The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-06-23
WIT IN QUOTATIONS.
Some sof the Forms of it Which Have
Attracted Attention.
From the Home Journal.

From the Home Journal
Few forms of wit are more amusing to
most persons than that which consists of
the witty use of quotations A quotation
may be. apt, yet not witty; but it is impossi-
BILE for witty quotation not to be apt No
writer ever succeeded in making use of so
many witty quotations as Barham, of "In-
goldsby Legends" fame. Hood perhaps
comes next; and many examples can be
found in the writings of Snydey Smith,
Theodore Hook, Byron and others. Curran,
the brilliant Irish advocate, also made use
OF many witty quotations.
A stock of good quotations and lnowl-
edge of the Instances in which certain I'M
common words or phrases have been used
are frequently of much service. Thus,
when an advocate was arguing against the
use OF the word minstrel and urging
that before his client could be called by that
term it must be proved that several persons
played together, the judge made him col
lapse by asking: Then what about Sir
Walter SCOTS Lay of the Last Min
strelP"
At dinner given by an American banker
a few years ago somebody asked Lord
Houghton if he would take his duck rare
'Rare! rare!n said his lordship, ''now, there
is another of your Americanisms, which
make 1t so difficult to understand you. And,
pray, what do you mean by 'rarepn An
American present piped out from the other
end of the table: 1--WE mean by rare, my
lord. what Dryden meant when he wrote,
Roast me quickly an egg, and see that it be
rare.'"
Every one flatters himself that he under
stands the English language If only he can
express his thoughts with tolerable clear
ness. But this is a popular error Lord
Houghton should have known that the word
- to- Np,, I, i f..n
quently used in EliZabethan literature, and
TO this day it is to be heard in many parts
of England, from Yorkshire to Devonshire.
Credit is due to the American who SO
quickly and effectually responded to his
lordship and at the same time taught him
good English word.
Scott, too, once distinguished himself in d
somewhat similar manner. A fellow
scholar of his, on being asked: "What part
of speech is 'withp" answered, ga substan-
stantive" The rector, after little pause,
thought it worth while to ask, lis with
ever substantivesn but all were silent I'M
til Scott's turn came. He instantly re-
sponded by quoting verse of the Book of
Judges: HAnd Samson said unto her
(Delilah), If they bind me with seven green
withs that were never dried, then shall | be
weak and be as another man." Readers
OF Lockhart's admirable biography will re-
member that there are several other similar
stories told of Scott and all these are char
acteristic, ingenious and illustrative of his
fertility of resource.
Biblical quotations are frequently used
wlttily. Although many persons naturally
think the language of the Bible should not
be used for the purpose, no exception can
be taken to the retort of the man who, on
entering barber's shop, at once seated
himself in the chair, and in response to the
approximations Of the customers, quietly re-
torted, 1--WE are told tine last shall be
FIRST" Sydney Smith, again, in reply to
Landseer's invitation to him to sit for his
portrait, exclaimed, in allusion to the we'll
known animal painters ability, us thy SER
want dog that he should do this thingY
Several witty Scriptural quotations are
credited to Bishop Bloomfield. Once when
he had been present at the conservation of
church where the choral parts of the service
had been failure he was asked what he
thought of the music well" he replied,
lat least it was according to Biblical prece-
dent: the singers went before, the Ministries
followed after.'"
On another occasion friend was inter-
ceding with him on behalf of a clergyman
who was constantly in debt, and had more
than once been insolvent. After praising
the talents and eloquence of the impecuni-
GUS parson, the friend wound up by saving:
I'm fact, my lord, he is quite st. Paul. "
Yes" said the bishop, . in prisons Oft ;"
Among the witty Scriptural quotations
attributed to the Presbyterian preacher,
Mr.. Paul, is one bearing upon his own
name. When about to leave Ayr, he gave a
farewell sermon expressly to the ladies, and
founded it on the passage, Gan wept sore,
and fell upon Paufs neck and kissed him.
Biblical quotations are only to apt to be
used irreverently, and foreigner who had
read some of our standard jest books
might, on reading the English version Of
the Bible for the first time, urge against it
the same argument that the old lady used
against "Hametn-"that there were two
many quotations in it,"
To a comparatively small number of peo-
pie quotations, however witty, afford no
food for laughter, because they have little
or no knowledge of literature. This fact,
Of course, makes the laugh all the more