DCXXIII.—IRELAND'S FORGERY.
Says Kemble to Lewis, "Pray what is your play?"
Cries Lewis to Kemble, "The Lie of the Day!"
"Say you so?" replied Kemble; "why, we act the same;
But to cozen the town we adopt a new name;
For that Vortigern's Shakespeare's we some of us say,
Which you very well know is a lie of the day."
DCXXIV.—A GOOD ONE.
Lamb and Coleridge were talking together on the incidents of Coleridge's early life, when he was beginning his career in the church, and Coleridge was describing some of the facts in his usual tone, when he paused, and said, "Pray, Mr. Lamb, did you ever hear me preach?"—"I never heard you do anything else!" said Lamb.
DCXXV.—"WRITE ME DOWN AN ASS."
A very stupid foreman asked a judge how they were to ignore a bill. "Write Ignoramus for self and fellows on the back of it," said Curran.
DCXXVI.—A WORD TO THE WISE.
Dr. Balguy, a preacher of great celebrity, after having preached an excellent discourse at Winchester Cathedral, the text of which was, "All wisdom is sorrow," received the following elegant compliment from Dr. Wharton, then at Winchester school:—
If what you advance, dear doctor, be true,
That "wisdom is sorrow," how wretched are you.