama, the former gentleman asked Hook if he could suggest a new name, the old being too much identified with blue fire and broadswords to suit the proposed change of performance. "Why," said Hook, "as you will of course butcher everything you attempt, suppose you call it Abbatoir."
MCCCLX.--THE GRANDSON.
HORACE WALPOLE, on one occasion observed that there had existed the same indecision, irresolution, and want of system in the politics of Queen Anne, as at the time he spoke, under the reign of George the Third. "But," added he, "there is nothing new under the sun!"--"No," said George Selwyn, "nor under the grand-son!"
MCCCLXI.--AN UNANSWERABLE ARGUMENT.
A WELL-FED rector was advising a poor starving laborer to trust to Providence, and be satisfied with his lot. "Ah!" replied the needy man, "I should be satisfied with his lot if I had it, but I can't get even a little."
MCCCLXII.--TO LADY, MOUNT E----, ON THE DEATH OF A FAVORITE PIG.
O DRY that tear so round and big,
Nor waste in sighs your precious wind;
Death only takes a single pig--
Your lord and son are still behind.
MCCCLXIII.--NATURAL.
MRS. SMITH, hearing strange sounds, inquired of her new servant if she snored in her sleep. "I don't know, marm," replied Becky, quite innocently; "I never lay awake long enough to diskiver."
MCCCLXIV.--BROTHERLY LOVE.
AN affectionate Irishman once enlisted in the 75th Regiment, in order to be near his brother, who was a corporal in the 76th.
MCCCLXV.--A DISTRESSFUL DENOUEMENT.
MR. MOORE having been long under a prosecution in Doctors' Commons, his proctor called on him one day whilst he was composing the tragedy of The Gamester. The proctor having sat down, he read him four acts of the piece, being all he had written; by which the man of law was so affected, that he exclaimed, "Good! good! can you add to this couple's distress in the last act?"--"O, very easily," said the poet, "I intend to put them into the Ecclesiastical Court."
MCCCLXVI.--CONSERVATIVE LOGIC.
"TAXES are equal is a dogma which
I'll prove at once," exclaimed a Tory boor;
"Taxation hardly presses on the rich,
And likewise presses hardly on the poor."
MCCCLXVII.--THE BEST WINE.
SHERIDAN being asked what wine he liked best, replied, "The wine of other people."
MCCCLXVIII.--A VALUABLE BEAVER.
A GRAND entertainment taking place at Belvoir Castle, on the occasion of the coming of age of the Marquis of Granby, the company were going out to see the fireworks, when Theodore Hook came in great tribulation to the Duke of Rutland, who was standing near Sir Robert Peel, and said: "Now isn't this provoking? I've lost my hat. What can I do?"--"Why did you part with your hat? I never do," said his Grace. "Ay!" rejoined Theodore, "but you have especial good reasons for sticking to your Beaver" (Belvoir).
MCCCLXIX.--SOMETHING TO POCKET.
A DIMINUTIVE lawyer appearing as witness in one of the Courts, was asked by a gigantic counsellor what profession he was of; and having replied that he was an attorney,--"You a lawyer!" said Brief; "why I could put you in my pocket."--"Very likely you may," rejoined the other; "and if you do, you will have more law in your pocket than ever you had in your head."
MCCCLXX.--UP AND DOWN.
AT the Irish bar, Moran Mahaffy, Esq., was as much above the middle size as Mr. Collis was below it. When Lord Redesdale was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Messrs. Mahaffy and Collis happened to be retained in the same case a short time after his lordship's elevation, and before he was acquainted personally with the Irish bar. Mr. Collis was opening the motion, when Lord R. observed, "Mr. Collis, when a barrister addresses the court, he must stand."--"I am standing on the bench, my lord," said Collis. "I beg a thousand pardons," replied his lordship, somewhat confused; "sit down, Mr. Mahaffy."--"I am sitting, my lord," was the reply to the confounded Chancellor.
MCCCLXXI.--A POOR SUBSTITUTE.
THE Rev. Mr. Johnston was one of those rough but quaint preachers of the former generation who were fond of visiting and good living. While seated at the table of a good lady in a neighboring parish, she asked him if he took milk in his tea. "Yes, ma'am when I can't get cream," was the ready reply.
MCCCLXXII.--OUT OF SPIRITS.
"IS my wife out of spirits?" said John with a sigh,
As her voice of a tempest gave warning.
"Quite out, sir, indeed," said her maid in reply,
"For she finished the bottle this morning."
MCCCLXXIII.--GOOD AT THE HALT.
PETER MACNALLY, an Irish attorney, was very lame, and, when walking, had an unfortunate limp, which he could not bear to be told of. At the time of the Rebellion he was seized with a military ardor, and when the different volunteer corps were forming in Dublin, that of the lawyers was organized. Meeting with Curran, Macnally said, "My dear friend, these are not times for a man to be idle; I am determined to enter the lawyers' corps, and follow the camp."--"You follow the camp, my little limb of the law!" said the wit; "tut, tut, renounce the idea; you never can be a disciplinarian."--"And why not, Mr. Curran?" said Macnally. "For this reason," said Curran; "the moment you were ordered to march, you would halt!"
