| John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919. |
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| Horace Walpole. (1717–1797) |
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| 1 | | Harry Vane, Pulteney’s toad-eater, |
| Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1742. |
| 2 | | The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those who feel. |
| Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1770. |
| 3 | | A careless song, with a little nonsense in it now and then, does not misbecome a monarch. 1 |
| Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1774. |
| 4 | | The whole [Scotch] nation hitherto has been void of wit and humour, and even incapable of relishing it. 2 |
| Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1778. |
| | Note 1.
A little nonsense now and then
Is relished by the wisest men.
Anonymous. [back] | Note 2.
It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding.—Sydney Smith: Lady Holland’s Memoir, vol. i. p. 15. [back] |
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