Caricatures and cartoons -- Great Britain; English wit and humor; English wit and humor, Pictorial
But I ought to relate one more example of the manner in which the
patience of the Squire's lady was tried, by the rusticity of her
attendants, during the short season of her attempt to elevate her
household arrangements into something like fashionable dignity. One day,
when the Squire had sent off, upon some frivolous errand, every servant
in the house except cook and coachman, in dropped a very important
visitor who proffered his company at dinner, to the consternation of the
lady: hospitable as she was, she was in a dilemma; but it could not be
helped. The services of the coachman were duly called into requisition
to wait at table, greatly to his chagrin, for he detested the duty, and
whenever he chanced to be called upon to perform it, was sure to find
some means of letting all the room know that he did. He abhorred indoor
work, and took a pride in proclaiming himself to be coachee. On this
occasion, having some apple-dumplings to bring in (vulgarities to which
the Squire was considerably attached), the coachman, not qualified by
daily practice for the duty, let some of them slip off the dish; but
recovering himself, he contrived to balance the dish as he held it out,
and to steady the rolling dumplings therein, with a "Who-o, whoo-oo,
_whut!_" Neither the Squire nor his lady ever affected the "gentilities"
after this, or allowed their honest hearts to be disconcerted about
trifles; and with this last "tray" of domestic awkwardness, I for the
present take my leave of the Livery.
RUS IN URBE.
OMNIBUS CHAT.
"Easy travelling this, sir; smooth roads, no turnpikes; no dirt thrown
about, no splashing. Pleasant for me, who have just arrived from Van
Diemen's Land," (we all looked up at our new visitor V. D. L.)--"yes,
sir, where they are 'mending their ways,' as you are here, only not quite
so fast; haven't got to Indian-rubber roads yet, though advanced beyond
the point at which the traveller in my legend was obliged to stop." This
allusion being evidently preparatory to the production of a story, V.
D. L. was invited to explain, which he instantly did by chanting the
following
LEGEND OF VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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