MCCCLXXIV.--AN EASY WAY.
A PERSON deeply in debt, was walking through the streets in a melancholy way, when a friend asked him the cause of his sadness. "I owe money and cannot pay it," said the man, in a tone of extreme dejection. "Can't you leave all the uneasiness to your creditors?" replied the other. "Is it not enough that one should be sorry for what neither of you can help?"
MCCCLXXV.--ERUDITE.
A LADY had a favorite lapdog, which she called Perchance. "A singular name," said somebody, "for a beautiful pet, madam. Where did you find it?"--"O," drawled she, "it was named from Byron's dog. You remember where he says, 'Perchance my dog will howl.'"
MCCCLXXVI.--VERY EASY.
ON the approach of Holy Week, a great lady said to her friend, "We must, however, mortify ourselves a little."--"Well," replied the other, "let us make our servants fast."
MCCCLXXVII.--A WINNER AT CARDS.
A GENTLEMAN riding one day near Richmond, observed a house delightfully situated, and asking his companion to whom it belonged, was answered, "To a card-maker."--"Upon my life," he replied, "one would imagine all that man's cards must have been trumps."
MCCCLXXVIII.--EPIGRAM.
THE charity of Closefist give to fame,
He has at last subscribed--how much?--his name.
MCCCLXXIX.--AN INCONVENIENT BREAK DOWN.
THE play of "King Lear" being performed at Reading, the representative of Glo'ster was, on one occasion, taken ill, and another actor was found to take the part at a short notice. He got on famously as far as the scene where Glo'ster had his eyes put out, when he came to a stand still, and was obliged to beg permission to read the rest of the part.
MCCCLXXX.--SMALL TALK.
FUSELI had a great dislike to common-place observations. After sitting perfectly quiet for a long time in his own room, during the "bald disjointed chat" of some idle visitors, who were gabbling with one another about the weather, and other topics of as interesting a nature, he suddenly exclaimed, "We had pork for dinner to-day."--"Dear me! Mr. Fuseli, what an odd remark."--"Why, it is as good as anything you have been saying for the last hour."
MCCCLXXXI.--RATHER FEROCIOUS.
AS Burke was declaiming with great animation against Hastings, he was interrupted by little Major Scott. "Am I," said he, indignantly, "to be teased by the barking of this jackal while I am attacking the royal tiger of Bengal?"
MCCCLXXXII.--ONLY FOR LIFE.
A SPANISH Archbishop having a dispute with an opulent duke, who said with scorn, "What are you? your title and revenues are only for your life," answered by asking, "And for how many lives does your Grace hold yours?"
MCCCLXXXIII.--AN OUTLINE.
WHEN the Duke de Choiseul, who was a remarkably meagre-looking man, came to London to negotiate a peace, Charles Townshend, being asked whether the French government had sent the preliminaries of a treaty, answered, he did not know, but they had sent "the outline of an ambassador."
MCCCLXXXIV.--ON SIR WALTER SCOTT'S POEM OF WATERLOO.
ON Waterloo's ensanguined plain,
Full many a gallant man lies slain;
But none, by bullet or by shot,
Fell half so flat as Walter Scott.
MCCCLXXXV.--UGLY TRADES.
THE ugliest of trades have their moments of pleasure. Now, if I were a grave-digger, or even a hangman, there are some people I could work for with a great deal of enjoyment.--D.J.
MCCCLXXXVI.--A GOOD CHARACTER.
AN Irish gentleman parting with a lazy servant-woman, was asked, with respect to her industry, whether she was what is termed afraid of work. "O, not at all," said he; "not at all; she'll frequently lie down and fall asleep by the very side of it."
MCCCLXXXVII.--SENSIBILITY.
A KEEN sportsman, who kept harriers, was so vexed when any noise was made while the hounds were at fault, that he rode up to a gentleman who accidentally coughed at such a time, and said, "I wish, with all my heart, sir, your cough was better."
MCCCLXXXVIII.--PATIENCE.
WHEN Lord Chesterfield was one day at Newcastle House, the Duke happening to be very particularly engaged, the Earl was requested to sit down in an ante-room. "Garnet upon Job," a book dedicated to the Duke, happened to lie in the window; and his Grace, on entering, found the Earl so busily engaged in reading, that he asked how he liked the commentary. "In any other place," replied Chesterfield, "I should not think much of it; but there is so much propriety in putting a volume upon patience in the room where every visitor has to wait for your Grace, that here it must be considered as one of the best books in the world."
MCCCLXXXIX.--WHAT'S MY THOUGHT LIKE?
Quest. WHY is a pump like Viscount Castlereagh?
Ans. Because it is a slender thing of wood,
That up and down its awkward arm doth sway,
And coolly shout, and spout, and spout away,
In one weak, washy, everlasting flood!
MCCCXC.--NOT GIVING HIMSELF "AIRS."
ARCHDEACON PALEY was in very high spirits when he was presented to his first preferment in the Church. He attended at a visitation dinner just after this event, and during the entertainment called out jocosely, "Waiter, shut down that window at the back of my chair, and open another behind some curate."
