John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 1: Comic and Humorous: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, ClassifiedGraham, Dougal
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John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 1: Comic and Humorous: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, Classified
Graham, Dougal
Chapbooks, Scottish; English literature -- 18th century; Graham, Dougal, 1724-1779; Popular literature -- Scotland
Chateauneut, keeper of the seals of Louis XIII. when a boy of only
nine years of age, was asked many questions by a bishop and gave
very prompt answers to them all. At length the prelate said, I will
give you an orange if you will tell me where God is?--My Lord,
replied the boy, I will give you two oranges, if you will tell me
where he is not!
During the great Frederick of Prussia’s last painful illness, that
eminent physician Dr Zimmerman, of Hanover, attended him. One day,
when he waited upon his Majesty, the King said to him, You, Sir, I
suppose, have helped many a man into another world. Not so many,
replied the doctor, as your Majesty, nor with so much honour to
myself.
An apothecary in Durham has the following words written in his
shop-window: “Dying stuffs sold here.”
A stranger, who had acquired the habit of standing long on one
leg, came to Lacedemon to see the city. Exhibiting this trick to
a Spartan, he told him, vauntingly, You could not preserve that
posture so long. I know that, replied the Lacedemonian, but a goose
can.
Mrs Siddons, in performing the character of Jane Shore, having
arrived at the conclusion of that affecting tragedy, where she
says, “Now I die! I die!” falls down, nature being supposed
entirely exhausted.--A sailor, perched on the front of the shilling
gallery, forgetting that the distress of the actress was feigned
roared out to the pit, “Ho! why don’t some of you lubbers in that
there hold hand the poor woman a can of grog, since she is so
badly?”
Dr Franklin, when last in England, used pleasantly to repeat an
observation of his negro-servant, when the Doctor was making the
tour of Derbyshire, Lancashire, &c. “Every thing, Massa, work in
this country; water work; wind work; fire work; smoke work; dog
work; (he had noticed the last at Bath) man work; bullock work;
horse work; ass work; every thing work here but the hog; he eat,
he drink, he sleep, he do nothing all day, he walk about like a
gentleman!”
One of the people called Quakers, equally remarkable for his
gallantry to the fair sex, as for his urbanity of manners, was one
day walking in the streets of Edinburgh with a handsome young lady
who remarked to him, that the heat of the day was oppressive; on
which the Quaker recommended her to throw off a petticoat. The lady
replied, Between you and I, friend G----s, I have but one on. And
between thee and me, replied broad-brim, even that is one too many!
A very young officer, striking an old grenadier of his company for
some supposed fault in performing his evolutions, was unable to
reach any higher than his legs. The grenadier, upon this infantine
assault, gravely took off his cap, and holding it over the officer
by the tip, said, Sir, if you were not my officer, I would
extinguish you.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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