Very Shocking If True
AT a dinner-party, one of the guests used his knife improperly in
eating. At length a wag asked aloud: Have you heard of poor L----'s sad
affair? I met him at a party yesterday, when to our great horror, he
suddenly took up the knife, and---- Good heavens! interposed one of
the ladies; and did he cut his throat?--Why no, answered the
relator, he did not cut his throat with his knife; but we all expected
he would, for he actually put it up to his mouth.
More
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Vast Domain
A GENTLEMAN having a servant with a very thick skull, used often to call him the king of fools. I wish, said the fellow one day, you could make your words good, I should then be the greatest monarch in the world. ... Vera Cannie
A YOUNG lady, pressed by friends to marry a decent, but poor man, on the plea, Marry for love, and work for siller, replied, It's a' vera true, but a kiss and a tinniefu[C] o' cauld water maks a gey wersh[D] breakfast. [C] Tinnie, the small porri... Verse And Worse
AMONG a company of cheerful Irishmen, in the neighborhood of St. Giles, it was proposed by the host to make a gift of a couple of fowls to him that, off-hand, should write six lines in poetry of his own composing. Several of the merry crew attempted... Verses Written On A Window In The Highlands Of Scotland
SCOTLAND! thy weather's like a modish wife, Thy winds and rains for ever are at strife; So termagant awhile her thunder tries, And when she can no longer scold, she cries. ... Very Appropriate
A FACETIOUS old gentleman, who thought his two sons consumed too much time in hunting and shooting, styled them Nimrod and Ramrod. ... Very Clear
WHAT is light? asked a schoolmaster of the booby of a class. A sovereign that isn't full weight is light, was the prompt reply. ... 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. ... Very Evident
GARRICK and Rigby, once walking together in Norfolk, observed upon a board at a house by the roadside, the following strange inscription: A GOES KOORED HEAR.--How is it possible, said Rigby, that such people as these can cure agues?--I do not know, ... Very Like A Whale
THE first of all the royal infant males Should take the title of the Prince of Wales; Because 'tis clear to seamen and to lubber, Babies and whales are both inclined to blubber. ... Very Like Each Other
IT appears that there were two persons of the name of Dr. John Thomas, not easily to be distinguished; for somebody (says Bishop Newton) was speaking of Dr. Thomas, when it was asked, which Dr. Thomas do you mean?--Dr. John Thomas.--They are both na... Very Likely
AN English officer lost his leg at the battle of Vittoria, and after suffering amputation with the greatest courage, thus addressed his servant who was crying, or pretending to cry, in one corner of the room, None of your hypocritical tears, you idl... 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. ... Very Pointed
SIR JOHN HAMILTON, who had severely suffered from the persecutions of the law, used to say, that an attorney was like a hedgehog, it was impossible to touch him anywhere without pricking one's fingers. ... Very Pretty
ONE day, just as an English officer had arrived at Vienna, the empress knowing that he had seen a certain princess much celebrated for her beauty, asked him if it was really true that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. I thought so y... Very Serious
A REGULAR physician being sent for by a quack, expressed his surprise at being called in on an occasion apparently trifling. Not so trifling, neither, replied the quack; for, to tell you the truth, I have, by mistake, taken some of my OWN PILLS. ... Very Shocking If True
AT a dinner-party, one of the guests used his knife improperly in eating. At length a wag asked aloud: Have you heard of poor L----'s sad affair? I met him at a party yesterday, when to our great horror, he suddenly took up the knife, and---- Good h... Very True
SERJEANT MAYNARD, a famous lawyer in the days of the Stuarts, called law an ars bablativa. ... Very True
ALL that is necessary for the enjoyment of sausages at breakfast is confidence. ... Vice Versa
IT is asserted that the bad Ministers have contracted the National Debt. This cannot be; for instead of contracting it at all, bad Ministers have most materially extended it. ... Visible Darkness
A GENTLEMAN at an inn, seeing that the lights were so dim as only to render the darkness visible, called out, Here, waiter, let me have a couple of decent candles to see how these others burn. ... Visible Proof
AN Irishman being asked on a late trial for a certificate of his marriage, exhibited a huge scar on his head, which looked as though it might have been made with a fire-shovel. The evidence was satisfactory. ... 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 ... Vox Et Praeterea Nihil
I WONDER if Brougham thinks as much as he talks, Said a punster perusing a trial; I vow, since his lordship was made Baron Vaux, He's been Vaux et praeterea nihil. ... Vulgar Arguments
AT a club, of which Jerrold was a member, a fierce Jacobite, and a friend, as fierce, of the cause of William the Third, were arguing noisily, and disturbing less excitable conversationalists. At length the Jacobite, a brawny Scot, brought his fist ... Vulgarity
SIR WALTER SCOTT once happening to hear his daughter Anne say of something, that it was vulgar, gave the young lady the following temperate rebuke: My love, you speak like a very young lady; do you know, after all, the meaning of this word vulgar? '... Walpoliana
WHEN Mr. Naylor's father married his second wife, Naylor said, Father, they say you are to be married to-day; are you?--Well, replied the Bishop, and what is that to you?--Nay, nothing; only if you had told me, I would have powdered my hair. A tu... Walpoliana
SIR JOHN GERMAIN was so ignorant, that he is said to have left a legacy to Sir Matthew Decker, as the author of St. Matthew's Gospel. Churchill (General C----, a natural son of the Marlborough family) asked Pulteney the other day, Well, Mr. Pulten... Walpoliana
SIR CHARLES WAGER always said, that if a sea-fight lasted three days, he was sure the English suffered the most for the two first, for no other nation would stand beating for two days together. Yesterday we had another hearing of the petition of t... Warm Friendships
SOME people were talking with Jerrold about a gentleman as celebrated for the intensity as for the shortness of his friendships. Yes, said Jerrold, his friendships are so warm that he no sooner takes them up than he puts them down again. ... Warning To Ladies
BEWARE of falling in love with a pair of moustaches, till you have ascertained whether their wearer is the original proprietor. ...