MCCCXCI.--A BARBER SHAVED BY A LAWYER.
"SIR," said a barber to an attorney who was passing his door, "will you tell me if this is a good half-sovereign?" The lawyer, pronouncing the piece good, deposited it in his pocket, adding, with gravity, "If you'll send your lad to my office, I'll return the three and four-pence."
MCCCXCII.--A MAN OF METAL.
EDWIN JAMES, examining a witness, asked him what his business was. He answered, "A dealer in old iron."--"Then," said the counsel, "you must of course be a thief."--"I don't see," replied the witness, "why a dealer in iron must necessarily be a thief, more than a dealer in brass."
MCCCXCIII.--SPECIMEN OF THE LACONIC.
"BE less prolix," says Grill. I like advice.
"Grill, you're an ass!" Now, surely, that's concise.
MCCCXCIV.--A DROP.
DEAN SWIFT was one day in company, when the conversation fell upon the antiquity of the family. The lady of the house expatiated a little too freely on her descent, observing that her ancestors' names began with De, and, of course, of antique French extraction. When she had finished; "And now," said the Dean, "will you be so kind as to help me to a piece of that D--umpling?"
MCCCXCV.--ERROR IN JUDGMENT.
AN author once praised another writer very heartily to a third person. "It is very strange," was the reply, "that you speak so well of him, for he says that you are a charlatan."--"O," replied the other, "I think it very likely that both of us may be mistaken."
MCCCXCVI.--THE SUPERIORITY OF MACHINERY.
A MECHANIC his labor will often discard,
If the rate of his pay he dislikes:
But a clock--and its case is uncommonly hard--
Will continue to work though it strikes!
MCCCXCVII.--THE MONEY-BORROWER DECEIVED.
A YOUTH had borrowed a hundred pounds of a very rich friend, who had concluded that he should never see them again. He was mistaken, for the youth returned him the money. Some time after, the youth came again to borrow, but was refused. "No, sir," said his friend, "you shall not deceive me twice."
MCCCXCVIII.--A SPEAKING CANVAS.
SOME of the friends of a famous painter, observed to him, that they never heard him bestow any praises but on his worst paintings. "True," answered he; "for the best will always praise themselves."
MCCCXCIX.--INDUSTRY OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE.
SYDNEY SMITH, writing in the Edinburgh Review, says, "If the English were in a paradise of spontaneous productions, they would continue to dig and plough, though they were never a peach or a pine-apple the better for it."
MCD.--OCULAR.
TAYLOR says, "My best pun was that which I made to Sheridan, who married a Miss Ogle." We were supping together at the Shakespeare, when, the conversation turning on Garrick, I asked him which of his performances he thought the best. "O," said he, "the Lear, the Lear."--"No wonder," said I, "you were fond of a Leer when you married an Ogle."
MCDI.--ON THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WHIG ASSOCIATES OF THE PRINCE REGENT AT NOT OBTAINING OFFICE.
YE politicians, tell me, pray,
Why thus with woe and care rent?
This is the worst that you can say,
Some wind has blown the wig away,
And left the Hair Apparent.
MCDII.--AN APT REPROOF.
MR. WESLEY, during his voyage to America, hearing an unusual noise in the cabin of General Oglethorpe (the Governor of Georgia, with whom he sailed), stepped in to inquire the cause of it, on which the General immediately addressed him: "Mr. Wesley, you must excuse me. I have met with a provocation too great for man to bear. You know the only wine I drink is Cyprus wine, as it agrees with me the best of any; and this villain Grimaldi (his foreign servant) has drunk up the whole I had on board. But I will be revenged of him. I have ordered him to be tied hand and foot, and to be carried to the man-of-war that sails with us. The rascal should have taken care how he used me, for I never forgive."--"Then I hope, sir," said John Wesley, looking calmly at him, "you never sin." The General was quite confounded at the reproof, and putting his hand into his pocket took out a bunch of keys, which he threw at Grimaldi, saying, "There, villain! Take my keys, and behave better for the future."
MCDIII.--THE LAME BEGGAR.
"I AM unable," yonder beggar cries,
"To stand or move." If he says true, he lies.
MCDIV.--HOLLAND'S FUNERAL.
HOLLAND, who was a great favorite with Foote, died. While the funeral ceremony was performing, G. Garrick remarked to Foote: "You see what a snug family vault we have made here."--"Family vault!" said Foote, with tears trickling down his cheeks, "I thought it had been a family oven."
MCDV.--PRETTY.
HOPE is the dream of those who are awake.
MCDVI.--NOT IMPROBABLE.
A CERTAIN young clergyman, modest almost to bashfulness, was once asked by a country apothecary, of a contrary character, in a public and crowded assembly, and in a tone of voice sufficient to catch the attention of the whole company, "How it happened that the patriarchs lived to such extreme old age?" To which question the clergyman replied, "Perhaps they took no physic."
MCDVII.--SOUGHT AND FOUND.
