PREFACE.
"ENGLISH WIT AND HUMOUR" is a compilation of some of the best specimens of wit and humour contained in the language, and the most brilliant examples of wit will be found, upon examination, to have been those which were unpremeditated, and which were the result of the contact of two minds upon an unexpected subject; while the best specimens of humour will be seen to be those in which the humour is unconscious. One example of the latter came to the notice of the compiler after the text of this booklet was printed, and which is too good to be lost. He was talking to the manager of a large bookselling establishment in London, when one of the assistants, who had been asked by a customer for a child's book, took up a copy of "Robinson Crusoe," and said to the manager, "Please, sir, is this a Child's Book?" The latter admitted that this was hard on the literary talent of the establishment. But, reader, pass in!
