1108. A lawsuit being referred to a gentleman, the plaintiff, who had
the equity of the cause on his side, presented him with a new carriage,
the defendant with a couple of horses. The arbitrator liking the horses
better than the coach, gave sentence on the defendant’s side. The
plaintiff called on him, and asked how it came to pass the coach went
out of the right way? He answered, He could not help it, the horses had
drawn it so.
1109. A saucy fellow named Jack, abusing a gentleman whose name was
Fisher, the gentleman struck him, for which, being reproved and
threatened with an action, he said, Is it not lawful for a Fisher to
strike a Jack?
1110. A person had a picture of the Seven Senses stolen out of his
house: whereupon he came to a justice and desired that the thieves might
be bound to the peace: For what? For stealing my senses. I thought so,
said the justice, you talk so idly.
1111. A woman was commending a boy’s face: Give me a man’s, quoth
another, a boy’s is not worth a hair.
1112. A gentleman whose name was Stone, falling off his horse, in
crossing a river, into deep water, out of which he got not without some
danger: his companions laughed at his mischance, and being reproved,
answered, That there was no man but would laugh to see a Stone swim.
1113. One being about to write the superscription of a letter to his
mistress, asked a scholar what terms were best to give her,―who told
him, “the Venus, lass of his affections,” was good; he mistaking, wrote,
To the Venice-glass of his affections.
1114. A drunken fellow returning home towards evening, found his wife
hard at her spinning; she, reproving him for his ill husbandry, and
commending herself for her good housewifery, he told her that she had no
great cause to chide, for as she had been spinning at home, he had been
reeling abroad.
1115. One that was skilled in writing short-hand promised a lawyer’s
clerk to teach him his skill, who thanked him, and said they could not
live by making short-hand of anything.
1116. A company of gentlemen in a tavern, amongst the rest, one whose
name was Bramble, quarrelled and fell to blows; one of these got his
face cut by the said Bramble; upon going home, and being asked the cause
of his face bleeding so, No great harm, replied he, only a Bramble by
chance scratched me.
1117. A rude overbearing young man was placed by his friends with a
proctor, who observing the misbehaviour of the youth, told his parents
he feared their son would never make a civil lawyer.
1118. One having a play-book called The Wits, which he valued much, by
chance lost it; but while he was chafing and swearing about the loss of
his book, in came one of his friends, who asking the cause of his
disquiet, was answered, That he had lost his wits.
1119. One wondered why there were so many pickpockets about the streets,
notwithstanding a watch was at every corner. It was answered, that was
all one, a pickpocket would as gladly meet a watch as anything else.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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