THREE conceited young wits, as they thought themselves, passing along the road near Oxford, met a grave old gentleman, with whom they had a mind to be rudely merry. "Good-morrow, father Abraham," said one; "Good-morrow, father Isaac," said the next; "Good-morrow, father Jacob," cried the last. "I am neither Abraham, Isaac, nor Jacob," replied the old gentleman, "but Saul, the son of Kish, who went out to seek his father's asses, and lo! here I have found them."
MCDVIII.--NO REDEEMING VIRTUE.
"PRAY, does it always rain in this hanged place,
Enough to drive one mad, heaven knows?"
"No, please your grace,"
Cried Boniface,
With some grimace,
"Sometimes it snows."
MCDIX.--A REMARKABLE ECHO.
A CERTAIN Chief Justice, on hearing an ass bray, interrupted the late Mr. Curran, in his speech to the jury, by saying, "One at a time, Mr. Curran, if you please." The speech being finished, the judge began his charge, and during its progress the ass sent forth the full force of its lungs; whereupon the advocate said, "Does not your lordship hear a remarkable echo in the court?"
MCDX.--A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER.
THE father of Mrs. Siddons had always forbidden her to marry an actor, and of course she chose a member of the old gentleman's company, whom she secretly wedded. When Roger Kemble heard of it he was furious. "Have I not," he exclaimed, "dared you to marry a player?" The lady replied, with downcast eyes, that she had not disobeyed. "What, madam! have you not allied yourself to about the worst performer in my company?"--"Exactly so," murmured the timid bride; "nobody can call him an actor."
MCDXI.--A PERTINENT QUESTION.
FRANKLIN was once asked, "What is the use of your discovery of atmospheric electricity?" The philosopher answered the question by another, "What is the use of a new-born infant?"
MCDXII.--A SOPORIFIC.
A PROSY orator reproved Lord North for going to sleep during one of his speeches. "Pooh, pooh!" said the drowsy Premier; "the physician should never quarrel with the effect of his own medicine."
MCDXIII.--THE AMENDE HONORABLE.
QUOTH Will, "On that young servant-maid
My heart its life-string stakes."
"Quite safe!" cries Dick, "don't be afraid,
She pays for all she breaks."
MCDXIV.--ALLEGORICAL REPRESENTATION.
A PAINTER, who was well acquainted with the dire effects of law, had to represent two men,--one who had gained a law-suit, and another who had lost one. He painted the former with a shirt on, and the latter naked.
MCDXV.--MILITARY ELOQUENCE.
AN officer who commanded a regiment very ill-clothed, seeing a party of the enemy advancing, who appeared newly equipped, he said to his soldiers, in order to rally them on to glory, "There, my brave fellows, go and clothe yourselves."
MCDXVI.--CUTTING OFF THE SUPPLIES.
THE late Duke of York is reported to have once consulted Abernethy. During the time his highness was in the room, the doctor stood before him with his hands in his pockets, waiting to be addressed, and whistling with great coolness. The Duke, naturally astonished at his conduct, said, "I suppose you know who I am?"--"Suppose I do; what of that? If your Highness of York wishes to be well, let me tell you," added the surgeon, "you must do as the Duke of Wellington often did in his campaigns, cut off the supplies, and the enemy will quickly leave the citadel."
MCDXVII.--EPIGRAM.
THE proverb says, and no one e'er disputes,
"Nature the shoulder to the burden suits";
Then nature gave to Saucemore with his head,
Shoulders to carry half a ton of lead.
MCDXVIII.--A FOWL JOKE.
A CITY policeman before Judge Maule said he was in the hens (N) division. "Do you mean in the Poultry?" asked the Judge.
MCDXIX.--AN EXPENSIVE TRIP.
IRISH Johnstone, the comedian, was known to be rather parsimonious. On one of his professional visits to Dublin, he billeted himself (as was his wont) upon all his acquaintances in town. Meeting Curran afterwards in London, and talking of his great expenses, he asked the ex-Master of the Rolls what he supposed he spent in the Irish capital during his last trip. "I don't know," replied Curran; "but probably a fortnight."
MCDXX.--OLD FRIENDS.
COLEMAN, the dramatist, was asked if he knew Theodore Hook. "Yes," replied the wit; "Hook and eye are old associates."
MCDXXI.--A REASON.
"I WISH you at the devil!" said somebody to Wilkes. "I don't wish you there," was the answer. "Why?"--"Because I never wish to see you again!"
MCDXXII.--HONOR.
DURING a siege the officer in command proposed to the grenadiers a large sum of money as a reward to him who should first drive a fascine into a ditch which was exposed to the enemy's fire. None of the grenadiers offered. The general, astonished, began to reproach them for it. "We should have all offered," said one of these brave soldiers, "if money had not been set as the price of this action."
MCDXXIII.--JUST AS WONDERFUL.
A GENTLEMAN asked a friend, in a very knowing manner, "Pray, did you ever see a cat-fish?"--"No," was the response, "but I've seen a rope-walk."
MCDXXIV.--CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.
"WELL, neighbor, what's the news this morning?" said a gentleman to a friend. "I have just bought a sack of flour for a poor woman."--"Just like you! Whom have you made so happy by your charity this time?"--"My wife."
