ALWAYS can tell a
Preoccupied man by his tumbled umbrella.
Lady Matilda, in G. O. Trevelyan's Ladies
in Parliament.
ALKING of Doctor [Parr's] illegible manuscript, "Ay," said [Basil Montagu], "his letters are illegible, except they contain a commission or an announcement that he is coming to see you, and then no man can write plainer."
Miss Mitford, Life and Letters.
NEVER nursed a dear gazelle;
But I was given a parroquet—
(How I did nurse him if unwell!)
He's imbecile, but lingers yet.
He's green, with an enchanting tuft;
He melts me with his small black eye;
He'd look inimitable stuff'd,
And knows it—but he will not die!
C. S. Calverley, Fly Leaves.
