Joe Miller's Jests, with Copious Additions — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Joe Miller's Jests, with Copious Additions
John Stuart Mill · en
148. The old Lord Strangford taking a bottle with the parson of the
parish, was commending his own wine: Here, doctor, said he, I can send a
couple of ho-ho-hounds to Fra-Fra-France (for his lordship had a great
impediment in his speech) and have a ho-ho-hogs-head of this wine for
them: What do you say to that, doctor? Why, replied he, I say, that your
lordship has your wine dog cheap.
149. The famous Jack Ogle of facetious memory, having borrowed on note
five pounds, and failing the payment, the gentleman who had lent it,
indiscreetly took occasion to talk of it in the public coffee-house,
which obliged Jack to take notice of it, so that it came to a challenge.
Being got into the field, the gentleman, a little tender in point of
courage, offered him the note to make the matter up, to which our hero
consented readily, and had the note delivered. But now, said the
gentleman, if we should return without fighting, our companions will
laugh at us; therefore, let’s give one another a slight scar, and say we
wounded one another. With all my heart, says Jack; come, I’ll wound you
first; so drawing his sword, he whipt it through the fleshy part of his
antagonist’s arm, till he brought the very tears in his eyes. This being
done, and the wound tied up with a handkerchief: Come, said the
gentleman, where shall I wound you? Jack putting himself in a fighting
posture, cried, Where you can, good sir. Well, well, said the other, I
can swear I received this wound of you; and so marched off contentedly.
150. A traveller coming into an inn once, on a very cold night, stood so
near the fire that he burned his boots. An arch rogue that sat in the
chimney corner, called out to him, Sir, you’ll burn your spurs
presently. My boots you mean, I suppose? No, sir, said he, they are
burned already.
151. In eighty-eight, when Queen Elizabeth went from Temple Bar along
Fleet Street, on some procession, the lawyers were ranged on one side of
the way, and the citizens on the other; says the Lord Bacon, then a
student, to a lawyer that stood next to him, Do but observe the
courtiers; if they bow first to the citizens, they are in debt; if to
us, they are in law.
152. Some gentlemen having a hare for supper at a tavern, the cook,
instead of a pudding, had crammed the belly full of thyme, but had not
above half roasted the hare, the legs being almost raw; which one of the
company observing, said, There was too much thyme (time) in the belly,
and too little in the legs.