MCDXXV.--QUESTION ANSWERED.
THAT idiot W---- coming out of the Opera one night, called out, "Where is my fellow?"--"Not in England, I'll swear," said a bystander.
MCDXXVI.--VERY LIKELY.
AN officer of the navy being asked what Burke meant by the "Cheap defence of nations," replied, "A midshipman's half-pay,--nothing a-day and find yourself."
MCDXXVII.--INQUEST EXTRAORDINARY.
DIED suddenly,--surprised at such a rarity!
Verdict,--Saw Eldon do a little bit of charity.
MCDXXVIII.--A GRUNT.
"DOCTOR, when we have sat together some time, you'll find my brother very entertaining."--"Sir," said Johnson, "I can wait."
MCDXXIX.--ONE FAULT.
"SHE is insupportable," said a wit with marked emphasis, of one well known; but, as if he had gone too far, he added, "It is her only defect."
MCDXXX.--TO THE "COMING" MAN.
SMART waiter, be contented with thy state,
The world is his who best knows how to wait.
MCDXXXI.--NOTHING TO BOAST OF.
"THE British empire, sir," exclaimed an orator, "is one on which the sun never sets."--"And one," replied an auditor, "in which the tax-gatherer never goes to bed."
MCDXXXII.--COLONIAL BREWERIES.
WHAT two ideas are more inseparable than Beer and Britannia? what event more awfully important to an English colony, than the erection of its first brewhouse?--S.S.
MCDXXXIII.--A CLOSER.
SOME person caused the following inscription to be placed over the door of a house, "Let nothing enter here but what is good."--"Then where will the master go in?" asked a cynic.
MCDXXXIV.--THE FOOL OR KNAVE.
THY praise or dispraise is to me alike;
One doth not stroke me, nor the other strike.
MCDXXXV.--KNOWING HIS MAN.
AN attorney, not celebrated for his probity, was robbed one night on his way from Wicklow to Dublin. His father meeting Baron O'Grady next day, said, "My lord, have you heard of my son's robbery?"--"No," replied the baron; "whom did he rob?"
MCDXXXVI.--A GOOD REASON FOR A BAD CAUSE.
AN eminent counsellor asked another why he so often undertook bad causes. "Sir," answered the lawyer, "I have lost so many good ones, that I am quite at a loss which to take."
MCDXXXVII.--SELF-APPLAUSE.
SOME persons can neither stir hand nor foot without making it clear they are thinking of themselves, and laying little traps for approbation.--S.S.
MCDXXXVIII.--A WOODEN JOKE.
BURKE said of Lord Thurlow, "He was a sturdy oak at Westminster, and a willow at St James's."
MCDXXXIX.--AN OLD ADAGE REFUTED.
A SCHOLAR having fallen into the hands of robbers was fastened to a tree, and left so nearly a whole day, till one came and unloosed him. "Now," says he, "the old adage must be false, which saith that the tide tarrieth for no man."
MCDXL.--THEATRICAL PURGATIONS.
A DRAMATIC author once observed that he knew nothing so terrible as reading his piece before a critical audience. "I know but one more terrible," said Compton, the actor, "to be obliged to sit and hear it."
MCDXLI.--ALL THE SAME.
IN Edinburgh resided a gentleman, who is as huge, though not so witty, as Falstaff. It is his custom when he travels to book two places, and thus secure half the inside to himself. He once sent his servant to book him to Glasgow. The man returned with the following pleasing intelligence: "I've booked you, sir; there weren't two inside places left, so I booked you one in and one out."
MCDXLII.--THE PRINCIPLE OF GOVERNMENTS.
I SHALL not easily forget the sarcasm of Swift's simile as he told us of the Prince of Orange's harangue to the mob of Portsmouth. "We are come," said he, "for your good--for all your goods."--"A universal principle," added Swift, "of all governments; but, like most other truths, only told by mistake."
MCDXLIII.--DR. WALCOT'S APPLICATION FOR SHIELD'S IVORY OPERA PASS.
SHIELD, while the supplicating poor
Ask thee for meat with piteous moans;
More humble I approach thy door,
And beg for nothing but thy bones.
MCDXLIV.--COOKING HIS GOOSE.
THE performers rallying Cooke one morning, in the green room, on the awkward cut of a new coat, he apologized, by saying, "It was his tailor's fault."--"Yes, poor man," said Munden, "and his misfortune too!"
MCDXLV.--TAKE WARNING!
A BARRISTER who had retired from practice, said: "If any man was to claim the coat upon my back, and threaten my refusal with a lawsuit, he should certainly have it; lest, in defending my coat, I should, too late, find that I was deprived of my waistcoat also."
MCDXLVI.--"THE WIDE, WIDE SEA."
HOOD says that, "A Quaker loves the ocean for its broad brim."
MCDXLVII.--CONDITIONAL AGREEMENT.
DR. A----, when dangerously ill at an hotel, was applied to by the landlord to pass his bill. The doctor, observing that all the charges were very high, wrote at the bottom of the account, "If I die, I pass this account; if I live, I'll examine it."
MCDXLVIII.--ON A SQUINTING POETESS.
