“The cat would eate fishe, and would not wet her feete.”
The proverb is found among all nations. The Latin form of mediæval times was as follows:—
“Catus amat pisces, sed non vult tingere plantas.”
The Germans say:—
“Die Katze hätt’ die Fische gern; aber sie will die Füsse nit nass machen.”
And the Scotch have it:—
“The cat would fain fish eat,
But she has no will to wet her feet.”
CORK LEGS.
A gentleman in Charleston conceived a very decided liking to a young lady from Ireland, and was on the eve of popping the question, when he was told by a friend that his dulcinea had a cork leg. It is difficult to imagine the distress of the young Carolinian. He went to her father’s house, knocked impatiently at the door, and when admitted to the fair one’s presence, asked her if what he had heard respecting her were true. “Yes, indeed, my dear Sir, it is true enough, but you have heard only half of my misfortune. I have got two cork legs, having had the ill-luck to be born in Cork.” This is the incident on which is founded Hart’s afterpiece called Perfection.