heir hearts; and many sincere virtuous Persons
also account them criminal, either from Temperament, Melancholy, or
erroneous Principles of Morality. As the Censure of such Persons gives
me pain, so their Approbation would give me great pleasure. But as long
as they consider the suggestions of their Temperament, deep Melancholy,
and erroneous Principles as so many Dictates of real Virtue, so long
they must not take it amiss if, while I revere their Virtue, I despise
their Judgment."

Nor has he disregarded Mr. Locke, who asserts that "Wit lies in an
assemblage of ideas, and putting them together with quickness and
vivacity, whenever can be found any resemblance and congruity whereby to
make up pleasant pictures and agreeable visions of fancy."

Neither has Mr. Addison been overlooked, who limits his definition by
observing that "an assemblage of Ideas productive merely of pleasure
does not constitute Wit, but of those only which to delight add
surprise."

Nor has he forgotten Mr. Pope, who declares Wit "to consist in a quick
conception of Thought and an easy Delivery"; nor the many other
definitions by Inferior hands, "too numerous to mention."

The result of an anxious consideration of these various Opinions, was a
conviction that to define Wit was like the attempt to define Beauty,
"which," said the Philosopher, "was the question of a Blind man"; and
despairing, therefore, of finding a Standard of value, the Compiler of
the following pages has gathered from every available source the Odd
sayings of all Times, carefully eschewing, however, the Coarse and the
Irreverent, so that of the Seventeen Hundred Jests here collected, not
one need be excluded from Family utterance. Of course, every one will
miss some pet Jest from this Collection, and, as a consequence, declare
it to be miserably incomplete. The Compiler mentions this probability to
show that he has not been among the Critics for nothing.

"_The gravest beast is an ass; the gravest bird is an owl;
The gravest fish is an oyster; and the gravest man is a fool_!"

says honest Joe Miller; and with that Apophthegm the Compiler doffs his
Cap and Bells, and leaves you, Gentle Reader, in the Merry Company he
has brought together.

M.L.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

THE JEST BOOK.

I.--THE RISING SON.

POPE dining once with Frederic, Prince of Wales, paid the prince many
compliments. "I wonder, Pope," said the prince, "that you, w