TO no one muse does she her glance confine,
But has an eye, at once, to all the nine.
MCDXLIX.--A NEAT SUGGESTION.
A WELSH judge, celebrated as a suitor for all sorts of places and his neglect of personal cleanliness, was thus addressed by Mr. Jekyll: "As you have asked the Ministry for everything else, ask them for a piece of soap and a nailbrush."
MCDL.--SCOTCH "WUT."
IT requires (says Sydney Smith) a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding. Their only idea of wit, or rather that inferior variety of the electric talent which prevails occasionally in the North, and which, under the name of Wut, is so infinitely distressing to people of good taste, is laughing immoderately at stated intervals. They are so imbued with metaphysics that they even make love metaphysically. I overheard a young lady of my acquaintance, at a dance in Edinburgh, exclaim, in a sudden pause of the music, "What you say, my lord, is very true of love in the aibstract, but----" Here the fiddlers began fiddling furiously, and the rest was lost.
MCDLI.--WHERE IT CAME FROM.
A LADY, whose fondness for generous living had given her a flushed face and rubicund nose, consulted Dr. Cheyne. Upon surveying herself in the glass, she exclaimed, "Where in the name of wonder, doctor, did I get such a nose as this?"--"Out of the decanter, madam," replied the doctor.
MCDLII.--QUIN AND CHARLES I.
QUIN sometimes said a wise thing. Disputing concerning the execution of Charles I.,--"By what laws," said his opponent, "was he put to death?" Quin replied, "By all the laws that he had left them."
MCDLIII.--TIMELY FLATTERY.
A GENTLEMAN was asked by Mrs. Woffington, what difference there was between her and her watch; to which he instantly replied, "Your watch, madam, makes us remember the hours, and you make us forget them."
MCDLIV.--EPIGRAM ON TWO CONTRACTORS.
TO gull the public two contractors come,
One pilfers corn,--the other cheats in rum.
Which is the greater knave, ye wits explain,
A rogue in spirit, or a rogue in grain?
MCDLV.--TRAVELLERS SEE STRANGE THINGS.
A TRAVELLER, when asked whether, in his youth, he had gone through Euclid, was not quite sure, but he thought it was a small village between Wigan and Preston.
MCDLVI.--AN UNCONSCIOUS INSULT.
A FRENCHMAN, who had learned English, wished to lose no opportunity of saying something pretty. One evening he observed to Lady R., whose dress was fawn color, and that of her daughter pink, "Milady, your daughter is de pink of beauty."--"Ah, monsieur, you Frenchmen always flatter."--"No, madam, I only do speak the truth, and what all de world will allow, that your daughter is de pink, and you are de drab of fashion."
MCDLVII.--A CLOSE TRANSLATION.
A COUNTRY gentleman, wishing to be civil to Dr. B----, a translator of Juvenal, said, "What particularly convinces me of the faithfulness of your translation is, that in places where I do not understand Juvenal, I likewise do not understand you."
MCDLVIII.--NEW RELATIONSHIP.
A STRANGER to law courts hearing a judge call a sergeant "brother," expressed his surprise. "O," said one present, "they are brothers,--brothers-in-law."
MCDLIX.--ONLY A NINEPIN.
THE Earl of Lonsdale was so extensive a proprietor, and patron of boroughs, that he returned nine members to Parliament, who were facetiously called Lord Lonsdale's ninepins. One of the members thus designated, having made a very extravagant speech in the House of Commons, was answered by Mr. Burke in a vein of the happiest sarcasm, which elicited from the House loud and continued cheers. Mr. Fox, entering the House just as Mr. Burke was sitting down, inquired of Sheridan what the House was cheering. "O, nothing of consequence," replied Sheridan, "only Burke has knocked down one of Lord Lonsdale's ninepins."
MCDLX.--DR. WALCOT'S REQUEST FOR IVORY TICKETS, SENT TO SHIELD, THE COMPOSER.
SON of the string (I do not mean Jack Ketch,
Though Jack, like thee, produceth dying tones),
Oh, yield thy pity to a starving wretch,
And for to-morrow's treat pray send thy bones!
MCDLXI.--DIFFICULTIES IN EITHER CASE.
ONE evening, at a private party at Oxford, at which Dr. Johnson was present, a recently published essay on the future life of brutes was referred to, and a gentleman, disposed to support the author's opinion that the lower animals have an "immortal part," familiarly remarked to the doctor, "Really, sir, when we see a very sensible dog, we don't know what to think of him." Johnson, turning quickly round, replied, "True, sir; and when we see a very foolish fellow, we don't know what to think of him."
MCDLXII.--A PROFESSIONAL AIM.
IN a duel between two attorneys, one of them shot away the skirt of the other's coat. His second, observing the truth of his aim, declared that had his friend been engaged with a client he would very probably have hit his pocket.
MCDLXIII.--FLYING COLORS.
SIR GODFREY KNELLER latterly painted more for profit than for praise, and is said to have used some whimsical preparations in his colors, which made them work fair and smoothly off, but not endure. A friend, noticing it to him, said, "What do you think posterity will say, Sir Godfrey Kneller, when they see these pictures some years hence?"--"Say!" replied the artist: "why, they'll say Sir Godfrey Kneller never painted them!"
