Henry Erskine
THE late Hon. Henry Erskine met his acquaintance Jemmy Ba--four, a
barrister, who dealt in hard words and circumlocutious sentences.
Perceiving that his ankle was tied up with a silk handkerchief, the
former asked the cause. Why, my dear sir, answered the wordy lawyer,
I was taking a romantic ramble in my brother's grounds, when, coming to
a gate, I had to climb over it, by which I came in contact with the
first bar, and have grazed the epidermis on my skin, attended with a
slight extravasation of blood.--You may thank your lucky stars,
replied Mr. Erskine, that your brother's gate was not as lofty as
your style, or you must have broken your neck.