Cruel Suggestion
LORD STANLEY came plainly dressed to request a private audience of King
James I., but was refused admittance into the royal closet by a
sprucely-dressed countryman of the king's. James hearing the altercation
between the two, came out and inquired the cause. My liege, said Lord
Stanley, this gay countryman of yours has refused me admittance to your
presence.--Cousin, said the king, how shall I punish him? Shall I
send him to the Tower?--O no, my liege, replied Lord Stanley,
inflict a severer punishment,--send him back to Scotland!
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Considerable Latitude
SIR RICHARD JEBB being called to see a patient who fancied himself very ill, told him ingenuously what he thought, and declined prescribing for him. Now you are here, said the patient, I shall be obliged to you, Sir Richard, if you will tell me how ... Consistency
NO wonder Tory landlords flout Fixed Duty, for 'tis plain With them the Anti-Corn-Law Bill Must go against the grain. ... Constancy
CURRAN, hearing that a stingy and slovenly barrister had started for the Continent with a shirt and a guinea, observed, He'll not change either till he comes back. ... Contraband Scotchman
A PERSON was complimenting Mrs. ---- on her acting a certain female character so well. To do justice to that character, replied the lady, modestly, one should be young and handsome.--Nay, madam, replied the gentleman, you are a complete proof of the... Cooke's Explanation Of The Family Plate
AN American braggart told Cooke that his family was amongst the oldest in Maryland. Cooke inquired if he had carefully examined the family plate,--the fetters and handcuffs! ... 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! ... Cool As A Cucumber
SOME one was mentioning in Lamb's presence the cold-heartedness of the Duke of Cumberland, in restraining the duchess from rushing up to the embrace of her son, whom she had not seen for a considerable time, and insisting on her receiving him in sta... Cool Retort
HENDERSON, the actor, was seldom known to be in a passion. When at Oxford, he was one day debating with a fellow-student, who, not keeping his temper, threw a glass of wine in the actor's face; when Henderson took out his handkerchief, wiped his fac... Corporation Politeness
AS a west-country mayor, with formal address, Was making his speech to the haughty Queen Bess, The Spaniard, quoth he, with inveterate spleen, Has presumed to attack you, a poor virgin queen, But your majesty's courage soon made... Corruptly Incorruptible
CHARLES THE SECOND once said to Sidney, Look me out a man that can't be corrupted: I have sent three treasurers to the North, and they have all turned thieves.--Well, sire, I will recommend Mivert.--Mivert! exclaimed the king, why, Mivert is a thief... Couleur De Rose
AN officer in full regimentals, apprehensive lest he should come in contact with a chimney-sweep that was pressing towards him, exclaimed, Keep off, you black rascal.--You were as black as me before you were boiled, cried sooty. ... Credit
AMONG the witty aphorisms upon this unsafe topic, are Lord Alvanley's description of a man who muddled away his fortune in paying his tradesmen's bills; Lord Orford's definition of timber, an excrescence on the face of the earth, placed there by Pro... Critical Politeness
A YOUNG author reading a tragedy, perceived his auditor very often pull off his hat at the end of a line, and asked him the reason. I cannot pass a very old acquaintance, replied the critic, without that civility. ... Criticising A Statue
SOON after Canning's statue was put up in Palace Yard, in all its verdant freshness, the carbonate of copper not yet blackened by the smoke of London, Mr. Justice Gazelee was walking away from Westminster Hall with a friend, when the judge, looking ... Critics
LORD BACON, speaking of commentators, critics, &c., said, With all their pretensions, they were only brushers of noblemen's clothes. ... Cromwell
ONE being asked whom it was that he judged to be the chiefest actor in the murder of the king, he answered in this short enigma or riddle:-- The heart of the loaf, and the head of the spring, Is the name of the man that murdered the king. ... Cruel Suggestion
LORD STANLEY came plainly dressed to request a private audience of King James I., but was refused admittance into the royal closet by a sprucely-dressed countryman of the king's. James hearing the altercation between the two, came out and inquired t... Cup And Saucer
A GENTLEMAN, who was remarkable at once for Bacchanalian devotion and remarkably large and starting eyes, was one evening the subject of conversation. The question appeared to be, whether the gentleman in question wore upon his face any signs of his... Cut And Come Again
A GENTLEMAN who was on a tour, attended by an Irish servant-man, who drove the vehicle, was several times puzzled with the appearance of a charge in the man's daily account, entered as Refreshment for the horse, 2d. At length he asked Dennis about i... Cutting
A COUNTRY editor thinks that Richelieu, who declared that The pen was mightier than the sword, ought to have spoken a good word for the scissors. Jerrold called scissors an editor's steel-pen. ... Cutting An Acquaintance
GEORGE SELWYN, happening to be at Bath when it was nearly empty, was induced, for the mere purpose of killing time, to cultivate the acquaintance of an elderly gentleman he was in the habit of meeting at the Rooms. In the height of the following sea... Cutting His Coat
WHEN Brummell was the great oracle on coats, the Duke of Leinster was very anxious to bespeak the approbation of the Emperor of the Dandies for a cut which he had just patronized. The Duke, in the course of his eulogy on his Schneider, had frequent ... 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, natura... Cutting On Both Sides
LORD B----, who sported a ferocious pair of whiskers, meeting Mr. O'Connell in Dublin, the latter said, When do you mean to place your whiskers on the peace establishment?--When you place your tongue on the civil list! was the rejoinder. ... Damped Ardor
JERROLD and Laman Blanchard were strolling together about London, discussing passionately a plan for joining Byron in Greece, when a heavy shower of rain wetted them through. Jerrold, telling the story many years after, said, That shower of rain was... Dangerously Well
LORD BYRON, in reference to a lady he thought ill of, writes, Lady ---- has been dangerously ill; but it may console you to learn that she is dangerously well again. ... Dead Language
AMONG the many English who visited Paris in 1815 was Alderman Wood, who had previously filled the office of Lord Mayor of London. He ordered a hundred visiting cards, inscribing upon them. Alderman Wood, feu Lord Maire de Londres, which he distribut... Dean Swift And King William
THE motto which was inserted under the arms of William, Prince of Orange, on his accession to the English crown, was, Non rapui sed recepi [I did not steal it, but I received it]. This being shown to Dean Swift, he said, with a sarcastic smile, The ... Death And Dr Bolus
MY dart, cried Death, I cannot find, So now I'm quite at sea. Quoth Dr. Bolus, Never mind,-- There, take this recipe. ... 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 ... Debtor And Creditor
A TRADESMAN having dunned a customer for a long time, the debtor at last desired his servant one morning to admit him. My friend, said he to him, I think you are a very honest fellow, and I have a great regard for you; therefore, I take this opportu... Decanting Extraordinary
THEODORE HOOK once said to a man at whose table a publisher got very drunk, Why, you appear to have emptied your wine-cellar into your book-seller. ...