MCDLXIV.--AN ENTERTAINING PROPOSITION.
A POMPOUS fellow made a very inadequate offer for a valuable property; and, calling the next day for an answer, inquired of the gentleman if he had entertained his proposition. "No," replied the other, "your proposition entertained me."
MCDLXV.--UNION OF OPPOSITES.
A PHRENOLOGIST remarking that some persons had the organ of murder and benevolence strongly and equally developed, his friend replied, "that doubtless those were the persons who would kill one with kindness."
MCDLXVI.--EPIGRAM.
(On ----'s Veracity.)
HE boasts about the truth I've heard,
And vows he'd never break it;
Why, zounds, a man must keep his word
When nobody will take it.
MCDLXVII.--AN UNTAXED LUXURY.
A LADY having remarked in company that she thought there should be a tax on "the single state"; "Yes, madam," rejoined an obstinate old bachelor, "as on all other luxuries."
MCDLXVIII.--A DEAR SPEAKER.
SOON after the Irish members were admitted into the House of Commons, on the union of the kingdom in 1801, one of them, in the middle of his maiden speech, thus addressed the chair: "And now, my dear Mr. Speaker," etc. This excited loud laughter. As soon as the mirth had subsided, Mr. Sheridan observed, "that the honorable member was perfectly in order; for, thanks to the ministers, now-a-days everything is dear."
MCDLXIX.--ABSURDLY LOGICAL.
A MAD Quaker (wrote Sydney Smith) belongs to a small and rich sect; and is, therefore, of greater importance than any other mad person of the same degree in life.
MCDLXX.--PROOF POSITIVE.
A CHEMIST asserted that all bitter things were hot. "No," said a gentleman present, "there is a bitter cold day."
MCDLXXI.--PLAYER, OR LORD.
ONE day, at a party in Bath, Quin said something which caused a general murmur of delighted merriment. A nobleman present, who was not distinguished for the brilliancy of his ideas, exclaimed: "What a pity 'tis, Quin, my boy, that a clever fellow like you should be a player!" Quin, fixing and flashing his eyes upon the speaker, replied: "Why! what would your lordship have me be?--a lord?"
MCDLXXII.--IN MEMORIAM.
SOYER is gone! Then be it said,
At last, indeed, great PAN is dead.
MCDLXXIII.--PRIME'S PRESERVATIVE.
SERGEANT PRIME had a remarkably long nose, and being one day out riding, was flung from his horse, and fell upon his face in the middle of the road. A countryman, who saw the occurrence, ran hastily up, raised the sergeant from the mire, and asked him if he was much hurt. The sergeant replied in the negative. "I zee, zur," said the rustic, grinning, "yer ploughshare saved ye!"
MCDLXXIV.--A SHARP BRUSH.
SHERIDAN was down at Brighton one summer, when Fox, the manager, desirous of showing him some civility, took him all over the theatre, and, exhibited its beauties. "There, Mr. Sheridan," said Fox, who combined twenty occupations, without being clever in any, "I built and painted all these boxes, and I painted all these scenes."--"Did you?" said Sheridan, surveying them rapidly; "well, I should not, I am sure, have known you were a Fox by your brush."
MCDLXXV.--NOT SO "DAFT" AS REPUTED.
THERE was a certain "Daft Will," who was a privileged haunter of Eglington Castle and grounds. He was discovered by the noble owner one day taking a near cut, and crossing a fence in the demesne. The earl called out, "Come back, sir, that's not the road."--"Do ye ken," said Will, "whaur I'm gaun?"--"No," replied his lordship. "Weel, hoo the deil do ye ken whether this be the road or no?"
MCDLXXVI.--PICKING POCKETS.
"THESE beer-shops," quoth Barnabas, speaking in alt,
"Are ruinous,--down with the growers of malt!"
"Too true," answers Ben, with a shake of the head,
"Wherever they congregate, honesty's dead.
That beer breeds dishonesty causes no wonder,
'Tis nurtured in crime,--'tis concocted in plunder;
In Kent while surrounded by flourishing crops,
I saw a rogue picking a pocket of hops."
MCDLXXVII.--HUSBANDING HIS RESOURCES.
A WAG, reading in one of Brigham Young's manifestoes, "that the great resources of Utah are her women," exclaimed, "It is very evident that the prophet is disposed to husband his resources."
MCDLXXVIII.--SMOOTHING IT DOWN.
A CLIENT remarked to his solicitor, "You are writing my bill on very rough paper, sir."--"Never mind," was the reply of the latter, "it has to be filed before it comes into court."
MCDLXXIX.--MAKING FREE WITH THE WAIST.
CURRAN, in cross-examining the chief witness of a plaintiff in an action for an assault, obliged him to acknowledge that the plaintiff had put his arm round the waist of Miss D----, which had provoked the defendant to strike him: "Then, sir, I presume," said Curran, "he took that waist for common?"
MCDLXXX.--A HOPELESS INVASION.
