——:o:——
Iago’s high-sounding words about his reputation:—
“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls;
Who steals my purse steals trash—’tis something, nothing,
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands:
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed!”
were once quoted (so Tom Ingoldsby tells us) by a country baronet at a general election. Perhaps his memory failed him, or perhaps he thought to “gild refined gold!” His version was:—