"
The Doctor is rich in variety of verbal humour--
"When a girl is called a lass, who does not perceive how that
common word must have arisen? who does not see that it may be
directly traced to a mournful interjection _Alas!_ breathed
sorrowfully forth at the thought that the girl, the lovely innocent
creature upon whom the beholder has fixed his meditative eye, would
in time become a woman--a woe to man."
Our Doctor flourished in an age when the pages of Magazines, were filled
with voluntary contributions from men who had never aimed at dazzling
the public, but came each with his scrap of information, or his humble
question, or his hard problem, or his attempt in verse--
"A was an antiquary, and wrote articles upon Altars and Abbeys and
Architecture. B made a blunder which C corrected. D demonstrated
that E was in error, and that F was wrong in Philology, and neither
Philosopher nor Physician though he affected to be both. G was a
Genealogist. H was a Herald who helped him. I was an inquisitive
inquirer, who found reason for suspecting J to be a Jesuit. M was a
Mathematician. N noted the weather. O observed the stars. P was a
poet, who produced pastorals, and prayed Mr. Urban to print them. Q
came in the corner of the page with a query.
Pages:
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206