Mr. G. Gentlemen, here is a little festivity at hand, not, I hope, altogether inelegant. Your coffee and cigars are ready.
C. Ah, this is the substantial picturesque. I was beginning to long for something oriental to eat, elegant or not; an East-dumpling for instance.
H. I wonder whether they have any puns in the East.
J. To be sure they have. The elegancies of some of their writers consist of a sort of serious punning, like the conceits of our old prosers; such as, a man was “deserted for his deserts;” or “graceless, though full of gracefulness, was his grace, and in great disgrace.”
C. But I mean proper puns; puns worthy of a Pundit.
L. You have it. It is part of their daily expunditure. How can there be men and not puns?
To pun is human; to forgive it, fine.
H. There’s an instance in Blue Beard; in a pun set to music by Kelly;
Fatima, Fatima, See-limbs here!
C. Good. I think I see Kelly, who used to stick his arms out, as if he were requesting you to see his limbs; and Mrs. Bland, whom he used to sing it to—a proper little Fatima. Come; I feel all the beauty of the room, now that one is “having something.” This is really very Grand, Signior; though to complete us, I think we ought to have some Sublime Port.