In the following instances the presence of an accessory emotion can
easily be traced:--
"'What have you brought me there?' asks a French publisher of a young
author, who advances with a long roll under his arm. 'Is it a
manuscript?' 'No, Sir,' replies the man of letters, pompously, 'a
fortune!' 'Oh, a fortune! Take it to the publisher opposite, he is
poorer than I am.'"
(The disappointment of the author here adds considerably to our
amusement at the ingenious answer of the publisher.)
Two men, attired as a bishop and chaplain, entered one of the great
jewellery establishments in Bond Street and asked to be shown some
diamond rings. The bishop selected one worth a hundred pounds, but said
he had only a fifty-pound note with him, and that he wished to take the
ring away. The foreman took the note, and the bishop gave his address;
but he had scarcely left when a policeman rushed in and asked where the
two swindlers had gone. The foreman stood aghast, but said he had at
least secured a fifty-pound note. The policeman asked to see it, and
saying it was a flash note and that he would have it tested, left the
shop and never returned.
The amusement afforded by practical jokes is also largely dependent upon
the discomfort of the victims. This kind of humour, happily now little
known in this country, has been much in favour with Italian bandits, who
occasionally unite whimsical fancy with great personal daring.
Pages:
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372