ADMIRAL BRIDPORT, speaking of the threatened invasion by the French in 1798, dryly observed, "They might come as they could; for his own part, he could only say that they should not come by water."
MCDLXXXI.--DROLL TO ORDER.
ONE evening, a lady said to a small wit, "Come, Mr. ----, tell us a lively anecdote," and the poor fellow was mute during the remainder of the evening. "Favor me with your company on Wednesday evening, you are such a lion," said a weak party-giver to a young author. "I thank you," replied the wit; "but on that evening I am engaged to eat fire at the Countess of ----, and stand upon my head at Mrs. ----."
MCDLXXXII.--MEN OF WEIGHT.
IF fat men ride, they tire the horse,
And if they walk themselves--that's worse:
Travel at all, they are at best,
Either oppressors or opprest.
MCDLXXXIII.--CHEMICAL ODDITY.
WHILE an ignorant lecturer was describing the nature of gas, a blue-stocking lady inquired of a gentleman near her, what was the difference between oxygin and hydrogin? "Very little, madam," said he; "by oxygin we mean pure gin; and by hydrogin, gin and water."
MCDLXXXIV.--AN APISH RESEMBLANCE.
CHARLES LAMB used to say, that he had a great dislike to monkeys, on the principle that "it was not pleasant to look upon one's poor relations."
MCDLXXXV.--HE WHO SUNG "THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME."
LORD MACAULAY, passing one day through the Seven Dials, bought a handful of ballads from some street-folks who were bawling out their contents to a gaping audience. Proceeding on his way home, he was astonished to find himself followed by half a score of urchins, their faces beaming with expectation. "Now then, my lads, what is it?" said he. "O, that's a good 'un," replied one of the boys, "after we've come all this way."--"But what are you waiting for?" said the historian, astonished at the lad's familiarity. "Waiting for! why ain't you going to sing, guv'ner?"
MCDLXXXVI.--DEATH-BED FORGIVENESS.
A VETERAN Highlander, between whose family and that of a neighboring chieftain had existed a long hereditary feud, being on his death-bed, was reminded that this was the time to forgive all his enemies, even he who had most injured him. "Well, be it so," said the old Gael, after a short pause, "be it so; go tell Kinmare I forgive him,--but my curses rest upon my son if ever he does."
MCDLXXXVII.--A REASONABLE PREFERENCE.
WHETHER tall men or short men are best,
Or bold men, or modest and shy men,
I can't say, but this I protest,
All the fair are in favor of Hy-men.
MCDLXXXVIII.--A DEAR BARGAIN.
QUIN was one day lamenting that he grew old, when a shallow impertinent young fellow said to him, "What would you give to be as young as I am?"--"By the powers," replied Quin, "I would even submit to be almost as foolish!"
MCDLXXXIX.--SUGGESTIVE REPUDIATION.
LORD BYRON was once asked by a friend in the green-room of the Drury Lane Theatre, whether he did not think Miss Kelly's acting in the "Maid and the Magpie" exceedingly natural. "I really am no judge," answered his lordship, "I was never innocent of stealing a spoon."
MCDXC.--NO INTRUSION.
A LOQUACIOUS author, after babbling some time about his piece to Sheridan, said, "Sir, I fear I have been intruding on your attention."--"Not at all, I assure you," replied he, "I was thinking of something else."
MCDXCI.--EXPERIMENTUM CRUCIS.
A MERCHANT being asked to define the meaning of experimental and natural philosophy, said he considered the first to be asking a man to discount a bill at a long date, and the second his refusing to do it.
MCDXCII.--NOT AT ALL ANXIOUS.
A MAN very deeply in debt, being reprimanded by his friends for his disgraceful situation, and the anxiety of a debtor being urged by them in very strong expressions: "Ah!" said he, "that may be the case with a person who thinks of paying."
MCDXCIII.--ODD HUMOR.
WHEN Lord Holland was on his death-bed, his friend George Selwyn called to inquire how his Lordship was, and left his card. This was taken to Lord Holland, who said: "If Mr. Selwyn calls again, show him into my room. If I am alive, I shall be glad to see him; if I am dead, I am sure that he will be delighted to see me."
MCDXCIV.--A TICKLISH OPENING.
HENRY ERSKINE happening to be retained for a client of the name of Tickle, began his speech in opening the case, thus: "Tickle, my client, the defendant, my lord,"--and upon proceeding so far was interrupted by laughter in court, which was increased when the judge (Lord Kaimes) exclaimed, "Tickle him yourself, Harry; you are as able to do so as I am."
MCDXCV.--THE REPUBLIC OF LETTERS.
HOOD suggests that the phrase "republic of letters" was hit upon to insinuate that, taking the whole lot of authors together, they had not got a sovereign amongst them.
MCDXCVI.--AN OFFENSIVE PREFERENCE.
A PERSON meeting with an acquaintance after a long absence, told him that he was surprised to see him, for he had heard that he was dead. "But," says the other, "you find the report false."--"'Tis hard to determine," he replied, "for the man that told me was one whose word I would sooner take than yours."
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Literature · Humor
The Jest Book The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings 10
