tor, Law professor in the U-
niversity of Göttingen.—Canning.
At first I caught hold of the wing,
And kept away; but Mr. Thing-
umbob, the prompter man,
Gave with his hand my chaise a shove,
And said, ‘Go on, my pretty love,
Speak to ’em, little Nan.’—Smith.
John Lyly, a dramatist and poet of the Elizabethan period, is said to have originated a singular affectation of language known as ‘Euphuism.’ He was the author of a romance entitled ‘Euphues;’ in which the ‘pure and reformed English,’ as he called it, first appeared. It became the fashion with the beauties of the court to ‘parley Euphuism,’ which was soon considered a necessary accomplishment for every one who had any pretensions to fashion or good taste. Euphuism was made up of almost every sort of folly of language combined, a mincing prettiness, alliteration, punning, pedantry, elaborate nonsense, and far-fetched expression; in fine, of almost every conceivable form of puerility. This was a mere passing absurdity, and the only remains of it still left in the language are said to be certain new modes of pronunciation then first introduced.
Language has been, like most other things, subject to many and various abuses. Anagrams, chronograms, acrostics, &c., have, each and all, ‘fretted their hour upon the stage, and now are heard no more.’ But the pun seems likely to maintain its place, both in conversation and in written composition. Let us not be misunderstood. It is not the practice, but the abuse of it, that is to be condemned. We are strongly of opinion that there can be no greater pest to society than the inveterate and professional punster—a man who sets traps for you, who lies in wait for every phrase you utter, to twist and turn it into a meaning of his own, and who is continually stopping the natural flow of discourse, and bringing it to some ‘lame and impotent conclusion.’ But, as we have endeavoured to show, the pun, when ‘telling’ and well-applied, is as legitimate a form of wit as any other, and quite as conducive to good feeling and good fellowship.