Princess. Pshaw! pooh! pooh!
Duke. The Khan of Creamo Tartar.
Princess. Cannot do.
Duke. The Prince of Orange Marmalade.
Princess. Too sweet.
Duke. The Duke of Mangel Wurzel.
Princess. Must be Beet.”
What a riot of words! what an amount of subtlety is here expended to no purpose in stultifying the dictionary, and giving to words every possible meaning but the right one. In this noble art, however, Mr Planché is excelled by some of his disciples, and in the parody of Shylock—the Jerusalem Harty-Joke—written by Mr Talfourd for Robson, the system of punning has been carried to the limit of endurance. Let any one read the following address of Gratiano to Nerissa, and attempt if he can to make any meaning out of the puns, or see the fun of continually violating the rules of the language merely to help a failing rhyme.
“The pangs of Cupid I the first time knows-em;
His bows and arrows pierced my harrowed bo-sum.