Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-01-19
KENaEsEt sssLE EIMPI.OMPTUs.
Some that EXU;c Come Down Through
the Ages aHi Become Historic.

The imprompil is form Of pleasantly
III which the Wits and humorists of all
ages have more ur less indulged. The
Greeks and GpmHus were adopts III this
species of humOr, and they sometimes
cnliycncd their domestic entertainments
by contOsts in impromptu and other verse
Ding. On these occasions triiiing
.zes were given 10 the most skilful, and
many notices OF these wit-combats have
been handed down to us i'll classical liter
ature. lmprumptu versemaking has
also formed orc Of the principal amuse-
ments OF certain modern literary soce-'
ties. One OF these associations, TO which
the well known writer, poet and Oriental
scholar, William Tenant, belonged, ex-
listed at one time under the title Of the
"NIusomanii Society," At is ordinary
meetings rhymes were given to every
member present, which he was required
to fill up Immediately, ON the spur Of the
moment On one occasion "pcn, scuiile
men, rutiin, were given. In few min
utes lines were produced By the whole
party, one set being as follows:
ON ,T1Nll suppose a silly pen
sluihy weapon in a sCuilie
But yet tue pen Oi critic mrh
y,;S htrn'- soul would rulfe.
On another occasion the very uncouth
rhymes, "bUbble, jig, stubble, whirlgig,"
We're utilized thus:
What H. lfc:-a smoke, a bubble;
In ms Eay void, a 70 llish jig:
A ilylc.s dtll Of barren stubIlr
And Ti.I s mLh "a whirs'g.
Queen Elizabeth has been credited with
an impromptu which, il not the compost
ton of Her Majesty, smacks very much
&c hot ,,.ti al -. e.,
have Inherited from her father. 1t is
stated that when the Queen WAS passing
through Coventry on one occasion, the
Mayor and Corporation persistently stood
in the way to present loyal address,
which ran something in this fashion:
Women oi Coycntree
Al very glad to see
IoUr gracious Majestic,
Good Lprl, Row air We be
To which her Majesty at once replied
Her gracious Majestic
l,NvrN wrotu TO see
I'u q ot COvenireC,
Glut Lord, what fools yc be-!
The notorious election for Westmin.
ster of 1881 gave rise to number OF
clever impromptus. The return OF
Charlie Fox on this occasion was due ii
n great measure to the exertions of the
beautiful Duchess OF Devonshire, whC
with her sister lady Duucnnnnn. yisitc,
the humble,s ol the electors On ono
occasion the Duchess is said To have givei
q butcher l.lss in order to gain his vote
which drew forth the following:
conl.,on. .,,.I rr,,1.. fair n,vor..u,r
In giving ,jtrla MES;
In such % ral ''. for sucn q man
This incident W9G cariclturcd in innll
meroblc pi.,iures and one indiyilu,
"'' '''' '' ''' '''"'
wrote
,5 t. ,,..,,t
hll'i." J." PA L ..'3 p,.u, m y, pe'ph ' ia'r
M! a.! t"' 1 ..G-S u n.a.ous @ pa!I .,,,
Sp" aipu.r.jc4n yott aud steals a heart
1..,,rl......... ,,.,.i,, ,l.,,. ,.,,
luat,I :, H., L,,. t,, lie ,,.;t nnl n,s :,
prt,,'r Ia. - ''','. i,,tra,,,r ",, "n
,,;,.l ,,,.., ,,,,, .,.,',, tI' ~ ,nI'I ., l.
INV i'n,t;'''' ..., FL. ain Lnnso in Rod in
snnarr ,.,.,., ,...,,,,;,I by n Jistnmnsh,
odu,''.ol od""i L.I l.an t,Ecn hT, nT ;ro
smith:
u.i.,..... .....,,. .r,,., 81, .,,.,,
'u..' ""''' ""p''
II u,,r 90" tt,,''', f..,., % J., m
IL SSM ,"'',,'I .. , l.'' r. IL
7u''''"' ''' NJ '' h'"'''
The lawyers. however nayc not nlWa
III 4L, l,t II a., ,,,,,,',,,ar,t g., ~, ~, ~,
nhu tic "'.V VA 'H' "lh"ihch', iol on ce
tam occasions an attorney thinking
pnola a ioltp rt tll4 pvppugn or "a inuru,
ni"' ., ~. va J'"ih'
Ilprt I'm AN rlr!r lrl last uIynt
yh.,, rn ,iwf e.. ouccI 10 H. En- oh
How tb1u. hi mn iu,nl,l, d tnr ,Jiinr'.'h IA,
U,,, ,,,IIy r,iio,t IIr 'D' ''
, 4. ,
sion. and Immediately penning the 4