The subject has not commended itself generally to poets, yet there are few who would be inclined to say that there is nothing poetical about the nose. Here and there, we do find pointed references in poetry to the homely feature more or less poetical in expression. We can easily fancy Cowper’s picture of ‘the shivering urchin, with dewdrop at his nose;’ whilst our poet-laureate indulges in a higher flight over a maiden’s nose ‘tip-tilted like the petal of a flower,’ which sounds very refined indeed. Henry, Lord Brougham, whose nose was somewhat of this latter order, did not feel flattered by a similar reference to it. In conducting a case in Yorkshire, he was bothered in cross-examining a witness by a constant repetition of the word ‘humbug.’ ‘Humbug,’ said Lord Brougham—‘humbug, what do you mean by humbug?’—‘Whoy,’ returned the Yorkshireman, ‘if I wer to tell ye ’at ye’d getten a nice nose, I should be humbugging ye.’
Punch frequently alludes to the subject, and in its pages is to be found a description of what some suppose to be a masonic sign, under the terms of ‘taking a sight’ and ‘taking a double sight.’ ‘In taking a sight’ the thumb of one hand is placed to the extreme tip of the nose, with the fingers extended to their straightest utmost capacity; whilst ‘taking a double sight’ involves the addition of the second hand to the first, the thumb to the little finger, and action as before. The action is more varied and considered more expressive when a slight undulatory movement is observed by the fingers. The London newsboy appreciates the practice of taking a sight, especially favouring it when he has managed to sell, under the cry of ‘Third edition,’ a day but one before yesterday’s paper to a passenger upon an omnibus.
Nursery rhymes are not complete without a nose or noses, and they are constantly being quoted, for instance:
Says Moses to Aaron:
‘Thy nose is a rare un!’
Says Aaron to Moses:
‘Let us swap noses!’
And we cannot forget:
The servant in the garden hanging out the clothes,
By came a dickey bird and popped off her nose!