A Deserved Retort
A SPENDTHRIFT, who had nearly wasted all his patrimony, seeing an acquaintance in a coat not of the newest cut, told him that he thought it had been his great-grandfather's coat. So it was, said the gentleman, and I have also my great-grandfather's ... A Dialogue
Pope. SINCE my old friend is grown so great, As to be minister of state, I'm told (but 'tis not true I hope) That Craggs will be ashamed of Pope. Craggs. ALAS! if I am such a creature, To grow the worse for ... A Difference
JERROLD one day met a Scotch gentleman, whose name was Leitch, and who explained that he was not the popular caricaturist, John Leech. I'm aware of that; you're the Scotchman with the i-t-c-h in your name, said Jerrold. ... A Difficult Task
YOU have only yourself to please, said a married friend to an old bachelor. True, replied he, but you cannot tell what a difficult task I find it. ... A Dilemma
WHILST a country parson was preaching, the chief of his parishioners sitting near the pulpit was fast asleep: whereupon he said, Now, beloved friends, I am in a great strait; for if I speak too softly, those at the farther end of the church cannot h... A Disappointing Subscriber
TO all letters soliciting subscriptions, Lord Erskine had a regular form of reply, namely: Sir, I feel much honored by your application to me, and beg to subscribe (here the reader had to turn over leaf) Myself, your very obedient servant, etc. ... A Distant Friend
MEETING a negro on the road, a traveller said, You have lost some of your friends, I see?--Yes, massa.--Was it a near or a distant relative?--Well, purty distant,--'bout twenty-four mile, was the reply. ... A Distant Prospect
THROUGH an avenue of trees, at the back of Trinity College, a church may be seen at a considerable distance, the approach to which affords no very pleasing scenery. Porson, walking that way with a friend, and observing the church, remarked, That it ... 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 ... A Dogged Answer
BOSWELL, dining one day with Dr. Johnson, asked him if he did not think that a good cook was more essential to the community than a good poet. I don't suppose, said the doctor, that there's a dog in the town but what thinks so. ... A Double Knock
ON Dr. K----'s promotion to the bishopric of Down, an appointment in some quarters unpopular, Archbishop Whately observed, The Irish government will not be able to stand many more such Knocks Down as this! ... A Double Times
A HUGE, double-sheeted copy of the Times newspaper was put into the hands of a member of the Union Club by one of the waiters. Oh, what a bore all this is, said the member, surveying the gigantic journal. Ah, answered another member, who overheard h... A Doubtful Compliment
THE speeches made by P---- are sound, It cannot be denied; Granted; and then it will be found, They're little else beside. ... A Doubtful Creed
JUDGE MAULE, in summing up a case of libel, and speaking of a defendant who had exhibited a spiteful piety, observed, One of these defendants, Mr. Blank, is, it seems, a minister of religion--of what religion does not appear, but, to judge by his co... A Dreadful Suspicion
A GENTLEMAN leaving the company, somebody who sat next to Dr. Johnson asked who he was. I cannot exactly tell you sir, replied the doctor, and I should be loath to speak ill of any person whom I do not know deserves it, but I am afraid he is an atto...

A Walking Stick Idolatry Erudite White Teeth An Honor To Tipperary Ingratitude Welsh Wig-ging A New Sign

The Tanner; An Epigram A Pertinent Question Henry Erskine Walpoliana Very Likely A Seasonable Joke Measure For Measure The Debt Paid